the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
descended
καταβὰςkatabas
G2597
to descend (literally or figuratively) · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
is
ἐστίestí
G2076
he (she or it) is
same
αὐτόςautos
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — nominative singular masculine
also
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
that
ὁho
G3588
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
up
ἀναβὰςanabas
G305
to go up (literally or figuratively) · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
above
ὑπεράνωhuperanō
G5231
above upward · preposition
all
πάντωνpantōn
G3956
all · adjective — genitive plural masculine
heavens
οὐρανῶν,ouranōn
G3772
the sky · noun — genitive plural masculine
that
ἵναina
G2443
compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
fill
πληρώσῃplērōsē
G4137
to make replete · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
things
πάντα.panta
G3956
all · adjective — accusative plural neuter
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Hebrews 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
Hebrews 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Ephesians 1:20-23 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Hebrews 9:23-24 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with…
Matthew 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Colossians 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ephesians 4:2-16
Here the apostle proceeds to more particular exhortations. Two he enlarges upon in this chapter: - To unity an love, purity and holiness, which Christians should very much study. We do not walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called if we be not faithful friends to all Christians, and sworn enemies to all sin.
This section contains the exhortation to mutual love, unity, and concord, with the proper means and motives to promote them. Nothing is pressed upon us more earnestly in the scriptures than this. Love is the law of Christ's kingdom, the lesson of his school, the livery of his family. Observe,
I. The means of unity: Lowliness and meekness, long-suffering, and forbearing one anot…
all heavens--Greek, "all the heavens" (Heb 7:26; Heb 4:14), Greek, "passed through the heavens" to the throne of God itself.
might fill--In Greek, the action is continued to the present time, both "might" and "may fill," namely, with His divine presence and Spirit, not with His glorified body. "Christ, as God, is present everywhere; as glorified man, He can be present anywhere" [ELLICOTT].
Adam Clarke on Ephesians 4:10
He that descended - And he who descended so low is the same who has ascended so high. He came to the lower parts of the earth - the very deepest abasement; having emptied himself; taken upon him; the form of a servant, and humbled himself unto death, even the death of the cross; now he is ascended far above all heavens - higher than all height; he has a name above every name. Here his descending into the lower parts of the earth is put in opposition to his ascending far above all heavens. His abasement was unparalleled; so also is his exaltation.
That he might fill all things - That he might be the fountain whence all blessings might flow; dispensing all good things to all his creatures, acc…
But what Isaiah said, "From the height above, or from the depth beneath," was meant to indicate, that "He who descended was the same also who ascended."
Learn then, ye foolish men, that Jesus who suffered for us, and who dwelt among us, is Himself the Word of God. For if any other of the Aeons had become flesh for our salvation, it would have been probable that the apostle spoke of another. But if the Word of the Father who descended is the same also that ascended, He, namely, the Only-begotten Son of the only God, who, according to the good pleasure of the Father, became flesh for the sake of men, the apostle certainly does not speak regarding any other, or concerning any Ogdoad, but respecting our Lord Jesus Christ.
Nothing in the cosmos is left untouched by Christ. He indeed descended to the lower parts of the earth and ascended above all the heavens. What heavens? Some say three, some more … but what does it matter? Christ, who ascended, ascended above all the heavens, however many. For eternity is now presently reigning in heaven and incorruptible life. All things there live by the Spirit. This reordering did not occur, however, until the descent of Christ. Once the mystery [of the cross] had been accomplished, all these received salvation after the passion and ascent of Christ and have been perfected. For this is what he means by "so that he might fulfill all," that is, make them perfect and full, with nothing lacking.… Surely this could not be understood to infer that he fulfilled his mission on earth but set nothing right in the heavens and perfected nothing there.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
He that descended is the same also that ascended,.... It was the same divine Person, the Son of God, who assumed human nature, and suffered in it, which is meant by his descent, who in that nature ascended up to heaven: this proves that Christ existed before he took flesh of the virgin; and that though he has two natures, yet he is but one person; and disproves the Popish notion of the descent of Christ's soul into Limbus or hell, locally taken: and this ascension of his was,
up far above all heavens: the visible heavens, the airy and starry heavens; Christ ascended far above these, and went into the third heaven, the holiest of all; and this is expressive of the exaltation of Christ, who i…
Ephesians 4:7-10
7. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
7. Unicuique autem nostrum data est gratia; secundum mensuram donationis Christi.
8. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
8. Propterea dicit: Postquam ascendit in altum, captivam duxit captivitatem, et dedit dona hominibus. (Psalm 68:19.)
9. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
9. Illud autem Ascendit, quid est, nisi quod etiam descenderat prius in inferiores partes terrae?
10. He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, t…
to our lowly world (or to the lowest parts of the earth): Some understand this phrase as referring to the tomb, to the world of the dead (cp. Matt 12:40; 1 Pet 3:18-20), or to the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. Instead, it probably refers to the incarnation, when Christ . . . descended from heaven and became a man (see John 1:14; 3:13; Phil 2:7-8).
