When He Ascended…
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When He Ascended…

Ephesians 4:7–12  (ID: 2951)

Pastors are gifts of the ascended Christ to His church. As Alistair Begg points out, Paul employs the imagery of a triumphant king sharing the spoils of war to describe what Jesus has done to enable the church to become what He wants it to be. Having triumphed over sin, judgment, death, and hell, the Lord Jesus gives pastors to shepherd and teach the Word of God to His people, leading them to maturity, unity, functionality, and effectiveness.


7But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,

and he gave gifts to men.”1

9(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?2 10He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds3 and teachers,4 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Copyright © 2024, Alistair Begg. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text provided by the Crossway Bibles Web Service.

Alistair Begg
Alistair Begg is Senior Pastor at Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Bible teacher on Truth For Life, which is heard on the radio and online around the world.