Christ the Conquering King: Ephesians 4:8–10 in Light of Psalm 68

When Paul quotes Psalm 68 in Ephesians 4:8–10, he is not reaching for a poetic flourish or a convenient proof text. He is announcing a victory. And not merely a human or political one, but a cosmic triumph that reorders the spiritual geography of the world.

Here is the enigmatic scripture in its immediate textual contexts; Ephesians 4:7-10

7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” 9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Michael Heiser [1] helps us see that Paul is thinking in terms far larger than individual salvation or personal spiritual gifts. This passage is about the defeat of hostile spiritual powers, the reclamation of the nations, and the enthronement of Jesus as the Divine Warrior who now rules “far above all the heavens.”

To understand Paul’s argument, we must begin where he begins: Psalm 68.

Psalm 68: Yahweh’s Victory March

Psalm 68 is a victory hymn celebrating Yahweh’s triumphant march from Egypt to Zion. It recounts God’s historical acts of deliverance while simultaneously portraying him as the cosmic king who subdues both earthly enemies and unseen powers.

A crucial but often overlooked feature of Psalm 68 is its focus on Bashan.

15  Mount Bashan, majestic mountain,     Mount Bashan, rugged mountain, 16  why gaze in envy, you rugged mountain,      at the mountain where God chooses to reign,      where the Lord himself will dwell forever? 17  The chariots of God are tens of thousands       and thousands of thousands;      the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary. 18  When you ascended on high,      you took many captives;      you received gifts from people, even from the rebellious—       that you, Lord God, might dwell there.

In Israel’s imagination, Bashan—associated with Mount Hermon—was not merely another geographic region. It was enemy territory in both a physical and spiritual sense. In the ancient Near Eastern worldview, Bashan functioned as a rival cosmic mountain, a place associated with hostile divine beings. Psalm 22’s “bulls of Bashan” are not merely poetic animals; they are symbolic of powerful, oppressive forces aligned against God’s purposes.

When Psalm 68 describes Yahweh ascending on high and leading captives in his train (Psalm 68:18), it is portraying God’s victory over this rival spiritual domain. The image is not subtle: Yahweh has stormed the enemy stronghold—what later Jewish tradition would associate with the “gates of hell”—and emerged victorious.

This is the backdrop Paul assumes in Ephesians.

Jesus as the Divine Warrior

By quoting Psalm 68:18 and applying it to Jesus, Paul is making a staggering claim: Jesus is doing what Yahweh does.

Heiser describes this as Paul identifying Jesus as the “second Yahweh”—not a lesser deity, but the embodied presence of Israel’s God acting in continuity with his Old Testament identity. The ascension of Christ is not simply a return to heaven; it is the enthronement of the Divine Warrior who has defeated the powers that enslaved the nations.

This explains why Paul frames Christ’s ascension in explicitly cosmic terms:

“He ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.” (Ephesians 4:10)

This is authority language. Jesus now occupies the highest possible position, ruling over every spiritual tier that once housed rebellious powers.

Receiving or Giving Gifts? The Spoils of War

One of the most discussed tensions in Ephesians 4:8 is Paul’s apparent alteration of Psalm 68:18. The psalm says God received gifts from men; Paul says Christ gave gifts to men.

Heiser argues convincingly that this is not a mistake, nor a casual paraphrase. It reflects an ancient military pattern.

In the ancient world, a conquering king did two things:

1. He received tribute and captives as a public demonstration of victory.

2. He distributed the spoils of war to his people as a sign of beneficence and loyalty.

Paul’s focus is on the second act.

Drawing on interpretive traditions like the Aramaic Targums—which themselves render the verse as “giving gifts”—Paul emphasizes the outcome of Christ’s victory. Having conquered the hostile powers through the cross and resurrection, Jesus now distributes the spoils of war to his people.

These “gifts” are not vague spiritual feelings. Paul immediately identifies them as concrete roles that build and sustain the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. The church’s structure is itself evidence that Christ has won.

The Descent: Earth or Underworld?

Paul’s brief explanation in Ephesians 4:9–10—“What does ‘he ascended’ mean except that he also descended into the lower regions?”—has generated centuries of debate. Heiser outlines two plausible readings, both rooted in Second Temple Jewish thought.

1. The Underworld Confrontation

One possibility is that Christ descended into Sheol to confront the imprisoned spirits associated with the transgression of the sons of God in Genesis 6. This interpretation aligns with texts like 1 Peter 3 and reflects a worldview in which Christ’s victory includes a declaration of defeat to ancient cosmic rebels.

2. The Descent of the Spirit

Alternatively, the “lower regions” may simply refer to the earth. In this view, the descent is not a journey into the underworld, but the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Christ’s ascension makes possible the Spirit’s arrival, which in turn enables the distribution of gifts to the church.

Importantly, both readings preserve the same theological point: Christ’s ascent is contingent upon his victory, and his victory results in empowerment for his people.

A Kingdom Announced, a War Decided

For Heiser, Paul’s use of Psalm 68 in Ephesians 4 is nothing less than an announcement that the kingdom of God has arrived.

The nations once placed under the authority of rebellious divine beings (Deuteronomy 32:8–9) are now under the lordship of Christ. The powers that ruled them have been publicly shamed and stripped of legitimate authority. Jesus now fills all things—not merely spatially, but jurisdictionally.

The church, then, is not an afterthought. It is the visible, embodied proof that Christ has won. Every gift exercised for unity, maturity, and truth is a tangible sign that the old rulers have fallen and a new king reigns.

Ephesians 4:8–10 is not a sidebar about spiritual gifts. It is a victory proclamation.

The Divine Warrior has ascended.The captives have been led away.The spoils have been given. And the nations are being reclaimed.

Footnotes

[1] Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm; Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible