My take on Ephesians 1.18-19a
A friend asked me for my take on Ephesians 1.18-19a. I thought I’d share my response with you all. I hope you enjoy it!
Ephesians 1.18-19a (TIB):[1]
I pray that God will enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see the hope this call holds for you — the promised glories that God’s holy ones will inherit, and the infinitely great power that is exercised for us who believe.
So there are a few things here. What initially jumped out at me was “the eyes of your mind” or “your mind’s eye.” The first thing that comes to mind here (no pun intended) is the idea of the “third eye” in some eastern practices. The “mind’s eye” represents the gateway to enlightenment; the ability to enter deeply into oneself thus accessing higher consciousness; the ability to engage with the Divine within oneself and within all life.
And added with that is “so that you can see the hope … ” In other words, this “hope” is not something we “literally” see; it must be “seen” by faith (i.e., with the “mind’s eye”). As Paul said elsewhere, “… hope is not hope if its object is seen; why does one hope for what one sees” (Romans 8.24; TIB).
Next, what is “hope”? In the New Testament, hope is not “wishing,” it’s more like “trust.” As we see in the famous passage from Hebrews, “Faith is the reality of all that is hoped for; faith is the proof of all that is unseen” (Hebrews 11.1; TIB). For me, then, hope and faith (trust) are all connected; you can’t have one without the other. Promises were made, we “trust” (hope) in those promises, and we act in faith (i.e., with faithful actions — James 2; CEB[2]) that those promises will come to pass.
But what is the object of this “hope” — We can see glimpses of it here: the “promised glories” of our “inheritance” plus the “infinitely great power” exercised for believers. What are these things? I’ll address these in reverse order.
1. The exercise of “infinitely great power” — This leads me to think of Christ and all that Abba did through him. That is, his life, death, and more importantly, his resurrection. As Paul said elsewhere, “… if Christ is not raised, your faith is worthless. You’re still in your sins…” (1 Corinthians 15.17; TIB). In other words, the death of Christ is meaningless without the resurrection. Our theories about the atonement are useless without it. The important bit that some of them leave out (or blush over) is the key bit — “if Christ is not raised … [we’re] still in our sins.” That’s the foundation of the “infinitely great power” Abba exercised for believers. As Paul continued, “Just as in the first human all die, so in Christ all will come to life again” (1 Corinthians 15.22; TIB).
2. The “promised glories” of our “inheritance” — To me, this sums up the teaching that we’re not saved until Christ returns; we’ve been given the promise of salvation but we haven’t obtained it[3] —
Luke 21.28 (GNT):[4] When these things begin to happen, stand up and raise your heads, because your salvation is near.
Hebrews 9.28 (NIV): Christ … will appear a second time … to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
And this “inheritance” is exactly that. As Paul mentions earlier in Ephesians 1:
In Christ we were willed an inheritance; for in the decree of God — and everything is administered according to the divine will and counsel — we were predestined to praise the glory of the Most High by being the first to hope in Christ. In Christ you too were chosen. When you heard the Good News of salvation, the word of truth, and believed in it, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the pledge of our inheritance, the deposit paid against the full redemption of a people who are God’s own — to the praise of God’s glory (vv.11-14; TIB).
Now some take this — “we were willed an inheritance” — to mean current believers are the inheritance. That is to say, we’ve been promised to become God’s own people (think of Old Covenant Israel); “we were willed [by God to be] an inheritance.” This certainly ties into the idea of “firstfruits” we see throughout the New Testament. And, if properly understood, this was the meaning of Old Covenant Israel — they were to be seen as both the example and the means through whom God would rescue the world.
Others take this phrase to mean that we were given a “will” or promise (like the last will and testament of someone who has died). That is, through Christ’s death, we were promised “an inheritance;” we aren’t the inheritance, it’s something else. Paul goes on to say that current believers were given the Holy Spirit as “the deposit paid against the full redemption.” I have always been confused by this until I thought of “lay-aways.” For those who might not know, a “lay-away” is when we pick something we want to eventually own, but can’t pay for it fully right now (for whatever reason). So we have someone set it back for us (it’s “laid-away” until later) and we put down a deposit with the promise that we’ll make payments until the item has been paid in full and we can finally take possession of it.
In the same way, current believers have been given the Holy Spirit as the deposit for our “full redemption.” As Paul said elsewhere, “But it’s not just creation alone which groans; we who have the Spirit as God’s firstfruits also groan within ourselves as we wait to be made God’s children and to have our whole being set free” (Romans 8.23; GNT; adapted).
So, to me, this is another “both / and” thing. Current believers have been set apart now with the promise to fully, wholly become God’s people in the future. And it’s through them (current believers) that others can become part of God’s people now. Again, like Old Covenant Israel, current believers are both an example of what God wants to do for everyone else and the means through whom others will be rescued.[6]
So what does all of this mean? How do I see Ephesians 1.18-19a?
People who believe — “who trust God and do what’s right” (Acts 10.35) — have been given Abba’s Spirit as the promise for full salvation — i.e., the complete rescue of all creation. We can’t “see” this rescue unfolding with our natural senses, though. We have to tap into the Divine that is buried deep within us and can only be grasped through trusting in God’s promise. This is our calling — to implement that promise now through faithful action.
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In the Love of the Three in One,
Br. Jack+, LC
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[1] Unless otherwise stated, all scripture quotations and references — and scripture quotations marked (TIB) — are taken from The Inclusive Bible. Copyright © 2007 by Priests for Equality. Used by permission. Unfortunately The Inclusive Bible isn’t found online.
[2] Scripture quotations marked (CEB) are taken from The Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible.
[3] This is why a realized eschatology is so important. If Christ didn’t return to the people he left (Matthew 16.27-28, etc.), then he failed and we’re all lost. See my series New Testament Eschatology for more information.
[4] Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from The Good News Translation (Today’s English Version, Second Edition). Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. All rights preserved.
[5] Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
[6] A caveat here: When I say current believers are the “means through whom” God will rescue others, I don’t mean that it’s because of anything we’ve done, are doing, or will do. It is part of that certainly. But I primarily mean it’s because of Christ. That is, it’s because of what Christ has accomplished that God works through people.
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