The Riches of Our Inheritance Ephesians 1:18

Ephesians 1:18

Paul is praying for us. He puts the highest priority on God giving us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Being given the Spirit is required before we can know God, and knowing God is eternal life.

John 17:3 (NKJV): And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

In Ephesians 1:18, Paul continues by explaining the meaning of his prayer. He says:

Ephesians 1:18 (NKJV): the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

The literal translation of “the eyes of your understanding” is “the eyes of your heart.” It is with the heart that we believe and are saved. It is in the inner man where we are transformed. Understanding with our minds is necessary, but intellectual understanding is meaningless if the eyes of our hearts are not enlightened.

We know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). However, the natural man does not receive the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14), but as 1 Corinthians 2 explains, the things of God are made known to us by the Spirit of God. 

Once we know God by the Spirit of God, we can begin to get a glimpse of the things Paul speaks of. 

The hope of His calling starts with salvation. God has called all to salvation, and we live in the hope of living in heaven for eternity. We get so caught up in this life. We say things like, “He was too young to die!” And yet, that believer who passes from this life is in the presence of God and will no longer experience the hell that is this earth. Pastor Chuck Smith of California said it well. 

For believers, this earth is the only hell they will experience. For unbelievers, this earth is the only heaven they will experience.

For this life, we have the hope of God’s presence and power with us at all times. We are never out of His reach or presence. This is not a wish or desire. This hope is a sure thing. We do not “wish” God were with us. We know God IS with us. Jesus promised He would never leave us or forsake us.

Then in the next life, we have the promise of heaven. The Bible gives us little glimpses of heaven, but as 1 Corinthians 2 says:

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV): Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. 

This is not because God does not want us to know. It has not entered into the heart of man because we cannot comprehend it. It is like when Jacob wrestled with the Lord all night before crossing the river on his way back to Canaan. When He asked the Lord’s name, the Lord replied, “Why do you ask, seeing that it is wonderful?” The meaning of this statement is, “You would not understand it if I gave it to you.” We have many names for God, such as Jehovah, God, Lord, King of Kings, Lord of Hosts, Redeemer, Savior, but none of these captures who He is. He is all these and much more. 

From the hope of His calling, Paul’s prayer flows into God showing us the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. We are Christ’s inheritance. He is the bridegroom; the Church is the bride. However, this is not what this verse is talking about, even though some translations (like the NLT) take it that way. But the grammatical construction is the same as is used in “His calling.” This is talking about our inheritance as co-heirs with Jesus. Of course, God is not going to die, and we take His place! Instead, we are going to reign with Christ. According to Revelation 1:6, He has made us kings and priests to God. 

We are being made into the image of Christ, and when He is glorified, we will be glorified. All things are God’s, and he has given us all things. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden, they could eat of any tree they wanted. They could have eaten from the Tree of Life and lived forever, but they chose to know good and evil. God spared them from eternal damnation by keeping them away from the Tree of Life. 

We will be able to eat from that tree. But of more value will be the presence of God. To know Him is to have life. No treasure or thing can match the riches of His presence.

He is with us now. He is never far from us. But we cannot see Him. Then we will see Him. Our inheritance is a place that Jesus has gone to prepare for us. It is in the Father’s house, and no earthly treasure will ever be able to compare to the place that is waiting for us.