2022-5丨General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

I. The intrinsic building up of the organic Body of Christ is by the giving of the gifted persons (such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers), who are constituted in the dispensing of the Divine Trinity, by Christ as the Head in His ascension (including His resurrection), to His Body—Eph. 4:8-12; Acts 2:24, 27; 1:9:

Eph. 4:8 Therefore the Scripture says, "Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men."

Eph. 4:9 (Now this, "He ascended," what is it except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Eph. 4:10 He who descended, He is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things.)

Eph. 4:11 And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers,

Eph. 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ,

Acts 2:24 Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pangs of death, since it was not possible for Him to be held by it.

Acts 2:27 Because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will you permit Your Holy One to see corruption.

Acts 1:9 And when He had said these things, while they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him away from their sight.

A. Ephesians 4:8 says, “Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men”:

Eph. 4:8 Therefore the Scripture says, "Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men."

1. Height in the quotation from Psalm 68:18 refers to Mount Zion (vv. 15-16), symbolizing the third heaven, where God dwells (1 Kings 8:30).

Psa. 68:18 You have ascended on high; You have led captive those taken captive; / You have received gifts among men, / Even the rebellious ones also, / That Jehovah God may dwell among them.

Psa. 68:15 O mighty mountain, O mountain of Bashan, / O many-peaked mountain, O mountain of Bashan:

Psa. 68:16 Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountains, / At the mountain on which God desires to dwell? / Indeed Jehovah will dwell there forever.

1 Kings 8:30 And listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear then in Your dwelling place in the heavens; and when You hear, forgive.

2. Psalm 68 implies that it was in the Ark that God ascended to Mount Zion after the Ark had won the victory (Num. 10:35); this portrays how Christ won the victory and ascended triumphantly to the heavens.

Psa. 68 To the choir director. Of David. A Psalm; a Song

Psa. 68:1 Let God arise; let His enemies be scattered; / And let those who hate Him flee before Him.

Psa. 68:2 As smoke is driven away, You will drive them away; / As wax melts before fire, / The wicked will perish before God.

Psa. 68:3 But the righteous will rejoice; they will exult before God / And be glad with rejoicing.

Psa. 68:4 Sing to God; sing psalms to His name; / Triumph in Him who rides through the deserts - / For Jah is His name - and exult before Him.

Psa. 68:5 A Father to the orphans and a Judge for the widows / Is God in His holy habitation.

Psa. 68:6 God causes the solitary to dwell in a household; / He brings the prisoners forth into prosperity; / But the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

Psa. 68:7 O God, when You went forth before Your people, / When You marched through the desert, Selah.

Psa. 68:8 The earth trembled, the heavens also dripped, / At the presence of God; / Sinai there quaked / At the presence of God, the God of Israel.

Psa. 68:9 You shed forth bountiful rain, O God; / You confirmed Your inheritance when it languished.

Psa. 68:10 Your living flock dwelt in the land; / In Your goodness You provided for the poor, O God.

Psa. 68:11 The Lord gives the command; / The women who bear the glad tidings are a great host.

Psa. 68:12 The kings of the armies flee. / They flee! / And she who abides at home / Divides the spoil.

Psa. 68:13 Though you lie among the sheepfolds, / There are dove wings covered with silver, / And its pinions, with greenish yellow gold.

Psa. 68:14 When the Almighty scattered / The kings in the land, / It snowed on Zalmon.

Psa. 68:15 O mighty mountain, O mountain of Bashan, / O many-peaked mountain, O mountain of Bashan:

Psa. 68:16 Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountains, / At the mountain on which God desires to dwell? / Indeed Jehovah will dwell there forever.

Psa. 68:17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, / Thousands upon thousands; / The Lord is among them, / As at Sinai, in the sanctuary.

Psa. 68:18 You have ascended on high; You have led captive those taken captive; / You have received gifts among men, / Even the rebellious ones also, / That Jehovah God may dwell among them.

Psa. 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who day by day loads us with good; / God is our salvation. Selah.

Psa. 68:20 God is to us / A God of deliverance, / And with Jehovah the Lord / Are the goings forth even from death.

Psa. 68:21 Indeed God will smash / The head of His enemies, / The hairy crown / Of him who goes about in his guiltiness.

Psa. 68:22 The Lord said, I will bring them again from Bashan; / I will bring them again from the depths of the sea,

Psa. 68:23 That you may bathe your foot in blood, / That the tongue of your dogs may have their portion from the enemies.

Psa. 68:24 They have seen Your goings, O God, / The goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary:

Psa. 68:25 Singers go before; players after; / In the midst of virgins sounding the tambourines.

Psa. 68:26 Bless God in the congregations, / Even Jehovah, O you who are of the fountain of Israel.

Psa. 68:27 There are little Benjamin, who rules them, / And the princes of Judah in their company, / The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

Psa. 68:28 Your God has commanded your strength; / Strengthen, O God, that which You have done for us.

Psa. 68:29 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem, / Kings will bring a gift to You.

Psa. 68:30 Rebuke the animals of the reeds, / The herd of the bulls among the calves of the peoples, / Trampling on those who lust after silver; / Scatter the peoples who take delight in war.

Psa. 68:31 Nobles will come out of Egypt; / Cush will quickly stretch out its hands to God.

Psa. 68:32 O kingdoms of the earth, / Sing to God, / Sing psalms to the Lord, Selah.

Psa. 68:33 To Him who rides upon the ancient heaven of heavens. / Behold, He utters His voice, a mighty voice.

Psa. 68:34 Ascribe strength to God; / His excellence is over Israel, / And His strength is in the skies.

Psa. 68:35 You are awesome, O God, from Your sanctuaries. / The God of Israel, He gives strength and power to the people. / Blessed be God!

Num. 10:35 And when the Ark set out, Moses said, Rise up, O Jehovah, and let Your enemies be scattered; / And let those who hate You flee before You.

3. Through His universal traffic and in His ascension, Christ led as captives those who had been taken captive by Satan and made them gifts to His Body—Eph. 4:8-11:

Eph. 4:8 Therefore the Scripture says, "Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men."

Eph. 4:9 (Now this, "He ascended," what is it except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Eph. 4:10 He who descended, He is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things.)

Eph. 4:11 And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers,

Morning Nourishment

Psa. 68:18 You have ascended on high; You have led captive those taken captive; You have received gifts among men, even the rebellious ones also, that Jehovah God may dwell among them.

Num. 10:35 And when the Ark set out, Moses said, Rise up, O Jehovah, and let Your enemies be scattered; and let those who hate You flee before You.

In Ephesians 4:8-10 we see that Christ is the One who descended into the lower parts of the earth, ascended far above all the heavens to fill all things, and led captive those taken captive. Verse 8 says, “The Scripture says, ‘Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men.’” Height in the quotation from Psalm 68:18 refers to Mount Zion (vv. 15-16), which symbolizes the third heaven, where God dwells (1 Kings 8:30). Psalm 68 implies that it was in the Ark that God ascended to Mount Zion after the Ark had won the victory. Verse 1 of Psalm 68 is taken from Numbers 10:35. This indicates that the background of Psalm 68 is God’s move in the tabernacle with the Ark as its center. Wherever the Ark, a type of Christ, went, the victory was won. Eventually, this Ark ascended triumphantly to the top of Mount Zion. This portrays how Christ won the victory and ascended triumphantly to the heavens. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3412)

Christ has traveled from the heavens to the earth, from the earth to Hades, from Hades back to earth, and from the earth to the third heaven. It is by this universal traffic that the gifts have been given by Christ to the Body.

Consider the apostle Paul as an example. How could a sinful, devilish persecutor of the church such as Saul of Tarsus become a gift to the Body of Christ? Only by the traveling of Christ throughout the universe. Christ traveled from the heavens to the earth. He was born in a manger in Bethlehem, and He lived for about thirty years in the little town of Nazareth. After He was crucified on the cross, He went down into Hades and took a tour of that region for three days. Then He came out of Hades on the day of His resurrection. Between His resurrection and ascension, He appeared to His disciples over a period of forty days. At the end of those forty days, He ascended into the heavens. If we had Ephesians 4 without Psalm 68, we probably would not realize that when Christ ascended to the heavens, He led a train of captives. He entered into the heavens as a conqueror with a train of captives. He presented these captives to His Father, who in turn gave them back to Him as gifts. Then Christ gave all these captives as gifts to men. One of these gifts was Saul of Tarsus. This is the way Christ gave gifts to men.

By His universal traveling, Christ not only gathered up many sinners, but He also defeated Satan, the one who had captured them. At one time, we all were captives, those who had been captured by Satan, sin, and death. By traveling from heaven to earth, from earth to Hades, from Hades back to earth, and from earth back to heaven, on the one hand, Christ gained all of us and, on the other hand, He conquered Satan, who had usurped us and held us under his power of death. Having been released from Satan, sin, and death, we are now Christ’s captives. All the angels know that when Christ ascended to the third heaven, He was leading a train of captives and that these captives were presented to the Father. What a victorious celebration this procession must have been!

As those who have been captured by Him, we have no way to escape. Although we have never seen the Lord Jesus, we have no choice but to believe in Him because we have been captured by Him. Now that we are in His train, we cannot get away from Him. Not only have we been captured by Christ, but He has also presented us to the Father. After beholding us with great appreciation, the Father returned us to the Son as gifts. In this way we all were made gifts to the Body through Christ’s universal traveling. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 324- 326)