Ephesians 4:9 Commentary and Bible Study

And then the apostle explains it, in brackets here – ‘Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first.’ Of course, we can see it, says the apostle, so clearly in the blaze of New Testament light. The prophecy may have seemed obscure to many who read it in Old Testament times. ‘Now that he ascended.’ Who is ascending? But to us it is crystal clear. Who is that but the one who descended first? That is Christ, who came from heaven and ‘descended first into the lower parts of the earth.’ What a powerful expression!Do you know that that means? Who descended to be among human beings, fallen. He descended so low as to be among human nature. Some people go too far, they say he descended into hell. Of course, he did not literally descend into hell at any time. When the famous Apostle’s Creed says that he descended into hell, it does not mean it literally. He descended into our hell when he bore our sin on Calvary. That was so to speak his entry into hell, his bearing away our eternal torment in our place. But here it does not refer to any descending into hell, the lowest parts of the earth, as low as you can get is to be among fallen human beings, to be among those possessed of fallen sinful human nature. The Holy One of God coming among us. He was never tainted by it; he never sinned; he was pure and holy so that he could be our Redeemer. And he was God, he could not be tainted, but nevertheless this was how low he came in his humiliation.