Ephesians 4:10 - The Ultimate Descent

"The One having descended, He is also the One having ascended far above all the heavens, in order that He should fill up the all."

-Paul’s tangent away from the point he had been making about gifts that contribute to the oneness and growth of the body of Christ raises a question about to where and from where exactly did Christ descend?  Clearly the same person is doing both the descending and the ascending, as well as the filling, so it is unlikely that Paul is thinking about the Holy Spirit descending at this point (altho technically Christ filling all is tied to the concurrent ‘descent’ of the Holy Spirit).  Very likely he is repeating the same thoughts he shared earlier in Ephesians 1.20-23.  We see the exact same phrase - Christ ascended ‘far above all’, pretty much far above everything, in location and most definitely in station.  And His ability to fill all things is clearly tied to this ascending above all things.  Christ Himself said He needed to return to the Father in order that He could send the Helper, the Holy Spirit Who would not only dwell within and fill each and every believer but also bring conviction of sin and righteousness and of judgment to the entire world (John 14.16-17, 14.26, 16.7-11).

-For this writer, the passage does not actually require one to determine where Christ descended, whether to earth or to the grave or even further to the place of the dead.  But taken as a whole, when we have Christ filling all and ascending far above all, it makes sense to regard the place to which He descended in the extreme sense, as low as He could possibly go.  He ascended as high as high can be, having descended as low as low can go, to sheol, the place of the dead awaiting judgment, where He preached to them the Good News and set them free.  He led forth a host of former captives, having freed them from the power of death even as He conquered it Himself, and led them up to heaven.  Again we read about this in 1Peter 3.19-20 and 4.6.  We don’t have precise details as to the timing, like did Christ do all this in spirit while His body lay in the tomb?  For how long would He have been in sheol?  When exactly did He lead out the host of captives?  Clearly there are questions left unanswered - it would be simpler to simply maintain that the descent was merely from heaven to earth, as many modern commentators are wont to do.  But in spite of raising questions, it makes sense to consider an extreme descending as part of a broader subjection and filling of all things by our exalted Head and Lord Jesus Christ.  Yes, He is exalted on high, far above all, and our response, all particulars aside, is not to wrangle about unanswered and unnecessary details but rather to descend ourselves, the ultimate descent, to our knees, in humble submission and adoration.