Bible Strands
Ephesians 4:9
What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Ephesian church to clarify how Christ’s exaltation fulfills the Old Testament citation about giving gifts to men. He addresses the descent preceding the ascension to explain the scope of Christ’s authority.
The words — ἀνέβη (anebē) translates literally as “he ascended,” while the conjunction δέ (de) links this action to the preceding statement about giving gifts. The rhetorical structure uses εἰ μὴ (ei mē), meaning “except that,” to define the ascension through a prior descent.
The thread — The descent motif appears in John 3:13, which contrasts heavenly ascent with prior descent from heaven, and in Matthew 12:40, which references only the descent to the heart of the earth. Proverbs 30:4 poses a rhetorical question about ascending heaven and coming down that Paul echoes.
Why it lands — The text states that the ascension necessarily includes a descent to the lower parts of the earth, not as a separate event but as the definition of the ascent. It requires the reader to recognize that Christ’s exaltation and his filling of all things are grounded in his prior movement into the lowest realm.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Cross-references
- John 3:13 No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.
- Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- Proverbs 30:4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—surely you know!
- John 6:33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
- Psalms 63:9 But those who seek my life to destroy it will go into the depths of the earth.
- Genesis 11:5 Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building.
- Exodus 19:20 The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the summit. So Moses went up,
- Psalms 8:5 You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor.
- Psalms 139:15 My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
- Isaiah 44:23 Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O depths of the earth. Break forth in song, O mountains, you forests and all your trees. For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and revealed His glory in Israel.