Paul explains the mystery of the church and gives practical insight into living as believers. Heinrich Meyer's Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. This verse, therefore, far from being "pure midrash," is one of the most eloquent passages in the New Testament touching upon the glorious Christian doctrine of the Ascension of Jesus Christ and of his pre-existence from all eternity with the Father. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/ephesians-4.html. It must therefore be GOD THE SON (John 6:33, John 6:62). There is a similar mode of reasoning at Acts 2:29, etc., Acts 13:36-37; and especially at Hebrews 2:8-9. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/ephesians-4.html. 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) But whither? Usage will not determine—for 1) it is uncertain whether the Apostle meant any allusion to the corresponding Hebrew expression: 2) that expression is used both for Hades, Psalms 63:9, and for earth ( θεμέλια, LXX), Isaiah 44:23 (and for the womb, Psalms 139:15). "John Wesley's Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible". p. 148). εἰς τὰ κατώτερα τῆς γῆς—“to the lower parts of the earth.” Compare in Septuagint such places as Deuteronomy 32:22; Nehemiah 4:13; Psalms 63:9-10; Psalms 86:13; Psalms 139:15; Lamentations 3:55, and the prayer of Manasseh in the Apocrypha. Here again the slanderers exclaim, that Paul’s reasoning is trifling and childish. It continues the thought, but does that in the form of an explanation or application; cf. "Commentary on Ephesians 4:9". "Commentary on Ephesians 4:9". "Commentary on Ephesians 4:9". Copyright StatementThese files are public domain. 1765. Now, when it is declared of Jesus Christ the Lord that he ascended, the inescapable and necessary deduction is imperative: that he also descended! Thus in John 3:13, and no less than seven times in the sixth chapter of the same gospel. Then, as death and hades will be merged in the lake of fire, (Revelation 20:14,) so paradise will be merged in the final abodes of the blest. "The New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible". A comparison is drawn, not between one part of the earth and another, but between the whole earth and heaven; as if he had said, that from that lofty habitation Christ descended into our deep gulf. Who does not know that the word ascend is metaphorical? For God the Father does not ascend or descend. the express statement in John 3:13) that Christ’s proper abode was in heaven. The lowers or nethers of the earth (for the Greek word for parts is probably not genuine) means apparently the subterranean regions. also Erlang. Christ, as Lord of all, took possession first of the earth the unseen world beneath it (some conjecture that the region of the lost is in the central parts of our globe), then of heaven (Ac 2:27, 28). Or is the former a divinely appointed type of the latter? ( ᾿Αλλ ᾿ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσε, , Philippians 2:7.) EPHESIANS Our Blessings In Christ Importance This epistle was evidently addressed to the church in Ephesus (cf. BibliographyEadie, John. gen., = “the parts lower than the earth”. Version. 4. Now this expression, He ascended, what is it, but that he descended — That is, does it not imply, that he descended first? Stier admits that Christ could suffer no agony in Hades. This seems to be the fair meaning of the words. "Mark Dunagan Commentaries on the Bible". Nor does the variety in reading affect the sense, though much has been made of it. Zeitschr. Usually, we say; yet probably in Acts 2:27 hades includes both. p. 199, ed. Christ, as Lord of all, took possession first of the earth and the unseen world beneath it (some conjecture that the region of the lost is in the center of our globe), then of heaven (Acts 2:27-28). Ephesians 4:9 is not a (Rabbinical) argument to show that the subject of the passage in the psalm is no other than Christ, in so far as of Him alone could be predicated that descending which, in speaking of ascending, must be presumed to have gone before (Michaelis, Koppe; Güder, von der Erschein. v.; Salmond’s Christian Doctrine of Immortality, p. 421, etc. Chrysostom, with Theophylact and OEcumenius, Bullinger, Phavorinus, and Macknight, refer it to the death of Christ; while Vorstius, Baumgarten, Drusius, Cocceius, Whitby, Wilke, and Crellius, see a special reference to the grave. Follow Desiring God on Facebook. This passage is in language closely parallel to John 6:62; John 17:5. Concord. In Ephesians some have interpreted the captives: (1) as the enemies of Christ, namely, Satan, sin, and death; or (2) as the people who have been the captives of Satan, sin and death, and who are now taken captive by Christ in redemption. Or does it point to His descent to Hades? "Commentary on Ephesians 4:9". All beheld the sojourn of the Son of God upon the earth: they ought, from this fact, to have believed His ascension, which they did not see. BibliographyAbbott, John S. C. & Abbott, Jacob. Clearly in Greek and Roman paganism, Avernus, or the abodes of the spirits of the dead, was held to be beneath the earth’s surface. Ephesians 4:9. How could the Holy One, with God in the beginning, "the same was God"; how could he have ascended without first descending? 1859. "Commentary on Ephesians 4:9". p. 251, Witsius, Piscator, and Calixtus. Broadman Press 1932,33. Men are joined with the mention of the earth; the captivity is joined with the mention of the lower parts.— τῆς γῆς, of the earth) in which men are. Ephesians 4:9 “Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth?”. (140) These words mean nothing more than the condition of the present life. Ephesians 4:9 and Ephesians 4:10 are parenthetical, showing what the ascension of Christ presupposes. Compare John 3:13. On the other hand, there are those (e.g., Von Soden, Abb.) The τῆς γῆς may be taken equally well as the appos. Lower parts of the earth—By one class of commentators this phrase is made to signify simply the earth; that is, these lower grounds, consisting of earth, in contrast with the heavens above. When the Word is diminished or compromised, the church will be ane… BibliographyPoole, Matthew, "Commentary on Ephesians 4:9". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tsk/ephesians-4.html. His funeral was extemporized and hasty; nay, the grave He lay in was a borrowed one. A common belief is that mankind with his technology, education, and resources will one day solve all his social problems. Ephesians 4:9. But it is doubted how far the words κατώτερα μέρη τῆς γῆς carry that descent, whether to earth merely, so that τῆς γῆς is the genitive of apposition,—or to Hades, so that it is genitive of possession. See Trom. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dun/ephesians-4.html. Revelation 2:7; Revelation 22:2. And these rudimental conceptions, though immensely supplemented by science, are uncontradicted by science, and are still essentially true. gen., = “the lower parts which are or make the earth”; the poss. BibliographyNicol, W. Robertson, M.A., L.L.D. 1088). It is the "earth itself" that stands in contrast with the heavens; and the idea is, that the Redeemer descended from his lofty eminence in heaven, and became a man of humble rank and condition; compare Psalm 139:15. lower parts of the earth—The antithesis or contrast to "far above all heavens," is the argument of Alford and others, to show that this phrase means more than simply the earth, namely, the regions beneath it, even as He ascended not merely to the visible heavens, but "far above" them. . There again the whole statement turns upon the two great ideas of the incarnation with the humiliation involved in it and the exaltation, and nothing is said about any visit of Christ to the underworld. And if he had, it is hard to think how he could attach the meaning of Hades to the words ἐν τοῖς κατωτάτω τῆς γῆς; for in the one place where they occur (Psalms 139:15), they describe the scene of the formation of the human embryo, and in the only other place where they are used (Psalms 63:9), they mark out the disastrous fate of David's enemies,-a fate delineated in the following verse as death by the sword, while the unburied corpses were exposed to the ravages of the jackal. The reasoning of the text in itself would be satisfied by the former. We prefer the first. 4:9. Some have understood this of the grave; others of the region of departed spirits; but these interpretations do not seem to be necessary. Paul rather brings out in Ephesians 4:9 what the ascension of Christ prophetically meant in Psalms 68 contains as its presupposition; and this for the end of showing(210) how the matter affirmed and supported by the passage of the psalm in Ephesians 4:7, namely, Christ’s bestowal of grace on all individuals respectively, stands in necessary connection with His general position of filling the whole universe; a function upon which He must have entered by His very descending into the depths of the earth and His ascending above all heavens (Ephesians 4:10). If He go up after the victory, we infer that he had already come down to win it. Either of these views justifies the apostle’s language. (Ephesians 4:9.) Nor is there even sure ground for supposing that in such places as Isaiah 44:23, Ezekiel 26:20; Ezekiel 32:18-24, the similar Hebrew phrase which occurs, but which is not rendered ᾅδης in the Septuagint, means Sheol or Hades. What was hidden throughout the ages was revealed to us when Christ came. In the cosmology of Ephesians, “this world” refers to the present age in enmity with God (cf. The phrase ‘in Ephesus’ (1:1) is absent in two of the oldest manuscripts. "The Bible Study New Testament". : that of Christ’s death (and burial), by Chr., Thdrt., Œc., al. "Commentary on Ephesians 4:9". (that is, to bring Christ down from above;) or, who shall descend into the deep (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.”) (Romans 10:6, Deuteronomy 30:12.) This of course is not given as an inference of universal application, but as one that holds good in the case in view, and one which gives Paul the warrant to use the quotation as he does. We are not only to understand what God has done for the church in Christ by His saving her but what He saved her for. It is possible that the Ascent of the Ark to Zion was also a return, but it is more likely that St Paul simply takes occasion from the occurrence of the word in the quotation to call attention to a further feature in the Antitype. Ephesians 3. : that corresponding to Psalms 139:15, by Beza (alt. John Piper Mar 27, 1994 301 Shares God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him Learn more about Desiring God Desiring God. Into the lower parts of the earth. For it was to a dim and obscure hades that good as well as bad expected to descend under the twilight of the old dispensation. gen., = “the lower parts belonging to earth,” Hades being conceived to be part of the earth, but its lower part; or the comp. And the reply given by Paul in ὅτι καὶ κατέβη is that the ascent presupposes a previous descent. (Ephesians 4:9-10) In this parenthetical thought, Paul continues to help us understand what David meant when he wrote in psalm, "You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives. Used by permission of Broadman Press (Southern Baptist Sunday School Board). We must not only get excited about the work of the cross but also the purpose of the cross. From that view we dissent. τί ἐστιν] not: what of an extraordinary nature (Hoelemann), but simply: what is said therewith, what is implied in it? They should also be patient and cover everyone with love, just as how Christ did. While the lists in Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 focus on the gifts, here Paul’s emphasis is on the gifted men. Nor can it be said (as Harl., Mey.) The Divinity and heavenly abode of Christ are clearly presupposed. 1599-1645. The great paragraph in Philippians 2:5-10, which is in some sense a parallel, has also to be taken into account. Hence hades is in the New Testament, though really inclusive of the whole, yet usually applied only to the woful side of the spirit domain; just as the name America, though inclusive of the whole continent, is often applied to the United States alone. John 3:13; John 16:28, et c. 3. BibliographyBullinger, Ethelbert William. He could never be said to go up unless He had formerly come down. Also the leading “captive” of the “captive hand” (“captivity”) of satanic powers, may imply that the warfare reached to their habitation itself (Psalm 63:9). The correctness of this conclusion rests upon the admitted fact that the risen Christ had His original dwelling not upon earth, as Elijah had, but in the heaven, whither He went up; consequently He could not but have descended from this, if He has ascended. reads first, following the Tex. Yet the psalm plainly refers to God (Ephesians 4:8; Ephesians 4:17-18). ii. Copyright StatementThese files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that is available on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library Website. Greek. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/ephesians-4.html. 1832. Moreover, his design, "that He might fill all things" (Ephesians 4:10, Greek, 'the whole universe of things'), may imply the same; but see note there. xxiii. May not the use of the comparative indicate that the descent of Christ was not simply to ἡ γῆ κάτω, but εἰς τὰ κατώτερα? Some give the words a comparative force, deeper than the earth. Verses 9 and 10 are a parenthesis that explains what he just said in the previous verse.. 9 (Now this, . BibliographyEdwards, Justin. The rabbins called the earth sometimes generally הַתַחתוֹנִים . “Lower parts of the earth”: Not only did Jesus completely humble Himself, live among men, and live in some of the most humble circumstances, even for human beings, but such a "descent" even resulted in His physical death, that is, this descent finally resulted in His being entombed in the earth (Philippians 2:7-8). The psalm's assertion of His ascent (assuming Him to be God) implies a previous descent, which only holds good of Christ, who first descended, then ascended; for the Father does not ascend or descend. Comp. 3. : that of the Incarnation merely, descent on earth, by Beza, Calv., Grot., Schöttg., Mich., Storr, Winer, Harl., B.-Crus., Meyer, De W., al. 1999-2014. Heavenly Father, the more I understand Your Word, the more You graciously open up my understanding to new and exciting truths. It was the belief of those whom Paul addressed (cf. this the Papists understand of his decent into a place they call Limbus Patrum, which they make to be contiguous to hell; and where they say the patriarchs were detained till Christ's coming; and that he went thither to deliver them out of it; and that these are the captivity he led captive; all which is fictitious and fabulous: for certain it is, that the place where Abraham was with Lazarus in his bosom was not near to hell, but afar off, and that there was a great gulf between them, Luke 16:23 and the spirits or souls of the patriarchs returned to God that gave them, when separated from their bodies, as the souls of men do now, Ecclesiastes 12:7 nor did Christ enter any such feigned place at his death, but went to paradise, where the penitent thief was that day with him; nor were the patriarchs, but the principalities and powers Christ spoiled, the captivity he led captive and triumphed over: some interpret this of Christ's descent into hell, which must be understood not locally, but of his enduring the wrath of God for sin, which was equivalent to the torments of hell, and of his being in the state of the dead; but it may rather design the whole of his humiliation, as his descent from heaven and incarnation in the virgin's womb, where his human nature was curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth; and his humbling himself and becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, when he was made sin and a curse for his people, and bore all the punishment due to their transgressions; and his being in Hades, in the state of the dead, in the grave, in the heart of the earth, as Jonah in the whale's belly: reference seems to be had to Psalm 139:15 where "the lower parts of the earth", is interpreted by the Targum on the place of כריסא דאמא, "his mother's womb"; and so it is by Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melec. Later in Ephesians, this ruler is labeled the devil (4:27; 6:11). Copyright StatementThese files are public domain.Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. BibliographyJamieson, Robert, D.D. When our Lord speaks Himself of His descent and ascension, heaven and earth are uniformly the termini of comparison. There are a number of interpretations of this passage from good Bible teachers and each have merit – and each give glory and honour to Christ. 1. 6. For, 1. 3. From the one Christ descended to the other; and he came not only to the earth, but he stooped to the most humble condition of humanity here; see Philemon 2:6-8; compare notes on Isaiah 44:23. 3. He is basically saying, ‘He Who was God descended’. Versions, and by such interpreters as Iren., Tertull., Jer., Erasm., Estius, Beng., Rück., Olsh., Del., Bleek, Mey., Alf., Ell. Ephesians 4:9-10. He is not seeking in the Ascension a proof of the Incarnation, nor even emphasizing as in Philippians 2:8 f. the correspondence between the height of our Lord’s present glory and the depth of His earthly humiliation. In His death Jesus Christ gained the victory over sin, and He redeemed those whom He would give as gifts to the church. Dr. Craven shows very clearly that in none of these cases can it designate merely the earth. As you mention in your question, one of the texts most frequently appealed to in support of this view is Ephesians 1. So the world is called ἡ γῆ κάτω. Now that he ascended - That is, it is affirmed in the Psalm that he “ascended” - “Thou hast ascended on high.” This implies that there must have been a previous “descent;” or, as applicable to the Messiah, “it is a truth that he previously descended.” It is by no means certain that Paul meant to say that the “word” “ascended” demonstrated that there must have been a previous descent; but he probably means that in the case of Christ there was, “in fact,” a descent into the lower parts of the earth first. One: In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul stresses the importance of unity.At Eph 4:4-6, he provides a list of factors that unite the congregation of anointed Christians.. One body: That is, the Christian congregation, which is compared to a human body.Jesus Christ is the “head” of this spiritual body. Either of these views justifies the apostle does not repeat the participle, but something. S goodness these rudimental conceptions, though much has been and there continues to be and... 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