Ephesians 4.10a-Jesus Christ's Descent into Hades and His Ascension to the Right Hand of the Father
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday January 28, 2025
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:10a-Jesus Christ's Descent into Hades and His Ascension to the Right Hand of the Father
Lesson # 221
Ephesians 4:7 Now, however, to each one of us grace was given corresponding to the incomparable Christ’s proportionate gracious giving. 8 Therefore, it says, “When he ascended to the highest place, he captured captives. He generously gave gifts to certain members of the human race.” 9 In other words, what is the meaning of the statement, “he ascended?” Namely that, he also descended into the lower regions, which are part of the earth? 10 He, the very one who has descended is the one who also has ascended above each and every one of the heavens in order that He would enter into the state of bringing to completion each and every animate and inanimate object. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 4:10 is composed of the following:
(1) emphatic declarative statement: ho katabas autos estin kai ho anabas hyperanō pantōn tōn ouranōn (ὁ καταβὰς αὐτός ἐστιν καὶ ὁ ἀναβὰς ὑπεράνω πάντων τῶν οὐρανῶν), “He, the very one who has descended is the one who also has ascended above each and every one of the heavens.” (Author’s translation)
(2) purpose clause: hina plērōsē ta panta (ἵνα πληρώσῃ τὰ πάντα), “in order that He would enter into the state of bringing to completion each and every animate and inanimate object.”(Author’s translation)
Therefore, the declarative statement emphatically asserts that the one who has descended is the same one who also has ascended above each and every one of the heavens.
It is a solemn emphatic declarative statement because Paul is using the figure of asyndeton and refers to Jesus Christ descending to Hades after His physical death and before His resurrection as well as His ascension to the right hand of His heavenly Father, which took place forty days after His resurrection.
So therefore, like Ephesians 4:9, Ephesians 4:10 is also speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ descending to Hades after His physical death and before His resurrection and also ascending to the right hand of the Father forty days after His resurrection.
Hoehner writes “These two verses are parenthetical in thought because the issue of the passage is the giving of gifts.”
As was the case in Ephesians 4:9, the verb katabainō (καταβαίνω) here in Ephesians 4:10 means “to descend” since the word pertains to moving from a higher place to a lower one.
In other words, it pertains to moving downward and lower to a physical location.
In both verses, the referent of the third person singular form of this verb is of course, Jesus Christ.
The location in which Jesus Christ descended is identified in Ephesians 4:9 by the prepositional phrase eis ta katōtera merē tēs gēs (εἰς τὰ κατώτερα μέρη τῆς γῆς), “into the lower regions, which are part of the earth” (Author’s translation).
Therefore, this verb in both verses expresses the idea of Jesus Christ “descending” into the lower regions of the earth.
The referent of the nominative masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), “He…very one” is of course the Lord Jesus Christ and emphasizes the Lord’s identity and is the demonstrative force intensified.
It functions as a nominative in simple apposition, which describes the Lord with emphasis and to mark a contrast between His descending to Hades and ascending to the right hand of His heavenly Father.
The use of the nominative first person singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός) here in Ephesians 4:10 is unnecessary in Greek since the form of a finite verb in this language indicates the person, number and gender of the subject.
This is what makes Greek an “inflectional” language.
When the personal pronoun is used therefore, it may serve to clarify the subject or contrast the subject with someone else or for emphasis.
In context, the finite verb appears here in Ephesians 4:10 is the first articular nominative masculine singular aorist active participle conjugation of the verb katabainō (καταβαίνω), “the one who has descended.”
The intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός) is used for emphasis and contrast.
First, it emphasizes with the reader that Jesus Christ descended to Hades.
Secondly, it is used to mark a contrast between Jesus Christ descending to Hades after His physical death and before His resurrection and the Lord ascending to the right hand of the Father after His resurrection.
The third person singular present active indicative conjugation of the verb eimi (εἰμί) expresses the idea that Jesus Christ who descended to Hades after His physical death and before His resurrection “exists in the state of being identical to” the one who ascended to the right hand of the Father after His resurrection with the implication they are one in the same person.
As was the case in Ephesians 4:8 and 9, the verb anabainō (ἀναβαίνω) here in Ephesians 4:10 refers to Jesus Christ ascending to His heavenly Father forty days after His resurrection.
The participial conjugation of the verb anabainō (ἀναβαίνω) functions as the predicate nominative, which indicates that the word is making an assertion that Jesus Christ not only descended to Hades after His physical death and before His resurrection, but He also ascended to the right hand of His heavenly Father forty days after His resurrection.
As was the case in Ephesians 1:10 and 3:15, the noun ouranos (οὐρανός) here in Ephesians 4:10 is in the plural and means “heavens” referring to all three levels of heaven.
The original language of Scripture teach that there are three levels of heaven.
This multiplicity of heavens is indicated in Ephesians 4:10 and Hebrews 4:14 where our Lord at His Ascension is said to have “passed through the heavens” (accusative masculine plural noun ouranos).
The first and second heaven are not specifically mentioned but the third heaven is discussed in 2 Corinthians 12:2.
Logically speaking, it is evident that there cannot be a third heaven without also a first and second heaven.
The first heaven is the earth’s atmosphere which surrounds the earth (Mt. 6:26; 8:20; 16:2-3; 24:30; Mk. 4:32; 13:27; Lk. 8:5; 9:58; 12:56; 13:19; 17:24; Acts 1:10-11; 4:24; 10:11, 12; 11:6).
The second heaven is the stellar universe or space which consists of a vast array of stars, moons, suns, galaxies and solar systems (Mt. 24:29; Mk. 1:10; 13:25; Lk. 11:16; 17:29; 21:26, 33; He. 11:12; R. 6:13-14).
The third heaven was also created by the Lord Jesus Christ (Psa. 102:25; 115:15; 124:8; 134:3; Isa. 45:12; 51:13; Jer. 32:17; Zech. 12:1; John 1:3; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:10).
He will also be the Creator of the new heavens and new earth (Isa. 65:17).
The Scriptures teach that the third heaven is the abode of the Trinity (Gen. 14:19, 22; 23:3, 7; 1 Kings 8:30, 49; 2 Chron. 6:21, 30; Neh. 1:4-5; 2:4, 20; Psa. 11:4; 20:6; 33:14; 103:19; Isa. 63:.5; 66:1; Matt. 5:34; Luke 16:9; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 7:56; 2 Cor. 12:2; Heb. 2:10; Rev. 19:14).
The inhabitants of the third heaven: (1) The Trinity (2) Elect Angels (3) OT saints (4) The dead church age believers (5) Fallen Angels.
The articular genitive masculine plural form of the noun ouranos (οὐρανός) is modified by the genitive masculine plural form of the adjective pas (πᾶς), which pertains to not only the totality of something but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.
The articular form of the noun ouranos (οὐρανός) is indicating the first predicate position of this adjective, which indicates the adjective is slightly more emphatic than the noun.
As was the case in Ephesians 1:21, the noun ouranos (οὐρανός) here in Ephesians 4:10 is the object of the improper preposition hyperanō (ὑπεράνω), which marks the location to which Jesus Christ ascended after His resurrection.
Namely, He ascended above all three levels of heaven when He ascended to the right hand of His heavenly Father.
