The Hope Of His Calling

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.

Ephesians 1:18

Paul wanted some very specific things for the Ephesians.  One of those things for which he was praying was that they might ‘know what is the hope of His calling.’  The ‘His’ refers to God the Father, as revealed by the reference to Christ later on in the list.  What is ‘the hope of His calling’ which Paul desires that the Ephesians know?  It is the certain expectation of the fulfillment of what it means to be in Christ with all of it’s ramifications.  That is a calling which comes from God and makes us what we are because of Who and what Christ is.  It is a calling that rests upon all that has gone before by way of election, predestination, adoption, and redemption.  All these things that have gone before, result in time, in our conversion, because of the work of the Holy Spirit.  Paul desired that the Ephesians would understand ‘the hope of His calling,’ and by logical inference, we may conclude that he would desire it for all of us as well.  This ‘hope’ draws our hearts out more thoroughly after God and His Christ.  It lifts our eyes to that day when we shall understand it in ways we cannot today.  We may pray that God will enable us and those for whom we intercede to understand, ‘the hope of His calling.’

Our God of Grace and Glory,
we rejoice that You enlighten our minds
to understand Your ways.
We praise You, that by Your Holy Spirit,
You will enable us in due course of time,
to understand the fullness of the hope of Your calling.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning