- \n
- Ephesians 4:1-3: Check your own attitude first. <\/li>\n
- Ephesians 4:4-6: Focus on all the things you have in common.<\/li>\n
- Ephesians 4:7-10: And regarding the things you do NOT have in common, praise Jesus for those, because He made you all different by giving you different gifts.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
Grace was Given<\/b><\/p>\n
- \n
- To each one of us<\/b><\/li>\n
- According to the measure of Christ\u2019s gift<\/b><\/li>\n
- When? When he ascended<\/b><\/li>\n
- Why? So that He might fill all things<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
![\"Ephesians](\"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/ascension-of-Jesus.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhen you are in a disagreement with someone\u2014it doesn\u2019t matter who, and you want to mend your relationship, what is generally the first thing that you do?<\/p>\n
Most of us have been taught that in order to mend damaged relationships, we need to get everyone together and talk it over. Communication is the key. This is what we try to do when we go to visit marriage counselors\u2014the husband and wife go to the counselor in order to talk it over. Parents, this is sometimes what you do when your children get in arguments with each other\u2014you get them both together so you can get a straight story and you can all talk it over.<\/p>\n
So it is surprising to discover that this is NOT what Paul tells us to do! Earlier in chapter 4, he has told us to walk in unity with one another, and he told that if you want unity, the first thing to do is to check your own attitude. In verses 1-3, he gave us seven specific attitudes to check ourselves on. These were the seven attitudes for unity.<\/p>\n
In other words, he says, \u201cAre you in a disagreement? If so, then what did you<\/i> do to contribute to it? Where did you<\/i> go wrong? How did you<\/i> sin? What were your<\/i> mistakes?\u201d<\/p>\n
In other words, when you are in a disagreement, the first step is not better communication. The first step is to point the finger at yourself first.<\/p>\n
I recently attended a pastor\u2019s conference where I talked with a pastor who did this exact thing. He has only been there for six weeks, and the church had been without a pastor for 18 months. During that time, two families had caused a lot of conflict and division within the church so that the church had dwindled down to only a handful of people.<\/p>\n
Each of these two families blamed the other for all the strife. This new pastor, in his first few weeks there, called a meeting with these two families. He said he walked into the room, and the two families were sitting on opposites sides of the table. He said you could see the fire in their eyes and the biting remarks on the tips of their tongue\u2014just waiting to be unleashed. They were ready to have it out with a verbal boxing match.<\/p>\n
What did this pastor do? Not at all what they expected\u2014but exactly what Paul says here. He handed out pieces of paper and pencils, and told them each to go off individually into a corner of the room and write down every way they had personally sinned and contributed to the conflict.<\/p>\n
He said that when he called them all back, there were tears and requests for forgiveness, and the situation could then be dealt with peacefully and lovingly. The first step in any conflict is to look at your own attitudes. As Jesus said, look at the log in your own eye before you try to take the speck out of your brothers. That was Paul\u2019s first instruction also.<\/p>\n
The second step in a walk toward unity is to focus on what we have in common. And in verses 4-6, he listed seven characteristics that all Christians have in common. These were the seven elements of Unity.<\/p>\n
Paul was saying, \u201cIf you\u2019ve done step one, you know where you went wrong. Now, in step two, if you still have a disagreement with this person, focus on how similar you are rather than on how different you are. Differences often divide. Similarities unite.\u201d<\/p>\n
But now, maybe you are wondering if you ever get to focus on the differences. If you are in a genuine disagreement, at some point, you need to focus on what caused the conflict, right? That\u2019s true. And that is what Paul begins to instruct us on in Ephesians 4:7-10.<\/p>\n
Ephesians 4:7. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ\u2019s gift. <\/b><\/p>\n
The first word of this verse keys us into a change in focus. The word But<\/b> shows us that while Paul has been giving instructions on our own attitudes and the things we all have in common, we are now shifting gears to talk about the differences we have with one another that cause so many conflicts.<\/p>\n
The main idea in the whole paragraph is found here in verse 7 with the phrase grace was given.<\/b> Those three words introduce and summarize the whole paragraph. Paul is about to instruct us on how to deal with our differences, and he begins by telling us that most of our differences we have are because they were given<\/b> to us, and that these differences are an aspect of grace.<\/p>\n
The definition of grace<\/b> is getting something good which we don\u2019t deserve. Grace is unmerited favor. So right away, Paul challenges the view most of us have about differences. He says, your differences with each other aren\u2019t bad. They\u2019re good and they are given to you.<\/p>\n
In fact, he says grace was given to each one of us.<\/b> Each one of us has a unique set of differences given to us. Christians are not to be clones of each other. We are not supposed to all be identical. God didn\u2019t intend it that way. He made each one of us different. He made each one of us unique. You are not like me and I am not like you.<\/p>\n
The last phrase in verse 7 tells us that these differences given to each one of us are according to the measure of Christ\u2019s gift. <\/b>This means that the grace gifts given to us are of nearly the same value and wealth as the previous gift Christ gave to us.<\/p>\n
What is Christ\u2019s gift Paul is talking about?<\/p>\n
Back in Ephesians 2:8, we learned that the gift of God is the salvation package\u2014for by grace you have been saved. <\/b>The gift is salvation! Ephesians 4:7 tells us that grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ\u2019s gift. What is Christ\u2019s gift? What did Christ make available to us? Salvation\u2014which means deliverance from the divisions that break out among us on this earth, and being seated with Christ in heavenly places. Salvation is God\u2019s life ruling and reigning in our life. And it is a wonderful gift he has given to us.<\/p>\n
God owns all things, and when he so desires, He gives according to the infinite and matchless measure of Christ\u2019s gift of salvation to us. Paul wants to prove what he is saying, so he quotes from the Old Testament in verse 8.<\/p>\n
Ephesians 4:8. Therefore He says: \u201cWhen He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.\u201d <\/b><\/p>\n
Paul appears to be quoting here from Psalm 68:18. Paul\u2019s reason for the quotation is found at the end, namely, that Christ gave gifts to men. But let me deal with the first part of the quotation first.<\/p>\n
The quote says, when He ascended<\/b>. In Psalm 68, this has in view a victorious king returning to Jerusalem from battle. And remember, Jerusalem sits on a hill, so when the king return, he ascends the hill. But here, Paul uses it to refer to Christ\u2019s ascension back to heaven which happened forty days after his resurrection (Acts 1:3-9).<\/p>\n
The rest of verse 8 tells us two things that occurred when Christ ascended. He led captivity captive<\/b> and he gave gifts to men. W<\/b>hat does it mean that he led captivity captive<\/b>?<\/p>\n
The verse is very clear\u2014both in English and in Greek. It doesn\u2019t mean that Christ freed those who were in prison, those who were captive. Rather, He took captivity itself captive.<\/p>\n
What has captivated us? What has put us into bondage? What has enslaved us? Scripture tell us that we were enslaved by sin and death and Satan. And it is these that Christ took captive. Colossians 2:13-15 says, \u201cAnd you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is an amazing truth! Think about it with me for a moment. We were enslaved to sin and death and Satan. And rather than just set us free, Christ took prisoner that which had enslaved us! Because of this, we know that these things can never come and enslave us again.<\/p>\n
Imagine you were living back in the days when enemy nations would invade your land and take prisoners. Imagine you are out working in the field one day, and some enemies come charging in on their horses and take you and your family prisoner. You are carted off to be slaves. For weeks or months or years you are in bondage.<\/p>\n
But then, one day, your king comes riding in with his army and sets you free. And then, to guarantee your future protection, he takes as prisoner those who had captured you. This gives you peace of mind, because if he didn\u2019t do this, then it was very likely that these enemies would come back next week, or next month, or next year and take you prisoner all over again. But since your king has taken prisoner those who took you prisoner, you know that they can never enslave you again. You are free!<\/p>\n
That is what Christ did when he took captivity captive. He took sin and death and Satan, the three things that held us in bondage, and Christ made them His prisoners so that they could never enslave us again. According to verse 8, that is the first thing Christ did when he ascended on high. He took captivity captive.<\/p>\n
The second thing, according to verse 8, Christ died when He ascended is that He gave gifts to men.<\/b> This phrase is the reason Paul quotes this passage. He said in verse 7 that each one of us has received a grace gift from God. And as proof he quotes this verse.<\/p>\n
Which brings up a problem. The verse says that He gave gifts to men. <\/b>But this is not exactly what Psalm 68:18 says. That verse reads this way: \u201cYou have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Did you notice the difference? Here, the Psalmist says that God receives<\/i> gifts from men, but in Ephesians 4:8, Paul seems to misquote the verse by saying that Christ gave gifts to men.<\/b><\/p>\n
What\u2019s going on here? We know Paul wanted to make his point, but does that mean he can just go and misquote a verse? You shouldn\u2019t allow me to do that, and I wouldn\u2019t let you do that. But can we allow Paul to misquote Scripture because he is divinely inspired? No, even then we cannot. So, is this one of those errors in Scripture that Bible critics so often want to point out? No, it is not.<\/p>\n
And I can show you this in two ways. The first way is to understand that Psalm 68 is a Psalm of David in which he talks about Israel\u2019s victorious conquest over her enemies.<\/p>\n
Now we know from history and from the OT that whenever nations battled other nations, the spoils of war went to the victor. The army that won was able to take whatever and whoever they wanted as plunder. The victorious army became rich with possession and prisoners.<\/p>\n
Frequently, after such a battle, the king would receive gifts from the army. It was kind of like a tithe. They gave gold and prisoners to him for him to use to run the country. Today, we just get taxed.<\/p>\n
Now hopefully, if the king was a good king, the riches would get redistributed among the people to give them a better standard of living. These riches would be given as gifts to the people, and be used to provide better roads, better armies and more food, etc. Again, hopefully, that is what our tax dollars are to be used for today. It\u2019s the same idea.<\/p>\n
When Psalm 68:18 says that he received gifts from men, it has in mind this idea of the king receiving a portion of the spoils of war that the army had brought back, so that<\/i> the king could then turn around and give gifts to men who were not able to go off to war. That is the historical background to what Psalm 68:18 says.<\/p>\n
But, if you are a student of the Word of God, and if you believe in the 100% inerrancy of Scripture as I do, this still does not explain Paul\u2019s misquotation. Right? Psalm 68:18 says what it says, and Paul seems to change it for his own ends.<\/p>\n
The answer to this dilemma is that Paul is not really quoting from Psalm 68:18. Very frequently, Bible writers, when quoting from the Old Testament will point out what book they are quoting from. For example, in Romans 9:25, Paul quotes from Hosea 2:23 by saying, \u201cAs it says in Hosea.\u201d Later, when he quotes from Isaiah, he says, \u201cIsaiah cries out concerning Israel\u201d (Rom. 9:27). When quoting from the Psalms, Paul writes, \u201cAs David says\u201d (Rom. 11:9).<\/p>\n
But here, in Ephesians 4:8, Paul simply writes, \u201cTherefore He says.\u201d By the way, some of your translations say \u201cit says\u201d which is fine because in Greek, there is only one word, legei,<\/i> and it can be translated either \u201cit says\u201d or \u201che says.\u201d Both are fine.<\/p>\n
So here, when Paul offers a quote, I would like to suggest that Paul is not quoting directly from Psalm 68:18, but rather from an ancient Jewish commentary on the Old Testament called the Targum. Sometimes Paul quotes from poets and other scholars. Here he quotes from a Jewish study guide.<\/p>\n
Remember, Paul was a well-trained Jewish scholar known as a Pharisee. He would have owned and read from the Targum\u2014which could be considered the world\u2019s first study Bible.<\/p>\n
Most of you probably have a study Bible in your lap. The Targum was like that. It had the text of Scripture, which was a loose translation (almost a paraphrase) from the Hebrew into Aramaic, and just like our study Bibles, it had explanatory notes that went along with the text. Paul, in Ephesians 4:7 is quoting directly from what the Targum says about Psalm 68:18, which include some of the historical background notes which I just mentioned to you.<\/p>\n
So is Paul\u2019s quotation wrong? No. Historically, he is right\u2014kings did give some of what they had received as gifts to others, and since he is quoting from the Targum, he is accurate in his quotation as well. Here is how the Jewish Targum on Psalm 68 reads:<\/p>\n
- According to the measure of Christ\u2019s gift<\/b><\/li>\n
- To each one of us<\/b><\/li>\n