Isaiah 52:13 prophesies concerning Christ as the One exalted, lifted up, and made very high: “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.” Ephesians 1:20 and 21 is the fulfillment of this prophecy: “Which He wrought in Christ in raising Him from among the dead, and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies, far above all rule and authority and power and lordship, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is coming.” Here we see that God’s great power that operated in Christ seated Him at God’s right hand in the heavenlies far above all. God’s right hand, where Christ has been seated by the surpassingly great power of God, is the most honorable place, with the supreme authority.
Christ is far above all rule, authority, power, lordship, and every name. Rule refers to the highest office, authority to every kind of official power, power to the might of authority, and lordship to the preeminence which power establishes. The list in Ephesians 1:21 includes not only angelic, heavenly authorities, good or evil, but also human, earthly ones. The ascended Christ has been seated by the great power of God far above all rules, authorities, powers, and lordships in the entire universe.
In Ephesians 1:21 “every name that is named” refers not only to titles of honor but also to everything that has a name. Christ has been seated far above everything, not only the things in this age but also those in the coming age.
In the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies Christ is the Victor ascending to the height, leading captive those taken captive, and giving gifts to men. The prophecy of this is in Psalm 68:18: “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.” The fulfillment is in Ephesians 4:8: “Wherefore He says, Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men.” The word “height” in the quotation of Psalm 68:18 refers to Mount Zion (Psa. 68:15-16), symbolizing the third heaven where God dwells (1 Kings 8:30). Psalm 68 implies that it was in the ark that God ascended to Mount Zion after the ark had led the way to victory.
Verse 1 of Psalm 68 is a quotation of Numbers 10:35: “It came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.” This indicates that the background of Psalm 68 is God’s move in the tabernacle with the ark as its center. The ark was a clear type of Christ. Wherever the ark went, the victory was won. Eventually this ark ascended triumphantly to the top of Mount Zion. This portrays how Christ has won the victory and has ascended triumphantly to the heavens. Therefore, the background of Psalm 68, which is quoted in Ephesians 4:8, is God’s move in and with the tabernacle, which typifies God’s dwelling place, with the ark typifying Christ, as its center. This Psalm begins with the move of God and continues with the victory gained by Christ. When God moves with the tabernacle and the ark, the enemies will always be vanquished.
In Ephesians 4:8 the word “those” refers to the redeemed saints who had been taken captive by Satan before they were saved by Christ’s death and resurrection. In His ascension Christ led them captive; that is, He rescued them from Satan’s captivity and took them to Himself. This indicates that He has conquered and overcome Satan, who had captured them by sin and death.
The Amplified New Testament renders “He led a train of vanquished foes” for “He led captive those taken captive.” “Vanquished foes” may refer to Satan, to his angels, and to us the sinners, also indicating Christ’s victory over Satan, sin, and death. In Christ’s ascension there was a procession of these vanquished foes as captives from a war for a celebration of Christ’s victory.
Psalm 68:18 prophesies of Christ’s ascension. However, if we did not have Ephesians 4:8-11, we would not know the meaning of Psalm 68:18. By this passage from Ephesians we see that verse 18 of Psalm 68 refers to the ascension of Christ. Christ has ascended on high, and the implication of His ascension is that all His enemies have been defeated. Before He ascended, He vanquished every foe. Therefore, He ascended triumphantly, leading a train of vanquished foes.
The issue of Christ’s ascension is that certain of the defeated foes have been given as gifts by the Father to Christ for His Body. In Ephesians 4:8 “gifts” does not refer to the abilities or enablements for varied services; rather, this word refers to the various gifted persons mentioned in Ephesians 4:11—apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. After conquering and rescuing them from Satan and death through His own death and resurrection, Christ in His ascension made the rescued sinners themselves such gifts with His resurrection life and gave them to His Body for its building up.
Actually, Psalm 68:18, the prophecy, says that the ascended Christ received gifts. But Ephesians 4:8, the fulfillment, tells us that the ascended Christ gave gifts. In Paul’s quotation and application of the word in Psalm 68:18, he changed the thought from receiving to giving. On the one hand, when Christ ascended on high, He received gifts; on the other hand, the ascended Christ gave gifts. As we have pointed out, these gifts are the gifted persons in Ephesians 4:11. The fact that verses 9 and 10 of Ephesians 4 are in parentheses is further proof that the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers in verse 11 are the gifts given to men in verse 8. All the gifted persons were received by Christ when He ascended to the height, and then He gave them to the church.