Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 4:7

Measured grace. I. CHRISTIANS ARE RECIPIENTS OF GRACE . 1. Without grace we can do nothing . All our attainments will be proportionate to the amount and kind of grace we receive. We cannot fulfill our vocation nor realize the grand unity of the Church by unaided human efforts. 2. But grace is vouchsafed to Christians . It is the peculiar privilege of the New Testament dispensation that it brings the energy of grace as well as the light of truth. II. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 4:7-11

Christ's gifts to his Church. The grand object of the apostle in this section of his Epistle is to show the ample provision made by Christ for the welfare of his Church. The Church may sing as well as the individual, "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." The particular object is to indicate that the gifts conferred by him on the members individually ( Ephesians 4:7-10 ), and especially the appointment of the several classes of office-bearers ( Ephesians 4:10 ), show the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 4:7-16

VARIETY OF GIFTS IN CONNECTION WITH UNITY ; USE TO BE MADE OF THEM . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 4:7-16

Redemptive influence the gift of Christ. "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (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.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 4:8

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended on high he led captivity captive, and received gifts for men. The speaker is God, the author of Scripture, and the place is the sixty-eighth psalm. That psalm is a psalm of triumph, where the placing of the ark on Zion is celebrated as if it had been a great victory. As this quotation shows, the psalm in its deepest sense is Messianic, celebrating the victory of Christ. The substance rather than the words of the passage are given, for the second person... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 4:8-10

The Source of all the gifts. It is Christ himself in virtue of his exaltation. I. THE ASCENSION THE GROUND ALIKE OF THE FOUNDING , THE PRESERVATION , AND THE PERFECTION OF THE CHURCH , This historic circumstance is the sequel of our Lord's resurrection from the dead, and can only be rightly appreciated by marking its connection with the humiliation by which it was preceded. It was the Son of God who descended, and therefore it was the Son of God who... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 4:9

Now (the fact) that he ascended, what does it imply but that he descended first? The ascent implied a previous descent; that is, the ascent of the Son of God—of one who was himself in heaven , who was in the bosom of the Father (comp. John 3:13 ), implied that he had come down from heaven, a striking proof of his interest in and love for the children of men. And the descent was net merely to the ordinary condition of humanity, but to a more than ordinarily degraded condition, not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 4:9-10

The universal experience of Christ. I. THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST IMPLIES THAT HE HAD PREVIOUSLY DESCENDED . 1. It implies that he was low down at some period . Had he always enjoyed his rightful honors there could have been no act of rising to them. The coronation shows that the sovereign had once been a subject. The greatness of the elevation of Christ and the stir and change it produces are significant of the low depth of an earlier state. 2. It implies... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ephesians 4:10

He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens. There was a proportion between the descent and the ascent. His descent was deep—into the lower parts of earth; but his ascent was more glorious than his descent had been humbling. The Hebrew idea of various heavens is brought in; the ascent was not merely to the third heaven, but far above all heavens. That he might fill all things. A very sublime view of the purpose for which Christ reigns on high. The specific... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ephesians 4:7

But unto every one of us - Every Christian.Is given grace - The favor of God; meaning here that God had bestowed upon each sincere Christian the means of living as he ought to do, and had in his gospel made ample provision that they might walk worthy of their vocation. What “are” the endowments thus given, the apostle states in the following verses. The “grace” referred to here, most probably means “the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit,” or his operations on the heart in connection with... read more

Group of Brands