GRACE AND THE GIFT OF CHRIST
Ephesians 4:7-10
Introduction: A phrase about grace years ago was humorous, but it made an important point. It began as a book title by R. Lofton Hudson, “Grace is Not A Blue-Eyed Blonde.” This title could make a person think there is some confusion about the biblical word “grace.” That could be an understatement. Some believe that “grace” is only a New Testament concept, which it is not. Grace is a major part of the New Testament and is in the Old Testament as well. It is found in the King James Bible 170 times. There are 39 times the word is found in the Old Testament. On the other hand, it is found in the New Testament 131 times. God began to magnify grace in the New Testament.
The first time it occurs in the Bible is Genesis 6:8 (KJV), “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Even Lot “found grace” (Gen. 19:19). In addition, Moses “found grace” (Exod. 33:17) and many more. If the standard definition of “grace” is “unmerited favor,” then Noah, Lot, and Moses had the favor of God on them as we have today. A study of “grace” in the Old Testament shows that many times the person experiencing “grace” usually “found grace” it was not “given” as stated in Ephesians 4:7. Dr. Charles C. Ryrie observes the problem with the use of grace in the Old Testament. He says,
“The problem of the concept of grace in the Old Testament is somewhat complicated by the fact that the idea of grace as we understand it is rarely expressed. A person living today finds it difficult not to think of grace in terms of its full New Testament revelation in Christ. This he unconsciously reads back into the pages of the Old Testament.”
Of the 131 times “grace” is found in the New Testament, 99 are in the writings of Paul (Romans – Hebrews). Paul was the one God used to demonstrate the purpose He had in providing a means for people to find deliverance from sin through Jesus Christ. Dr. Chafer makes an essential point about grace that fits today, although written in 1922. He says,
“THROUGH false emphasis by many religious leaders, Christianity has become in the estimation of a large part of the public no more than an ethical system. The revealed fact, however, is that the supreme feature of the Christian faith is that supernatural, saving, transforming work of God, which is made possible through the infinite sacrifice of Christ and which, in sovereign grace, is freely bestowed on all who believe.”
That statement is essential to understanding the biblical nature of grace. Some have defined “grace” as “God’s unmerited favor.” In other words, man cannot do anything to secure salvation but believe, which is not considered a work (this matter will be expanded later). Understanding the difference between someone who is saved and those who are lost is essential. 1 Corinthians 2:14 (KJV), says, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The natural man in this verse does not believe in Jesus Christ as the only way a person is saved from judgment and the wrath to come. With these things in mind, it is crucial to understand “grace” and God’s provision for mankind.
- GRACE, A DEFINITION, Ephesians 4:7. As seen earlier, Dr. Chafer defines grace, “. . . pure unrequited kindness and favor.” Grace, as found in Ephesians is made clear in the New Testament. John 1:17 (KJV) says, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” The giving of grace takes on a different application from what is found in the Old Testament. Ryrie says, “Grace is the peculiar property of the Christian religion, and Christianity gave grace a meaning it never had before.” The section of Ephesians under consideration demonstrates a dimension of grace that goes beyond favor from God. It is the application God wanted the church to use to promote grace in a world that had lost its way spiritually. This is the matter of grace being a “gift” that is now “by measure” through the “gift of Christ” (Eph. 4:7). Believers today need to realize the significance of the work of God through the “gift of grace.” Note the following: Romans 5:15 (KJV), “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.” Romans 5:17 (KJV), “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)” (cf. Eph. 2:8; 3:7; 4:7). This verifies the New Testament application of “grace.” While the “law” was prominent in the Old Testament, grace is now distinguished in the New Testament. Anyone who steps outside the dimension of “grace” has lost the favor of God which is demonstrated in what is taught primarily by the Calvinists of Reformed Theology by the designation of “lordship salvation.” This system of understanding salvation limits grace and adds to it man’s ability to obey the dictates of the Bible, primarily the New Testament. Martin Luther, the German Reformer, popularized the Latin phrase “Sola Fide” which means “faith alone.” Luther applied it as “union with Christ by faith alone.” Remember Ephesians 2:8 which says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Saving “grace” is the goal and “faith” is the method of access. Any other system of salvation is not biblical. In Reformed Theoplogy there is no room for backsliding or carnality (see: 1 Cor. 3:1-4). Paul is seeking to give the believers at Ephesus (and people like you and me) an understanding of salvation. If you note in Ephesians 4:1 the presence of two personal pronouns, “I” and “you” speaking of the instructor giving instructions to the hearers or readers, and then in Ephesians 4:7 the pronoun changes to “us” which is an indication Paul is identifying with those he is writing to and the ones listed in verse 11.
- GRACE, THE GIFT OF CHRIST, Ephesians 4:8. “When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men,” is a quote from Psalm 68:18. This is a means of recognizing the validity of what Paul is teaching the church about “spiritual gifts.” Psalm 68:18 is a prophecy of what is being explained here. The believer having “spiritual gifts” (1 Cor. 12:1; 14:1) was (and is) a complete departure from the Old Testament application of the work of the Holy Ghost. In the Old Testament the “spirit rested upon” or “came upon” the person or persons God wanted to use for a particular task (see: Num. 11:17, 25, 26, 29; 24:2; Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 14:6, 19; 1 Sam. 11:6; 16:13). The Spirit would “leave” or depart from a person in the Old Testament (Judges 16:20; 1 Sam. 16:14). There is no evidence that the Spirit of God was with an individual permanently. Yet, in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit comes into a person when they are saved (1 Cor. 12:13) and never departs a believer. That is confirmed in John 10:27-28 (KJV), “27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” There is eternal security for every believer. The “gift of grace” is given to every believer. A passage that explains this is 1 Corinthians 1:4–5 (KJV), “4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge.” [Emphasis added.] The Bible indicates we have the “gift of righteousness” (Rom. 5:17) and “eternal life” is a gift (Rom. 6:23). Paul then uses Psalm 68:18 to confirm what he has told them. Note the first words of Ephesians 4:8, “Wherefore he saith. . .” This is a way of saying “God said. . .” Now note the phrase, “. . . he led captivity captive.” The commentators have various interpretations and applications to this phrase. There does not seem to be a consensus as to what this means. Because of the next verse (vs. 9) speaks of descending “into the lower parts of the earth.” Many apply these verses to the period of the three days of the resurrection after the crucifixion. There is nothing compatible with these events unless you compare scripture with scripture. Look at Ephesians 4:10 (KJV), “He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.” What are “all heavens”?[Emphasis added.] According to 2 Corinthians 12:2 there are three heavens. The “third heaven” is where God is and where Paul was taken which he calls “paradise” and indicates he saw things he could not speak about (see: 2 Cor. 12:2-4). The “he” who “ascended up far above all heavens” was none other than Jesus Christ. This passage takes on meaning when you look at Hebrews 9:11–15 (KJV), “11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
- III.GRACE, THE EVENTS OF SALVATION, Ephesians 4:9-10. The phrase “he led captivity captive” could have two applications. (1) Every human person on the earth is in “captivity” to sin, and until they accept Jesus as Saviour by “faith,” they will remain that way. (2) There are some who believe that Jesus descended into the “lower parts of the earth” (Eph. 4:9), “hell” and the Old Testament saints who could not go to heaven until their “guilt” was removed (Exodus 34:7). This is concluded from Luke 16:19-31 where a “rich man” and a beggar named Lazarus are actors in the narrative. They both died, and the “rich man” is described as being in “hell and he lift up his eyes, being in torments,” (Luke 16:23) and Lazarus “was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22). Hell is described as being “down” from the surface of the earth (Psalm 55:15; Prov. 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; 15:24; Isa. 5:14; 14:15; Ezek. 31:16; 32:27; Matt. 11:23; Luke 10:15; 2 Pet. 2:4). It says in Ephesians 4:9 (KJV), “Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?” Looking at Ephesians 4:9-10, you find the personal pronoun “he” four times. Going back to Ephesians 4:7, the context is about the “gift of Christ,” and this makes Christ the subject of what follows. All of those personal pronouns are a reference to Christ. Note that the two words “ascended” and “descended” are in both Ephesians 4:9-10. Ephesians 4:9 indicates that Jesus descended into the “lower parts of the earth.” Then vs.10, Jesus “ascended up far above all heavens.” Ephesians 4:8 speaks of “captives.” Look at 1 Peter 3:18–19 (KJV), 18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.” The context of these two verses is after the resurrection of Christ. He went into the heart of the earth and preached to those in prison, i.e., hell. Another verse has information concerning this event. Look at 1 Peter 4:6 (KJV), “For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” This event was confirmation to those who rebelled against God that He was just in condemning them for rejecting God’s truth. It is dangerous to reject the revelation of God has provided the world in Jesus Christ and His word.