Ephesians: Grace was Given
Ephesians 4:7-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Psalm 68:18 - He gave gifts to men.
“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,
“When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives,
And He gave gifts to men.””
Ephesians 4:7-8 NASB1995
We have each received grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift to us. Although the previous verses describe a unity (a “oneness”) of the church and its members, verse 7 identifies the gift of grace as being measured for each one of us. As the late John MacArthur noted (in Precept Austin):
Paul moves from the unity of believers to the uniqueness of believers.
This grace is usually thought to be enabling grace, not salvation grace. This gift helps each believer find their God-driven niche in their church lives. We are not the same and the gifts are not the same. This is noted in 1 Corinthians 12:
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 NASB1995
Verse 7 seems pretty straightforward when considering this perspective, but then Paul uses a “therefore” (always pay attention to “therefore” interjections) and quotes from Psalm 68:18, although this is not a direct word-for-word quote from the actual verse:
“You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among men,
Even among the rebellious also, that the Lord God may dwell there.”
Psalms 68:18 NASB1995
So what does this mean? Let’s look at commentary from Enduring Word:
a. Grace was given: We all have grace given to us according to the measure of Jesus’ gift. This is the basis for God’s distribution of spiritual gifts through His church: grace, the free, unmerited giving of God. No one deserves or has earned spiritual gifts.
b. When He ascended on high: This giving happened (as described prophetically in Psalm 68:18) when Jesus ascended to heaven. This was evidence of His triumph over every foe (the leading of captivity captive).
i. Bruce on the picture from Psalm 68: “One may picture a military leader returning to Jerusalem at the head of his followers, after routing an enemy army and taking many prisoners.”
ii. As Jesus said, It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you (John 16:7).
c. When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men: Paul did not quote the passage exactly as it appears in Psalm 68. Either he altered it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit or under similar inspiration he quoted from an ancient translation (called a Targum) that quotes the Psalm in this manner.
i. Psalm 68:18 reads: You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men. There is certainly enough room in the language of the original Hebrew to allow Paul’s reading, even though it is unusual.
ii. “It is enough for me that the apostle, under the inspiration of God, applied the verse in this way; and whatever David might intend, and of whatever event he might have written, we see plainly that the sense in which the apostle uses it was the sense of the Spirit of God.” (Clarke)
I don’t know if that helps very much. According to Precept Austin, verse 8 and the following parenthetical verses (in my next devotional) are the subject of much controversy and varying opinions among scholars. Here’s an excerpt from a sermon by Wayne Barber, as quoted in Precept Austin:
There is a wonderful picture here of what Christ has done for us. You see, without the ascension, there would never be a Christ who could send His Holy Spirit, the Gift, who in turn could display all the different gifts. What did He say in John 14? “I must go to My Father.” Why? “So that the Holy Spirit might come.” He is the gift. The Holy Spirit is the one who is going to be making sure He carries out God’s desires of having the pie sliced in the way that it is sliced. But Jesus has to ascend first. You say, “I don’t understand. He is the Son of God. Why does He have to qualify for anything? Why does He have to ascend in order to do anything? He is God.” That is right, but He is also the God-man. We forget this. He uniquely became a brand new creature never seen before. He became the God-man. Not only that, but when He ascended, He went into the throne room by His own blood and there received the name that is above every name. He was exalted on high. Now, as Lord of the Universe, He qualifies to give gifts unto men.
Paul is pointing to what it cost God for us to have our gifts! Jesus had to go to the cross! Jesus had to resurrect! Jesus had to ascend! Jesus had to go into the presence of the Father before the Spirit could come who is the actual one who disburses the gifts unto men.
So I think it is appropriate to consider these commentaries and keep them in mind and move directly to my next devotional (in two days) and consider Ephesians 4:9-13 - Gifts given from an ascendant Christ for unity of the church.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer;
Dear Lord - Sometimes I struggle with Paul’s epistles, as do many scholars. All we can do is pray for guidance and for salvation and equipping grace! Amen.
Citations and Credits:
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.
Precept Austin was accessed on 05/03/3036 to review commentary for Ephesians 7-8
Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com. Within the Enduring Word commentary are the following references:
Bruce, Frederick Fyvie The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1984)
Clarke, Adam The New Testament with A Commentary and Critical Notes, Volume II (New York: Eaton & Mains, 1831)