Good morning, sir,<\/p>\n
In Ephesians 4:8, “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men,” Do you have a lesson on this? Does it mean that Jesus took some of the dead to heaven with him?<\/p>\n\t
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus<\/em>” (Ephesians 2:1-7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There was a time when all of us were held captive by sin. But with the resurrection of Christ, we were offered a way to be freed from sin’s hold on us. “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness<\/em>” (Romans 6:17-18). Jesus redeemed us (bought us back) from Satan’s control but we were not given complete freedom. We are now slaves to the one who paid the price. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me<\/em>” (Galatians 2:20). True, compared to the captivity of sin, our current life is a great freedom but we must always remember that we still owe our Lord our obedience.<\/p>\n
In Ephesians 4:8, Paul is quoting Psalms 63:18.<\/p>\n
“You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives; You have received gifts among men, even among the rebellious also, that the LORD God may dwell there. Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God who is our salvation. Selah. God is to us a God of deliverances; and to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death<\/em>” (Psalms 68:18-20).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The depiction of Christ here is that of a warrior king who has conquered a nation and led away some of its inhabitants as booty. Notice that the prophecy is that Christ’s raid would even bring in some of the rebellious so that the Lord may dwell there.<\/p>\n
Jesus hinted at this when he said, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it<\/em>” (Matthew 16:18). Gates are defensive structures. Satan’s realm is composed of the spiritually dead — called Hades here. Satan will not be able to keep Christ’s army (the church) out of his realm and he will be plundered and Christ’s kingdom will be enlarged.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Good morning, sir, In Ephesians 4:8, “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men,” Do you have a lesson on this? Does it mean that Jesus took some of the dead to heaven with him? Answer: “And you were dead in your trespasses and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[109,664],"class_list":["post-60817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-death","tag-resurrection"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":83065,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dead-in-trespasses\/","url_meta":{"origin":60817,"position":0},"title":"Dead in Trespasses","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8286,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/after-a-person-becomes-a-christian-can-they-live-as-they-please\/","url_meta":{"origin":60817,"position":1},"title":"After a person becomes a Christian, can they live as they please?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 26, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There are some people who feel that Christians can live a lifestyle pretty much as they please after \u201cbelieving on the Lord Jesus Christ\u201d ( Ephesians 2:8-9; John 5:24; and others). Faith alone in Christ alone with nothing else required, it is all in the rewards. Is that your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14938,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-baptism-required-to-go-to-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":60817,"position":2},"title":"Is baptism required to go to heaven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 20, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If you don't get baptized, do you not go to heaven? Answer: Assuming you are talking about responsible adults, consider the following: Can the disobedient enter heaven? \"But to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9070,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-jesus-is-god-how-is-it-that-he-had-a-body\/","url_meta":{"origin":60817,"position":3},"title":"If Jesus is God, how is it that he had a body?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Sir, Let me ask you some questions about the identity of Jesus and may you let the Scriptures answer. May God use you in this task. Here are the questions: If Jesus is God, how is it that he had a body? Is it not written that God is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13323,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-did-jesus-mean-by-eat-my-flesh-and-drink-my-blood\/","url_meta":{"origin":60817,"position":4},"title":"What did Jesus mean by “eat my flesh and drink my blood?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 26, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I would like to know in John 6:53-56 what does Jesus mean by \"eat my flesh and drink my blood\"? What do flesh and blood represent here? Answer: The statement is found in a discourse recorded in John 6. In the context, Jesus had feed over 5,000 people miraculously\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34051,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-break-a-covenant-with-satan-and-turn-back-to-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":60817,"position":5},"title":"Can you break a covenant with Satan and turn back to God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello sir, I have quite a few questions if that's alright. Is it possible to make a covenant with Satan and break a covenant with God? Can you break the covenant with Satan and turn back to God? 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