Ephesians 4:7–10 is part of a passage celebrating the triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ and explaining that as the resurrected, ascended, triumphant conqueror, he has given gifts to his church. Partly because Paul packs so much into Ephesians 4, and partly because we are focusing, first on the death, and then on the resurrection of our Lord, let’s slow down and look carefully at Christ’s descent.
Your Lord descended. Jesus Christ had to descend in order to ascend in triumph. We think, “What goes up, must come down.” That’s not only true of planes, people in the first century saw that in birds. But Paul reverses it — what has descended must ascend. Psalm 68, from which Paul quotes and which we will look at more closely next week, celebrates the triumph, not only of David, but of David’s God. The victory is preceded by the Lord coming down to do battle against his enemies. You have a clue as to how to look at the history recorded in the Old Testament. David may be thinking of his own victory over Goliath as well as his other triumphs. But the Psalm presents them as the Lord gaining the victory over his enemies. Goliath’s defeat is part of the conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of serpent. For Christ to return to the heavens in triumphant glory, he first had to descend to the lower, earthly region. He entered Jerusalem in his triumphal entry — knowing that a cross awaited him before the week was up.
Jesus descended into the grave. Some in the early church saw this descent as Christ going into hell between his crucifixion and resurrection, misreading both 1 Peter 3:19, 20 and this passage. But Jesus, as he died, committed his spirit into the hands of his Father. He had just said to the repentant thief, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” It was during the hours on the cross that Jesus suffered that which is the essence of hell — experiencing only the perfect wrath of God against sin. Some see the descent as simply the incarnation, which has an element of truth. The Son of God, in order to redeem us, had to become incarnate and suffer humiliation. But when Paul focuses on the humiliation of Christ, he usually has in view the lowest point of that suffering, Philippians 2:5–11. Before Christ gets to the resurrection, he goes through death. He descends into Sheol, into the realm of death — for you.
Your Lord descended in order to save you. The death of Jesus paid for your sins. Jesus is not only the conquering Lion. He is also the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Death entered the world as the punishment for and the curse upon sin. In order to redeem us, Jesus Christ had to die. He bore the penalty that the first Adam incurred, and the wages of all of the descendants of Adam who have placed their trust in the Messiah. His death seems like a contradiction of who he is, but he did die in our place. Jesus’ words to Nicodemus about being lifted up like the snake in the wilderness reflect something of that puzzle.
“Jesus’ death was not only unique for what he was as God without subtraction—holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts—, as man without blemish or spot. It was unique because of the way in which he died…. He was indeed crucified by others; he did not crucify himself. His enemies killed the Prince of life; he did not kill himself. But when he died, he dismissed his spirit, he laid down his life, he in the exercise of his own agency and by authority given severed the bond.” “There is one all-important aspect of the virtue proceeding from the death of Christ that it would be a capital error to overlook. It is the destruction of death itself.”
The Death of Christ,” Collected Writings of John Murray, Vol. 1, pages 87 & 89
His death is the path to victory. In the wilderness Satan had offered glory and a kingdom, without suffering, simply by worshiping Satan. Peter had rebuked his Lord when Jesus spoke of his upcoming suffering and death. In Gethsemane Jesus had wrestled in prayer, asking that the cup be taken from him, but concluding with, “Your will be done.” Had he given in at any of those points, he would not have been your Savior.
Trust in the Savior to whom you are united in his death and in his triumph. What difference does it make to you that Christ first descended? It should fill your heart with gratitude. It should drive you away from any thought that you can make things right between you and God yourself. The only way to flee from God’s anger is to flee to the Redeemer he sent! But Christ’s willingness to go to the cross defines your present life. He suffered and died, then rose and ascended into glory. You are united with him as you trust in him (in Ephesians 2:6 Paul reminds you that God has raised you up and seated you with Christ in the heavenly realms). But, while that is profoundly true, it is a reality that is both present and not yet. You still struggle against sin. You still deal with job loss, cancer, and even death. Your present life is defined by the cross.
Richard B. Gaffin Jr., “The Usefulness of the Cross” in Word and Spirit, p. 181“[W]e must appreciate that as long as believers are in the mortal body, that is, for the period between the resurrection and return of Christ, with Paul it is difficult to overemphasize the intimate correlation of life and death in the experience of the believer, the interpenetration of suffering and glory, weakness and power. For this period, for as long as we are in the mortal flesh and the sentence of death is written into our existence, resurrection-eschatology is eschatology of the cross, and the theology of the cross is the key signature of all theology that would be truly ‘practical’ theology in the life of the church, until Jesus comes…. The form of Christ’s resurrection power in this world is the fellowship of his sufferings as the cross-conformed sufferings of the church (Phil. 3:10).”
Christ was isolated in his sufferings and death, cut off from human companions and from the loving fellowship of his Father. But you, even in your sufferings in this present age, share in the fellowship of Christ’s suffering. But this is temporary. Because you belong to the risen, ascended Lord, even in your sufferings, even in the day when you and I descend into the grave, we are never separated from our Lord.
It is Palm Sunday. The King entered Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna!” He entered to die. But on this Lord’s Day, as well as next and every other, we remember that he who descended, also ascended, first form the tomb, and then to the right hand of the Father. As the Lion/Lamb, as the triumphant Lord, he gives you, his people, exactly what you need.
