“He Led Captivity Captive”
by Pastor Marie Esposito
Read Ephesians 4:7-13
This portion of Scripture is about grace, unity, equipping, deliverance and God’s overcoming
Grace teaches us how to live each day, turning our backs on unholy and self-indulgent lifestyles and equipping us to live a self-controlled, upright, godly, life in this present age.
He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.
Captivity is enslavement- in this case, enslavement to sin.
He led… He has authority over
He took captivity captive – He released us from the bondage of sin which held us captive.
He not only took away our captivity- HE TOOK CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE.
THAT CAPTIVITY CANNOT TAKE US CAPTIVE AGAIN.
And He gave gifts to men.
This encompasses Holy Spirit first, since He left us in Holy Spirit’s care.
He led captivity captive is expressive of Christ’s conquests and triumph over sin, satan, the world, death, and the grave;
Colossians 2:14-15
He descended to this earthly realm, descended to the realm of death and was raised, ascended into the kingdom realm of heaven.
Christ’s TRIUMPHANT ASCENSION is the key to our overcoming victory. We are to follow Him, ascend, rise, into the secret place and overcome all our enemies with His help.
Holy Spirit’s job is to bring us into unity and to oneness based on our shared belief in Christ as Savior and Lord,
His atoning death,
His victorious resurrection and ascension
His reigning power
These empowering truths is what binds us together to minister to one another in love, and then to others. It’s the “unity of the Spirit that is the bond of peace
To be equipped- means to mend, repair, enable for function training perfecting making fully qualified for service. In the service of the kingdom of God. To be restored to our original fullness.
Equipped in Greek- Katartismos – setting bones during surgery. We as a church do not want to be “out of joint“
What was said about His crucifixion by those who witnessed it:
Matthew 27:50-54
Matthew 16: 15-19
Isaiah 53: TPT God’s triumphant power
:3-” a man of deep sorrows who was no stranger to suffering and grief.”
:4 “He carried our sins and endured the torment of our sufferings”
:5- “But it was because of our rebellious deeds that He was pierced and because of our sins that He was crushed. He endured the punishment THAT MADE US COMPLETELY WHOLE and in His wounding we found our healing.”
:11- “He will see light and be fully satisfied. By knowing him, the righteous one, my servant will make many to be righteous, because he, their sin-bearer, carried away their sins.”
:11 -this vision of Light is the light of a new day, the resurrection morning light that flooded into the empty tomb.
:11- this is an intimate knowledge, or experience of him by faith, that imparts righteousness of God to everyone who believes.
WE ARE FULLY PARDONED AND FULLY ACCEPTED IN CHRIST. .
:12 he will triumph and divide and share the spoils of His victory on the cross and resurrection with us: with His mighty ones..
Equipped:
We get equipped by joining ourselves with Jesus. We get equipped by joining ourselves to the body of Christ as well. In union with Him, we have all the tools for overcoming. Together, We’ve been made more than conquerors: OVERCOMERS IN THIS LIFE.
Declare and decree:
Romans 8:37-39 – Yet in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be MORE THAN CONQUERORS, and his demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything. So now I live with the confidence that there is nothing in the universe with the power to separate us from God’s love. I’m convinced that his love will triumph over death, life’s troubles, fallen angels or dark rulers in the heavens. There is nothing in our present or future circumstances that can weaken his love. There is no power above us or beneath us- no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God’s passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the ANOINTED ONE!