"But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift." Paul starts Ephesians 4:7-11 this way to lead us into a verse from Psalm 68:18, which talks of Christ's ascension into Heaven and the gifts He gave. Paul goes on to say if Christ ascended He had to have descended. Therefore, Christ is the one who came to earth to provide salvation, "led a host of captives." We were once captives of sin and Satan, now we are freed by Christ's ascension into Heaven. Without the ascension, Christ would not have been God. Power over death belongs only to God, and the Son of God descended to earth, died for our sins, and ascended back to Heaven.
And while on earth Christ "gave gifts to men." Paul goes on to explain these gifts. Christ "gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints..."
More on the gifts next time.
Praise God for His Son.
No comments:
Post a Comment