The Spoils of Victory

By William L. Hogan
Psalm 68; Ephesians 4:7-10

UNITY WITH DIVERSITY is a term that best describes the teaching of the first part of Ephesians 4. Verses 4-6 declare, "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." That's unity.
Verse 7 then says, "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." That's diversity.

The unity of the church is not a matter of colorless uniformity. We are all "one" in Christ, but we do not lose our individuality. God knows us by names; He loves us individually. This diversity results not just from our having different personalities and backgrounds. It is also because the Lord Jesus distributes different spiritual gifts or abilities to the different members of His body, thereby equipping them to share in the corporate work and witness of the body of Christ.

Like saving grace, which reconciles us believers to God and unites us to one another, this serving grace is given to advance the unity of the church. It equips us for service, but it also makes us dependent upon one another. Without going into the different spiritual gifts, I would like to focus in this message on the theme of verses 8-10, namely, that our gifts are the spoils of battle won by our victorious Savior and distributed to His people.

This subject is introdued by verse 8, which is quoting from Psalm 68:
 

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.


I. The Victories of Jehovah

Psalm 68 is a hymn of victory. In all likelihood it was written to celebrate the joyous occasion when King David brought the ark of the covenant to Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Verses 24-26 there describe a jubilant procession of just the sort that II Samuel 6 tells us took place when the ark was brought to Zion. It was the result of a string of victories wrought by God.

Verse 18 of Psalm 68 is the one quoted in Ephesians 4. It reads:
 

Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men.


This is vivid imagery. In ancient times, a victorious king or general would celebrate his success in battle with a victory parade. He would march in triumph through the streets of his capital, with his prisoners made to walk in chains behind him. He was "leading captive his captives," making a public display of the humiliated enemy. The spoils of victory, the ransom and tribute and treasures confiscated from the enemy, were also displayed.

In describing the bringing of the ark to Mount Zion with the statement "Thou hast ascended on high," the psalmist likens the ark of the covenant to Jehovah being the King ascending the steep road of Mount Zion into the Holy City. When he speaks of leading captivity captive, he is remembering the enemies God has defeatedPharaoh and the Moabites and the Jebusites and the Canaanites and all the rest.

II. The Victory of Jesus

In Ephesians 4, the Holy Spirit applies that victorious scene to the Lord Jesus by explaining parenthetically in verses 9 and 10:
 

(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)


Sin. Who are the foes Jesus defeated? The bondage of sin is one. People often think that to do what they please without restraint would be freedom. But the truth is, that is the greatest slavery of all. Think of those who are dominated by pride and envy and anger and self-righteousness. Anyone who has ever tried to break free from such a deeply-ingrained character trait knows something about the enslaving power of sin.

The just consequences of sin is another thing that keeps people in bondage. The moral law of God is good because it is a reflection of God's own holy character. But that law pronounces judgment upon every violation of its standards: the wages of sin is deaththe second death, eternal punishment in hell. There is nothing we can do for ourselves to escape that judgment, for it is impossible to be good enough to deserve anything else. Thus, we are in bondage to what Scripture calls "the curse of the law".

Death. And then there is death. The Bible teaches that Satan uses the fear of death to keep people in bondage. Satan assumed that if he killed Jesus he would be rid of Him. But in his apparent victory he suffered defeat. Jesus died and was buried; His friends rolled a great stone over the mouth of the tomb and His enemies set soldiers to guard it. Satan appeared to be triumphant and all seemed to be lost. But the Savior burst the bands of death and rose triumphant over the grave. Death was swallowed up in victory.

Satan. Satan himself is the arch enemy, of course. Pretending to be the friend of man, he conquered man and has held the human race in bondage and captivity ever since. He deceives them into believing that there is no such thing as hell and that man has no need for a Savior.

These then are the enemies that have doomed mankind. But the Son of God came into the world to conquer them and to liberate all who believe in Him. It was a costly victory. Verse 9 says that the One who has ascended in triumph first had to descend to the lower parts of the earth.

By the way, don't try to construct out of that phrase some theory about Christ going down into hell during the interval between His death and resurrection. Theories of that sort are all pure speculation for which there is no Scriptural support. That is certainly not what we are saying when we recite that line in the Apostles' Creed, "He descended into hell." What that means is that He suffered the essence of hell. He paid the penalty for our sin. He suffered our hell so that we could go to His heaven.

Having done so, He ascended from earth to heaven. Because of what He accomplished, God the Father exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name. Jesus is victor. And because He is victor, He gives gifts to men.

III. The Spoils of Victory

Note that there is a slight difference between the wording of Psalm 68:18 and Ephesians 4:7. The former says that the conquering king received gifts for men, while the latter states that Christ gave gifts to men. The fact is, receiving and giving gifts in this scenario are really two sides of the same coin. The victorious king receives gifts not for himself, but for men, which gifts he then shared with the people.

This understanding is confirmed by Acts 2:33 where the "receiving" of the Holy Spirit by Christ and His "giving" the Spirit to the church are joined together. Speaking on the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter declares, "Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this (that is, the Holy Spirit), which ye now see and hear." Christ first received the gift, and then He gave that gift to His church.

The Holy Spirit is Himself the Supreme Gift, but in addition, when Christ gives the Spirit He gives also "spiritual gifts," special abilities intended to equip believers for service in His kingdom.

Proper perspective. While mentioned in Scripture are many, many different spiritual gifts, the main thing I want to leave with you with this message is the perspective that views every spiritual gift as something won in battle and given by the victorious Christ to His people. It's a perspective that can make an enormous difference in several directions.

For one thing, thinking of spiritual gifts as the spoils of battle will make us more grateful for the ministry of others. Let me ask you, when was the last time you acknowledged a blessing that came to you because someone else exercised his gift? Think how impoverished the church would be without the ministry of othersthe wise counsel, the word of instruction, encouragement or even rebuke, the tireless efforts of those who work behind the scenes, the decision-making skill and leadership, the hospitality, the giving, the faith. Even little acts of mercy and kindnessmaybe especially those actsare helpful.

Second, realizing that spiritual gifts were bought by the blood of Christ will give your own ministry a greater sense of dignity and value. Oh, I know that what you do may not be noticed or appreciated by others. But it is important to Christ. Don't ever think the service you render to Him and His church is insignificant. He fought to win your gift. He was wounded for it. He bled for it. He died to give it to you. And when He rose again and ascended far above the heavens, He was eager for you to have it. That's how important it is to Him.

Finally, having this perspective will help you see what a serious thing it is to neglect your gift. To say you can't do anything for the church is to deny God's Word. He says that this grace has been given to each one of us. To treat your service for Christ as a light thing is an offense against the Cross, for He died to enable you to serve. To fail to discover and to do what He has equipped you to do is also a denial of the power of His victorious resurrection.

Conclusion. Yes, every child of God has at least one special spiritual gift given by our victorious Savior. So, be grateful for the gifts that other believers have; be appreciative of the gift that you yourself have, and be vigilant in putting your gift to effective use for the common good of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. o

Dr. William L. Hogan is Professor of Preaching at Reformed Theological Seminary, 5422 Clinton Road, Jackson, MS  39209.

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