Ephesians 1:18 says, “The eyes of your heart having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” According to this verse, we need to know two things: the hope of God’s calling and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. The Apostle Paul’s first prayer in the book of Ephesians is that we would have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in order to know certain things, the first of which is the hope of God’s calling.
Before we were saved, we had no hope. As 2:12 says, we were “apart from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” But after being saved, we are no longer aliens having no hope; instead, we are full of hope. However, because many believers do not know what a hope is theirs, Paul prayed that we would have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in order to know the hope of God’s calling.
As God’s called people, we are full of hope. Firstly, our hope is Christ Himself. Col. 1:27 says that Christ in us is the hope of glory. Moreover, 1 Timo. 1:1 speaks of Jesus Christ being our hope. Christ is not only our life and holiness; He is also our hope. Our hope is singly and uniquely Christ. Every aspect of our hope is related to Him.
The second aspect of our hope is the rapturous transfer from the earthly and physical realm to the heavenly spiritual sphere and glorification (Rom. 8:23-25, 30; Phil. 3:21). The word “rapture” means ecstasy, to be beside ourselves with joy. To us Christians the rapture denotes being taken up. Bible teachers use this word to describe the taking up because, according to them, being taken up is a kind of ecstasy. However, I doubt that many Christians truly believe that their being taken up will be an ecstasy. Would you be happy if the Lord came today? Would you be in an ecstasy, or would you weep? Most Christians would either weep or be frightened. Although the rapture is an aspect of the hope of God’s calling, this hope depends upon whether or not we live by the Lord. If we live by Him and walk with Him, our being taken up will be ecstasy. But if we do not live by Him and walk with Him, I doubt that it will be ecstasy.
A great many Christians take this matter of the rapture in a loose way. Some hold the concept that no matter what they are doing or where they are, they will be raptured when the Lord comes back. But what if you are in a theater or are arguing with your wife or husband? Would rapture during such circumstances be an ecstasy? Certainly not! I would not want to be quarreling when the Lord Jesus comes back. In 2 Timothy 4:1 Paul said to Timothy, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.” This indicates that Timothy was to live in the light of the appearing of the Lord and in the kingdom. Whatever the kingdom will reject in the future must be rejected in our living today. I do not believe that many, even among us, are living in the appearing of the Lord. If we lived in His appearing, we would certainly refrain from quarreling; we would not want to be found arguing when the Lord appears. Not many Christians regard the Lord’s coming as a warning. If you read the New Testament, especially the Epistles, you will see that the Apostles lived with the appearing of the Lord in view. The Lord’s appearing was constantly a warning to them and regulated their living. They did not dare to do certain things because they believed that the Lord could appear at any time. If we take seriously the matters of the Lord’s appearing and the kingdom, they will greatly affect our daily living.
Many Christians, however, talk a great deal about the rapture and the Lord’s coming; but after their talk they indulge in worldly amusements. What a pitiful situation! Some Christians have been known to use the same table for gambling as for a gathering to study the Bible. Others have a discussion about the Lord’s coming, then go to sporting events, to the movies, or dancing. Have you seen that the appearing of Christ must be a basic factor in our daily living? We must live today in the light of the Lord’s appearing. If we do, our being taken up will be an ecstasy.
After we are taken up, we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ and settle our account with Him. At that time we shall have to deal with all our shortcomings, unfaithfulness, failures, and dishonesty. Many Christians have heaped up many such things in the course of their Christian life. When the Lord comes and they appear before the judgment seat, they certainly will not be full of joy. On the contrary, they will be terrified. We all need to reconsider our living. Many make excuses for themselves, especially for their weaknesses. Some say, “The Lord knows how weak we are, and He will be merciful with us. It doesn’t matter whether or not we fail or make mistakes. The Lord is merciful.” Others excuse themselves by saying that they do not want to be so spiritual or religious. When the Lord comes, however, there will be no excuses. Whether or not His coming will be an ecstasy depends upon our daily living. If we live a life of failure, defeat, dishonesty, unfaithfulness, and rebellion, the Lord’s coming will not be an ecstasy, but a judgment. We need to take heed to the Lord’s word to watch and pray (Luke 21:36). If we are watchful, praying seekers of the Lord, His coming will be our ecstasy. This is our hope.
How much hope we have in the days to come depends upon our being built up today. If we are not built up in the Lord, we shall have very little hope. Christ is in us as the hope of glory, but even this hope is dependent upon how much we are built up. When Christ comes back, will He be your Judge or your Bridegroom? He may be a Bridegroom to others, but a Judge to you. If that is the case, as far as you are concerned, He will not be your hope of glory. Whether or not He is your hope in this respect depends upon the kind of Christian life you are living today. This is serious, and it should cause us to reconsider our ways. If our living is normal, Christ is our hope, and rapture will be an ecstasy.
At the time of rapture our body will be transfigured, and we shall be glorified. However, I say these things cautiously because of the deplorable situation among today’s Christians. By the Lord’s grace, we in the Lord’s recovery must come up to His standard and live the life that He requires. We need to be His living witnesses bearing a testimony for Him outside the camp. If we are like this, the returning Christ and our being taken up will be our hope. Furthermore, the transfiguration of our body and our glorification will also be a hope to us.
Included in the hope of God’s calling is the hope of the coming salvation of our soul (1 Pet. 1:5, 9). If we lose our soul today for the Lord’s sake, suffering in our soul for His testimony, we have the hope of receiving the salvation of our soul at the Lord’s coming. Today our soul is suffering, but when He comes, He will bring our soul into His enjoyment. This is the salvation of the soul mentioned in 1 Peter. However, if we save our soul today, caring for its enjoyment instead of for the Lord’s testimony, the Lord’s coming back will be a loss and a judgment to our soul. But if we are always willing to lose our soul for His testimony, then His coming back will bring salvation to our soul, salvation that will usher our soul into His enjoyment. This hope is determined by how we live today.
Another aspect of our hope is the kingly enjoyment with Christ in the millennium (Rev. 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:18; Matt. 25:21, 23). This is also related to how we live today. In the Gospel of Matthew the slothful slaves are put into outer darkness, and the faithful ones are brought into the enjoyment of the Lord. Thus, there will be chastisement for some and a positive reward for others. We all are Christians, but we shall not all be dealt with in the same way at the Lord’s coming. The way the Lord deals with us depends on how we live today. If we are faithful, we shall be rewarded with the Lord’s enjoyment for a thousand years. But if we are slothful, we shall be punished. Whether or not the millennium will be a hope to us is determined by our attitude today. We need to be normal Christians who are faithful to the Lord. Then the millennium will be our hope.
Finally, the hope of God’s calling includes the consummate enjoyment of Christ in the New Jerusalem with the universal and eternal blessings in the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1-7; 22:1-5). Hallelujah for this hope! We all shall be in the New Jerusalem. But in order to get there, we need to ripen and mature. If we do not mature in this age, we shall have to mature in the next. Everyone enjoying the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth will be mature. Do not ask me how the Lord will make all of us mature. He knows how to do this and has a way to accomplish it, either in this age or in the next. I realize that the theology popular among Christians today does not recognize this fact. Most Christians say that as long as we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, everything related to us will be all right in the next age. But the day is coming when many will realize that not everything is all right. Yes, we are saved for eternity, but we still need to be dealt with in order to mature. Therefore, I say once again that we need to reconsider our ways. Nevertheless, for all of us the New Jerusalem is our hope. Second Peter 3:13 says, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
Without knowing the hope of God’s calling, we shall not be willing to drop the distracting things. But if we see that Christ is coming, that we shall be taken up, transfigured, and glorified, and that we can share in the Lord’s enjoyment in the millennium, we shall spontaneously drop all other things. Otherwise, not seeing what is coming, we shall be deceived by the things that are present. We need to be rescued by seeing each aspect of our hope. For this reason the Apostle Paul prayed that we here would know the hope of God’s calling. God’s calling includes not only selection, predestination, redemption, sealing, and pledging, but a splendid future. His calling is related not only to the past, but also to the future. What a marvelous future we have!
God’s calling is the sum total of all the blessings listed in verses 3 through 14: God the Father’s selection and predestination; God the Son’s redemption; and God the Spirit’s sealing and pledging. When we were called, we participated in the Father’s selection and predestination, in the Son’s redemption, and in the Spirit’s sealing and pledging.
Have you ever considered that in our calling we have received all the blessings of the Triune God? Few Christians realize this. Nevertheless, these blessings are the contents of God’s calling. Therefore, the calling of God means a great deal. God’s calling is His selection, predestination, redemption, sealing, and pledging. This means that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are all involved in God’s calling. The Triune God is our portion in His calling.
We have pointed out that God’s calling includes selection. The Father has also predestinated us; He has made a destiny for us beforehand. This destiny is sonship. What a wonderful destiny! After being selected and predestinated by the Father, we were redeemed by the Son. Then the Spirit came to seal us and to pledge God into us. Since we have all this, what else could we desire? I am fully satisfied and content with what the Triune God is to me.
Now we come to the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints. We have pointed out many times that God’s glory is God Himself expressed. When God is expressed, that is glory.
The riches of God’s glory are the many different items of His attributes, such as light, life, power, love, righteousness, and holiness, expressed in different degrees. Since glory is God’s expression, the riches of glory are the riches of God’s expression. Some examples of the divine attributes are divine love, humility, patience, and holiness. I specifically use the word “divine” because we were made in such a way as to have the form of the divine things. For example, we have human humility. Human humility, however, is not the real humility; it is simply the form of the genuine humility, which is the divine humility. The same is true of human love. It also is a form of the genuine, divine love. Hence, divine love is the reality of human love. Every human being has love. But this love is not lasting. You may love your parents, but your love for them may last only for a few days. Likewise, a brother may love his wife, but perhaps only for a period of weeks. We all love others, but our love is like a fleeting shadow. One day a brother may love his wife to the uttermost, and the next day he may drag her down to hell. Such love is not a part of the riches of God’s glory.
I repeat, the riches of glory are the expression of the divine attributes and divine virtues. There are not only two kinds of love and humility, human and divine, but also two kinds of righteousness and patience, human righteousness and patience and divine righteousness and patience. Many Christians mistake human virtues for divine virtues. In doing this they make a serious error. We do not need to develop human virtues; we are short of the divine virtues. When God in Christ is wrought into us, our love, humility, patience, and righteousness become divine. These divine virtues are the riches of the glory of God. Such virtues are God’s inheritance among the saints. It is important to see this.
If we see this matter, our Christian life will be changed. Nearly all who seek the Lord still live in a natural way and condemn only their natural evil, not their natural goodness. The evil is condemned, but the good is appreciated. There is no discernment between the natural and the divine. As long as a certain thing is good, it is justified and accepted. This practice is wrong. We must discern the natural from the divine. Only the divine attributes, not the human virtues, are the riches of God’s glory. If we see this, we shall have the proper church life. The proper church life is not filled with natural human virtues; it is filled with the divine virtues as the riches of God’s expression in His inheritance among the saints.
Now we need to see what is God’s inheritance in and among the saints. In verse 18 the Greek word translated “in” may also be rendered “among.” God’s inheritance is in and among the saints. We, the saints, are God’s inheritance. What we are by nature, however, cannot be God’s inheritance. God does not desire to inherit our nature, our flesh, our natural being. He desires to inherit all that He has wrought into us of Himself. Therefore, whatever God has wrought into us of Himself becomes His inheritance.
God has firstly made us His inheritance (v. 11) as His acquired possession (v. 14) and gave us to participate in all He is, all He has, and all He has accomplished as our inheritance. Consummately, all these become His inheritance in the saints for eternity. This will be His eternal expression, which is His glory with all its riches to express Him to the uttermost universally and eternally (Rev. 21:11).
We have seen that God is in the process of dispensing Himself into us little by little. Whatever God dispenses of Himself into us becomes His inheritance. Eventually, God will inherit us, actually Himself in us. Within us we have a certain amount of God’s inheritance. The amount depends upon how much God has wrought Himself into our being. We need to pray and ask the Lord to show us how much of Him is within us. Do not think that doing so is to be introspective. We need to ask the Lord to show us how much in us is God and how much is ourselves. Christians very seldom consider matters in this way. Instead, they weigh themselves according to an ethical scale, according to good and bad, right and wrong, love and hate. However, the scale upon which we must weigh ourselves is God Himself. How much of God is in you, in your family life, and in the church life? If we weigh ourselves in this way, we shall discover that we still do not have very much of God. Nevertheless, we thank Him for what we have. What we need now is the increase of God within us. It is God Himself within us that constitutes His inheritance among the saints. In this inheritance there are the riches of His glory. Therefore, in 1:18 Paul speaks of the riches of His glory in the saints. The proper church life is not a life of natural virtues, but a life of the divine virtues as God’s expression in His inheritance among the saints.
