One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism; the Ascent of Christ (Ephesians 4:5–10)

Eph. 4:5. One Lord, one faith, one Baptism.

“Here is yet another incentive to loving communion!” (Oecumenius). Previously he said that we must abide in this communion because all are one body with one spirit—not for time only but for eternity. Now he sets forth as an incentive the fact that every Christian, taken individually, is the same as every other; in the manner by which people become Christians, all are equal, none having an advantage over another, none at a disadvantage; just as all are born into the world by the same path—neither king nor the poorest pauper differs in this—so all are made Christians in the same manner. The Lord accomplished salvation and made a beginning of the new life as the Firstborn. To Him one draws near by faith and gains access to communion in the one life contained in Him—by Baptism. In whomever this has been accomplished, that person has become a Christian. And in this the Lord is one for all, and faith is one, and Baptism is one. They have neither more nor less significance for anyone—they are equal for all, and impart their power equally to all. “One Lord”—Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God—true God of true God, begotten, not made—for us men descended from the heavens, became man, suffered, was crucified, died, was buried, rose again, ascended into the heavens, and sat at the right hand of the Father, uniting all in His own person with God. But in order for all to be actually reunited with God, it is necessary to be united by a living bond with the Lord, as the Lord Himself prayed: “that they all may be one: as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in us” (Jn. 17:21). Or as He had explained before this: “I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (Jn. 14:20). The path to this union is opened by faith, which here is completely one for all and speaks, as it were, with one voice. Each confesses: I am perishing; there is no salvation for me except in the Lord; to Him I cleave and to Him I surrender and consecrate myself. This confession opens the door to the Lord. No one brings anything extra besides this, and nothing besides this is taken into account: neither lineage, nor education, nor deeds, nor previous religion. All else aside: only this one confession needs to be presented for access to the Lord. He who has presented his faith is united with Him by a living bond through Baptism, in which everyone is immersed into the death of the Lord and is made a partaker of His Resurrection, is grafted into the Lord and becomes a member of Him. The Apostle says as it were: here is how each of you became a Christian. Look then: has anyone in any respect something more than another, that he should hold himself apart from him? Is the Lord more the Redeemer, Saviour, and Reconciler for you than for another? Did your faith combine with some advantage so as to have greater power than others’, or was it one and the same as that of all? Was your Baptism not performed by three immersions with the invocation of the name of the Most Holy Trinity, just as for every other? And do not the words apply equally to all who have been baptized: “as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried with Him by baptism into death” (Rom. 6:3, 4); and: “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27)? Holy Chrysostom says here: “One and the same is He for all. Was He named greater for you and lesser for another? Were you saved by faith, and he by works? Were your sins forgiven in Baptism, and his not? — Far be such a thought from us!”

Eph. 4:6. One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all of us.

We are united with the Lord Jesus Christ in order that through Him we might be reunited with God, from whom we fell away by the transgression of the commandment in paradise. And the Lord retains no one in Himself alone, but escorts all to God the Father, with whom He Himself is also one, as is the Holy Spirit. Behold the golden divine chain! — The Lord is in the Father, we are in Him, and He is in us. Thus far has the Apostle raised the unity of all. Now nothing remains, either in heaven or on earth, that could serve as grounds for separation from others or division from one another. He has raised all to God the Father and speaks of Him as being “above all and through all and in all of us,” making it understood that for one who clearly comprehends the matter of Christianity, any separation from others is inconceivable, for he must behold the one God—Father of all, filling all, inseparably with the Son and the Holy Spirit. That what is said here of God pertains to how He has been pleased to relate to us through the economy of salvation is shown by the words “Father…” and “us;” and that it is said of Him inseparably from the Son and the Holy Spirit is evident from the fact that, as already noted, the whole body of believers is filled by the one Spirit, and all who are baptized by faith in the one Lord put on that Lord. How could God the Father be above all, and in all, and through all separately, when in all of them there is already both the Spirit and the Lord? Therefore the words “above all, through all, and in all” express the relation of the Godhead to humanity reconciled with it through the economy of salvation. “Above all” means that God especially oversees all believers, extending His special care and love over all of them as over sons; “through all” means that God, filling them all, acts through them—they are a willing instrument that has consciously surrendered itself to His all-working, whereas all others attempt to do everything themselves and give God no room to act in them; “in all” means that God rests in them with His favour, love, and peace: He is at rest in relation to them, for His purposes are accomplished in them. And at the Last Judgment, the person who gives rest to another will receive recompense from that one. Holy Chrysostom says: “Above all,” that is, higher than all; “through all,” that is, He provides for all things and governs all; “in all,” that is, He dwells in all. Blessed Theodoret writes: “And this: ‘above all’ denotes sovereignty, ‘through all’—providence, ‘in all’—indwelling.” So too Oecumenius and Theophylact.

Others divide this inseparable relation of the Godhead to believers—though not in a divisive sense—and refer the first clause to God the Father, the second to God the Son, and the third to God the Holy Spirit, so that in the last two the Father acts through the Son and the Spirit. Thus holy Damascene: “One above all is the Father, who is through all—through the Word that proceeds from Him—and in all through His Spirit. Wishing to show how the likeness of the divine unity shines forth in us, the Apostle proclaimed the distinct properties of the Trinity in the one God” (or, the distinct workings in us of the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity he referred to the one God). Blessed Jerome likewise writes: “Some refer the words ‘above all and through all and in all’ to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: ‘above all’—to the Father, because He is the Cause of all; ‘through all’—to the Son, because all things were made through the Son; ‘in all’—to the Holy Spirit, because He is given to believers, and we become the temple of the Holy Spirit: both the Father and the Son dwell in us.”

The conclusion from all of the above is this: “We have one Lord, we have received one Baptism, we have brought one faith, we have one God and Father. Therefore it is fitting for you, as brothers, to be of one mind with one another” (Theodoret).

Holy Paul has pointed out the virtues upon which the loving communion of Christians is founded, and has set forth the most powerful incentive toward it; now he shows in what this communion manifests itself, or what it looks like in action. It manifests itself in mutual assistance and cooperation—in serving one another, each with what he has and according to the gift he has received. Even in the natural order one cannot say that anyone is wholly without gifts; everyone is capable of something. And in the order of grace, everyone in the sacrament of Chrismation receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. So then, whatever each has received, with that let him serve others. The holy Apostle Peter expresses this commandment thus: “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:10). And how precisely to serve, holy Paul describes in the Epistle to the Romans, saying: he who has received prophecy, let him prophesy; he who has received ministry, let him minister; he who has received teaching, let him teach; he who has means, let him give with simplicity; and so on (Rom. 12:6–8). Here, however, he says only that each has received grace, leaving it to the Ephesians themselves to draw the conclusion: you have received it—so serve others with what you have received.

Eph. 4:7. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

As in the body there are different members and every member has its own particular function, through the performance of which it works for the whole body, so it is in the body of the Church, whose Head is the Lord Christ. But in the natural body the head does not produce the members and does not assign them their functions, whereas in the body of the Church the Lord Jesus Christ, its Head, is also its producer—the producer of each member. Each member receives its spiritual existence from Him; from Him likewise the place assigned to it in the body of the Church and the gift of grace for its service are given to it. This is precisely what the Apostle here mentions. Each has received from the Lord grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit in the measure that it pleased the Lord. Serve others with it—and you will find yourself in living and active communion with all.

Such, it seems, is the purpose for which holy Paul speaks these words here, since he had been speaking of the body throughout what preceded, and immediately after this will speak of the body again—specifically from the perspective of how it is built up through the harmonious interaction of all the members (Eph. 4:15, 16).

Those things which all must equally possess, those things by which Christian life itself is conditioned—belonging to the body of the Church, faith, hope, Baptism, having God as Father and the Lord as one’s Head—all of these all possess alike. But this sameness does not produce perfect equality in all or eliminate distinctions. Each one has everything that another has, yet in a different degree, and beyond that each receives a particular grace and gift. Under the condition of such diversity, and by means of the interaction and communion that this diversity makes possible, the one many-membered body is built up, harmoniously compacted together. Perfect equality would not allow a body to be formed, “for ‘if they were all one’ ‘member, where would the body be? But now they are many members, yet one body’ (1 Cor. 12:19, 20).”

But the diverse grace and diverse gift given to each is not given for his own sake, but for the body of the Church. Therefore to take occasion from this to separate from others or to exalt oneself above them when the gift is greater, or to envy others when it is lesser, is utterly senseless. Holy Chrysostom says: “That one receives more and another less is of no account, but is a matter of indifference, for each of those who receives contributes to the building up of the whole. It is not for the sake of one’s own merit that one receives more and another less, but for the sake of others—in whatever measure Christ Himself has distributed to each. As he says elsewhere: ‘God has set the members, each one of them, in the body as it pleased Him’ (1 Cor. 12:18). If another has something more in his gift, do not grieve at this, for his labours are also greater. Remember also that from the one who received five talents, five were required in return, while the one who received two brought two and nevertheless received no less a reward than the first. The Apostle says of himself: ‘Woe is me,’ as indeed to everyone who has received the gift of Apostleship, ‘if I do not preach the gospel’ (1 Cor. 9:16). But it is woe to him because he has received; whereas you are free from such a danger.” Oecumenius reasons in a similar way: “To each was given grace—that is, the gift of the Holy Spirit—according to the measure of Christ’s gift. The Apostle says as it were: if He (Christ) measured it out, He certainly measured well, in the way that is suitable and beneficial for you. And if all is gift, then give thanks for what you received, and do not envy what you did not receive, for that too is a gift. The Distributor and Giver knows what is best and most beneficial: and so He has done.”

When is this particular gift given to each? — In the sacrament of Chrismation. In this sacrament the natural capacities receive a gracious seal, and some of them are raised to a height which in the natural order they could not have attained; but its particular quality is that in it a gift is bestowed for the needs of the Church. The Lord is the performer of all the sacraments. The gift communicated to each in Chrismation is from Him. Christian communities that have deprived themselves of this sacrament are devoid of gifts.

Eph. 4:8. Therefore it says: ascending on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.

Holy Paul has said that the dispenser of grace to each is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now he clarifies and proves this. Whoever knows the course of the work of salvation accomplished by the Lord sees this for himself. For it is an article of the confession of faith to believe that the Son of God descended to earth, was incarnate, suffered, died on the cross, rose again, ascended into heaven, and sat at the right hand of the Father. But He did not leave those who believe in Him as orphans; rather, as He had promised before His Passion, He sent them the Holy Spirit—the source of all gracious gifts. There was no Spirit until the Lord was glorified. But when He was glorified, having received the glory that He had with the Father before the world was, the Holy Spirit descended upon earth in its wake. The Holy Spirit is the source of the gifts of grace; but since the Lord—the Head—builds up the body of the Church for Himself, it is He who determines the measure of gift for each: to one, one talent; to another, two; to another, five. This divine working for our salvation is self-evident from the structure of the faith. But holy Paul sets it alongside the foreshadowings of the Old Testament and thereby invests it with the force of an eternal predetermination.

The Holy Spirit pointed out to holy Paul a foreshadowing of how the Lord, having ascended into heaven, distributes grace to each according to the measure of His gift—in the march of God, who led the Israelites out of Egypt, led them through the wilderness, then conquered the Promised Land for them and distributed it among the sons of Israel. This march is celebrated in Psalm 67: “Let God arise…” — whose content may be seen in the following words: “They have seen Your processions, O God” (Ps. 67:25). The event of how God distributed the conquered land among the twelve tribes of Israel is depicted in the psalm thus: “You ascended on high, You led captivity captive; You received gifts among men” (Ps. 67:19). These words the Apostle applies to the Lord to show how He, having ascended into heaven, took into His authority all gracious powers and distributes them to the faithful. This application is self-evident; the correspondence between the type and the antitype is obvious and requires no explanation. That the Prophet uses the second person while the Apostle Paul uses the third is because the Prophet was depicting the march of God in the form of a prayer, while holy Paul speaks of it as a past event. His words may be read thus: Scripture says that He, ascending on high, led captivity captive. It says this, that is, in the form of a type. As for the discrepancy between the Psalm’s “You received” and the Apostle’s “He gave”—this is explained by the fact that in the original text there stands a verb that means: to receive, or to take, in order to give. Thus in Ex. 25:2, God says: let them take for Me the firstfruits—that is, let them take and give to Me. In 3 Kgs. 17:10, the prophet Elijah says to the woman: take me some water in a vessel—or, take me some bread—that is, take and give me. In both these instances the same verb stands as in the psalm. “You received”, therefore, means: received and distributed, or took and distributed the gifts among men. Holy Paul, instead of saying: led the captivity captive, took and distributed the gifts, says directly: “led captivity captive and gave gifts.”

This reference to such a type suggests a new thought: that the state of humiliation of Christ the Saviour was only apparently such; in reality it was a triumphant march toward victory with rich spoils. The more humiliating something appears, the more devastating the victorious blow concealed within it. What is more humiliating than death on the cross? Yet it was precisely the cross that was the chief victory. By it, death was trampled down, eternal Justice was satisfied, heaven was reconciled with earth, and the treasury of the mercies of God was opened. From it came the very Resurrection itself—which could not but follow such a death.

What captivity did the Lord lead captive? — When we speak of captivity, we ordinarily mean the captive persons, but that is the primary sense; the spoils are always implied as well. Whom then did the Lord lead captive, and what spoils did He take? — He led captive our enemies—the devil, death, sin, and hell—and took from them all whom they had taken prisoner and held under their tyranny. From the cross the Lord descended into hell and led out from there all the patriarchs, prophets, and righteous ones, and brought them into His Kingdom. After the Lord’s Ascension, they were the first to form the heavenly body of the Church under the Head, the Lord. And over the whole human race these enemies lost their power; so that as soon as anyone believes in the Lord, they immediately withdraw, or are repelled from the one who has believed. But since in this passage the Apostle speaks of the Lord’s distribution of grace and by way of explanation cites the text about the captivity He led captive, it is more directly fitting to understand by this captivity “all the divine powers that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3)—all that was obtained for us by the Lord through the economy of salvation He accomplished: the forgiveness of sins, new life, gracious gifts, adoption, and eternal blessedness. These gifts He gives to all who draw near to Him in faith and who remain ever faithful to the faith.

All that is indicated here under the image of captivity is named by the holy fathers and teachers—one by one, and some by others. Holy Chrysostom says: “Of what captivity does the Apostle speak? — Of the captivity of the devil. For the Lord led captive this tyrant—I mean, the devil, and death, and the curse, and sin.” “And us,” Theophylact adds, “who were under the devil and held by those enemies.” Oecumenius supplements this: “He led us captive—a gracious and saving captivity. Having conquered the Devil in invisible warfare, He took us captive—not in order to enslave us further, but to deliver us from the bitter tyranny of the evil one.” Blessed Jerome writes: “We were taken captive by the devil and distributed among his underlings. The Lord came, freed us from the bonds of our enemies, and to the liberated—whom as Conqueror He wrested from the hands of the enemy—distributed various gifts of grace. This is the captivity He led captive. All of this the Apostle recalls for the following reason: since he had previously said ‘endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,’ he wishes to teach that, in spite of the diverse gifts, the Church is harmoniously in agreement within itself, and that no occasion for divisions and discord is provided by the fact that each has received gifts according to the measure of Christ’s gift, and not all the same gifts.” Ambrosiaster speaks of the leading out of those who were in hell as of a captivity: “He harrowed hell when He led out of it the captives who were held there in bondage on account of Adam’s transgression and their own sins, and having ascended from there, brought them up to heaven. Some of them rose then and appeared to many as a testimony to the victory over death (Matt. 27:52). Captives are usually strangers and are taken captive against their will. But the Saviour took His own captive, and not against their will. He led them captive by kindling in them, through His appearance among them, the desire to be freed.”

Eph. 4:9, 10. Now that He ascended, what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same One who also ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.

In the words cited from the psalm the Apostle indicated that the Lord distributes gracious gifts according to His own will, because He, as the spoils of victory, acquired for us all the divine powers that pertain to life and godliness. Now he explains the same thought more fully, adding that He has authority so to act, for He was everywhere, set His seal everywhere, and fills all things. He did not only ascend into heaven from earth, but first descended to earth and passed into the very lowest regions, lower than which there is nothing, and then ascended higher than all the heavens—so high that there is nowhere higher to ascend. This, then, is who He is! — He who fills all things, holds sovereignty over all things, holds all things in His hands. Therefore He has the authority to distribute grace according to the measure of His gift. Holy Chrysostom says: “From the concept of ascending he leads to the thought of descending. He descended, he says, into the very lowest regions of the earth, beyond which there are no others. And He ascended higher than all, beyond which there is nothing else. This denotes His power and authority (as the God-man). For (as God) He filled all things even before. What he says in another place, ‘Therefore God also has highly exalted Him’ (Phil. 2:9), he also expresses here with the words: ‘He who descended is the same One who also ascended.’”

“Now that He ascended, what does it mean but that He also first descended?” Hearing the word “ascended,” do not stop at it, but bring to mind that He also descended. Strictly speaking, an ascension into heaven can only be attributed to one who has also descended from heaven, as the Lord Himself said: “no one has ascended to heaven but He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven” (Jn. 3:13). Photius, quoted by Oecumenius, writes: “Having said ‘ascended,’ he explains how this word ‘ascended’ is to be understood. Not as if He had begun His movement with this ascension, or as if He had begun His existence here below. No! From the beginning He was in the heights of the divine majesty and the Father’s glory; but through the economy of salvation He descended—descending even to hell—and then ascended again to the divine height befitting Him. This is what is meant when ‘He ascended’ is said of Him.”

What do the words “the lower parts of the earth” mean? Some think that by this is simply denoted His descent to us, to earth, below. Earth can indeed be called, in comparison with the highest heaven, the lower region. But the holy fathers do not stop at the surface of the earth but descend into its lowest depths. “He descended,” says holy Damascene, “not only to earth but also beneath the earth.” Blessed Jerome writes: “The lower parts of the earth—hell, into which our Lord and Saviour descended in order to draw out from there the souls of the saints and lead them with Himself to the heavens.” Likewise Photius, quoted by Oecumenius, says that the Apostle points to hell with these words. The same conclusion is required by the words that follow—“that He might fill all things”—and by the earlier passage: “that you might be able to comprehend what is the height and the depth.” The Apostle’s intention is to say that the Lord, even as the God-man, penetrated everywhere and set everywhere the seal of His beneficent influence. By this He drew all things to Himself, united all things in Himself, and restored all things, becoming the source of every good for all that exists.

“He who descended is the same One who also ascended.” He was not exalted as a reward for earthly labour, but received back what He had with the Father before the world was. “It was not another who descended and yet another who ascended; but one and the same—although He descended without flesh and ascended with flesh” (Theodoret). “This passage strikes down Ebion and Photinus. For if He who ascended into heaven is the very same who had previously descended from heaven, how can it be said that our Lord Jesus Christ did not exist before Mary, but came into being after her? It also strikes down those who in their folly invented two sons—the Son of God and the Son of Man. For here it is stated very plainly that the one who ascends and the one who descends are one and the same” (Jerome). This last impious teaching belongs to Nestorius.

“Far above all the heavens.” This is the same as what was said earlier: “far above all principality and power and might” (Eph. 1:21), for it is not the place that matters, but what is in the place. And such a high priest was fitting for us—one who… was made higher than the heavens (Heb. 7:26) and surpassed all in perfections, authority, power, and the richness of His gifts. He descended lower than all and ascended higher than all—not merely to visit every place, but to leave everywhere the traces of His action upon those who dwell there and are capable of receiving it. This action reached those in hell and those who fill the heavens. Blessed Jerome writes: “We cannot know how the blood of Jesus Christ was beneficial for the Angels and for those who were in hell, but we cannot fail to know that it was beneficial for both. He descended to hell and ascended to the heavens, that He might fill those who were in those regions in the measure in which they were capable of receiving Him. From this it must be concluded that before the descent and ascension of Christ, all things were empty and stood in need of being filled by Him.”

“That He might fill all things.” In addition to what the Apostle says—that He descended lower than all and ascended higher than all—Ambrosiaster applies to the Lord the following further words of the prophet David: “His going out is from the end of the heaven, and His circuit to the ends of it” (Ps. 18:7). Let us add on our own: “and there is nothing hidden from His heat.” Sitting on the throne of glory at the right hand of the Father, He is seen by all as Lord of the whole world and Judge of the universe, and He fills all things with authority, might, glory, majesty, universal sovereignty, universal governance, and the abundance of gracious gifts, signs, and wonders. All things in the spiritual world are built up by Him, both in heaven and on earth; all things in the physical world are ordered by Him; all things are directed toward one end—that all may at last appear in the renewed form He has given them. Now all of this is accomplished in a hidden and invisible manner. But there will be a time when everything will come to pass openly and visibly. This hidden all-working is the filling by Him of all things. By faith we see this; it cannot be touched.