Welcome!
Today: He stepped down, so we could step up!
Passage: Eph 4
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it[a] says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”[b] (Eph 4, NIV 84)-emphasis added
18 When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you received gifts from men,
even from[e] the rebellious– that you,[f] O LORD God, might dwell there. (Ps 68, NIV)
18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom[d] also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. (1 Peter 3, NIV)
The verse in Ephesians 4 speaks about the deliverance through Christ for the oppressed, for those in bondage; it says, ‘..gave gifts to men”
But as we look into Ps 68:18, we see the root verse of Eph 4:7, where it says, “you received gifts from men”
It was not a mistake, nor a conflict. God gave himself as the greatest gift He could give us; our praises and worship are what we offer to God, in response
to His gift of Himself -through Jesus and the Holy Spirit
If we don’t experience Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we are the loosers
In 1 Peter 3:18, we read that Christ preached to “the spirits in prison”- of those who disobeyed long ago, during the period prior to the flood in the time of Noah. However, it does not say that Jesus gave any gifts to them or received any
So, the first two verses can be applied to the salvation of the people on earth, who were slaves to sin, sickness and (other) satanic acts
To save you and me, Jesus came down/stepped down from Heaven to Earth
If we want to become channels of the love of God to others, we need to step down from where we are. It takes much humility (and sometimes humiliation!) to bring a person to the saving knowledge of Christ
But it is great to see people addicted to sinful life coming out of it and breathing the “fresh air” of God (prayer) and eating the bread of life!
The greatest reward of saving a soul is to see the joy and peace that people receive, through Christ. Their lives become a blessing to others. There is joy and peace in the family. But then, the devil doesn’t like it!
But there is no gain without some pain
8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, (Phil 2, NIV)
God bless you with a wonderful day
BG
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for your sacrifice, stepping down to save me from my fallen state. You did what was right when I did what was wrong. Help me to pass the great news of salvation to others so that they also can be saved. Amen