エフェソの信徒への手紙4:7-11 Ephesians 4:7-11,

そこで、「高い所に昇るとき、捕らわれ人を連れて行き、人々に賜物を分け与えられた」と言われています。

（エフェソ4:8）

カギカッコの中は、旧約聖書の詩編68編19節を、言葉を変えて引用したものです。詩編68編19節には「主よ、神よ／あなたは高い天に上り、人々をとりことし／人々を貢ぎ物として取り、背く者も取られる」とあります。この詩編68編は、主なる神様がイスラエルの人々のために戦われる戦士、つまり戦人（いくさびと）であることを歌った詩です。この詩の背景には、古代のイスラエルの人々が、奴隷であったエジプトから主なる神様の力によって救い出され、カナンの土地を主なる神様の力によって勝ち取ったという歴史があります。エジプトの軍隊を打ち破ってイスラエルの人々を救った主なる神様は、シナイ山でイスラエルの人々に十戒などの律法を与え、カナンの土地の人々をも打ち破ってイスラエルの人々にカナンの土地を与え、全世界の王様として君臨しておられるということです。「あなたは高い天に上り、人々をとりことし／人々を貢ぎ物として取り、背く者も取られる」とは、主なる神様が全世界の王様として君臨しておられる有様を、歌っています。

パウロは、この「あなた」を主イエス・キリストと解釈し、「人々を貢ぎ物として取り」を「人々に賜物を分け与えられた」に変えて、詩編68編19節を引用しています。「人々を貢ぎ物として取り」と「人々に賜物を分け与えられた」では、意味が正反対です。引用にしてはあまりにも言葉を変えすぎではないでしょうか？実は、この詩編68編の最後の36節には「イスラエルの神は御自分の民に力と権威を賜る」と詠われています。つまり、主なる神様が全世界の王様として君臨されるので、主なる神様は、御自分の民であるイスラエルに「力と権威を賜る」のだ、ということがこの詩のいわば結論なのです。この結論を19節に結びつけることによって、パウロは詩編68編19節を「人々に賜物を分け与えられた」というように言葉を変えて引用したのでした。そして、この引用によって、十字架で死んだキリストが復活して天に昇り、天の王座に君臨して世界を治め、御自分の民である教会に賜物を分け与えておられることが、あらかじめ旧約聖書で預言されていたと述べているのです。（6月1日の説教より）

How do you begin your day when you wake up in the morning? Do you feel grateful that a new day has been given to you? Or do you feel that another day has begun and that life is hard? Or do you start your day without thinking about anything in particular, just following your routine? The way you start your day likely varies greatly depending on your current state of health and circumstances. When you are in poor health or facing difficult circumstances, it is understandable to feel that “life is hard” or “life is sad.” In such times, rather than keeping those feelings bottled up inside, why not honestly tell God, “God, life is hard” or “God, life is sad”? The psalmist in the Old Testament, in Psalm 6:3, prays, “Show favour to me, Lord, for my strength fails; Lord, heal me, for my body is racked with pain” (REB), honestly expressing his feelings to God.

When we feel sad or painful, we can express those feelings to God. And when we feel grateful, we can express our gratitude to God. There are many things that we thank God for, such as, “God, I thank you for my health,” “God, I thank you for the food I have each day,” and “God, I thank you for protecting my family.” However, above all else, should we not be grateful that our sins are forgiven and that we are accepted by God? “God, I thank you that you have forgiven my sins and accepted me as your child,” is something we can pray no matter what our health condition or circumstances may be. Being forgiven of our sins and accepted as God’s children also means that we have been guaranteed eternal life. If that is the case, even in situations where our lives are threatened, we can still thank God for forgiving our sins. Christ taught us in the Lord’s Prayer to ask for forgiveness of sins along with our daily bread because forgiveness of sins is the gift of salvation given to us through faith in Christ.

The gift of salvation from God is given to us through our membership in the community of faith called the church. Paul says this in verse 4, a little earlier than today’s passage: “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call.” “One body” refers to the church, which is the body of Christ. In this context, the church refers to the invisible community that consists of the true people of God in heaven and the true people of God on earth. As stated in the answer to Question 138 of the “Larger Catechism of the Church of Christ in Japan,” it is the “invisible church,” which is “the totality of the saints in heaven and on earth, a universal and eternal community.” The Christian churches on earth are divided into various denominations. However, “the invisible church,” which unites Christians in heaven and on earth, is “one” community that transcends denominations, ethnicities, and eras. “The invisible church” can be called “one” community because, despite differences in denominations, ethnicities, and eras, the Holy Spirit, who is God, grants faith to those who believe. This is what it means to say that “there is one Spirit.” Furthermore, true Christians who belong to “the invisible church” live with the hope of inheriting eternal life, which is the property of heaven. This is what it means that “you were called to the one hope.”

In verses 5 and 6, Paul says, “(There is) one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” This signifies that “the invisible church,” i.e., “the holy catholic Church,” believes in Christ as the one Lord, holds the one true faith in the triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—and that baptism based on this true faith in the triune God is one and the same, regardless of when or where it is administered. Furthermore, it affirms that the Father, who governs all existence in the universe, is one and only. By stating these things, Paul makes it clear that while the communities of this world are transient, “the holy catholic Church” is an eternal community, and true Christians are permanent members who receive eternal life.

Then, in verses 7-16, Paul speaks of the churches on earth that belong to “the holy catholic Church.” Specifically, these were probably the churches in Ephesus and the surrounding towns, which were the recipients of this letter. However, what is written in verses 7-16 applies to some extent not only to those churches in the New Testament era but also to churches in various times and places. First, in verse 7 of today’s passage, Paul says, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” “Each one of us” refers to each individual Christian. “According to the measure of Christ’s gift” refers to Christ’s plan regarding what gifts to give to whom and in what measure. And “grace was given” means that various gifts of grace were given.

When we live a life of faith as members of the church on earth, it is important to remember that it is Christ’s plan that determines what gifts are given to whom and in what measure. Before Christ was crucified, the disciples did not yet understand what Christ’s salvation was. They also did not yet understand how those who were saved should serve Christ. Therefore, just as people in this world compare their abilities and status and argue about who is the greatest, the same thing was happening among Christ’s disciples. Luke 9:46 records that “an argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest” (NIV 2011). If we do not understand what Christ’s salvation is or how those who have been saved should serve Christ, we will end up comparing ourselves with other Christians and saying, “Who is the greatest?” Christ’s salvation is that we, who were originally sinners, have been forgiven of our sins through Christ’s cross. And to serve Christ is to serve the church, which is the body of Christ, with the gifts given to each believer. Since it is Christ’s plan to determine who will receive what gifts and in what measure, we should simply be thankful for the gifts we have received and use them. There is no need to compare oneself with one another.

Verses 8-11 describe how Christ, who died on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is now pouring out gifts upon the church on earth.

Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers.

This passage is very difficult to understand. First, the phrase in quotation marks, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men,” is a quotation of Psalm 68:19 in the Old Testament. Psalm 68:19 reads, “You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men.” This psalm sings of the Lord God as a warrior who fights for the people of Israel. The background to this psalm is the history of the ancient Israelites, who were saved from slavery in Egypt by the power of the Lord God and conquered the land of Canaan by the power of the Lord God. The Lord God, who defeated the Egyptian army and saved the Israelites, gave the Ten Commandments and other laws to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, defeated the people of Canaan, and gave the land of Canaan to the Israelites, reigning as the King of all the world. The phrase, “You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men,” sings of the Lord God’s reign as King over all the world.

Paul interprets this “you” as the Lord Jesus Christ and changes the phrase “receiving gifts among men” to “gave gifts to men,” quoting Psalm 68:19. “Receiving gifts among men” and “gave gifts to men” have opposite meanings. Isn’t this too much of a change in wording for a quotation? However, the last verse of Psalm 68, verse 36, says, “the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.” In other words, since the Lord God reigns as the King of all the world, he “gives power and strength to his people,” Israel. This is the conclusion of the psalm. By linking this conclusion to verse 19, Paul changed the words and quoted Psalm 68:19 as “he gave gifts to men.” Through this quotation, he asserts that the resurrection and ascension of Christ, who died on the cross, and his reign from the heavenly throne, governing the world and distributing gifts to his people, the church, were foretold in the Old Testament.

Some may feel that this kind of quotation gives the impression of straining to fit something that does not fit, or forcing an interpretation that suits one’s own purposes. However, by changing the words and quoting Psalm 68:19, Paul seeks to show how the overall message of Psalm 68 applies to Jesus Christ. Therefore, while this is not a literal quotation, it can be said to be an appropriate interpretation and quotation of Psalm 68. By quoting a psalm that sings of the Lord as a warrior, Paul seeks to assert that Christ has overcome the spiritual power of the Greek gods who were believed in by the Ephesians and now reigns on the heavenly throne, governing all the world.

The sentence in verse 9, “In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?” applies “He ascended” to Christ’s ascension and implies that since he ascended, he must have first descended to the earth. That is, the phrase “descended into the lower regions, the earth” refers to the incarnation of God’s only Son, Christ, as a human being in this world. And the sentence in verse 10, “He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things,” refers to Christ, who was born as a human being on this earth, dying on the cross, and then rising from the dead and ascending into heaven. The meaning of “fill all things” is “to be present,” as I explained in the exposition of 1:23 of this letter. Although Christ is in a place beyond this world, he is present in “all things” in this world through the Holy Spirit and is with us in this world. As stated in 1:23, “The church is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all,” Christ is particularly present in the church, and through this presence, he is present in this world.

Therefore, Paul says in verse 11, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,” explaining how Christ is present in the church. This means that Christ gave the gifts of the Holy Spirit to the church and raised up people filled with the Holy Spirit to perform various ministries within the church. “Apostles” are people like Paul and Peter who directly encountered the resurrected Christ and became witnesses of Christ.” “Prophets” are not the prophets of the Old Testament, but people in the New Testament era who preached by receiving the Holy Spirit. “Evangelists” are people who did not directly encounter the resurrected Christ like the apostles, but who proclaimed the gospel of Christ. “Shepherds” are those who care for the souls of believers in the Christian church like shepherds who care for sheep, and “teachers” are those who teach the Bible and Christian doctrine in the Christian church. The phrase “the shepherds and teachers” may indicate that a single person can be both a “shepherd” and a “teacher.” In fact, even in modern churches, caring for the souls of believers and teaching the Bible and Christian doctrine are deeply connected ministries.

The church on earth is sustained by the gifts given by Christ in heaven. Therefore, if a church is to continue proclaiming Christ’s salvation on earth, it must place its complete trust in Christ in heaven. A common mistake is to think of the church as a community of humans alone. In other words, to think that if the pastors, elders, and members who support the church as its pillars were to disappear, the church would cease to exist. Indeed, if the pastors, elders, and members who support the church as its pillars were to disappear due to various circumstances, it would be a great loss for the community. And without trust in Christ in heaven, that community would cease to exist. However, if they trust in Christ in heaven completely, he will pour out his gifts and provide pastors, elders, and believers who serve in various ways to that church. Therefore, we must never give up but continue to pray that pastors, elders, and believers will be given to the church. Christ in heaven hears that prayer and provides pastors, elders, and believers to the church.

The gift of salvation from God is given to us through our membership in the church, the community of faith. If we remain firmly connected to the church as a community, even on days when we feel that “life is hard” or “life is sad,” we can hold onto the hope that those hard or sad days will eventually come to an end. With the hope of having our sins forgiven and receiving eternal life, we can rise up. Indeed, hard or sad days will eventually come to an end. After days of hardship and sadness have ended, those who believe in Christ have the days prepared for them when they will be forgiven of their sins and live eternally with Christ. Let us continue our journey on earth this week as we look forward to those days.