Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ephesians 4:10
He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
10. He that descended, &c.] As if to say, “Yes, He once descended, as a step in the process, a means to the great end; but now we have to dwell on the result; this Descender has now become by consequence the Ascended One, giving gifts from the Throne.” Both parts of the statement are emphatic, the fact and wonder of the Descent, and the triumph and result of the Ascent; and they are in deep connexion. But the main stress is on the latter.
far above all heavens ] Lit., all the heavens. Cp. Heb 4:14; Heb 7:26; where the ascended High Priest is revealed as “having passed through the heavens,” and as “become loftier than the heavens.” Scripture gives no precise revelation as to the number or order of regions or spheres of the upper world, the unseen universe of life and bliss. But its frequent use of the plural in regard of it, as here, whatever the origin of the usage, sanctions the thought that the Blessed (angels and glorified men), while from other points of view eternally concentrated and in company, and doubtless able, under their spiritual conditions of existence, to realize and act upon their unity to a degree unimagined by us, are yet distributed, classed, and ordered. “The Rabbis spoke of two heavens, or seven” (Smith’s Dict. of the Bible, under the word Heaven; and see Wetstein on 2Co 12:2). St Paul himself speaks (2Co 12:2) of a “third heaven,” meaning, apparently, the immediate presence of God; possibly with a reference to the twofold division mentioned just above, and which, if so, is to some degree favoured by Scripture. The plain meaning of the present passage, in any case, is that the Lord passed through and beyond all regions of created blessedness into the region of the Throne. That Throne (we can only use the language of figure, permitted by the Scriptures,) is as truly “far above” the highest sphere of created life as it is “far above” the lowest. To both it stands in the mysterious relation of the uncreated to the created. Cp. Psa 113:5-6. See further above, note on Eph 1:21. From another point of view, He who is “far above” the heavens is (like His Father) “in heaven” (below, Eph 6:9). In this view, heaven includes the whole state of blessed existence, uncreated and created alike.
that he might fill ] Possibly, “ fulfil ” ; i.e. every prophecy, of humiliation and glory. But St Paul’s usage favours the other version. He ascended that He might, not only in possibility but in act, “fill all things,” “with His presence, His sovereignty, His working by the Spirit; not with His glorified body, as some have thought” (Alford). “There is here no reference to a diffused and ubiquitous corporeity, but to a pervading and energizing omnipresence Christ is perfect God, and perfect and glorified Man; as the former He is present everywhere, as the latter He can be present anywhere ” (Bp Ellicott).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He that descended is the same also that ascended – The same Redeemer came down from God, and returned to him. It was not a different being, but the same.
Far above all heavens – see the notes on Eph 1:20-23; compare Heb 7:26. He is gone above the visible heavens, and has ascended into the highest abodes of bliss; see the notes on 2Co 12:2.
That he might fill all things – Margin, fulfil. The meaning is, that he might fill all things by his influence, and direct and overrule all by his wisdom and power. Doddridge. See the notes on Eph 1:23.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 10. He that descended] And he who descended so low is the same who has ascended so high. He came to the lower parts of the earth-the very deepest abasement; having emptied himself; taken upon him; the form of a servant, and humbled himself unto death, even the death of the cross; now he is ascended far above all heavens-higher than all height; he has a name above every name. Here his descending into the lower parts of the earth is put in opposition to his ascending far above all heavens. His abasement was unparalleled; so also is his exaltation.
That he might fill all things.] That he might be the fountain whence all blessings might flow; dispensing all good things to all his creatures, according to their several capacities and necessities; and, particularly, fill both converted Jews and Gentiles with all the gifts and graces of his Holy Spirit. Hence it follows: Eph 4:11
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He that descended is the same also that ascended: he saith not, he that ascended is the same that descended, lest it should not be thought that Christ brought his body with him from heaven; but, on the contrary, he that descended is the same that ascended, to show that the Son of God did not by his descent become other than what he was, nor the assumption of the human nature add any thing to his person, as a man is not made another person by the clothes he puts on. Christ descended without change of place as being God, but ascended by changing place as man, yet, by communication of properties, whole Christ is said to have ascended.
Far above all heavens; all visible heavens, into the third heaven, or paradise. Act 3:21; Heb 9:24.
That he might fill all things; all the members of his church, with gifts and graces. This began to be fulfilled, Act 2:1-47, and still will be fulfilling to the end of the world: see Joh 7:39; 16:7.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. all heavensGreek,“all the heavens” (Heb 7:26;Heb 4:14), Greek, “passedthrough the heavens” to the throne of God itself.
might fillIn Greek,the action is continued to the present time, both “might“and “may fill,” namely, with His divine presence andSpirit, not with His glorified body. “Christ, as God, ispresent everywhere; as glorified man, He can be presentanywhere” [ELLICOTT].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He that descended is the same also that ascended,…. It was the same divine Person, the Son of God, who assumed human nature, and suffered in it, which is meant by his descent, who in that nature ascended up to heaven: this proves that Christ existed before he took flesh of the virgin; and that though he has two natures, yet he is but one person; and disproves the Popish notion of the descent of Christ’s soul into Limbus or hell, locally taken: and this ascension of his was,
up far above all heavens: the visible heavens, the airy and starry heavens; Christ ascended far above these, and went into the third heaven, the holiest of all; and this is expressive of the exaltation of Christ, who is made higher than the heavens; and the end of his ascension was,
that he might fill all things, or “fulfil all things”; that were types of him, or predicted concerning him; that as he had fulfilled many things already by his incarnation doctrine, miracles, obedience, sufferings, death, and resurrection from the dead; so he ascended on high that he might accomplish what was foretold concerning his ascension to heaven, and session at the right hand of God, and answer to the type of the high priest’s entering once a year into the holiest of all: or that he might complete, perfect, and fill up all his offices; as the remainder of his priestly office, his intercession for his people; and more finally his prophetic office by the effusion of his Spirit; and more visibly his kingly office, by sending forth the rod of his strength out of Zion, and subduing the people under him: or that he might fill all places; as God he fills all places at once being infinite, immense, and omnipresent; as man, one after another; at his incarnation he dwelt with men on earth at his crucifixion he was lifted up between heaven and earth; at his death he descended into the lower parts of the earth, into hell, “Hades”, or the grave; and at his resurrection stood upon the earth again, and had all power in heaven and in earth given him; and at his ascension he went through the airy and starry heavens, into the highest heaven; and so successively was in all places: or rather that he might fill all persons, all his elect, both Jews and Gentiles; and so the Arabic version renders it, “that he might fill all creatures”; as the Gentiles were called; particularly that he might fill each and everyone of his people with his grace and righteousness, with his Spirit, and the fruits of it, with spiritual knowledge and understanding, with food and gladness, with peace, joy and comfort; and all his churches with his gracious presence, and with officers and members, and all with gifts and graces suitable to their several stations and work.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Is the same also ( ). Rather, “the one who came down ( , the Incarnation) is himself also the one who ascended ( , the Ascension).”
Far above (). See 1:21.
All the heavens ( ). Ablative case after . For the plural used of Christ’s ascent see Heb 4:14; Heb 7:27. Whether Paul has in mind the Jewish notion of a graded heaven like the third heaven in 2Co 12:2 or the seven heavens idea one does not know.
That he might fill all things ( ). This purpose we can understand, the supremacy of Christ (Col 2:9f.).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Fill all things. Compare ch. 1 23.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “He that descended” (ho katabas autos) “The one himself descending or having descended,” come down from heaven at His incarnation, virgin birth, Joh 3:31; Joh 6:33; Joh 6:38; Joh 6:41-42; Joh 6:50-51; Joh 6:58. He descended to redeem. He ascended to intercede, judge, and reign.
2) Is the same also that ascended” (estin kai ho anabas Is also the one ascending or having ascended Jesus Christ as risen Lord and Master, Act 1:11-12; Heb 1:3; To intercede, Heb 7:25; 1Jn 2:1-2; To judge, 2Ti 4:1-2; and eventually To reign, 1Co 15:24-25; Rev 5:9-10.
3) “Up far above all heavens” (huperano panton ton ouranon) “Far above all the heavens.” From His death, burial, and resurrection our Lord ascended to the most elevated, exalted, heights of the heavens indicating His supremacy in right of sovereign reign.
4) “That he might fill all things” (hina plerose ta panta) In order that he might fill all things,” prophesied of Him. He was exalted that He might with high priestly and kingly sway pervade and energize His people and His church, “as head over all things,” to the church, Eph 1:20-23. Let it be reflected that the giver of grace gifts, Eph 4:7-8; became lowly and forbearing and longsuffering before He was exalted, to give gifts to men. This is fulfillment of the prophetic Messianic element of Psa 68:18.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
10. That ascended up far above all heavens; that is, beyond this created world. When Christ is said to be in heaven, we must not view him as dwelling among the spheres and numbering the stars. Heaven denotes a place higher than all the spheres, which was assigned to the Son of God after his resurrection. (141) Not that it is literally a place beyond the world, but we cannot speak of the kingdom of God without using our ordinary language. Others, again, considering that the expressions, above all heavens, and ascension into heaven, are of the same import, conclude that Christ is not separated from us by distance of place. But one point they have overlooked. When Christ is placed above the heavens, or in the heavens, all that surrounds the earth — all that lies beneath the sun and stars, beneath the whole frame of the visible world — is excluded.
That he might fill all things. To fill often signifies to Finish, and it might have that meaning here; for, by his ascension into heaven, Christ entered into the possession of the authority given to him by the Father, that he might rule and govern all things. But a more beautiful view, in my opinion, will be obtained by connecting two meanings which, though apparently contradictory, are perfectly consistent. When we hear of the ascension of Christ, it instantly strikes our minds that he is removed to a great distance from us; and so he actually is, with respect to his body and human presence. But Paul reminds us, that, while he is removed from us in bodily presence, he fills all things by the power of his Spirit. Wherever the right hand of God, which embraces heaven and earth, is displayed, Christ is spiritually present by his boundless power; although, as respects his body, the saying of Peter holds true, that
“
the heaven must receive him until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Act 3:21.)
By alluding to the seeming contradiction, the apostle has added not a little beauty to his language. He ascended; but it was that he, who was formerly bounded by a little space, might fill all things But did he not fill them before? In his divine nature, I own, he did; but the power of his Spirit was not so exerted, nor his presence so manifested, as after he had entered into the possession of his kingdom.
“
The Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (Joh 7:39.)
And again,
“
It is expedient for you that I go away; for, if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you.” (Joh 16:7.)
In a word, when he began to sit at the right hand of the Father, he began also to fill all things. (142)
(141) “This was the place of which our Savior spake to his disciples, ‘What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before?’ Had he been there before in body, it had been no such wonder that he should have ascended thither again; but that his body should ascend unto that place where the majesty of God was most resplendent; that the flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone, should be seated far above all angels and archangels, all principalities and powers, even at the right hand of God; this was that which Christ propounded as worthy of their greatest admiration. Whatsoever heaven there is higher than all the rest that are called heavens; whatsoever sanctuary is holier than all which are called holies; whatsoever place is of greatest dignity in all those courts above, into that place did he ascend, where, in the splendor of his Deity, he was before he took upon him our humanity.” — Pearson.
(142) “The deepest humiliation is followed by the highest exaltation. From the highest heaven, than which nothing can be higher, Christ descended to hell, than which nothing can be lower. And on that account he deserved that he should be again carried up beyond the boundaries of all the heavens, withdrawing from us the presence of his body in such a manner, that from on high he might fill all things with heavenly gifts, and, in a different manner, might now be present with us more effectually than he was present while he dwelt with us on earth.” — Erasmus.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(10) That he might fill all things.Compare the description in Eph. 1:23 of the Lord as filling all in all. In both cases the reference is more particularly to the gift of the fulness of His grace, flowing from His glorified humanity to all His members. But the words are too wide for any limitation. In heaven and earth, and the realms under the earth, His presence and sovereignty extends, by whatever means and over whatever beings He wills. In Rev. 5:13, accordingly, we read the ascription by every creature in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth . . ., of blessing, honour, glory, and power to . . . the Lamb for ever and ever.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. For the purpose of identifying the Jehovah of the psalmist with Christ, Paul in Eph 4:9 notes that the psalmist’s ascender must have previously been a descender; now, for the purpose of showing Christ’s exaltation, he argues that the descender is the ascender. He In the Greek emphatic, the identical he.
Above all the heavens With the article in the Greek, the threefold heavens of the Old Testament. Note on 2Co 12:2-4. As the psalmist’s Jehovah ascends Zion, so the apostle’s Christ ascends from the depth of hades to even above the heavens. For God is truly above all heavens.
Fill all things The Highest is omnipotent, and he takes the highest position that he may pour himself down, over and into all things, natural and supernatural. But while he fills all other things with presence and power, he fills his Church with special plenitudes and endowments.
To the questions of modern astronomy, Where are heaven, paradise, hades? we may, (in addition to our notes on 2Co 12:2-4,) give this further answer: Dr. Dawson, in his Bible and Nature, suggests that heaven, the third heaven, may be supposably located beyond the astral heaven. Assuming our starry universe to be finite, then there is a circumambient pure space, encompassing our whole starry system with its ethereal belt. There God may for us specially dwell, in the third or highest heaven, and in supremacy enthroned above all the heavens, binding the system with his power and sending his volitions as perpetual laws through and to the centre. Paradise we might then identify with the second, lower, or “astral heavens;” but the texts suggest a more limited region. Hence Byron’s conception, though sublime, is too cold and indefinite for the biblical view of the blessed abode of sainted spirits:
“When coldness wraps this suffering clay,
Ah! whither strays the immortal mind?
It cannot die, it cannot stray.
But leaves its darkened dust behind.
Then, unembodied, doth it trace
By steps
Or fill at once the realms of space,
A thing of eyes, that all survey?”
But from the use of the word air in Eph 2:2, and Eph 6:12, (where see notes,) we should infer that the lowest, or “aerial heaven,” is the border region where the forces of paradise and lower hades blend and struggle. And thence descending, we are led to find the darker and darkest hades in the lower parts of the earth, that is, towards and in the subterranean regions. We should be inclined, therefore, to find the normal paradise in the upper margin of the aerial stratum, undivided yet distinct from the lower hades, and unexcluded from the “astral heavens.” Paradise we should view as a broad, overlying margin of pure ethereal glory, underlaid with shade, deepening to denser and still denser darkness, even, perhaps, to the subterranean centre. That centre is the lowest hades. As to the ouranos, heaven, and the gehenna, hell, beyond the resurrection, see note on 1Th 4:17.
That the ancient and biblical idea, which located hades in the interior of the earth, finds nothing in the earth’s solidity nor in any fact of science to contradict it, is well shown in the following passage from the Unseen Universe, p. 160:
“The deservedly famous Dr. Thomas Young has the following passage in his Lectures on Natural Philosophy: “Nor is there any thing in the unprejudiced study of physical philosophy that can induce us to doubt the existence of immaterial substances; on the contrary, we see analogies that lead us almost directly to such an opinion. The electrical fluid is supposed to be essentially different from common matter; the general medium of light and heat, according to some, or the principle of caloric, according to others, is equally distinct from it. We see forms of matter, differing in subtilty and mobility, bearing the names of solids, liquids, and gases; above these are the semi-material existences, which produce the phenomena of electricity and magnetism, and either caloric or a universal ether. Higher still, perhaps, are the causes of gravitation, and the immediate agents in attractions of all kinds, which exhibit some phenomena apparently still more remote from all that is compatible with material bodies. And of these different orders of beings the more refined and immaterial appear to pervade the grosser. It seems, therefore, natural to believe that the analogy may be continued still further until it rises into existences absolutely immaterial and spiritual. We know not but that thousands of spiritual worlds may exist unseen forever by human eyes; nor have we any reason to suppose that even the presence of matter, in a given spot, necessarily excludes these existences from it. Those who maintain that nature always teems with life, wherever living beings can be placed, may therefore speculate with freedom on the possibility of independent worlds; some existing in different parts of space, others pervading each other unseen and unknown, in the same space, and others again to which space may not be a necessary mode of existence.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘He who descended is the same also who ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill all things.’
But having descended He then ascended far above all the heavens (compare Eph 1:20-21) with the purpose of ‘filling all things’. In other words that He may become Lord of all. We can compare with these thoughts Php 2:5-11, where He Who humbled Himself and became man and suffered the death on the cross, was highly exalted and given the name above every name, with all confessing Him as Lord.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eph 4:10 . Result from Eph 4:9 , without , but thereby coming in the more vividly and with a certain triumph; “alio gravi dicto antecedentia complectitur aut absolvit” (Dissen, ad Pind. Exc. II. p. 278).
The prefixed has the emphasis, which is further augmented by : [212] The one who descended, just He , He precisely (identity of the person), is also the one who ascended on high above all heavens .
.] points back to that , Eph 4:8 , more precisely defining this as the region highest of all . The expression “ above all heavens ” has its basis in the conception of seven heavens, which number is not to be diminished to three (Harless: , , ; comp. Grotius, Meier, and others). See on 2Co 12:2 . The (in the N.T. only here and Eph 1:21 ; Heb 9:5 ) describes the exaltation of Christ clearly to be maintained as local as the highest of all (comp. , Phi 2:9 ), in such wise that He, having ascended through all heavens ( , Heb 4:14 ), has seated Himself above in the highest heaven, as the of the Father, at the right hand of God. Comp. Heb 7:26 : . The spiritualistic impoverishing of this concrete conception to a mere denial of all “enclosure within the world” (Hofmann, II. 1, p. 535) is nothing but a rationalistic invention. Comp. Act 7:56 ; Act 3:21 ; Act 1:9-11 .
] points back to the bestowal of grace expressed in Eph 4:7 , and prophetically confirmed in Eph 4:8 , and that as expressing the universal relation into which Christ has entered towards the whole world by His exaltation from the lowest depth to the loftiest height; in which universal relation is also of necessity contained, as a special point, that bestowal of grace on all individuals. As intended aim , however ( ), this stands related to the previous ascension of Christ from the uttermost depth, into which He had descended, to the uttermost height of heaven; because He had first, like a triumphing conqueror (see Eph 4:8 ), to take possession of His whole domain, i.e. the whole world from Hades to the highest heaven , in order now to wield His kingly sway over this domain, by virtue of which He was to fill the universe with His activity of sustaining and governing, and especially of providing all bestowal of grace . This was to be the all-embracing task of His kingly office, until the consummation indicated at 1Co 15:28 . It is according to this view, and from Eph 1:23 , self-evident that we have to explain . , neither with Koppe (following Anselm and others), de vaticiniorum complemento , nor with Rckert and Matthies, of the completion of the redeeming work ; nor yet possibly to limit to the whole Christian community (Beza, Grotius, Morus, Flatt, Schenkel, and others). Comp. rather on Eph 1:23 , and observe that in our passage that . . . of Eph 4:7 stands to this in the same relation of the species to the genus, as in Eph 1:23 ( ) does to . The ubiquity of the body of Christ (Faber Stapulensis, Hunnius, and others; specially contended for by Calovius) is not here, any more than at Eph 1:23 or elsewhere, spoken of; [213] although, with Philippi, Hoelemann has still found it here, holding the conception of the purely dynamic as unrealizable, because Christ is in a glorified body. If this reason were valid, an absolute bodily omnipresence would result: it proves too much , and leads to a contradictio in adjecto , which could only receive a Docetic solution.
[212] , Theodoret.
[213] Wrongly are Oecumenius and Theophylact adduced as favouring this explanation. They, forsooth, very correctly refer the filling to the dominion and operation of Christ (comp. also Chrysostom), and observe with equal justice that Christ, after He had already before His incarnation filled all things by His purely divine nature, now, after having, as the Incarnate One, descended and ascended, does the filling of the universe (Oecumenius), i.e. so that in doing so He is in a different state than before, namely, clothed with a body , consequently as God-man .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Ver. 10. Far above all heavens ] That is, above all visible heavens, into the third heaven; not in the Utopia of the Ubiquitaries.
That he might fill all things ] viz. With the gifts of his Holy Spirit; for the further he is from us in his flesh, the nearer by his Spirit; he is more efficacious absent than present.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
10 .] He that descended, He (and no other: . , Thdrt. is the subject, and not the predicate ( )) is also he that ascended (see again Joh 3:13 ) up above (reff.) all the heavens (cf. Heb 7:26 , : and Heb 4:14 , . It is natural that one who, like St. Paul, had been brought up in the Jewish habits of thought, should still use their methods of speaking, according to which the heaven is expressed in the plural, ‘ the heavens .’ And from such an usage, would naturally flow. See, on the idea of a threefold, or sevenfold division of the heavens, the note on 2Co 12:2 . Ellicott quotes from Bishop Pearson, ‘whatsoever heaven is higher than all the rest which are called heavens, into that place did he ascend.’ Notice the subjunctive after the aorist participle, giving the present and enduring sense to the verb: used, when “res ita comparata est, ut actione prterita tamen eventus noudmn expletus sit, sed etiam nunc duret: Eur. Med. 215, , , .” Klotz, Devar. ii. 618), that He may fill (not as Anselm, al., ‘ fulfil ’) all things (the whole universe: see ch. Eph 1:23 , note: with His presence, His sovereignty, His working by the Spirit: not, with His glorified Body, as some have thought. “Christ is perfect God, and perfect and glorified man: as the former He is present every where, as the latter He can be present any where.” Ellicott).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Eph 4:10 . , : he that descended, he it is that also ascended (or, he himself also ascended ). It was the first thought of every Christian mind that Christ had come down from heaven to live and work among men on earth for their salvation. Founding on this Paul declares that He who descended, whom all knew to be Christ, He and no other was also the Person who ascended. So he reminds his readers of the source of all the gifts in operation in the Church or enjoyed by individual Christians the ascended Christ. A peculiar force is claimed by some (Von Soden, Abb., Bruston) for the in . It is argued that it represents the descent as subsequent to the ascent, and contemporaneous with the giving of the gifts. So the point is taken to be this that the ascent would have been without a purpose unless it had been followed by a descent. This, it is thought, is the reason why Paul pauses to say that the ascending implied also a descending and that the Person in view not only ascended but also descended. Hence what is in the writer’s mind here is held not to be the incarnation or humiliation of the pre-existent Christ, but the descent of the exalted Christ to His Church, supposed to be referred to also in such passages as Eph 2:17 , Eph 3:17 , Eph 5:31-32 . But it is nowhere taught in the Pauline Epistles that a descent or a departure from heaven after the exaltation was necessary in order that the ascended Lord might bestow gifts upon His Church. The passages cited do not bear out any such idea. The first (Eph 2:17 ) does not refer to a coming of the glorified Christ; the second (Eph 3:17 ) speaks only of the spiritual presence of Christ in the heart; and the third (Eph 5:31-32 ) deals obviously with a “mystery” of relations , and has nothing to do with any coming of Christ out of heaven following on His ascension or required for the bestowal of His gifts. Nor is there any reason why the should have more than the familiar additive force. : up above all the heavens . So in Heb 7:27 our High Priest is described as . There may be. an allusion here to the Jewish ideas of a gradation of heavens, a series of three or, as the case rather appears to stand, seven heavens, with which the Pauline (2Co 12:2 ) may also be connected; on the conceptions of a plurality of heavens which prevailed among the Jews, the Babylonians and other ancient peoples, see the writer’s article on “Heaven” in Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible . But the point of the phrase as we have it here is simply this that whatever heavens there are or may be, Christ is above them all. So high has His ascension carried Him. It means the highest possible exaltation the supremacy of One who shares in the sovereignty of God. For the term see on Eph 1:21 . : that He might fill all things . The use of the conj. with after a past tense may be due to the fact that the “filling” is to be viewed as a continuous action (Ell., Alf.; cf. Klotz, Devar. , ii., p. 618), if it is not to be explained simply by the laxer employment of the conj. in NT Greek. The sense of fulfilling or completing hat been given by many to the . Thus the idea has been taken by some to be that of the fulfilling of prophecy (Anselm, etc.), the accomplishment of all things that Christ had to do in His redeeming mission (Rck.), the making of all perfect (Oltr.), etc. But, as in Eph 1:23 , the verb has the sense of filling , and is to be taken again in its widest application, and is not to be restricted to the world of believers or to the Church of Jew and Gentile (Grot., Schenk., etc.). Nor is there anything to suggest that the ubiquity of Christ’s body is in view, as some Lutherans have argued (Hunn., Calov., etc.). The idea that is in the paragraph is not that of a “diffused and ubiquitous corporeity,” as Ellicott well expresses it, but that of a “pervading and energising omnipresence”. The thought is the larger one that the object of Christ’s ascension was that He might enter into regal relation with the whole world and in that position and prerogative bestow His gifts as He willed and as they were needed. He was exalted in order that He might take kingly sway, fill the universe with His activity as its Sovereign and Governor, and His Church with His presence as its Head, and provide His people with all needful grace and gifts. In OT prophecy to “fill heaven and earth” is the note of Deity (Jer 23:24 ). We may be in a position now to determine Paul’s object in introducing the passage from Psa 68 . and in applying it as he does. The general connection is clear enough. He bids his readers study lowliness, forbearance and unity, because there is one faith, one baptism, etc. They are not to be vexed or divided because one may have more of the gift of grace than another. All receive from Christ, each in his own way and measure as Christ wills; for, as the Psalm shows, all gifts come from Him. Now some take the point of the quotation to be this He who is the subject of the Psalm is One whose seat is in heaven, a Sovereign Giver of gifts (Ell.). Others are of opinion that the words are cited in order to bring out the fact that Christ’s bestowal of gifts “stands in necessary connection with His general position of filling the whole universe” (Mey.). But the case appears to be less involved than that, and to turn simply on the identification of the Person who is the source of the gifts. Paul has spoken of the grace as given ( , Eph 4:7 ), and he has quoted the words of the Psalm which say that “he gave gifts” ( , Eph 4:8 ). But he has not named the Giver. Now he explains that the Giver is Christ; and that this is indicated by the Psalm itself, because it sings of One who went up on high, and of an ascent which presupposed a previous descent. Thus he identifies the subject of the Psalm with Christ; as elsewhere the Jehovah of the Prophets and the Psalms is identified with the Christ of the Apostles, and what is affirmed of the former in the OT is ascribed to the latter in the NT.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
also That ascended = That ascended also.
far above. Greek. huperano. See Eph 1:21.
heavens = the heavens. Mat 6:9, Mat 6:10.
that = in order that. Greek. hina.
fill. See Eph 1:23.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
10.] He that descended, He (and no other: . , Thdrt. is the subject, and not the predicate ( )) is also he that ascended (see again Joh 3:13) up above (reff.) all the heavens (cf. Heb 7:26, : and Heb 4:14, . It is natural that one who, like St. Paul, had been brought up in the Jewish habits of thought, should still use their methods of speaking, according to which the heaven is expressed in the plural, the heavens. And from such an usage, would naturally flow. See, on the idea of a threefold, or sevenfold division of the heavens, the note on 2Co 12:2. Ellicott quotes from Bishop Pearson,-whatsoever heaven is higher than all the rest which are called heavens, into that place did he ascend. Notice the subjunctive after the aorist participle, giving the present and enduring sense to the verb: used, when res ita comparata est, ut actione prterita tamen eventus noudmn expletus sit, sed etiam nunc duret: Eur. Med. 215, , , . Klotz, Devar. ii. 618), that He may fill (not as Anselm, al., fulfil) all things (the whole universe: see ch. Eph 1:23, note: with His presence, His sovereignty, His working by the Spirit: not, with His glorified Body, as some have thought. Christ is perfect God, and perfect and glorified man: as the former He is present every where, as the latter He can be present any where. Ellicott).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Eph 4:10. ) He, not another.- , far above all heavens) A very sublime expression. Christ not only ascended into heaven, Mar 16:19, but through the heavens, Heb 4:14, note; above all heavens; the heaven [heavens] of heavens, Deu 10:14.-, might fill) by His presence and operations, with Himself.- ) all things, the lowest and the highest; comp. Jer 23:24, where also the LXX. use the word .
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Eph 4:10
Eph 4:10
He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things).-His ascension was necessary to the completing or finishing the work for which he came into the world-the re-establishing the kingdom of God on earth. He must be crowned the conquering Lord, ere his kingdom could be established, or send the Spirit to guide that kingdom, before proper gifts and appointments upon his subjects, to guide them into all truth, and develop them into the full stature of the Lord.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
ascended: Eph 1:20-23, Act 1:9, Act 1:11, 1Ti 3:16, Heb 4:14, Heb 7:26, Heb 8:1, Heb 9:23, Heb 9:24
that he: Eph 3:19, Joh 1:16, Act 2:33, Col 1:19, Col 2:9
fill: or, fulfil, Mat 24:34, Luk 24:44, Joh 19:24, Joh 19:28, Joh 19:36,*Gr: Act 3:18, Act 13:32, Act 13:33, Rom 9:25-30, Rom 15:9-13, Rom 16:25, Rom 16:26
Reciprocal: Psa 8:1 – thy Psa 148:13 – glory Pro 30:4 – Who hath ascended Joh 3:13 – even Eph 1:23 – fulness Col 3:1 – where
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Eph 4:10.) , -He that descended, He it is also who ascended high above all the heavens. is emphatic, and is He and none other. Winer, 22, 4, note. , says Theodoret, . The identity of His person is not to be disputed. Change of position has not transmuted His humanity. It may be refined and clothed in lustre, but the manhood is unaltered. That Jesus-
Who laid His great dominion by,
On a poor virgin’s breast to lie;
who, to escape assassination, was snatched in His infancy into Egypt-who passed through childhood into maturity, growing in wisdom and stature-who spoke those tender and impressive parables, for He had compassion on the ignorant, and on them that were out of the way-who fed the hungry, relieved the afflicted, calmed the demoniac, touched the leper, raised the dead, and wept by the sepulchre, for to Him no form of human misery ever appealed in vain-He who in hunger hasted to gather from a fig-tree-who lay weary and wayworn on the well of Jacob-who, with burning lips, upon the cross exclaimed I thirst-He whose filial affection in the hour of death commended his widowed mother to the care of His beloved disciple-HE it is who has gone up. No wonder that a heart which proved itself to be so rich with every tender, noble, and sympathetic impulse, should rejoice in expending its spiritual treasures, and giving gifts to men. Nay, more, He who provided spiritual gifts in His death, is He who bestows them in His ascension on each one, and all of them are essential to the unity of His church. But as His descent was to a point so deep, His ascent is to a point as high, for He rose-
-above all the heavens. Joh 3:13; Heb 7:26. See under Eph 1:21. are those regions above us through which Jesus passed to the heaven of heavens-to the right hand of God. The apostle himself speaks of the third heaven. 2Co 12:2. It is needless to argue whether the apostle refers to the third heaven, as Harless supposes, or to the seventh heaven, as Wetstein and Meyer argue. There was an , an , and (Schoettgen, 773; Wetstein under 2Co 12:2); but the apostle seems to employ the general language of the Old Testament, as in Deu 10:14, 1Ki 8:27, where we have the heaven, and the heaven of heavens; or Psa 68:33; Psa 148:4, in which the phrase occurs-heavens of heavens. We find the apostle in Heb 4:14 saying of Jesus- -that He has passed through the heavens, not into the heavens, as our version renders it. Whatever regions are termed heavens, Jesus is exalted far above them, yea, to the heaven of heavens. The loftiest exaltation is predicated of Him. As His humiliation was so low, His exaltation is proportionately high. Theophylact says-He descended into the lowest parts- , and He ascended above all- . His position is the highest in the universe, being far above all heavens-all things are under His feet. See under Eph 1:20-22. And He is there-
-that He might fill all things. The subjunctive with , and after the aorist participle, represents an act which still endures. Klotz-Devarius, ii. p. 618. The ascension is past, but this purpose of it still remains, or is still a present result. The translation of Anselm, Koppe, and others, that He might fulfil all things, that is, all the prophecies, is as remote from the truth as the exegesis of Matthies and Rckert, that He might complete the work of redemption. Nor is the view of Zanchius more tenable, that he might discharge all his functions. The versions of Tyndale and Cranmer, and that of Geneva, use the term fulfil, but Wickliffe rightly renders, that he schulde fill alle thingis. Jer 23:24. The bearing of this clause on the meaning of the term , the connection of Christ’s fulness with the church and the universe, and the relation of the passage to the Lutheran dogma of the ubiquity of the Redeemer, will be found in our exegesis of the last verse of the first chapter, and need not therefore be repeated here. We are not inclined to limit to the church, as is done by Beza, Grotius, and Meier, for reasons assigned under the last clause of the first chapter. The church filled by Him becomes His fulness, but that fulness is not limited by such a boundary. The explanation of Calvin, that Jesus fills all, Spiritus sui virtute; and of Harless, mit seiner Gnadengegenwart-appears to be too limited. Chrysostom’s view is better – . Stier compares the phrase with the last clause of the verse quoted from Psalms 68, that God the Lord might dwell among them, to which corresponds the meaning given by Bengel-Se Ipso.
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Eph 4:10. He it is also; not, is the same also (E. V.). The two thoughts of descending and ascending are here joined in such a way as to give prominence to the Person of Christ.
Above all the heavens. It is immaterial whether Paul had in mind three heavens or seven heavens, according to the Jewish notion. Whatever divisions exist, or whatever Paul referred to, his statement is that Christ was exalted above all such places.
That he might fill all things. As this was the purpose of His exaltation, that He might be able to penetrate with His grace and glory all regions and all persons within them (Braune), it is proven that He can and does give to each Christian as He will (Eph 4:7). Thus, too, the way is prepared for the statement which follows, respecting His gift of official persons to His Church, and the purpose of the Christian ministry. The thought in its connection is the same as that of chap. Eph 1:22-23 : gave Him as Head over all things to the Church, etc.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might {i} fill {k} all things.)
(i) Fill with his gifts.
(k) The Church.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Paul identified the descended Christ with the ascended Christ who now is in position to rule over all (cf. Eph 1:22). He fills all things with His fullness (cf. Col 1:18-19; Col 2:9; Pro 30:4).