Ephesians 4:10-11

4:10

He who descended – Only One in history who came from the celestial realm to live in the terrestrial restrictions

is the very one – This is God the Son, who did not think His equality with the Father something He had to cling to, but instead emptied Himself of all that glory and humbled Himself to the form of a man—a servant—and obeyed to the point of the cross.

who ascended – God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble
higher than all the heavens – This is not just His physical ascension, although that is included. This is also His exaltation, in some respects greater, higher than He was before the incarnation.

in order to – for the purpose of, with the intended result of

fill the whole universe – fill = inhabit? Be present in? rule? Reign? I don’t see this as literally filling the universe; that would be pantheism. But there is some way in which God the Son is present in the universe in a way that surpasses His pre-incarnate presence.

4:11

It was – past tense

he – the descending-ascender; the conqueror; the captives-leader; the higher-than-the-heavens; the filler of the universe

who gave – again past tense; as with salvation itself, these gifts are not our accomplishments; we have done nothing to achieve or deserve them. If that were so they would not be gifts. But there is something unclear here: To whom has He given these apostles, prophets, et al.? Usually the verb “give” carries with it a direct object, indicating the recipient of the gift. Subsequent verses suggest that the Church was/is the receiver. It is true that the Church benefits from these gifts. And so at least indirectly she is the recipient. (In fact, NLT explicitly says He gave to the church.) But as I allow the phrase to soak into my spirit, I think I see something else at work: What if the word “some” represents the recipients? It would function as the direct object of “gave”. In that case, it is not the Church who receives the gifts, but “some” within the church are the recipients.

I could keep going down that theoretical path. But I need to bring this back to myself. Christ gave me a gift. What will I do with it? Many people I know have not even looked inside the box to discover what gift Christ gave them. At least I have done that much. And in the past I have exercised that gift. But I’ve grown lazy and/or complacent. The gift was given to me, but not for my enjoyment or my benefit. It was given to me for the benefit of the church (cf. vs 12 – 13). So probably I could answer my earlier question about the recipient: Both the individual and the Church benefit. The individual receives the gift but only for the benefit of the Church.

some – See above. Not all are apostles, just some. At the same time, the Church should expect to have more than one apostle at a time, because “some” indicates plurality.

to be apostles – sent, commissioned, crossing some kind of separator or boundary or division: geographical, linguistic, socio-economic, etc. Also tends to include sense of vision or mission that drives the apostle and makes him/her so single-minded as to seem oblivious to other interests. Plus there is an element of authority over the mission given to him/her.

prophets – calling God’s people to live as God’s people; correcting, disciplining, reproving when/where God’s people fall short of God’s calling. Prophets tend not to be a voice to the non-believer. He/she is intended as a voice of God to those who claim to be God’s people.

evangelists – Good News tellers; these are the voices of God to the non-believers. Not all are called to evangelize. We are all called to witness; and we should all be prepared to share the Good News with a seeker. But the evangelist has a special ability from God to communicate the Good News in ways that connect with unbelievers. Most do this best in a one-to-one context. Few do it well with a crowd or group.

and – list of ministry-leadership gifts. There might be a functional hierarchy. But we should not see any superiority. After all, if these are all gifts from Christ, then nothing I/we have in terms of service in the Church comes from us. So it is all about Christ, who is over all and through all and in all.

pastors – shepherd, personal care. This goes beyond a caring, friendly personality. This suggests a God-given, two-way ability. On the one hand the pastor senses what may be unseen to others. At the same time, those being pastored sense that he/she is aware and cares. When I was in the job of a pastor (I never had this gift), I occasionally sensed what was happening in a parishioner’s life. But my responses tended to be more like a prophet than a gifted pastor/shepherd. I tried to show that I cared. But they probably sensed the prophet in me. Perhaps I was not really condemning (I hope not). But at least I was probably thinking, “This person needs to shape up and live like God wants him to.” Not a very pastoral, shepherding, spirit.

and teachers – overlapping of roles, ministries, between a pastor, who cares and tenderly guides, and a teacher, who instructs. This teaching must include more than just information. If all I do is relay information, I have become a machine and I have made the listeners vulnerable to the sin of pride. But if my teaching touches the heart, the spirit, the lifestyle, then God has opportunity to change a person and give him/her life.