Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

  - Ephesians 4.8

O helper of workers, ruler of all the good, guard on the ramparts and defender of the faithful, who lift up the lowly and crush the proud, ruler of the faithful...I beg that me, a little man trembling and most wretched, rowing through the infinite storm of this age, Christ may draw after Him to the lofty most beautiful haven of life...

  - Anonymous, Adiutor Laborantium, Irish, 6th century[1]

When Jesus ascended to heaven He “took captivity captive.”

That is, all those, chosen before the foundations of the world, who had been captive to sin, Satan, and the fear of death, He released from our captivity and seized us for Himself. He took captivity captive.

This is why Paul can say that even now all who believe on Jesus are seated with Him at the right hand of God (Eph. 2.6). Sin no longer controls us. Satan’s grip on us is broken. And death has no sting or victory over those who believe in Jesus.

We are captive to Him, and He will never let us go.

And now, belonging to Him as we do, He has bestowed upon us abundant gifts, so that we might use them in service to His Name and for the progress of His Kingdom. We are free and fully endowed for service to our Deliverer and King.

We may be little men, but gifted and drawn by Christ, the sky’s the limit with respect to what we may accomplish in His Name.

If we believe that He owns us, and believe that He has gifted us, let us believe by obeying Him and live as His disciples and witnesses. Not only will He take us to be with Him where He is, but we will discover the secret of living our lives here and now from the perspective and in the power of there and then.

We are captives of Jesus; let us take our world captive to serve Him as well!

Psalm 54.6 (Beaitudo: “Father of Mercies, in Your Word”)
Willingly will we praise You, Lord, gladly adore Your Name!
You have redeemed us by Your Word and blessed us by the same.

Lord, again this day I surrender all I am and all I have for You and Your glory. Use me in the progress of Your Kingdom, I pray.

In our In the Gates column we are working through a series applying the Law of God to matters of contemporary public policy. You never knew the Law was so rich and valuable. Be sure to check out our other columns while you visit our website. Remember, your gift to the ministry at this time will see a pre-release copy of The Landscape of Unseen Things heading your way. Just use the donate button here or at the website, or send your your girt to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Dr., Essex Junction, VT 05452.

T. M. Moore, Principal
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