Main Point: Believe Jesus the conqueror is Jesus the giver of grace.
I listened to a podcast this week that got my attention. What stood out to me is the difference between a separation worldview and a connection worldview. In a separation worldview we view one another as competition for limited resources or as threats to our ways of life. Fear rules a separation worldview; if you go up then I will go down, so I have to take you down. In a connection worldview we view one another as assets and not liabilities. Generosity, service, and even love rule a connection worldview; we need to go up together. Think about humanity like a great big puzzle and this world is the table. In a separation worldview the puzzle pieces are all competing against each other for the table. Sometimes the separation is complete isolation but most often the separation is dividing into us against them tribes. In an unhealthy community we categorize people by how much they can help us or hurt us. In a connection worldview the puzzle pieces are trying to work together to complete the full picture. In a healthy community, each piece views itself and all others as necessary contributors.
So, what are you doing here? How do you view people? How do you view us? Do you think in terms of threats, liabilities, and fear, or do you think in terms of helps, assets, and love? Are you a suspicious person who separates from others or a generous person who connects with others? Do you circle up to keep or open up to give?
To bring that question more in line with Ephesians 4:7-10 I’ll ask it this way, “What are you doing here and what does the ascension of Christ have to do with it?” Are you with us, among us, united to us, and connected with us? Are you a contributing member to this family? Or, are you against us, aloof from us, divided from us, and separated from us? Are you an isolated selfish individual?
What I want to understand and be changed by is the reality that the Jesus who ascended high above all did so to unite all things in himself and he is working that plan through us. Through the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Father has triumphed over the demons and stripped them of their authority (Col 2:15). But not only that, because of the ascension of Jesus to the highest place of glory, honor, and authority, Jesus is enabling his people to be ambassadors for reconciliation in every family, tribe, and nation. The way God is uniting all things in Jesus is through our reconciling work as ambassadors for Jesus. May God help us to glory in and depend on the ascended Christ. Read Eph 4:1-10
This is what we need from you
I. Believe that your difference is good for our unity
Yes, you are different the way organs, skin, and bones are different from the other parts of the body. So if you come to us thinking you will fit in and belong only if you are just like us then the body will shrivel up and die. We don’t need the mouth to act like an ear; we need the mouth to be a mouth. I don’t need to be you and you don’t need to be me. We need you to be the you Jesus is making you to be and that for the good of us all. Let’s review what we have seen
- Remember our unity (4-6)
Ephesians 4:4-6 states how we are connected, and it has nothing to do with nationality, age, income, education, or looks. We reject the idea that we unite around something we do and instead fight to protect the unity of what we are. We are one body, with one Spirit, and we have one hope. We have one Lord, confess one faith, and unite around one baptism. There is one God and Father of all who is over all through all and in all. We try to connect with one another in order to share in the blessings of our union with the Father, Son, and Spirit (1 John 1:1-4). Remember our unity and
- Remember our way of life (1-2)
The proud “me first” mindset always divides churches. The proud “I know what my gift is so get out of my way” mindset divides the body. The Christian way of life (the “Christ first” mindset) is marked by humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love. We are humble because we know the depths of our sin and stupidity and yet God forgives, loves, and uses us. We are gentle the way God is gentle with us. We are patient with others because we know our weaknesses and how far we have to go to be like Jesus. And we bear with one another in love because we know there are a 1,000 reasons Jesus should have kicked us to the curb yet here he is loving and redeeming us with patience.
We are wonderfully patiently one with each other, but unity is not uniformity. We are gloriously diverse.
- Remember Jesus is a good gift giver (7)
In spite of all our unity of the Spirit there must remain a beautiful diversity; we are supposed to be different. Look again at verse 7, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” Gifts are a big deal in verses 8-16 and verse 7 introduces the idea. Yes, we are deeply united. Yes, we must eagerly maintain that unity. No, we are not the same. There is a contrast in verse 7, “you are all one but each of us has been given grace by Jesus to live out our particular part in the unified body.” Jesus measures out the grace that empowers the gifts in each member. A helpful picture is given in Matthew 25:15 when this person is given 5 talents to work with, this person is given 2 talents to work with, and this person is given 1 talent to work with. Jesus apportions out or measures out the grace we need to do the work.
So, what is this grace? Verse 7 is not a reference to Ephesians 2:8-9 saving grace but to Ephesians 3:7-8 empowering grace. Paul writes, “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” Listen, I don’t care who you are, if you are male or female, short or tall, experienced or inexperienced, Christ Jesus gives each one of us the grace we need to do the work he calls us to do in the church and in the world. We have everything we need in Him!
That’s some good news. Not only does the Holy Spirit give you a gift to build up the church (that’s 1 Corinthians 12:7) but Jesus also gives you the grace, the empowerment, to use that gift to build up the church. The primary questions then are what is your gift and how are you using it to build up the church? To answer those questions well we need to trust Jesus. Specifically, verses 8-10 call us to
II. Believe Jesus is the conqueror and the gift giver
Looking at verse 8 in particular, how do we know Jesus is a conqueror and what tells us Jesus is a gift giver? He led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. And “men” is a reference to humans not merely males; the ascended Jesus gives grace that empowers all his people, male and female. We need to see the connection between the ascension of Christ and his giving grace that empowers his church. So, I’m following verses 8-10 when I give you this charge
- Glory in the ascension of Christ (8-10)
To glory in something is to be in awe, to celebrate, and in many cases it is to use. Think of the woman who broke the alabaster jar and poured the expensive ointment on Jesus before he was arrested (John 12:1-8). When that alabaster jar was tucked away safe in a chest it could be said that she gloried in it by keeping it safe, but the full sense of glory is when we, with joy, use something for God’s purposes. I have my grandfather’s shotgun and I used to glory in it by using it but after he died I put it away in storage to keep it safe. Now I think that is a waste. The best way to glory in my grandfather’s shotgun is to keep it clean and use the thing. The way we glory in the ascension is to be in awe, yes it is to celebrate, and above all it is to live because Jesus is far above all the heavens that he might fill all things. Let’s unpack these verses.
Verse 8, “when Jesus ascended on high.” When did that happen? It happened 40 days after the resurrection (Acts 1:3). 40 days after the resurrection Jesus went through the heavens, to be installed over the heavens, at the Father’s right hand, so that he could fill all things. 40 days after his resurrection and about a week before Pentecost, Jesus, verse 10, ascended far above all the heavens. So, that’s where Jesus is, far above all the heavens. Jesus is over and outside of all this, not so he can ignore all this but so that he can redeem all this. We saw this back in Ephesians 1:22 when we were told that the Father put all things under Jesus’ feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
In typical conqueror form, Jesus led a host of captives, or Jesus led captivity captive. This is a reference to the ancient practice of the returning war hero coming home to a parade and in that parade would be prisoners of war. The specific captives are demons. Colossians 1:15 tells us the Father disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” Jesus disarmed the powers of this age when he rose again and ascended to the Father’s right hand. And also in typical conqueror fashion, Jesus took from the spoils and gave gifts to men.
If you check your cross references, you will see that Ephesians 4:8 is a quote from Psalm 68:18. Psalm 68 is a victory poem celebrating God’s work to redeem his people and set up his glory on Mt Zion in Jerusalem. Paul picks up the victory theme from Psalm 68 and takes it further, all the way up to Jesus’ ascension to his place over all things. The rub, concerning Psalm 68:18 is the change from he received gifts from men to Ephesians 4:8 he gave gifts to men. The best explanation of this change is the ancient interpretation of Psalm 68:18 as applying to Moses who received the gift of the law and then returned to give that gift to men. Paul, picking up Jewish interpretation and applying it correctly to Jesus the better prophet than Moses, tells us that Jesus ascended with captives and gave gifts to men. Lord willing we will unpack those gifts next week. For today we need to stay where we are and glory in the ascension of Christ.
Ephesians 4:9-10 were inspired by the Holy Spirit and preserved by the Holy Spirit so that you and I will live our lives because of where Jesus is and what Jesus is doing. Pick up with me in verse 9, “In saying, ‘he ascended’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth.” Before Jesus went up, he came down. There are three good interpretations of this verse. An old interpretation takes this descent as a descent into hell which is also referenced in 1 Peter 3:18 and 19. The second interpretation is this descent is a descent into the grave building off the idea of Sheol as the abode of the dead. The third interpretation is this descent is a reference to the incarnation because the other references to the ascension are from the earth and not from hell or the grave. All three of those are viable and I prefer the idea of descent into the grave, but I will not fight against the other two. The point is that Jesus has come down low and gone up high.
Verse 10 gives us that, “He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens.” Jesus, the Son of God, took on flesh and became a man, fully God and fully man. As this wonderful God-man, Jesus lived a righteous life, died an atoning death, rose victorious from the grave, and ascended to his place of authority over all things, over all the heavens. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus and what does he do? The ascended Jesus gifts us with his grace so that we can go and make disciples. Once you believe Jesus is the conqueror and the gift giver, believe this
III. Believe Jesus is filling all things through his church
Ephesians 1 is meant to be read with Ephesians 4. Ephesians 1:10 tells us that God’s plan for the fullness of time is to unite all things in Jesus, things in heaven and things on earth. Ephesians 1:22-23 says, “Jesus is seated far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 4:10 says, “He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.”
Glory in this with me. The way the Father is uniting all things in his Son is by taking demons captive and giving gifts to us so that we go into all the nations and make disciples. God is uniting all things in Jesus by making us his ambassadors through whom God himself pleads with men and women to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. What should we do since Jesus has ascended far above the heavens and is filling all things?
- Go make disciples
So yes, Jesus filling all things is a reference to his authority over all things and Jesus filling all things is a reference to his empowering grace working in your life to build up the church. This Jesus who fills all things is the source of our union with one another and Jesus unites us and empowers us to help one another. We must live as connected people. We are not in competition (our Jesus already won). We do not live in fear (Jesus has all authority over demons, death, and hell). We don’t worry about scarcity (Jesus gives us all that we need for life and godliness). So what do we do since Jesus ascended? We seek to connect with one another because of Jesus in order to help one another become more like Jesus.
Picture David with Goliath’s head and the army of Israel rushing the field (1 Samuel 17).
Listen, Jesus gives you grace (that means he empowers you) to connect with people; we need each other. Jesus in that Christian is why we connect or the desire for Jesus to be in that person is the reason we try to connect. Y’all the reason for unity in the church is because Jesus is awesome. We need more of Jesus, and we get more of Jesus through your gift. So here is the question I want each of us to answer.
What is my gift and how am I using it to make disciples?
By and For the gospel 