Hope of an Inheritance

Scripture: Ephesians 1:11-23

¹¹ In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, ¹² so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. ¹³ In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; ¹⁴ this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

¹⁵ I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason ¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, ¹⁸ so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. ²⁰ God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. ²² And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Questions

1. How does inheritance, verse 11, relate to hope in verse 17?
2. What does it mean to marked and sealed?
3. How does the Holy Spirit relate to our hope in Jesus?
4. How does Jesus having all things under his feet relate to our hope?

Background

Related Scriptures: Job 5:8-16; Proverbs 10:28; Romans 5:1-10; Hebrews 11:1

Hope (ἐλπίς)is the expectation of future events based on what one knows about the past and present.

According to this passage the assurance of our hope is not in our mental ascent to the beliefs about Jesus but in the confirming presence of the Holy Spirit.

Paul is referencing Isaiah 11:2 saying the Spirit of wisdom was on Jesus and is now open to us to provide us with the same character, and wisdom Jesus had

It is not without effort that we come to “know the hope of our calling and the riches of God’s inheritance in the saints.” This effort in fact comes in response to that renewing gift which God himself gives in the glorious resurrection of his own Son. This gift he gives not once but continually.… Every day Christ rises from the dead. Every day he is raised in the penitent”^[1] Jerome

For a great understanding of our hope in God see NT Wright Surprised by Hope

Reflection

“Faith is the basic structure of expectations…”

Take a minute to consider this translation of Hebrews 11:1. The author of Hebrews is clearly grounding our faith in our future expectations in Jesus. And that is also what we get in Ephesians 1, where our hope is linked with our inheritance or portion from God. Both passages are grounding our Christian life in the future reality that God has promised in Jesus. When Christians talk of our hope we are speaking about the future time when Jesus’ kingdom will be fully realized in creation. We are not simply talking about going to heaven, we believe that one day heaven is going to come to earth and transform creation into the garden of Eden that Jesus has planned. This is a very specific hope and one that is radically different from what non-Christians believe. Many people have a hope that the world is progressing. It is common for people to believe the world is getting better (and in many statistical ways it is). But Christians believe there is one specific way that the world will grow and that is in tune with God’s plan for humanity.

The reason why it is important for us to remember what our true hope is, is that we work for the things we hope for. This is essentially what Hebrews 11:1 is conveying, our faith demonstrates our hope it is the grounding of our expectations. And faith is not simply mental ascent; faith is taking a step into the darkness trusting that your foot will find a true path. Faith is the daily living out of our expected future. Take a second and consider what your daily life says about your expectations for the future. Consider what your life is showing faith in. Are you demonstrating an expectation of Christ’s coming Kingdom? Thursday was Ascension Day when Christians celebrate the Jesus’ rising to heaven to take charge of creation. And if we believe that reality then we need to live as if Jesus is in control. While it is a little late for this year, we should take these words from N.T. Wright to heart:

“The forty days of the Easter season, until the ascension, ought to be a time to balance out Lent by taking something up, some new task or venture, something wholesome and fruitful and outgoing and self-giving.”[2]

What Wright is advocating for is an intentional commitment to pushing ourselves to demonstrate Christ’s rule in the world. Taking time to intentionally model Jesus in a new way. This is not simply so the world gets a glimpse of Jesus. Rather, in modeling Jesus we are giving the Holy Spirit room to work in us and transform our hearts. And this is the inheritance discussed in Ephesians, not simply the future where live with Christ, but the fullness of Christ in us here. As we begin to live in ways that demonstrate our future hope, that hope becomes more real in us.  This is why the Bible says, “The hope of the righteous ends in gladness, but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.” Proverbs 10:28

You have a glorious inheritance waiting for you, not simply a future with a restored creation, but a promise of transformation now. We have an inheritance from God of a transformed life, marked by being filled with the Holy Spirit. The call of Ephesians is to remember what lies in our future so that we can claim the promises meant for us today. We are meant to focus on the fact that Jesus reigns and will reign so that we can work with the Spirit to train ourselves for that time. We are meant to recognize the power that Jesus has and how that power is transforming us. Take Wright’s suggestion to heart, focus on our shared hope for the world. Not simply a general hope for a better tomorrow but a hope that tomorrow will be under Jesus’ reign. Take that hope and focus on one thing you can do to make that hope more of a reality for your community.

---

^[1] M. J. Edwards, ed., Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture

[2] N.T. Wright Surprised by Hope