Turn with me, if you would, to
Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. Last Sunday
morning, we looked at verse 7, which says, But unto every one
of us given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ
to every one of God's people all of those who have been called
to be in us all of those who were selected
by the Father that's a glorious thing isn't
it The world can't stand that, but
if the world only knew that no soul would have made it, all
were completely ruined, destined for hell, but God selected some. How glorious. All those selected
by the Father, redeemed by the Son, redeemed, redeemed. redeemed by the blood of the
Lamb, redeemed, how I love to proclaim it, redeemed, totally
redeemed, ruined, lost, redeemed, selected by the Father, redeemed
by the Son, notified by the Spirit. That's what this is. It is a
notification. We are now at a notification. not a call to do anything, not
a beg to do anything, we're at the notification. We're at the
reading of the will. It's just a notification. Verse seven says, but unto every
one of us is grace given according to the measure of the gift of
Christ. God's grace has been given to
his people in full measure. Full measure. The great measure
that Christ had to go to. The breadth, the length, the
depth, the height that Christ had to go to. The fullness of
that measure. HAS BEEN GIVEN TO EACH ONE OF
HIS PEOPLE. THE FULLNESS TO EACH ONE. NOW VERSE 8 SAYS, WHEREFORE
HE SAITH WHEN HE ASCENDED UP ON HIGH HE LED CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE
AND GAVE GIFTS UNTO MEN. THE REASON HE ASCENDED UP ON
HIGH, THE REASON HE ASCENDED UP IS BECAUSE HE ACCOMPLISHED
SOMETHING. THAT'S THE REASON HE ASCENDED
UP. IT'S BECAUSE HE ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING. AND VERSE 9 SAYS,
NOW THAT HE ASCENDED, WHAT IS IT BUT THAT HE ALSO DESCENDED
FIRST INTO THE LOWER PARTS OF THE EARTH? HE THAT DESCENDED
IS THE SAME ALSO THAT ASCENDED UP far above all heavens, that
he might fill all things." Or the margin says, fulfill. That
he might fulfill all things. God's Holy Spirit wrote this.
Paul penned it. The Apostle Paul penned these
words, but God's Spirit wrote it. Every word in this book is
inspired by the Holy Ghost. And I'd like for us to first
consider what God's Spirit has said in the parentheses. If you
notice that verses 9 and 10 are in parentheses. I want us to
consider first what he's written in the parentheses and then we'll
come back and look at what he has to say in verse 8. So verse
9 says, now that he ascended, what is it? But that he also
descended first into the lower parts of the earth. That only
speaks of one man. What is being described right
here, only one man has ever accomplished this. Only one man. All of God's people are going
to ascend with him up into glory. All of God's people. But only
one man ever descended first. Only one man ever came to this
earth from perfection in perfection. Now there were some rebels up
there that God cast out of there as a bolt of lightning in all
of their sin and ruin. But only one man ever came to
this earth in absolute perfection, bringing perfection with him. Look with me at John chapter
3. John chapter 3 verse 13 says,
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down
from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven. No man
hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven,
even the Son of Man which is in heaven. If God's people ascend
We are only going to ascend in Him. No man is ever going to
achieve perfection on this earth and be worthy to ascend up into
heaven. No man can work any kind of work
worthy to ascend into heaven. The only way God's people will
ascend is in Him. Look with me at John 6 verse
38. John chapter 6 verse 38. Our Lord said, For I came down
from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that
sent me. And this is the Father's will
which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
Of all that He's given me, whoever does the Father's will is worthy
to go up. Only one man ever did the Father's
will. This is the Father's will. Of all that He's given me, I
should lose nothing and I should raise Him up. Verse 40, And this
is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which seeth
the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life, And
I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews then murmured at
him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, is not this Jesus,
the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it
then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Isn't this just
Jesus? Which is what man thinks of him. Isn't this just Jesus? Verse 51, he said, I am the living
bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread,
he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give
is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Not
the Jews only, us Gentiles too. I'll give myself. In verse 58,
he said, these things said he in the synagogue, I'm sorry,
this is that bread which came down from heaven, not as your
fathers did eat manna and are dead, he that eateth of this
bread shall live forever. These things said he in the synagogue
as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples
when they had heard this said, this is a hard saying, who can
hear it? When Jesus knew in Himself that
His disciples murmured at it, He said unto them, Doth this
offend you? Now watch verse 62. He said, What and if you shall
see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before? He said,
You don't believe that I came down. You don't believe that
I came down. from God, from heaven, he said,
what if all of the sudden you see me ascend up to the place
that I was before? You don't believe I came down?
What if you watch this body right here float up, ascend up to the
place that it was before? Did he ascend back up? Did they see him ascend back
up? Go back to our text, Ephesians
4. Verse 9 says, now that he ascended,
what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of
the earth? Great is the mystery of godliness. Great is the mystery of godliness. Great is the mystery of salvation.
Great is the mystery of the mind and will and purpose and way
of God. God was manifest in the flesh. What ruler or king or do you
know would accomplish his glory through becoming the lowest servant
of the bunch? Great is the mystery of this
all-wise God. Most people see him as being
born into this world, just like everybody else, and growing up
to become a great man. That's not who he was, that's
not how it happened. God brought himself down to the
full humiliation of man. He did not just come to earth.
We say God came to earth. He didn't just come to earth.
He brought himself all the way down to the lowest part of the
earth. And this is glorious. So glorious. He lived as man, for man, in
the beginning of man. the very start of man. He became the substitute for
man all the way down to man's humble beginnings. There was no part, there was
no part of the life of his people that Christ didn't live it for
them. There's not a single part. This is the best news I know
to tell right now. When He came to redeem them,
to redeem them, He came to redeem them from the lowest part of
the earth. Go with me if you would to Psalm
139. Psalm 139. Verse one says, O Lord, thou
hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down sitting
and mine uprising. Thou understandest my thought
afar off. Thou compassest my path and my
lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. For there's
not a word in my tongue, but O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and
before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me. It is high, I cannot attain unto
it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit,
or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up
into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell or in
the grave, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall
thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall uphold me. If I say
surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light
about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not
from thee, but the night shineth as the day. The darkness and
the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins. Thou hast covered me in my mother's
womb. I will praise thee, for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works, and
that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from
thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the
lowest parts of the earth in the womb. Thine eyes did see
my substance, yet being unperfect, And in thy book all my members
were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there
was none of them. He said, Thou hast possessed
my reins. If there was any segment of our
life that Christ didn't live for us, if there was any segment of our
life that he did not live for us, Do you realize the degree
of fear that would bring? If there was any portion of our
life that Christ did not live for us as our substitute, the
fear that would bring, the fear that would bring. If there was
any moment we had to answer for, any moment, including our time
in the womb, If there was any moment of possessing
our own reins, you know the child of God has never possessed his
own reins. Don't you love that? Oh, the
lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is
of the Lord. And if there was any moment that
we possessed our own reins and we had to answer for that moment,
we would never survive the judgment. Never survive the judgment. Because
sin is all that we are. It's all that we are. We were
conceived in sin. Even our time in the womb, it
was spent in sin. Sin is not just what a man does.
It's what we are. It's what a man and a woman is. Committing sin does not cause
Sinners to be sinners. Committing sin is the evidence
that we are sinners. It's the proof that we are sinners. And as a complete sinner, I need
a complete substitute. I mean, I need a start to finish
substitute. Did he pay for my past sins?
Did He pay for my present sins? Did He pay for my future sins?
What about what I was in the womb before I was ever even born?
I need a complete substitute, not from the cradle to the grave,
from conception to the grave. If I'm going to live forever
with a spotless, sinless record of life, I'm going to have to
have a substitute. who will come and live every
heart beating moment of that life for me. I do not need reform. I need a redeemer. That's what
I need. I do not need reform, and you
do not need reform. I really would encourage all
of us to change our ways, but eternally, that's not gonna do
us a bit of good. I don't need reform. I need a
Redeemer. I need a Redeemer. I can't clean
up my record and clean up my life when sin is all that I am
and all that I do. Starting with the moment I was
conceived, I need a brand new record. I need a brand new life. And God provided one. God provided one. Aren't you
so ashamed of how you've lived your life? Well, your life is not your own.
He made it to be His. His life is your own. God provided a brand new life. He sent His Son all the way down
into the lowest parts of the earth. Caused Himself to be curiously
raw. fullness of the complete eternal
God caused himself to be curiously robbed in the lowest part of
the earth for his people. And the Apostle Paul said he
did that that he might fulfill all things. He descended to fulfill
all things. He came to leave nothing undone. When he descended HE FULFILLED
EVERYTHING THAT THE SCRIPTURE EVER SAID ABOUT HIM. EVERY SCRIPTURE
THAT WAS EVER WRITTEN ABOUT HIM. Matthew chapter 1 verse 18 says,
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, when as his
mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she
was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband,
being a just man and not willing to make her a public example,
was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, Now son of David, fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. Now all this was done that it
might be fulfilled. which was spoken of the Lord
by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child,
and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
Immanuel, which being interpreted, is God with us. All this was
done that it might be fulfilled." Why did he come down to the lowest
part of the earth? That it might be fulfilled. Look
at chapter 2, verse 14. When he arose, he took the young
child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt, and
was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of
Egypt have I called my son. Verse 17 says, Then was fulfilled
that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet. Verse 23 says, And
he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophets, he shall be called a Nazarene.
When he descended, he fulfilled every scripture that was ever
written about him. Not only that, he fulfilled everything in life
that God required from us. Everything. Look at Matthew 5. Matthew 5 verse 17 says, think
not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets, I am
not come to destroy but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise
pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Oh, the accomplishment
of this great dissension. Oh, what he accomplished. When
Christ descended for us, he fulfilled every scripture written about
him, who he would be. He fulfilled every requirement
that God had given to us in his law. And he fulfilled everything
that was needed for our salvation. Everything. Go with me to 1 Corinthians
chapter 15. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 1 says,
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached
unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand,
by which also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I
preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. For I
delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according
to the Scriptures. The only man who could descend
all the way down into the lowest parts of the earth, to fulfill everything that concerned
himself, everything that concerned God's law, and everything that
concerned us and our redemption. The only man who could accomplished
what he came to do. Now go back with me to Ephesians
chapter 4. Verse 8 says, Wherefore he saith,
when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive. He told his disciples, he said,
if you see me ascend back up into heaven, if you see me go
back up where I came from, then it means I accomplished what
I came to do. He came to lead captivity captive. And that's
what He did. That's what He did. 2 Timothy
2 says, We are naturally captives of the adversary, taken at his
own will. We are the captives. Taken at
his own will. Christ came to take us back. And that's what He did. He led
captivity He also led everything that was
our captivity, captive. He also led captivity itself,
captive. All of our lifetime, we were
subject to the bondage and the captivity of sin, death, the
grave. He conquered all three. Now,
I got this from somebody else. This is excellent. Think about
this. He conquered sin by being made
sin. Think about that. He conquered death by dying. That's how he put it away. He conquered the grave in the
grave, through the grave. And having accomplished all of
this for us, Verse 10 says, He ascended up far above all heavens,
far above the atmosphere of our sky. This is a real place. This
is not metaphoric. It's a real place. He ascended up far above this
atmosphere that we see, far above the outer space that poor simple
man has no idea where the boundaries are. Far above all heavens, all
the way to the throne at the right hand of the majesty on
high. He ascended all the way back
up. And having accomplished his descension, and having accomplished
his ascension, I'm going to leave us with this final thing to glory
in. Turn with me to Acts chapter
1. Acts chapter 1 verse 9 says,
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he
was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while
they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold,
two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, ye
men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same
Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come
in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven. Before he
said to those who were in unbelief, he said, you don't believe that
I came down from heaven? What if you see me ascend up
into heaven? What if you watch my body float
up into heaven? Now he says to those who are
in unbelief, you don't believe that I in victory and accomplishment
finished the work of salvation. You don't believe it's finished
and that I ascended up into heaven. What if you see me come back
down the same way I went up? What if you watch my body come
back down the same way that I went up? The first time he came, he
was conceived in the womb of a virgin. This time he is coming
as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the captor of all captivity. And I'm going to close with this
verse of scripture. Our text in Ephesians 4 is quoting Psalm
68. Turn with me over there and let's
read it in David's words. Psalm 68. Psalm 68 verse 18 says, Thou
hast ascended on high. Thou hast led captivity captive. Thou hast received gifts for
men. You received gifts for men. You earned through this, you
earned and received gifts for men. You received wisdom for
ignorant men. You received righteousness for
wicked men. You received sanctification for
filthy men. You received redemption for sinful,
ruined men. You received all of these gifts
for men, Paul said, and gave them to men. He goes on to say,
yea, for the rebellious also, and that's us, that the Lord
God might dwell among them. Blessed be the Lord who daily
loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Blessed be the Lord. Blessed
be God for coming, accomplishing, ascending, and coming again. All right, let's all stand together.