The apostle, therefore, here teaches that God, the subject of the sixty-eighth Psalm, descended “ into the lower parts of the earth;” that “he ascended up above all heavens,” and that this was with the design “that he might fill all things.”
The Hebrew phrase 738 mismnn to which the apos- tle’s τὰ κατώτερα μέρη τῆς γῆς, (the lower parts of the earth,) answers, is used for the earth in opposition to heaven, Is. 44, 23; probably for the grave in Ps. 63, 10; as a poetical designation for the womb in Ps. 139, 15; and for Hades or the invisible world, Ez. 32, 24. Perhaps the majority of commentators take this last to be the meaning of the passage before us. They sup- pose the reference is to the descensus ad inferos, or to Christ’s “ descending into hell.” But in the first place this idea is entirely foreign to the meaning of the pas- sage in the Psalm on which the apostle is commenting. In the second place, there as here, the only descent of which the context speaks is opposed to the ascend- ing to heaven. ‘He that ascended to heaven is he who first descended to earth.’ In the third place, this is the opposition so often expressed in other places and in other forms of expression, as in John 3, 13, “ No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man who is in heaven.” John 6, 88, “I came down from heaven.” John 8,14, “I know whence I came and whither I go.” John 16, 28, “1 came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.” The expression of the apostle there-
CHAP. Iv. vs. 9. 10. 991
fore means, “{Π6 lower parts, viz. the earth.” The genitive τῆς γῆς is the common genitive of apposition. Compare Acts 2,19, where the heaven above is op- posed to the earth beneath ; and John 8, 23.
He that descended to earth, who assumed our nature, is the same also that ascended wp far above all heavens. Ὕ περάνω, longe supra, expressing the high- est exaltation. As the Hebrew word for heaven is in the plural form, the New Testament writers often use the plural even when the heavens are considered as one, as in the phrase βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. But often there is a reference to a plurality of heavens, as when the expression “all heavens” is used. The Jews reckoned seven heavens, and Paul, 2 Cor. 12, 2, speaks of the third heavens ; the atmosphere, the region of the stars, and above all the abode of God. Above all heavens plainly means above the whole universe ; above all that is created visible and invisible; above thrones, principalities, and powers. All things, all created things, are subject to the ascended Redeemer.
He is thus exalted, ἵνα πληρώσῃ τὰ πάντα, that he might fill all things. As the word πληρόω signifies to fill, to fulfil, to render perfect, and to accomplish, these words may mean—1. That he might fill all things, i. e. the universe with his presence and power. 2. That he might fulfil all the predictions and promises of God respecting his kingdom. 3. That he might render all perfect, replete with grace and goodness. 4. That he might accomplish all things necessary to the consummation of his work. The first interpreta-