Graduate 192: Advent & Ephesians, Day 19

"...what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe."

It may be a bit of a stretch to see a Trinitarian structure to Paul's prayer in vv. 18 and 19. At the same time, it is not difficult at all to draw connections between what Paul says here and other passages in Ephesians 1 and in the rest of Paul's writings. Paul prays that the eyes of the Ephesians' hearts would be enlightened:

(1) "So that you may know what is the hope of His calling...". Notice, first, that Paul is speaking of God's calling. He is emphasizing that God is the initiator. In v. 4, Paul reminded the Ephesians that God "chose us in Him before the foundation of the world". In his second letter to Timothy, Paul makes the same point in the course of exhorting that young pastor:

"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of my His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher." (2 Timothy 1:8-11)

In his letter to the Roman church, he speaks of both the calling and the hope that comes from it. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30) Those who have received God's calling have the guarantee that He will work all things together for the good. That on top of the other blessings that come with His choice, His calling, His election.

(2) "What are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints...". In v. 11, Paul writes, "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will..."

Our status as heirs and as recipients of a divine inheritance is found in Jesus Christ, who is, Himself, a recipient of God's favor and blessings for all eternity. Paul writes, in his letter to the Romans: "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him." (Romans 8:16-17)

One of my favorite passages is found in Galatians where Paul draws a tight connection between the identity of Jesus Christ, the Son, and us, as sons of God. "But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God." (Galatians 4:4-7) Paul also describes Christians as heirs in His letter to Titus: "He [God] saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:5-7)

Again, the riches that accompany this inheritance are being delineated throughout chapter one of Ephesians and throughout these other passages.

(3) "And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe." This passage reminds me of Jesus' words to His disciples about the Holy Spirit. On the Mount of Ascension, before Jesus was taken up into Heaven, the disciples asked Him, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" They were asking whether Jesus would restore political autonomy and authority to the nation of Israel. Jesus' answer is interesting: "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:6, 7-8) The power of God that is directed at us and given to us is given by or in the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not promise the disciples political authority or material prosperity or comfortable lives, but He did promise them power. The same kind of power that was present in His own life--for Jesus was also anointed by the Holy Spirit.

Some other passages from Paul's writings: "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:7-11)

"For God has not given us a spirit (Spirit?) of timidity, but of power and love and discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7)

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16)

Francis Foulkes writes: "The burden of the prayer in fact is that the mighty power of God may be known in experience by its operation in us who believe (cf. 3:20); and the apostle is confident that it belongs to men and women on this simple condition of their believing, that is, their laying hold of it, accepting it from him, as a gift that he wants them to have." (Foulkes, 71)

So much more needs to be said about each of these dimensions and what they involve. But here are some references just to get things started.

Remember, that each dimension is God's own: His (the Father's) calling, His (the Son's) inheritance, His (the Holy Spirit's) power. He has given them all to us, and Paul's prayer is that we would come to a deeper and deeper understanding of the greatness and import of these incredible blessings and gifts.

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God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.