Ephesians 4:7-9

7 Yet grace (God's unmerited favor) was given to each of us individually [not indiscriminately, but in different ways] in proportion to the measure of Christ's [rich and bounteous] gift.

There is one body and all of its parts work together, yet we do not all do the same things. A leg acts differently than an eye, but the two parts work for the one body. An arm performs a different task than the liver, yet they both work for the one body, and they are all controlled by the one head. Jesus is our Head and whatever we are asked to do for the one body is all provided and controlled by Christ. No one can brag or boast about what the Head is causing them to do and nothing is ever done by a part of the one body on its own.

Let me just say that again, nothing is ever done by a member of the Body on its own! We do not first believe. We do not first have faith. We do not first choose. We believe because our Father has called us to believe, 2 Corinthians 12:3. We only have faith because our Lord causes us to have faith, Hebrews 12:2. We do not choose, we are chosen, Matthew 22:14. The freedom with is Truth is that our knowledge does not limit our Father from using us. Our works do not limit Him. Our mental capacity doesn’t limit Him. Our Father is always able to do far more then we can even dare to dream of through us, Ephesians 3:20.

8 Therefore it is said, When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive [He led a train of vanquished foes] and He bestowed gifts on men.

Through Christ we are no longer captives. We have all of the gifts that our Head has. There is now only One and we are part of the One. There is nothing that Jesus is or has that we are not one with. We are perfectly united now with our Father and He can now perfectly use us just as He perfectly uses Jesus. There is no part of the One body that cannot now be used perfectly by our Father to serve the world and the Kingdom. 

9 [But He ascended?] Now what can this, He ascended, mean but that He had previously descended from [the heights of] heaven into [the depths], the lower parts of the earth?

When Jesus descended, when He died, what did He do for 2 1/2 days?

In which He went and preached to the spirits in prison, [The souls of those] who long before in the days of Noah had been disobedient, when God's patience waited during the building of the ark in which a few [people], actually eight in number, were saved through water. 1 Peter 3:19-20

Jesus’ Spirit went and preached to those in Hades. He went to share the Truth. He did this to set the people who were there free. Our Father didn’t send Jesus down to the realm of the dead to just talk to them. He sent Him down to set them free. How cruel would our Father be if He sent Jesus down to show the people what they could have had if they had only been obedient? No, Jesus was sent for the sick and lost and whether they were alive or dead didn’t matter, Jesus came to set the captives free! You want to have a great study, go study the last three chapters of Revelation and see what Jesus will do again for the dead.