Paul here quotes and adjusts the language of Psalm 68, a cry of victory over Israel’s foes. In the psalm, the Lord assumes his throne atop the royal mountain and then receives gifts to mark his triumph. This is what newly inaugurated rulers or recently victorious warriors do: rest and receive the gifts of those hoping to buy their security. But not here in the Epistle to the Ephesians. Here the ascended King Jesus assumes the throne, not to receive gifts, but to give grace: “the apostles, the prophets,
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