Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

Therefore it says…. What says? It’s a quote from the Old Testament, Psalm 68:18.

This verse tells us that Jesus did 2 things when he ascended on high. First, he led a host of captives, and second, he gave gifts to men. The second part is what we are dealing with here in Ephesians, but let’s take a minute to look at the first part.

Colossians 2:15 tells us that Christ disarmed principalities and power and made a public spectacle of them. A conquering king usually led a procession of the captives after a great victory. This is what Jesus did with the principalities and power. The NKJV translates verse 8 to say that He led captivity captive. Even captivity itself became a captive of our great king!

Now the second part – he gave gifts to men. That is going to be the topic of this chapter starting in verse 11. But to summarize what is coming, Paul is going to explain that Jesus, having ascended to glory, distributed gifts to the church. These gifts are people who are equipped to help God’s people grow.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:07 AM January 18, 2021.