The saints believed the gospel message when they heard it and were sealed in Christ by the giving of the Holy Spirit. A seal is something placed on an official letter making that letter the property of one person. If anyone other than the approved person breaks that seal, consequences ensue. King Jesus’s seal is placed on every believer, marking that believer as King Jesus’s property. That seal is the Holy Spirit of promise. The Holy Spirit is given as a pledge of our inheritance much like a wedding ring is given to a newlywed spouse as a pledge to have and to hold in sickness and health from that day forward until death. When we believe, Christ makes a pledge to fully deliver us and give us an inheritance. He will not fail to deliver—a doctrine we refer to as the “perseverance of the saints” or the “eternal security of the believer.” Our inheritance is, according to Paul, redemption from our sin to the praise of His glory alone.
This is why Paul never stops giving thanks and praying for the saints. The saints have faith and love that is given by Christ through the Holy Spirit according to His pledge to His people. He prays that the Father may give the saints a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ. I hear some people say that mere belief is not enough for salvation, but Scripture claims that it is. When we believe in Christ, we are saved and sealed with the Holy Spirit. They’ll respond by claiming that the demons believe in Christ and tremble. The Bible never actually says that demons believe in Christ. It says that they believe there is only one god (James 2:19). We need to pay attention to what the text actually says before spinning odd theology or adding requirements beyond what God requires. Even though belief is sufficient on our end with the giving of the Holy Spirit, there is more to be gained as we live in Christ. There is wisdom and knowledge to grow in. If we believe, we also want to know and grow in the wisdom of Christ. Wisdom is knowledge in practice. There are many people who have knowledge without wisdom, and many who claim to be wise without understanding. In reality, knowledge and wisdom grow in tandem.
Paul prays that the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened, so that they will know the hope of Christ’s calling—namely the hope we have to be finally delivered and live forever in the resurrection. He prays that they may know the riches of the glory of Christ’s inheritance in the saints—namely their inheritance of the earth under the headship of King Jesus. Paul speaks of this inheritance separate from the hope of everlasting life; he speaks of it in the present tense. So, we have a hope for future resurrection. We may now know the riches of the glory of Christ’s inheritance in the saints. Jesus currently has authority in heaven and on the earth. In His saints, He is overtaking the earth as His own inheritance. He is doing so through the Gospel. We get to experience our inheritance in Christ now. We also get to know the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
These three things are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might. Again, we see Paul’s belief in a purely monergistic work from salvation to sanctification to glorification. Paul also claims that the Father accomplished this work in Christ by raising Him from the dead and sitting Christ at His right hand in the heavenly places. Paul says clearly that Christ is above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but the one to come. From the biblical point of view, Christ’s kingdom is explicitly established at His resurrection. He reigns in Paul’s time and in the future. We do not wait for the kingdom of heaven to be established because it has been. Christ is currently King of kings, Lord of lords, and Name above every other name. He will always be.
Paul here claims that Christ has already put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. So, the kingdom of heaven, which was established at Christ’s resurrection, comprises the church. The church is the fullness of Christ on the earth ruling over it (though not like the worldly nations) with peace and justice for all.
Leave a Reply