Ephesians 4:8

“Wherefore He saith, ‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men'”

“Wherefore He saith”: “That is why it is said” (TCNT). “Concerning this the Scripture says” (Wms). Paul quotes from the Old Testament to prove that Christ did in fact give "gifts" to men. “He saith”: “It says” (NASV). God is identified with Scripture. Therefore Scripture constitutes the very words of God Himself (2 Timothy 3:16; Matthew 22:31). The quotation here is from Psalms 68:18. “It refers to the return of the Lord in victory to His people. The Old Testament statement refers to the Lord's having received gifts (apparently as spoil)” (Caldwell p. 173). Under the direction of the Spirit, Paul quoted the Psalm and changed the wording from "received" to "gave gifts", which is only logical. Stott reminds us, “So we need to remember that after every conquest in the ancient world there was invariably both. receiving of tribute and. distributing of largesse. What conquerors took from their captives, they gave away to their own people. The spoils were divided, the booty was shared” (p. 157). “When He ascended on high”: Ephesians 1:20. “He led captivity captive”: “He led His captives into captivity” (TCNT). “With captives in His train” (NEB). “Took prisoners” (Beck).

“Abstract for the body of captives. The captives are not the redeemed, but the enemies of Christ's kingdom, Satan, sin, and death” (Vincent p. 388). Even though Christians were once the slaves of sin (Romans 6:13; Romans 6:16), the "captivity" taken captive in the above verse are God's enemies. Other Scriptures teach the same truth, that through the cross Christ defeated His enemies (Colossians 2:15; Luke 11:20; Revelation 1:17; Hebrews 2:14; Acts 2:22; 1 John 3:8). This fits well with the Psalm quoted-“the captives are the enemies of Christ; just as in the Psalm they are the enemies of Israel and Israel's God” (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 324). “As in. literal triumph, the chiefs of the enemy's army are led captive” (P.P. Comm. p. 148). Hence, now Christ is able to return at any moment and simply "mop" up. The power and influence of the devil has been limited for those who choose to disobey Christ. The obedient are free from the terror of death (Hebrews 2:14). They are free from the devil's deceptions (Ephesians 4:14; 2 Corinthians 2:11). They have the weapons to resist the devil's attacks (Ephesians 6:10; James 4:7).

“Gave gifts unto men”: Just like. victorious King would divide the spoil with His loyal subjects. The "men" in the context are Christians. Only Christians have obtained the benefits from the victory achieved by Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 2:6).