Ephesians 4:6 and one God and Father of all, who rules over all, acts through all, and dwells in all. WEY
The word “all” appears four times in this verse which in Greek is a method of emphatically making a point. Everyone has the same God, yet this is a church that is divided.
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is one. 5 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.…..13 You shall fear the LORD your God; and you shall serve him only, and you shall cling to him, and take oaths by his name. 14 You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are around you; NHEB
The idea of Jesus as Lord can be a little confusing to those outside the faith as it might seem to them that we have more than one God. We don’t have three gods but one God who is all in all. The idea of the phrase “all in all” is that God’s purpose is to bring all things back to Himself, i.e., a return to the shalom that existed in the Garden prior to Genesis 3.
Ephesians 4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. NET
Paul is using the image of spiritual gifts to illustrate the point that although we are (or should be) unified, there is room for diversity as we all have been given different gifts. In other words, we are unified but not uniform.
Grace relates to an act of God. In this chapter along with chapter 3, grace differs from the meaning in Ephesians 2:8. Grace in chapter 2 is about the gift of salvation (saving grace) while here it is the individual spiritual gifts (empowering or enabling grace) that are given to each believer. Paul will list some of these gifts in verse 11 and has a more comprehensive list in 1Corinthians, chapter 12.
1Corinthians 12:1 With regard to spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were often led astray by speechless idols, however you were led. 3 So I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are different ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are different results, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. 7To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all. 8 For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as He decides to each person, who produces all these things. NET
The “measure of the gift of Christ” means that these gifts are distributed just as God intends for them to be distributed.
Ephesians 4:8 This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away,and gave gifts to men.” BSB
Paul appears to be quoting Psalm 68:18.
Psalms 68:18 Thou art gone up on high, thou hast led captivity captive, thou hast received gifts for man, yea, for they were rebellious, that thou mightest dwell among them. Brenton Septuagint
Psalms 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. KJ
There are psalms attached to days on the Jewish calendar. For example, this particular psalm ties to the Festival of Pentecost (Shavuot) that is one of the three annual pilgrimage festivals. Shavuot celebrates Moses coming down the mountain bringing gifts and takes place 50 days after the first seder of Passover. (Pentecost comes from the Greek word for 50). It is a psalm of a warrior God that describes a battle between God and the enemies of God. A psalm about calling God’s people and defeating His enemies.
The quote in Ephesians in many translations is different than what we see in Psalms. In the Psalm, He is leading captives and receiving gifts. In Ephesians, He is giving gifts. It appears that Paul has either misquoted Scripture or changed Scripture.
One explanation is that Paul is doing this from memory since it isn’t like he has a scroll of Psalms at hand. This seems unlikely since the oral tradition was so strong at this time. A second possibility is that Paul heard the text differently than what we have today. Hebrew was no longer an everyday language by Paul’s time. As a result, Paul might have been more familiar with the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) as well as the rabbinical interpretations of the text. Some think that like a jazz musician, Paul is improvising which is how rabbis often work. While Scripture operates on a literary level, it also operates on a spiritual level. The rabbinical focus is more on what the text means rather than what it says. This makes some sense as from a Jewish perspective it isn’t the text that is important but rather the rabbinical interpretation of the text. As such, Paul’s focus as a rabbi would be on the spiritual meaning of the text. So Paul could be making (or using) an application of a familiar text. Another possibility is that if we had the original manuscripts and/or a more accurate translation, the texts would match.
There are problems in translating the Hebrew text into English, particularly the Hebrew word laqah that is used in this verse which can be” translated as “received or as “took” (i.e., taken for distribution). Examples of a king sharing the spoils he has received from those he defeated show up in 1Samuel 30:26 and Ester 2:18. (Interestingly enough, this word appears to translated more often as “took” or “taken” in other parts of the Old Testament). Understanding the context is important in translating from Hebrew as this word can be understood in some situations as God taking gifts in order to give them to men. From Paul’s (as well as our) perspective from this side of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection we see that He has defeated sin and death and in turn, given us the gift of the Holy Spirit as well as the individual gifts for the building up of the church.
From the Matthew Henry Concise Commentary: “Unto every believer is given some gift of grace, for their mutual help. All is given as seems best to Christ to bestow upon every one. He received for them, that he might give to them, a large measure of gifts and graces; particularly the gift of the Holy Ghost”.