Let us turn once again to God's
Word in the portion of Scripture that we've read, Ephesians 1,
and reading again at verse 18, Ephesians 1, verse 18, Following the eyes
of your understanding, being enlightened, that ye may know
what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory
of his inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness
of his power to us who do believe according to the working of his
mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him
from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly
places. This is of course part of the
apostles prayer having made those great doctrinal statements in
the opening part, speaking of that salvation that is the work
of the triune God, from verse 3 right through to verse 14, we
see the work of the Father in election, the work of the Son
in redemption, and the work of the Holy Spirit in sealing. And then, having stated these
great truths, wherein we see that salvation is of the Lord,
Paul turns to God and prays, prays on behalf of these Ephesians. Verse 16 he says that he ceases
not to give thanks for you. making mention of you in my prayer. And so the words that we've just
read here in verses 18 and 19 and 20 are part of that prayer. His desire for them that the
eyes of their understanding should be enlightened. Last Lord's Day
evening of course we We're dealing with the same theme really there
in the eighth chapter of the book of Proverbs. We consider
for our text those words at verse 5, O ye simple, understand wisdom,
and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. The understanding heart. From whence does such a heart
come? It can only come from God. It
is God who must give wisdom. and knowledge and understanding. And the reason for that, of course,
is because of the darkness of our minds, our ignorance. It
goes on in this Ephesian epistle in chapter 4, to speak of the
condition of the Gentiles by nature having the understanding
darkened, he says, being alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their
hearts. How necessary then is this enlightenment
that is spoken of here in verse 18, this spiritual enlightenment,
the eyes of your understanding, being enlightened, that she may
know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches
of the glory of his inheritance in the South. Now, the revelation that is being
spoken of in the previous verse here, where he desires that they
might be blessed with that spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him. The word that we have, this revelation,
that is part and parcel of the spiritual understanding as the
idea of a thing being uncovered or an unveiling. In fact, the
word that we have there in verse 17, revelation, it's the same
word, of course, that we find in the last book of scripture,
the revelation. of John the Divine, and sometimes
the book of Revelation is called the Apocalypse. In fact, Apocalypse
is the English form of the Greek word for Revelation, and the
word Apocalypse is one of those Greek words is a combination
of words, it's two words really, and as I say it literally means
to uncover or to unveil how we need to know that unveiling the
scales as it were being removed from our eyes that we might see
these things and understand these things when the eyes are closed
of course we can see nothing at all but even when our eyes
are open in the dark we're still unable to see anything we need
in what is spoken of here in verse 18, the eyes of our understanding
to be enlightened. If we are going to know the truth
we need that spiritual enlightenment. The psalmist says to God, in
thy light shall we see light. And we need the Lord Jesus Christ
himself to come as that light. Is that not one of the names
that is given to him as the great I am? those I am statements that
we find in John's gospel of course and amongst them he says I am
the light of the world he that followeth me shall not walk in
darkness but shall have the light of life and so this morning I
want us to turn to these words in verse 18 in particular and
to take up this subject of spiritual enlightenment, the eyes of your
understanding being enlightened that ye may know what is the
hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his
inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness
of his power to us who do believe according to the working of his
mighty power which he wrote in Christ when he raised him from
the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. Now we can see here in the verses
that there are a number of consequences where there is this spiritual
enlightenment. He speaks of two of them in verse
18 and then The third is found in verses 19 and 20. Two in verse 18, what is the
hope of his calling? And then again, what is the riches
of the glory of his inheritance? And then in verse 19, and what
is the exceeding greatness of his power? Turning then first
of all to what he says here with regards to this first consequence
of spiritual enlightenment, that ye may know what is the hope
of his calling, the hope of God's calling. And the calling that
he's spoken of here is that effectual calling. The promise is given
to the Lord Jesus Christ back in Psalm 110 that his people
shall be willing in the day of his power. There is in the Gospel
an effectual call. There must be that efficacious
grace making the sinner who is dead in trespasses and sins willing. By nature his will is in bondage
to what he is. He's a sinner. is no such thing
really as free will, it's a foolish notion and so the sinner must
be one who is made willing, there must be that effectual grace
of God communicated and the reference here I say is to that effectual
calling, the hope of his calling. Now, in the ministry of the word
of God, in the preaching of the gospel, it is right to say that
there is a general call. As the word is proclaimed, there
is a communication of the truth, is there not, to all who sit
and hear that good news of the gospel. And that means that sinners
are therefore culpable in their unbelief. They're dead in trespasses
and sins, they cannot receive the word of God, but they're
culpable. They are responsible before God,
are they not? Remember the words that we find
in John chapter 3. The familiar words, of course,
of verse 16, God so loved the world, and so forth. And then,
verse 17, John says, God sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
Verse 18, He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he
that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this
is the condemnation that light is coming to the world and men
love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. They are condemned already, we
read there, because they willfully refuse the light of the gospel. They do not recognize, they do
not honor the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, if we turn over to the
15th chapter there, In John's Gospel, verse 22, Christ says,
If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin,
but now they have no cloak for their sin, no covering for their
sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not
done among them the works which none other man did, they had
not had sin, but now they have both seen and hated both me and
my Father. As the Lord Jesus Christ exercises
his own ministry in preaching and so forth, and he is refused
and rejected of men and hated by men, so they are culpable
in their unbelief. Again, John writing in his first
epistle, He that believeth on the Son of God, he says hath
to witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath
made him a liar, because he hath not believed the record that
God gave of his Son. Men are to believe the record
that God has given. God can say then to men, I have
called and ye have refused. There is that proclamation, that
preaching, and as I said, as men, because they are dead in
trespasses and sins will reject that message, yet they are culpable. They are guilty before God as
unbelievers. But what we read of here in our
text this morning is not that general call, but that call of
the Gospel that is efficacious, the irresistible grace of God,
the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. or when there
is that spiritual enlightenment, then there is that knowledge
that ye may know what is the hope of his calling. Of the subjects of this inwards
call, this effectual work of God's Spirit in the soul of the
sinner, The Lord Jesus Christ says of the inward call, it is
written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God.
They shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. All those who hear that voice
of God, those who learn of God, they come to the Lord Jesus Christ. And this, I say, is what we have
in the text. The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his
calling. This effectual calling, what
is it? It is the beginning of divine life in the soul of the
sinner. That's what it is. When God removes
the scales, when God grants to the darkened understanding that
spiritual enlightenment, this is the beginning of the life
of God. You see, God has a purpose. He
has made choice of a people. This is what Paul is saying in
the former part of the chapter. He speaks of those spiritual
blessings in heavenly places, in Christ, in verse 1. And what
are those spiritual blessings? According that He hath chosen
us in Him, that is in Christ, before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him
in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will.
It's God's election, it's God's predestination, it's God's good
pleasure. the great purpose of salvation,
that God's purpose in eternity must of course be effected in
time. And that's what we have here,
that's what the effectual court is. God has a purpose, to save
a sinner, and that salvation must at the appointed time come
into the life of that sinner. And what begins in time, will
then be consummated in glory. Isn't that the hope of the Christian's
calling? It's not just the time that this
sinner is called, he is saved for eternity. The life that has
been communicated to him, that spiritual enlightenment that
has come to him, is eternal life and can never be destroyed. This
is the hope, then, of the Christian's calling. Whom he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
Son. Moreover, says Paul, whom he
did predestinate, them he also called. And that's the calling
that we have here. And whom he called, them he also
justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. It is
from glory to glory. Now in order, in order to know
our election, we have to attend to our calling. We read here
tremendous truths as I said in the former part of this chapter.
It's a great chapter is Ephesians chapter 1. I know We are to recognize
that there is a greatness in all the word of God. Surely there
are certain portions that we come to and we are astounded
at the truths that stand before us on the page of Holy Scripture. And what remarkable things are
said here in the opening chapter of Ephesians with regards, as
we said, to that great eternal purpose of God the Father. How He has predestinated the
people. to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. He made choice
of them. And He's chosen them in Him who
is His only begotten and His well-beloved Son. But the secret
things belong unto the Lord our God. The things that are revealed
belong unto us and to our children, says Moses. As I just said, what
God's purpose is in eternity is effected in time. And it's
those things that occur in time that are revealed unto us. And
so in order to know whether or not we are of that blessed company
of the elect, we have to attend to our calling. There are many
who are troubled with regards to the doctrine of election. they are filled with doubt and
fears lest they are not of that blessed company and how can we
minister to such? well we have to exhort them and
encourage them to examine to examine themselves with regards
to effectual calling that calling that we read of here as the consequence
of spiritual enlightenment remember the exhortation that we find
in the opening chapter of Peter's second epistle. He says to believers,
wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling
and election sure. Oh, it is good to be diligent
with regards to this matter and we observe the order that is
set before us there in that verse in 2 Peter 1 and verse 10 give
diligence he says first of all to your calling that that occurs
in time if you know your calling if you know something of the
hope of that calling you will have an assurance that you are
truly of the election of Christ how important it is friends that
we have a right beginning and so if you attend to that yourself
to our calling, the beginning of the life of God in our souls,
our spiritual enlightenment the eyes of your understanding being
enlightened that you may know what is the hope of His calling
the beginning is so vitally important because if our beginning is not
right, if our beginning is wrong every subsequent step is also
wrong If we're making a journey and we're intending to arrive
at a certain place and we take a wrong step, we're travelling
in the wrong direction at the beginning, well, every succeeding
step is only going to take us further and further away from
what we thought would be our destination. How important then
is a right beginning? And what is a right beginning?
Well, there's something foul, is there not? Is there not that
experience of light shining in darkness? The entrance of thy works, says
the psalmist, giveth light, it giveth understanding to the simple. Oh, we need that God should come
and grant to us that blessed light. And we have that remarkable
statement of course in 2 Corinthians 4 that God who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. That is the great enshining of
the Gospel. Or we are enveloped in darkness.
He says here in chapter 5, ye were sometimes darkness, but
now are ye light in the Lord. Is that what we know? We can
say yes, we can remember that time when we were in darkness,
a darkness that could be felt. Our ignorance was so great, but
thank God He has granted to us that spiritual enlightenment. He has come by His Spirit in
His Word and Though in time past we might have read the word,
yet we have no real understanding or appreciation of the word.
We read it because maybe we were brought up in a godly home and
we were encouraged to read the word of God. Or maybe as children
we were sent to a Sunday school and we read the word of God and
we memorised some of the word of God. But it really meant very
little to us, nothing at all really. All but when God comes
by His Spirit in His Word, and when God takes that Word and
brings it home to us, and it becomes to us that implanted
Word, able to save us all, how different it is. We were darkness,
but now we are light in the Lord. Here then, I say, is The consequence, the first consequence
we might say of that spiritual enlightenment, that he may know
what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory
of his inheritance in the saints. There is, you see, a second consequence
here. It's closely connected of course
with the first consequence. And what is the second consequence
of this spiritual enlightenment? It's what we have at the end
of the verse. What's the riches of the glory
of his inheritance in the sciences? He says previously, in verse
11, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance Now, who is the
one in whom we've obtained the inheritance? Well, there from
verse 7 following, we see how Paul is clearly speaking of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Previously, from verse 3 to verse
6, he's been speaking of God the Father, the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, He is the one who has made choice of a people and
predestinated that people according to his own good pleasure. But
then at verse 7 he begins to speak of the work of the Lord
Jesus Christ, who has accomplished that salvation, that salvation
that is necessary for those whom the Father has given to. He was
chosen in whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom
and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will,
and so forth. In whom also, he says at verse
11, we have obtained an inheritance, the inheritance is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And it's that that is spoken
of here in verse 18 as the second consequence, we might say, of
that spiritual enlightenment. The hope of his calling and the
riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Clearly then, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the believer's inheritance. His inheritance is in Christ,
his inheritance is altogether the Lord Jesus Christ. The psalmist
Christ said, Whom have I in heaven but earth, and there is none
upon earth that I desire besides them. It is the Lord Jesus Christ who
is the believer's portion. the believer's glorious inheritance,
going for, when he writes at the end of 1 Corinthians 1, tells
us, of him I ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption that he that glorieth
must glory in the Lord. It is the Lord Jesus Christ who
is made unto his people all of those things that they stand
in need of. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption. In
him is all the fullness of salvation. And to the Colossians Paul can
say, and ye are complete in him. All is in the Lord Jesus Christ,
is it not? and all that great salvation
that is in him. And we're to think in terms of
not only the work that he has done but we're also to think
in terms of who he is, it's his person, as well as his work. How he is God manifest in the
flesh, how he is that one who is God and man in one person. and how as such he is so suited
to be the mediator between God and man to stand as it were between
heaven and earth because the second man is the Lord from heaven
or the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and how we should meditate
upon that person and contemplate that he is God, yes, and as God
he is able to sigh for the Ottomans, but he who is God is also the
blessed man who can understand us and sympathize with us, who
is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, who was tempted
just as we are, and yet he was altogether without sin. There
is much comfort to be drawn from a right understanding of the
person of the Saviour, the God-man. And then that great work, how that he has accomplished
salvation, how he is the Lord, our righteousness, because when
he came into this world he was made under the law and he stood
in that law place for his people and he obeyed the law for his
people and he was obedient in life and obedient unto death
and in that righteous life of course he has accomplished all
that is necessary for the justification of his people it is that righteousness
of Christ that is imputed to them, accounted to them And yet,
that righteous one is the very one who also died, the accursed
death of the cross, as he gave righteousness to his people,
so he has taken to himself all their sins. There is that double
imputation, not only the imputation of his righteousness to his people,
but also their sins to him, and he has borne the punishment,
he has died as their substitute, in their room and in their step,
all that Christ is, you see, and all that Christ has done.
This is the inheritance of the believer. And how do we come
to know these things? How can we know these things?
And in the text isn't Paul speaking of the knowledge, the eyes of
your understanding being enlightened, he says that ye may know the
hope of his calling. the riches of the glory of his
inheritance in the saints. How can we know these things?
We can only know these things by faith, can we not? That's
the only way we can know them. That is the only way of salvation
set before us here in the gospel. What does he say? Familiar words. In chapter 2 at verse 8 we read
them. For by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man
should boast, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that
we should walk in them. By grace, he says, through faith,
And that faith is God's gift. It's not of works. Faith and
works are mutually exclusive, one of the other. If salvation
is by grace, as taught in Romans 11, it is no more of works, otherwise
grace is no more grace. If it be of works, it is no more
of grace, otherwise work is no more work. And these exclude
each other. If our salvation is by grace,
it can only be by faith, and that faith is the workmanship
of God. It's God's work. This is the
work of God, that ye believe in his Son. It is that faith then that is
only by the operation of God. That faith that is spoken of
here as the gift of God. The gift of God. Again, think of Peter in the opening
words of his second epistle. He addresses himself to those
who, he says, have obtained like precious faith with us. They
have obtained this precious faith. And I know I've said it before,
but I remind you of the significance of the verb to obtain there. Because it literally is obtaining
a thing by the casting of a lot. Obtaining it, the word might
say, by chance. The casting of a lot, it's a
chance thing. but we deny those fictitious
powers of chance and fortune. The wise man tells us how the
lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is
of the Lord. And so if it's obtained by the
casting of the lot, it's obtained by the sovereign purpose of God. That's how it's obtained, it's
like precious It's obtained just as God himself has determined. Again, you see, it's what we
have in the former part of the chapter. It is the sovereignty
of the grace of God. Even the faith, you see. That faith whereby we come into
the experience of his blessed inheritance, the riches of the
glory of his inheritance, in the same. It's the inheritance
of faith again in Peter, this time in the first epistle and
chapter 1. And there in verses 3 and 4,
according to the first epistle, chapter 3 and 4, He says, Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled, undefiled, and that faileth not away reserved
in heaven for you. Here is the believer's inheritance
then. incorruptible, undefiled, invaded
not away, preserved in heaven. It is the riches of the glory
of His inheritance in the saints. It all centers, does it not,
in the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, what is this grace of God?
It is It's glory in the bud. And what is that glory that is
to come? Heaven itself. It is but grace
in the fourth flower. There's this connection, you
see, between grace and glory. Here upon earth we taste something
of it, by faith. But then in heaven we come into
the full fruition of this inheritance. Remember the lines in the hymn,
The Sands of Time are Sinking, based upon those sayings of Samuel
Rutherford. And that verse, The bride dies
not her garment, but her dear by-groom's face. I will not gaze
at glory, but at my King of Grace, not at the crown he giveth, but
at his nail-pierced hand. The Lamb is all the glory. in Emmanuel's land. Christ was so very much the theme
of Samuel Rutherford's ministry. The story is told of that English
merchant who, visiting Scotland, goes to hear some of the great
gospel ministers of that day and he goes to Irvine and he
hears David Dixon and he says how Dixon was able to show him
all his heart he showed me all my heart he said of David Dixon's
ministry then he goes on to to hear Robert Blair and hearing
Robert Blair he says of his ministry how he showed me all the majesty
of God And then finally he goes to Anweth and he hears Samuel
Rutherford and he said of Rutherford's ministry, and he showed me all
the loveliness of Christ. All the loveliness of Christ.
That is the believer's inheritance, the Lamb. The Lamb is all the
glory in Emmanuel's land and the believer is one who desires
to know more and more of that inheritance here upon the earth.
He wants some foretaste of it, some anticipation of it. And
this is why it is necessary that the eyes of the understanding
be enlightened, to know the hope of that calling, the riches of
the glory of that inheritance. Christ, I say, is the believer's
inheritance. But then also, there's the other
side of the coin, as it were, The believer is Christ's inheritance. There is a certain mutuality
here. Christ is the believer's inheritance,
but the believer is Christ's inheritance. We read back in
Deuteronomy 32, the Lord's portion is his people. Jacob is the lot
of his inheritance. God's inheritance is Jacob. and
the tribe of Jacob, Israel and Israel there in the Old Testament
a typical people, a type of the true spiritual Israel, the church
again the Psalmist says in Psalm 78 Israel his inheritance, Israel
is God's inheritance and remember how the Lord Jesus Christ himself
speaks in the Psalm We see him there in Psalm 16, clearly a
Messianic psalm. Verse 10, he says, Thou shalt
not leave my soul in hell, nor wilt thou suffer thine Holy One
to seek corruption. And both Peter on the day of
Pentecost at Jerusalem, in Acts chapter 2, and then Paul at Antioch
in Piscea, in Acts chapter 13. Both of the apostles take up
those words of Psalm 16 and apply them directly to the Lord Jesus
Christ and his resurrection from the dead. I will not leave my
soul in hell, the realm of the dead, nor will I suffer thine
holy one to see corruption. He saw no corruption. That sacred
humanity could never see corruption. Impeccable, impossible it was
that he should ever see corruption. And so he is raised again on
the third day from the dead. And the apostles refer to Psalm
16 as having its accomplishment in Christ. And in that same Psalm
what does Christ say? The lines are forward and unto
me in pleasant places. I have a good inheritance. What
is the heritage of Christ? What is the inheritance of Christ?
It is the church, it is his people. He shall see the travail of his
soul says the Prophet, and shall be satisfied. O the believer, you as an individual
believer this morning, as a true child of God, having known that
efficacious grace at effectual call, you are the Lord's inheritance. You are the Lord's inheritance.
And that blessed mutuality, as He delights in you, so you also
delight in Him. The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of His
calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance
in the saints. And even in this life, you see,
where we have to live the life of faith, waiting, anticipating,
longing for the fullness of the inheritance but even here upon
the earth do we not know some blessed foretaste we read those
words there in chapter 2 verse 4 God who is rich in mercy for
his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in
sin has quickened us together with Christ by grace you are
saved and has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. What a portion then belongs to
those who know that spiritual enlightenment. Well, the Lord
willing, we'll go on to see that third consequence spoken of there
in verse 19. And what is the exceeding greatness
of his power to us all who believe. May the Lord be pleased to bless
his word to us.