Ascension (Part 1)

Ephesians 4:8 “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.”

The referenced scripture, speaks of Jesus ascension and it states, “When he ascended up on high”: Paul used (of Psalm 68:18), as a parenthetical analogy to show how Christ received the right to bestow the spiritual gifts (verse 7). “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them”. We'll find here, that, Psalm 68 is a victory hymn composed by David to celebrate God’s conquest of the Jebusite city of Jerusalem and the triumphant ascent of God up to Mt. Zion (2 Samuel 6-7; 1 Chron. 13). After such a triumph, the king would bring home the spoils and the prisoners. Here Paul depicts Christ returning from His battle on earth back into the Glory of the heavenly city with the trophies of His great victory at Calvary. This is cited as an illustration of Christ’s bestowing spiritual gifts on His church. The Old Testament text speaks as God being a victorious warrior returning to Mount Zion. “(He ascended up on high)” leading Israel’s defeated foes in triumphal procession (“He lead captivity captive”); He then distributes to Israel the spoils of war by giving spiritual gifts (“gave gifts unto men”).

Similarly, when Jesus returned to heaven (“He ascended up on high”), He conquered Satan and his entire demonic horde (“He led captivity captive”) This phrase depicts a triumphant of Christ returning from battle on earth back into the glory of the heavenly city with the trophies of His great victory. The words tells us, “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:15). My friends, Jesus is the one who led captivity captive, when he brought them out with Him from Paradise. (Brought them out of darkness, into a marvelous light) The victory of the Lord Jesus was on the cross. He defeated sin and the devil on the cross. He descended to preach to those in Paradise. His other reason for being in Paradise was to take the keys of hell and death away from Satan. An Israel king who won a triumphant victory would bring home the spoils and prisoners to parade before his people. One feature of the victory parade would be the display of the king’s own soldiers who had been freed after being held prisoner by the enemy. These were often referred to as recaptured captives, prisoners who had been taken prisoner again, so to speak, by their own king and given freedom. The picture if vivid in its demonstration that God has yet unsaved people who belong to Him, though they are naturally in Satan’s grasp and would remain there had not Christ by His death and resurrection made provision to lead them into the captivity of His kingdom into which they had been called by sovereign election. In the book of Revelation 1:18, it states, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”

Unto every believer is given some gift of grace, for their mutual help.

The gifts given to men were through the Holy Spirit of God, and are called the gifts of the Spirit. He distributes the spoils throughout His kingdom. After His ascension, came the spiritual gifts empowered by the Spirit, who was then sent. (John 7:39; 14:12; Acts 2:33).

Early church dogma taught that the righteous dead of the Old Testament could not be taken into the fullness of God’s presence until Christ had purchased their redemption on the cross, and that they had waited in this place for His victory on that day. Figuratively speaking, the early church fathers said that, after announcing His triumph over demons in one part of Sheol (Hell). He then opened the doors of another part of Sheol to release those godly captives. Like the victorious kings of old, He recaptured the captives and liberated them, and henceforth they would live in heaven as eternally free sons of God.