The Blessed Effects of God’s Saving Grace (4:1–6:20)
Despite this unity that binds together all believers in Christ, believers always retain their own individualities. They are not reduced to a number in God’s book. He knows each believer by name. He treats each one with the utmost love and care.
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
God’s saving grace is without bounds or limits, but the grace whereby he distributes gifts to men for the upbuilding of the church is “as Christ apportioned it.” In other words, different people receive different portions to carry out their God-given opportunities to help build the church. That thought will be developed more fully in verses 11 to 13. First, however, Paul wants to call attention to the source of those gifts. The giver is none other than the risen, triumphant, ascended Lord Christ. Paul substantiates that from Scripture.
8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
Paul draws attention to the fact that when Psalm 68:18 speaks of God as “ascended,” the psalmist implies that God first “descended to the lower, earthly regions.” Bible scholars are somewhat divided on what is meant by “descended.” Some see this as Christ’s triumphant descent into hell on Easter morning to proclaim his victory over sin, death, and Satan. Christ’s descent into hell is certainly a doctrine clearly taught in Scripture (1 Peter 3:19,20), and it is possible that is referred to here.
Paul’s emphasis in this section, however, is on Christ’s exalted return to heaven, where he now fills “the whole universe.” Hence it seems somewhat more likely that the apostle’s reference to a descent is rather to Christ’s state of humiliation—in contrast to his present state of exaltation. Paul would then be speaking of Christ’s descending to earth to be our substitute, living a perfect life, and dying an innocent death for us, so that he could declare, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Finished was his mortal combat with Satan, sin, and death. He captured these great enemies who long had tyrannized us and held our sinful race hostage. He lorded over these defeated foes in triumphal procession at his Ascension. They cannot prevent Christ from implementing his stated plan of having the good news of the gospel carried out to the whole world (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:15).
Risen, ascended, and sitting at the right hand of the Father, Christ now fills the whole universe. He is totally in charge. But, marvel of marvels, he deigns to give us mortals a part in his grand plan to have the church spread out into all the world. To empower his church for this important task, he “gave gifts to men.” These gifts are the portions his grace has determined his representatives need to carry out their various tasks.