Eph-80-81 - Lesson 29 - Ephesians 4: 9-16
Well, take your Bibles tonight and we go back to the fourth chapter of the Book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter four, we begin tonight with verse nine. In the King James we read of verse nine, chapter four of Ephesians, Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? This verse nine has caused no end of opportunities of confusion to most people. And I don' t believe, basically, they ' ll ever get it straightened out, because I don' t think too many people really want to get it straightened out. And I think it' s very simple and very easy if you want to know it, like a lot of things. But if you don' t, then you got problems. The major problem that they have in this verse are with those words, ' he also descended first into the lower parts.' And the Research Department did an extensive piece of research in this field and laid this in my hands in preparation for the teaching of it. But I really have no great desire go through all of it, because the greatest of all the scholars disagree on all of it. Somebody says he went to hell. Somebody else says that he witnessed to the in spirits, and all those things. And it just doesn't make very much sense. This ' also descended first into the lower parts,' I think if you want to understand it, you' ll have to go to Acts two for a moment. Acts chapter 2:27, Because thou will not leave my soul in hell, hades, the grave... neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. The Bullinger translates this, ' the lower parts, that is to say, the earth.' And that, of course, I believe is accurate and true and it's simple. This ' of the earth' is a genitive of opposition. Conybeare and Howson... now the word ' he went up.' What does it say? What does it mean? ' But that he first came down to the earth below.' And this, they took from my teaching of the class a number of years ago. This word ' descend' equals ' sent from God.' That's literally what it equals. Just ' sent from G
From this work
was the author of numerous books in the field of Biblical research, including Are the Dead Alive Now?; Receiving the Holy Spirit Today; Jesus Christ Our Passover; and Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed . Additionally, he developed and taught several comprehensive classes directed toward helping people to understand the Bible and to increase the power of God in their lives, such as the Power For Abundant Living series, Living Victoriously, and the University of Life courses. Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille was the founder and president of a world-wide Biblical research, teaching, and fellowship ministry for forty years; as well as the founder and president of several Biblical research centers, colleges, leadership training, and Christian outreach programs associated with it. Victor Paul Wierwille served the Lord with unending joy all the days of his life as he travelled continuously throughout the