Ephesians Series: Ephesians 1:18b-The Church Age Believer’s Confident Expectation of Blessing

Ephesians 1:15 For this reason, after I myself heard about the faith among each and every one of you in the one and only Lord Jesus as well as you are practicing divine-love, which is on behalf of each and every one of the saints, 16 I never permit myself to cease regularly expressing thanks to the one and only God because of each and every one of you. I do this while disciplining myself to make it my practice of remembering each and every one of you during my prayers. 17 I make it a habit of occupying myself with praying that the God, that is, the glorious Father of the one and only Lord ruling over each and every one of us as a corporate unit, who is Jesus Christ, would cause each and every one of you to receive divine wisdom, specifically, divine revelatory wisdom provided by the one and only Spirit with respect to an experiential knowledge of Himself. 18 Namely, that the eyes of your heart are enlightened in order that each and every one of you would possess the conviction of what constitutes being the confident expectation of blessing produced by His effectual call, what constitutes His inheritance, which is characterized by glorious wealth, residing in the person of the saints. (Lecturer’s translation)

Ephesians 1:18 continues Paul’s thought from Ephesians 1:15-17 and in particular from 1:17 since it not only presents the purpose of Paul’s prayer for the recipients of the Ephesian epistle in Ephesians 1:17 but also explains what is meant by the prayer request in this verse.

Ephesians 1:18 is composed of a fronted attributive participial clause followed by an infinitival purpose clause.

The former elaborates on the previous intercessory prayer request Paul offered up to the Father on a regular basis, which as we noted requested that the Father would cause the recipients of the Ephesian epistle to receive divine revelatory wisdom provided by the Holy Spirit.

The articular infinitive conjugation of the verb oida (οἶδα) functions as an infinitive of purpose, which indicates the purpose of Paul’s prayer request in Ephesians 1:17.

Consequently, it indicates the purpose of Paul regularly asking the Father to cause the recipients of the Ephesian epistle to receive divine wisdom, specifically, divine revelatory wisdom provided by the Holy Spirit.

This infinitive purpose clause asserts that the purpose was so that they would possess conviction of what constitutes their confident expectation of blessing produced by the Father effectually calling them and what constitutes the glorious wealth of the Father’s inheritance residing in the saints.

In this infinitival purpose clause, the verb oida (οἶδα) speaks of the recipients of the epistle possessing a conviction regarding what constitutes their confident expectation of blessing as well as what constitutes the glorious wealth of the Father’s inheritance which resides in the person of the saints.

The perfect tense of the verb oida is an intensive perfect which is used to emphasize the results or present state produced by a past action.

The present state here is that of the recipients of the Ephesian epistle possessing the conviction of what constitutes their confident expectation of blessing which was produced by the Father having effectually calling them and in addition what constitutes the glorious wealth of the Father’s inheritance located in the saints.

The past action is that of the recipients of this epistle exercising faith when they heard the Spirit inspired contents of this epistle read to them.

Therefore, the intensive perfect tense of this verb emphasizes the present state of the recipients of the Ephesian epistle possessing the conviction of what constitutes their confident expectation of blessing and the glorious wealth of the Father’s inheritance residing in the saints as a result of exercising faith when they heard the Spirit inspired contents of this epistle read to them.

The interrogative pronoun tis (τις), “what constitutes” appears twice in this infinitive purpose clause.

In both instances, it introduces a categorical or qualitative question.

The first time it is used, it is expressing the idea of the recipients of the Ephesian epistle possessing the conviction regarding “what constitutes” their confident expectation of blessing.

This interrogative pronoun tis (τις), “what constitutes” is the referent of the noun elpis(ἐλπίς), “confident expectation of blessing.”

The latter refers to the recipients of the Ephesian epistle being in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at their physical death or in a resurrection body at the rapture or resurrection of the church as well as receiving rewards for faithful service at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church.

Therefore, these future blessings are the referent of the interrogative pronoun.

The noun klēsis(κλῆσις), “effectual call” refers to the “effective evocation” of faith through the presentation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit which unites the sinner to Christ according to the Father’s gracious purpose in election and results in the justification of the sinner by the Father.

It does not refer to the “call of God,” which is related to “common grace” meaning grace given to all sinners by God in the form of being exposed to the gospel.

In other words, it does not refer to the “invitation” to receive the gift of salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior.

Rather, it refers to those sinners who have responded to the divine invitation or call of God when they were presented the gospel and have exercised faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Therefore, this “effectual call” refers to the “effective evocation” of faith through the presentation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit who united the believer to Christ according to the Father’s electing him to privilege and His gracious eternal purpose and predetermined plan.

It refers to not only the Father’s invitation to salvation for the sinner through the presentation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit, but it also refers to the sinner’s acceptance of this invitation by faith and which invitation originates from eternity past.

So therefore, in Ephesians 1:18, the noun klēsis (κλῆσις) is referring to the conversion of the recipients of the Ephesian epistle or in other words, the moment of justification.

The word “effectual” is used of that which produces the effect desired or intended or a decisive result.

Thus, the Father’s calling of the recipients of the Ephesian epistle produced the effect He desired, or intended from them and the decisive result.

Namely, faith in His Son Jesus Christ, who delivered them from enslavement to sin, Satan, condemnation from the Law, spiritual and physical death as well as eternal condemnation through His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the Father’s right hand.

Therefore, the noun klēsis refers to the Father’s “effectual call” to trust in His Son Jesus Christ as Savior and which invitation originated from eternity past and is thus directly related to the Christian’s election.

By responding in faith, they manifested in time that they have been elected to privilege by God.

God who is omniscient looked down the corridors of time and saw that the Christian would trust in His Son Jesus Christ as Savior and had prepared in advance a plan for them and elected to privilege these justified sinners.

Therefore, when the Christian placed his or her trust in Jesus Christ as Savior, he or she was manifesting the fact that they have been elected to privilege by the Father.

He did not coerce the Christian’s volition by electing them but rather elected them to privilege when He saw through His omniscience that they would believe in His Son.

Paul asserts that this effectual call is the Father’s possession because He is the one who declared them justified when they trusted in His Son, Jesus Christ, which in turn manifested the fact that in eternity past He elected them to the privilege of possessing an eternal relationship and fellowship with Him, the Son and the Spirit.

This He accomplished by predestinating them to adoption as His sons and to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

This word klēsisfunctions as a genitive of production, which is expressing the idea of this confident expectation of being in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at their physical death or in a resurrection body at the rapture or resurrection of the church is “produced” by the Father effectually calling the recipients of this epistle.

In other words, this confident expectation of blessing was “produced” by the Father declaring the recipients of the Ephesian epistle justified through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.