“Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, [by His resurrection] He LED Captivity Captive …” (Eph. 4:8)

Thus, Christ today exercises His leadership as “Head of the body” from heaven through the providence of His Eternal “Spirit of life” that indwells every believer and also through the Spirit-inspired writings of the Bible, as well as the Spirit-inspired writing and preaching of those whom he has especially gifted for that work.

“For it became him (The Father), for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory (meaning, “full expression,” not heaven), to make the captain of their salvation perfect (complete) through sufferings. (Hebrews 2:10)

Christ leads each member of “His body” by His Indwelling Spirit “in us.” Jesus ascended into heaven and was exalted to God the Father’s “right hand,” the seat of authority. His leadership includes the work Christ has done and is doing and will do today through the agency of His Holy Spirit.

First, the Holy Spirit was given to Jesus “little flock” (Luke 2:32) of disciples of Israel.

 “he breathed on them (His Jewish disciples), and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:” (Jn. 20:22)

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13)

 “(Jesus) Having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured forth this which you both see and hear” (Acts 2:33).

Today, we of “His body” enjoy that He has freed us and that He leads individually as members of “His body.”

 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Cor. 3:17)

 “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: (Colossians 1:27)

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)

Ultimately, He will gather up all those whom He ransomed from the earth, both the living and the dead; they will ‘awake’ and ‘ascend’ as Jesus did. Christ has led us in view of His resurrection and His ascension. Jesus Christ is the “firstfruits” (1Cor. 15:20-23), the “forerunner” (Heb. 6:19-20) of all His ransomed slaves, all the redeemed from the beginning of time unto “the dispensation of the fullness of times” (Eph. 1:10).

Since we are viewing the words “he led” (Eph. 4:8) as an act of Christ, beginning with his ascension, and continuing throughout the grace gospel age, then we should see those words as including what will be His final act of leadership on earth. That final act is one that He will perform personally at his second coming to earth to 1) judge in wrath, 2) save Israel, and 3) set up His Millennial kingdom on earth.

Summing Up Ephesians 4:7-10:

• Jesus “... descended ...” - Christ’s descent was “into the lower parts of the earth,” that is to His "grave" in the Tomb.

Again, Jesus’ soul did not go into the ‘Hell (Gehenna),’ “the lake of fire,” or “Paradise,” but to “the grave” [Greek, Hades). Jesus had said.

“fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy (Gk. apollymi, totally destroy, annihilate) both soul and body in hell (Gehenna, “the lake of fire”)” (Matt. 10:28).

No power on earth can destroy a soul, but God can snuff it out by the loss of one’s spirit at death (Eccl .12:7) It takes both body and spirit to produce a "living soul" (Gen. 2:7). The soul is the very person, the self, the being that exists now and beyond physical death, lying asleep in “the grave”.  The dead believer's soul will be awakened and resurrected with his new glorified body. Only the lost souls of the dead  will go to the Gehenna “(the lake of fire),” the place of “eternal destruction” (2Thes. 1:9) of the body… after their “spirit returns to the Lord who gave it” (Eccl. 12:7), thereby their soul is simultaneously extinguished.

• Christ “led captivity captive” in that God, through the “redemption” in Christ’s blood of cross, released believing sinners of the O. T., who until then only had their sins “covered.” Now their sins were “forgiven” (Rom. 3:25). They were thus set free from the domain of Satan’s kingdom, and transferred into Christ’s kingdom. They will partake of the “first resurrection” to reign on earth at His 2^nd coming.
• Jesus was the One who “led” all believers. Christ is the leader, being the “first fruits” in “resurrection,” as the “forerunner” guaranteeing the resurrection of all believers. Upon His ascension to glory, He took the ownership as the leader of His now ‘freed slaves’ by the power and gifts of His Holy Spirit already discussed earlier.

All dead believers of every age will one day soon “awake” and resurrect from “the grave” to meet Him and be led to their eternal destiny;

• First, the members of “the body of Christ” will be “caught up [raptured]” to dwell “eternal in the heaven: (2Cor 5:1b).
• About seven years later all the believers of Israel’s “gospel of the kingdom” will awake from their “sleep” in “the grave” to be resurrected immortal in “the 1^st resurrection,” to then co-reign on earth with Christ in His Millennial Kingdom (Rev. 5:10, 20:6).

Thus, all believers will go to their eternal reward – either to reign on earth, as applies to Israel, or… “reign with Him” in heaven (2Tim. 2:12), as applies to the members of “the church, which is His body.” (Eph. 1:22b-23a)

Today Christ reigns from heaven:

1. as the “Head” of “the body of Christ,” as the “captain [Gk. archegos, chief leader] of our salvation,” and
2. as the King, Shepherd and soon to be the Bridegroom of Israel.

Christ will “in the dispensation of the fulness of times” in-gather all His “elect” (all believers of all ages) into His One glorious overarching kingdom, to reign both “in heaven” and “on earth.”

“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:” (Eph. 1:10)