Isaiah 52:13 prophesied concerning Christ being exalted, lifted up, and made very high: “My Servant will act wisely and will prosper; / He will be exalted and lifted up and very high.” Ephesians 1:20-21 refers to the fulfillment of this prophecy: “Which He caused to operate in Christ in raising Him from 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 to come.” God’s right hand, where Christ was seated by the surpassingly great power of God, is the most honorable place, the place with supreme authority. The great power that God caused to operate in Christ seated Him at God’s right hand in the heavenlies, far above all. Rule refers to the highest office, authority to every kind of official power (Matt. 8:9), power to the mere might of authority, lordship to the preeminence that power establishes, and every name that is named refers not only to titles of honor but also to every name. Therefore, Christ in His ascension is far above not only the angelic, heavenly authorities, whether good or evil, but also the human, earthly ones. The ascended Christ was seated by the great power of God far above all rule, authority, power, and lordship in the universe. He is also far above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
Psalm 8:6b says, “You have put all things under His feet.” This prophecy speaks of God’s intention to subject all things under the feet of the ascended Christ (Eph. 1:22). God has caused all things to be subjected under Christ’s feet. On the one hand, the ascended Christ is far above all; on the other hand, all things have been subjected under His feet. The former is Christ’s transcendency; the latter is the subjection of all things to Him. The power that God caused to operate in Christ has put all things under the feet of the ascended Christ and has given the ascended Christ to be Head over all things to the church (v. 22b). Whatever Christ the Head has attained and obtained has now been transmitted to His Body, the church (v. 23a).
Psalm 68:18 prophesied, “You have ascended on high; You have led captive those taken captive; / You have received gifts among men, / Even the rebellious ones also, / That Jehovah God may dwell among them.” Isaiah 53:12a prophesied, “I [Jehovah] will divide to Him [the ascended Christ] a portion with the Great, / And He will divide the spoil with the Strong.” The fulfilment of these two prophecies is confirmed in Ephesians 4:8: “Therefore the Scripture says, ‘Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men.’”
Psalm 68:1 is a quotation of Numbers 10:35: “When the Ark set out, Moses said, Rise up, O Jehovah, and let Your enemies be scattered; / And let those who hate You flee before You.” The background of Psalm 68 is God’s move in the tabernacle with the Ark as its center. Wherever the Ark, a type of Christ, went, victory was won. Eventually, the Ark ascended triumphantly to the top of Mount Zion, indicating that Christ would win the victory and ascend triumphantly to the heavens.
According to Isaiah 53:12a, God divides to the ascended Christ a portion with the Great, and Christ divides the spoil with the Strong. This means that in Christ’s ascension, there was a demonstration of Christ’s victory by the sharing of the captives, the spoil, taken in Christ’s victory with God the Father, who is “the Great” and “the Strong.” Christ is a Warrior. On the cross and in His resurrection Christ fought the battle, gained the victory, and took spoil from Satan. This is prophesied in Psalm 68:18: “You have ascended on high; You have led captive those taken captive.” This is also referred to in Ephesians 4:8: “Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive.” This clearly indicates that in His ascension Christ led captive the saved sinners who had been taken captive by Satan before they were saved through 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. Therefore, His ascension implies that His enemies have been defeated. Before Christ ascended, He vanquished every foe. In His ascension He led a train of vanquished foes, as captives from a war, to the heavens in His triumphal procession for a celebration of His victory.
Christ brought these captives to the heavens and presented them to the Father as gifts. Upon receiving the gifts, God the Father gave these captives back to Christ the Son as gifts. After Christ received the captives from the Father as gifts, He transformed the captives in His resurrected life and made them gifts (v. 8b). Then He gave them as gifts to the church, His Body. Hence, Psalm 68:18 prophesied that the ascended Christ would receive gifts, but Ephesians 4:8 says that in fulfilment the ascended Christ gave gifts. On the one hand, when Christ ascended to the height, He received gifts from God. On the other hand, the ascended Christ gave gifts to the church. These gifts are the persons listed in Ephesians 4:11—the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. In His ascension Christ made His captured sinners gifts by means of His resurrected life and gave them to the church for the perfecting of the saints unto the building up of His Body. What an ascended Christ!