2.
The Riches of Christ
Paul’s
passion was to gain Christ, to be found in Christ, to know Christ and to be complete
in Christ. There was no other life for Paul but the life of Christ.
It
is interesting that when He walked this earth, Jesus told His disciples to
follow Him. They were commanded to literally follow their Master as He walked
this earth. But what does this mean to us today? Are we to follow Christ? How
do we follow Jesus who, by His spirit, has taken up residence in us? I submit
that we do not follow the Lord in this day. We allow Him, by His spirit, to
lead us, which is an entirely different matter. Think about this: When we
follow someone, all that we see is the person’s backside; we do not see the
person’s face. We are not called into seeing His backside. We are called into a
very personal relationship with Christ, a heart to heart or spirit to spirit
relationship.
Paul
is our example and he was not following the Lord; in spirit he was seeing Him
face to face. He was alive in the
Lord and the Lord was alive in him,
and believers are to be in the same relationship.
You
see, through Paul the evangel of Christ rises to the height of glory. Those who
believe in this wicked eon are a new creation in Christ and, as such, they have a new life in them that leads them
by the spirit. For us who believe, we do not follow this life; we allow this
life to lead us as we live by this life. We are to walk in this life. As Paul
wrote: As you therefore have received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him (Colossians 2.6 NASB).
Now,
there is another aspect of this life as revealed to us through Paul. It is what
Paul called the riches of Christ. Today, many people, including believers, are
in hot pursuit of riches, the wealth of the world. But those who have been
called and chosen to be among the celestials have been brought into all the
riches of Christ. We could say that believers are the richest people in the
entire universe.
The
untraceable riches of Christ.
To me, less than the least of all saints, was granted
this grace: to bring the evangel of the
untraceable riches of Christ to the nations, and to enlighten all as to
what is the administration of the secret,
which has been concealed from the eons in God, Who creates all, that now may be
made known to the sovereignties and the authorities among the celestials,
through the ecclesia, the multifarious
wisdom of God, in accord with the purpose of the eons, which He makes in Christ
Jesus, our Lord; in Whom we have boldness and access with confidence,
through His faith. (Ephesians 3.8-12 CV)
Paul called his evangel
the untraceable riches of Christ. Some translations use the word unsearchable in the place of untraceable. Unsearchable implies that the riches cannot be searched out or
discovered, but Paul discovered these riches so they cannot be thought of as unsearchable
to the believer today. Some commentators see the word unsearchable as meaning that the riches of Christ are so vast that
we will be forever searching out and discovering these riches. Without a doubt,
we will be forever discovering more and more of our Lord Jesus; so in this
regard, I agree.
However, the word untraceable
gives us another dimension that refers to the evangel Paul was given to
dispense to the nations. It most likely means that the riches of Christ cannot
be traced to the Hebrew prophets; that is, they cannot be discovered in Hebrew
Scripture. This makes Paul’s evangel quite unique and special for those called
into it.
If we remain within the context of the above verses, we
will see how unique his evangel truly is. I have gone over this ground many
times in other writings, but as Paul wrote, it is no trouble to me, and it is a
safeguard for you (Philippians 3.1).
I am reminded of the time that I spoke on Ephesians at a
conference in
Paul, the least of the saints, was given grace to dispense
this evangel. The risen and glorified Jesus appeared to him on multiple
occasions and revealed the riches of Christ contained in the evangel to the
nations. It was a secret that was hidden from the eons. This in itself gives us
the explanation for the word untraceable.
No one could trace it throughout all the eons that have preceded our current
one. Not even the angels or any of God’s created beings among the celestials
were ever made privy to this secret. It was revealed to Paul alone. What grace
we see in the revelation of this secret through Paul!
Just think about this: In the vastness of God’s universe
there was only one man chosen to reveal God’s secret, and he had persecuted
Jesus, the Son of God.
The major part of the secret revealed to Paul and
dispensed to us is about Christ and the ecclesia, which is His body, in
relation to all God’s created beings among the celestials. Through the
ecclesia, God’s multifarious wisdom is to be made manifest or made known, which
means that all the created celestial beings, most notably the angels, are to
see the riches of Christ displayed in the body of Christ. We are to display the
riches of Christ for the entire universe to see. Another way to state this is
that we are to be the manifestation of the riches of Christ.
Like Paul, all of us should be so humbled that through us,
the least of all God’s creatures, is God’s grace in Christ Jesus displayed. Oh,
the riches of Christ! This is all in accord with the purpose the eons, which He
makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord, in Whom
we
have boldness and access with confidence, through His faith.
The purpose of the eons, especially of the eons of the
eons, is to display the riches of Christ, and a people have been chosen before
the disruption of the world to display these riches to reveal the multifarious
wisdom of God.
Perhaps some of this is too much to grasp with our limited
minds, but through the faith of the Son of God, we can glory in Christ and
approach our Father in heaven with boldness and confidence, not shrinking away
out of fear. Through faith we can approach God because He has not only made us
a part of the purpose of the eons in
Christ, but He is using us to display His purpose through His Son.
Dear brethren, if God could choose one like Paul to reveal
such glory, do you not think that He will eventually save all mankind? If God’s
grace could take the least of all men and entrust His most hidden secret to
him, do you not think that He can and will save every creature that He has
brought forth to His glory? If God could take us, that is, you and me, who are
so unworthy, and, by His grace, use us to display His wisdom and the purpose of
the eons in His Son to all His creatures throughout His universe, do you not
think that even the vilest of sinners, one day, will be saved? This is what the
riches of Christ are all about.
When he was writing his epistle to the Romans, Paul could
hardly contain himself as he contemplated what God has done for mankind in
Christ.
The riches, wisdom and knowledge of God.
For God locks up
all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all. O, the depth
of the riches and the wisdom and the
knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments, and untraceable His
ways! For, who knew the mind of the Lord? or, who became His adviser? or, who
gives to Him first, and it will be repaid him? seeing that out of Him and
through Him and for Him is all: to Him be the glory for the eons! Amen! (Romans
11.32-36 CV)
The depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge
of God speaks of the mercy of God shown to all
His creation, none excepted. This little word all should be indelibly written on our heart. All are locked up in
stubbornness so that all shall be
saved, for God is the Savior of all
mankind, especially of believers. Who can trace His ways? Who can take any
credit for His ways? Not a single creature in the entire universe! It is all God’s
doing.
Where do we discover the depth of the wisdom and knowledge
of God? We discover them in Christ, in Whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
are concealed (Colossians 2.3 CV). Where do we discover the depth of the riches of God? We discover
them in the riches of Christ. The Son of God could be likened to the bank, the
banker and the treasurer of the entire universe. Of course, this does not refer
to material wealth but to the very life of God in His Son, who is the wisdom
and knowledge of God in Whom are all the riches of God.
Oh, let us not lust after the fleeting riches of the
world! Let us passionately desire the riches of God in His Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ.
How do we receive these riches? By the riches of His
grace!
The
riches of His grace.
Grace is one of the most powerful words in Scripture.
Grace tells us that we can do nothing to receive the riches of Christ. We do
not work for them; we do not earn them; we do not deserve them. We simply receive them in Christ. These riches are received by the riches of His grace.
The emphasis of this phrase is on His grace, and the riches, simply quantify
and qualify grace. After all, when we think of one with great riches we think
of the quantity of their wealth and the fine quality of their possessions. In
other words, the riches mean that His grace is abundant, even extravagant, or
as Paul wrote, lavish, and His grace produces a result of the highest quality.
Thus, the riches of His grace speak of how lavishly and freely God has bestowed
favor on a people with the purpose of bringing them into the greatest destiny
that has ever been or will be known in the history of mankind, and possibly the
entire universe. This is in accord with the purpose of the eons.
We
see most clearly the riches of His grace in Paul’s epistle titled Ephesians.
For in
grace, through faith, are you saved, and this is not out of you; it is
God’s approach present, not of works, lest anyone should be boasting.
(Ephesians 2.8-9 CV)
Our
salvation is the starting point of grace. We are saved by grace through faith
and even the faith is not ours but a gift of God. Our works do not, cannot and
will not enter into salvation. The Son of God has done all the work to save us
and to keep us saved forever. This is the mighty riches of grace that should
cause us to boast only in Christ. We
have no boast in our own works. The fact of the matter is that no one will ever
be able to make his own boast in regard to salvation, and eventually all
mankind will make their boast in
Christ when He has accomplished His mission of heading up all in Himself.
Today,
God’s present approach to salvation is by grace. His approach will undoubtedly
change for mankind that will face the great white throne judgment. Then it will
be mercy of the highest order. The second death will be their way to salvation
at the consummation of the eons. We are living in the day of grace, and by
grace God is saving those that He has called and chosen. However, being saved
by grace through faith is only the starting point of our understanding of the
riches of His grace. In these riches, we discover the depth of our salvation,
past, present and future. In the first fourteen verses of the Ephesians
epistle, Paul began to unveil the depth of these riches.
Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and
the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who blesses us with every spiritual blessing among the celestials, in Christ,
according as He chooses us in Him before the disruption of the world, we to be
holy and flawless in His sight, in love designating us beforehand for the place
of a son for Him through Christ Jesus; in accord with the delight of His will,
for the laud of the glory of His grace, which graces us in the Beloved: in Whom
we are having the deliverance through His blood, the forgiveness of offenses in
accord with the riches of His grace, which He lavishes on us; in all wisdom and
prudence making known to us the secret of His will (in accord with His delight,
which He purposed in Him) to have an administration of the complement of the
eras, to head up all in the Christ―both that in the heavens and that on
the earth―in Him in Whom our lot was cast also, being designated
beforehand according to the purpose of the One Who is operating all in accord
with the counsel of His will, that we should be for the laud of His glory, who
are pre-expectant in the Christ. In Whom you also―on hearing the word of
truth, the evangel of your salvation―in Whom on believing also, you are
sealed with the holy spirit of promise (which is an earnest of the enjoyment of
our allotment, to the deliverance of that which has been procured) for the laud
of His glory! (Ephesians 1.2-14 CV)
Paul’s
writing can be difficult to follow since he uses such long sentences filled
with so much meat that we have a hard time swallowing it. To make it a little
easier to follow his thoughts and digest them, let us look at one thought at a
time.
1.
Who blesses us with every spiritual blessing among the celestials, in Christ.
Many
people seek for blessings that have to do with the things of this world and the
satisfying of fleshly needs. Their heart attitude is: “Bless me with this thing
and that thing.” But the blessings from the Father that are in Christ are both spiritual and among
the celestials, which means they transcend the material world and even time and
space. The celestial realm is a spiritual realm, for God is spirit. One day we
will occupy spiritual bodies that will be able to live in the celestial realm,
as well as in the earthly or physical realm. In that day, the things of this
earth that were so important to our flesh will be so no more. Paul referred to
these spiritual blessings as a present spiritual reality.
Because
we are in Christ today and because He is seated among the celestials today, we can experience these spiritual
blessings in Christ today. What are these blessings? They
are the riches of Christ, which pertain to all that He has saved us into and
all that He is and all that He will be to us for the eons and beyond. In other
words, we taste these spiritual blessings as we taste and see that the Lord is
good and as we look out to our glorious future in Christ. What follows are some of these blessings.
2.
According as He chooses us in Him before the disruption of the world.
Paul
referred to God’s will in choosing a people in
Christ. Many people believe in free will in regard to salvation, meaning
that man must make the choice to believe or not to believe. Man is described as
a free moral agent that makes all his own choices in life. But the facts do not
support such a conclusion. Did any of us have a choice in becoming sinners? Because
of Adam’s sin, death passed through into all mankind, on which all sinned
(Romans 5.12 CV). Where is the choice in this? There is none! So
how can we declare that we are free moral agents when we are constituted this
way as soon as we are conceived? So why do we presume that we have a free will
that can trump the will of God? For example, Paul declared that our God wills
that all mankind be saved and come
into a realization of the truth (1 Timothy 2.4 CV). It is
God’s will, not man’s will. Another example is
You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault?
For who resists His will?” On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers
back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me
like this,” will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make
from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?
What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power
known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy,
which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from
among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. (Romans 9.19-24 NASB)
The
key to understanding the will of God verses the will of man is that there are
vessels of mercy that God prepared beforehand for glory. God is the One who
prepares and calls according to His will, not our will.
According
to Paul, if we are privileged to be among the ranks of the believers, then we
are there because God chose us to be there, and He made this determination
before the disruption of the world. In other words, we had no choice in the
matter. By God’s grace you have been chosen in
Christ, and this was determined before mankind was ever formed from the soil of
this earth. If you believe, this is something to greatly rejoice over and to
glory in Christ. Our boast is in Christ and God’s will, not in our
self or our own will.
To
some, this all might seem unfair to those who are not saved in this eon. Is it
really unfair? Eventually, in God’s mercy, all mankind will be saved. In God’s
wisdom, not all mankind will be saved in the same eon and some must wait until
the consummation of the eons. Who is capable of questioning God’s wisdom?
3.
We to be holy and flawless in His sight.
Rejoice
in the fact that you have been chosen in
Christ and that it is God’s full intention to see you through to His end that you
will be holy and flawless in His sight. This is possible because we will be
conformed to the image of Christ, and the Father will see His Son in us when He
looks upon us. We will be like Him because we will be transfigured and
conformed to Him and the glory of His body. No one can stand before God without
being consumed unless he is like the Son of God. God could have just saved us
and left us to our own devices to become like His Son or to figure out how to
become holy in His sight, but we would have failed miserably. Consequently, in
choosing and saving us, the Father has declared that we will be holy and flawless by His grace. This speaks of the highest
quality of character produced by grace. Oh, the riches of His grace!
4.
In love designating us beforehand for the place of a son for Him through Christ
Jesus.
Out
of His love, God desires to have sons, not just children. He needs sons to
fulfill His purpose and to express His love. God is after sons that are like the
Son of His love, and He has designated beforehand, before the disruption of the
world, those who will be placed as sons in His kingdom. Sonship refers to reigning.
In other words, God has chosen beforehand those who will reign in His kingdom. But
notice that sonship comes through
Christ Jesus. We become sons through the riches of His grace in Christ. Reigning in a kingdom of
righteousness requires righteous character, and grace produces this in the sons
of God. It is the very righteousness of Christ.
5.
In accord with the delight of His will, for the laud of the glory of His grace,
which graces us in the Beloved.
This
is all in accord with the delight of the will of God. It is God’s delight to do
this for His Son and for us. The Father did not purpose this grudgingly, as if He
was forced or as if He had no choice in the matter. No; He delights in doing
this. It is for the laud or praise of the glory of His grace, and this grace is
graced to us in His Son.
We
see the glory of His grace in Paul’s testimony of being blinded by Christ. Paul
had no choice in the matter. It was the will of God, even the delight of His
will, to take the least of the saints and put him into service. It is to the
laud of the glory of His grace, which graced Paul in the Beloved. The word glory can refer to something highly esteemed
or favorable. Thus, the glory of His grace speaks of the quality of His grace.
The highly esteemed and favorable grace of God has graced us or has been given
to us as a gift in the Beloved. Because of Christ alone, we receive the riches
of His grace.
6.
In Whom we are having the deliverance through His blood, the forgiveness of
offenses in accord with the riches of His grace, which He lavishes on us.
Because
of the blood of Christ, the riches of His grace are lavished upon us. The word lavish refers to something extravagant
or more than enough. Because of the blood, grace is extravagantly available to us.
There is so much grace that it is lavish grace; it is inexhaustible grace. Thus,
the quantity and quality of grace is inexhaustible and beyond comparison. No
matter the situation, the failure, even the sin, grace is lavishly available to
deliver us safely into His celestial kingdom. When we see reference to
forgiveness of offenses, it generally refers to entrance into the kingdom.
However, our salvation is far greater than this, for lavish grace also
justifies, just as if we had never sinned.
7.
In all wisdom and prudence making known to us the secret of His will (in accord
with His delight, which He purposed in Him) to have an administration of the complement
of the eras, to head up all in the Christ―both that in the heavens and
that on the earth.
The
riches of His grace bring us into the very secret of God’s will that is
purposed in His Son. It is by this
lavish grace that the eyes of our heart are enlightened to see what few men
today see and what the prophets of old saw dimly. It is God’s delight to reveal
His purpose and plan that had been concealed from all the previous generations
and eons. The plan (administration) that God will fully accomplish in the
fullness of the times is to head up all in the Christ, that in the heavens and
on the earth. This is the purpose of the eons. By the riches of His grace, your
eyes have been opened to the secret of God’s will. It is time to rejoice in the
Lord!
8.
In Him in Whom our lot was cast also, being designated beforehand according to
the purpose of the One Who is operating all in accord with the counsel of His
will, that we should be for the laud of His glory.
Paul
brought believers into the very purpose of God in Christ. By grace, our lot has been cast with Christ, which means
that whatever He does to fulfill God’s purpose we have been made a part of as
well. He is to head up all, and we have been joined with Him in the heading up
of all. We have no choice in the matter. Praise God! Our lot was cast
beforehand, before the disruption of the world. This is all in accord with the
purpose of God, the One who operates all in accord with the counsel of His
will. It is God’s will that our lot has been cast with Christ. No wonder it is
to the laud of His glory! Our lot speaks of the riches of His grace.
9.
Who are pre-expectant in the Christ.
Paul
included this strange statement about being pre-expectant
in the Christ. This refers to having an expectation that Christ is coming
for us before the wrath of God is poured out on this world in judgment before
the King of kings literally steps foot on this earth. Believers in this eon are
not destined for wrath (Romans 8.1; 1 Thessalonians 1.10). We are expecting to
rise in the air before the final indignation that ends this present wicked eon;
to be delivered into the presence of the Lord. This is confirmed in the next
verse.
10.
You are sealed with the holy spirit of promise (which is an earnest of the
enjoyment of our allotment, to the deliverance of that which has been procured)
for the laud of His glory!
As
if being in Christ were not enough,
we are told through Paul that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. This
is the seal of God, God’s promise to us. According to Paul, we know that we have
been given the Holy Spirit (Romans 5.5; 1 Thessalonians 4.8; 2 Timothy 1.14).
But being sealed is an assurance from the Father that nothing can or will
change our being in Christ and coming
into all the riches of His grace. Later in his letter, Paul wrote: And do not be causing sorrow to the holy
spirit of God by which you are sealed for the day of deliverance (Ephesians
4.30 CV). The sealing is our assurance that we will be
delivered into the enjoyment of our
allotment in the celestial kingdom when we take on spiritual bodies in the
image of the Celestial or Heavenly One. The Holy Spirit of promise has sealed
us in Christ as a pledge or earnest
that one day we will receive an allotment or inheritance in the
As
we continue in the Ephesians letter, we see that Paul unveiled so many riches
that it is almost too much to take in. This is why Paul had to stop and mention
his prayer for the recipients of his letter. He prayed that the Father of glory, may be giving you a
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the realization of Him, the eyes of your
heart having been enlightened, for you to perceive what is the expectation of
His calling, and what the riches of the glory of the enjoyment of His allotment
among the saints, and what the transcendent greatness of His power for us who
are believing, in accord with the operation of the might of His strength, which
is operative in the Christ, rousing Him from among the dead and seating Him at
His right hand among the celestials, up over every sovereignty and authority
and power and lordship, and every name that is named, not only in this eon, but
also in that which is impending: and subjects all under His feet, and gives
Him, as Head over all, to the ecclesia which is His body, the complement of the
One completing the all in all (Ephesians 1.17-23 CV).
This
is another long sentence, filled with the riches of His grace. Paul prayed that
the saints would perceive the expectation or the hope of His calling. This
refers to our destiny in Christ. It is God’s calling of us unto glory, the
glory of His Son. The saints are to know the greatness of the power of God, the
very same power that was operative in Christ when He was roused from among the
dead. Today, He is seated at the right hand of His Father among the celestials.
He is over all levels of rulership in God’s universe and has a name that cannot
and will not be matched in this eon or the eons to come. The Father has
subjected all under His feet and has made Him Head of the universe.
11.
And gives Him, as Head over all, to the ecclesia which is His body, the
complement of the One completing the all in all.
It
is in this grand view of Christ that Paul brought the ecclesia, which is the
body of Christ, under the Head of the universe and declared that this body is
the complement of the Head who will head up all until He is all in all. Is it
any wonder that Paul had to pray that they would perceive the glory of this
secret that was revealed to him for the nations? Do you realize that as a
believer you are a member of Christ’s body and that all the members of His body
are His complement and will be displayed as such throughout the universe and
among the celestials for the eons to come? Do you realize that the body of
Christ is the fullness of Christ or the exact image of the Head of all? The
body also is destined to become His complement for the eons by being roused
from among the dead by the same transcendent greatness of His power that roused
Christ and seated Him among the celestials! This is the riches of His grace. Who
of us deserves such glory? It is all by the lavish grace of God.
We
can only imagine that as he was dictating this letter, Paul’s thoughts were
racing a mile a minute as he contemplated the riches that he sought to convey
in words.
And you, being dead to your offenses and sins, in
which once you walked, in accord with the eon of this world, in accord with the
chief of the jurisdiction of the air, the spirit now operating in the sons of
stubbornness (among whom we also all behaved ourselves once in the lusts of our
flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of the comprehension, and were, in our
nature, children of indignation, even as the rest), yet God, being rich in
mercy, because of His vast love with which He loves us (we also being dead to
the offenses and the lusts), vivifies us together in Christ (in grace are you
saved!) and rouses us together and seats us together among the celestials, in
Christ Jesus, that, in the oncoming eons, He should be displaying the
transcendent riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
(Ephesians 2.1-7 CV)
Before
we were placed in Christ, we were
walking in accord with the eon of this world. We live in the eon that Paul
described as the present wicked eon. We were once part of this world system as
sons of stubbornness, worthy only of indignation. Oh, but thank God for His
vast love with which He loves us, even when we were dead in our offenses and
lusts. It was while we were in this dire condition that God’s love for us was
most clearly manifested. His love is a vast love; it is like the deepest of
oceans and the highest of mountains.
12.
His vast love vivifies us together in Christ (in grace are you saved!) and
rouses us together and seats us together among the celestials, in Christ Jesus.
It
is God’s love for us that gives us life in
His Son. To remind us of the riches of His grace, Paul declared that in grace
you are saved. Not only have we been given life, but in God’s view, we have
already been raised up together and seated together among the celestials in
Christ Jesus. Today, in spirit, we are seated among the celestials; spiritually
speaking, we have arrived at our destiny, and now we wait for our Rescuer to
come from heaven and transport us there to be among the celestials, not only in
spirit, but also conformed to the body of His glory. In His vast love, we are
to be seated with the Head of the universe, just as the Son of God is now
seated with the God and Father of the universe. Can you imagine a destiny more
glorious than this one? Marvelous grace!
13. That,
in the oncoming eons, He should be displaying the transcendent riches of His
grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Paul was so struck by His grace that the word riches was not enough; he had to add the
word transcendent, which means
“surpass or exceed, as something extraordinary,” to quantify the riches
further. Paul pointed to the oncoming eons, the eons of the eons, or the Lord’s
day, in which God will be displaying the surpassing, the excellent and the
extraordinary riches of His grace to us in
His Son, Christ Jesus, our Lord. The riches of His grace transcend all the
riches imaginable.
We do not know the full depths of these extraordinary
riches. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND
EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD
HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM” (1 Corinthians 2.9 NASB). By the spirit of God, we taste these riches today, but
a day is coming when we will be so bathed in them that we will be the display
of these transcendent riches, in His Son, throughout the entire universe to the
glory of God. Oh, the kindness of God!
14. For
His achievement are we, being created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
makes ready beforehand, that we should be walking in them. (Ephesians 2.10 CV)
By the riches of His grace, we are His achievement or, as
other translations state, we are His workmanship in Christ Jesus. Note the present tense that not only are we His
achievement but we are being created in
Christ Jesus for a very special purpose, for good works that God made ready for
us beforehand. Paul declared that all these riches were established before the
disruption of the world, just so that we could walk in them. We do not have to
search for good works; we just have to be led by the spirit of God and walk in
them. Although there are good works for us in this life, given Paul’s vision of
our destiny, it is just as likely that these good works are the works that we
will be walking in during the oncoming eons to the laud of His glory.
I trust these fourteen points will whet your appetite to
search out the transcendent riches of His grace in Christ Jesus. There are many
other aspects of these riches, such as being a one new humanity; fellow
citizens of the saints;, God’s dwelling place, in spirit; and joint enjoyers of
an allotment, a joint body and joint partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus
(see Ephesians 2.15-16, 19-22; 3.6). You are encouraged to search Paul’s
epistles and mine for these riches. May the eyes of your heart be enlightened
to see more clearly!
The
riches of His glory.
Now,
let us look at the other aspect of the riches of Christ, and that is the riches
of His glory. As with grace, this speaks of the quantity and quality of glory.
Also, grace and glory are almost inseparable. We could say that grace leads to
glory, or grace is the pathway to glory.
God
moves upon the lives of His people with the purpose of bringing them into the
riches of His glory in the oncoming eons. Through the riches of His grace in
Christ poured out on His people, God is preparing them for the coming riches of
His glory in Christ.
Now, if God, wanting to display His indignation and
to make His powerful doings known, carries, with much patience, the vessels of
indignation, adapted for destruction, it is that He should also be making known
the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He makes ready before
for glory―us, whom He calls also, not only out of the Jews, but out of
the nations also. (Romans 9.22-24 CV)
In
His mercy, God has called unto Himself a people who deserve His indignation or
wrath. Instead of receiving wrath, they are called to enter into glory that He
prepared them for beforehand. What mercy! To these vessels of mercy, a people
to come out from among the Jews and the nations to come into glory in the
oncoming eons, He makes known the riches of His glory that He has prepared for
them. God calls from glory unto glory. He wants us to know that in His mercy,
He has called us into the glory of Christ.
In
the Philippians letter, Paul revealed that the riches in glory in Christ Jesus meet us in our everyday
life and the needs of life. Glory has a very practical application to us while
we live on earth. This was Paul’s prayer for the saints in this regard. Notice
how Paul took the practical and pointed to the future glory for the eons of the
eons.
Now my God shall be filling your every need in accord with His riches in glory in Christ
Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory for the eons of the eons! Amen!
(Philippians 4.19-20 CV)
Dear
brethren, when He fills our every need, God is doing so in accord with the
destiny that is ours in Christ. He moves upon our lives with the riches of His
glory in view. We see this same thought every place that Paul used the
expression the riches of His glory.
On this behalf am I bowing my knees to the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, after Whom every kindred in the heavens and on earth
is being named, that He may be giving you, in accord with the riches of His
glory, to be made staunch with power, through His spirit, in the man within, Christ to dwell in your hearts through
faith, that you, having been rooted and grounded in love, should be strong
to grasp, together with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and
depth and height―to know the love
of Christ as well which transcends knowledge―that you may be
completed for the entire complement of God. (Ephesians 3.14-19 CV)
Christ
is to dwell richly in our hearts for the purpose of us being so rooted and
grounded in His love that together with all the saints we will know the full
measure of the love of Christ. This love transcends knowledge. We can talk
about love and intellectualize love all we want, but it will be of no value to
us unless we are growing up in Christ in love. We are to be a complete or
mature man in Christ so that we can truly be the complement of the One
completing the all in all. This is in accord with the riches of His glory,
which means that the very purpose of love is to bring us into the glory of God
in Christ. It is the love of Christ that will complete us to be His complement,
and this is in accord with the riches of His glory. Consequently, love leads to
glory, into the riches of His glory.
The
riches of the glory of the enjoyment of His allotment.
Therefore, I also, on hearing of this faith of
yours in the Lord Jesus, and that for all the saints, do not cease giving
thanks for you, making mention in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may be giving you a spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the realization of Him, the eyes of your heart having been
enlightened, for you to perceive…. what the riches of the glory of the
enjoyment of His allotment among the saints…. (Ephesians 1.15-18 CV)
Paul
prayed for the saints that the secret that he was given to dispense to the
nations would be realized. This was, and still is, a formidable task that is
only possible by the spirit of God. Nevertheless, Paul prayed that the eyes of
their heart would see the riches of God’s glory in the coming eons.
Glory
can refer to happiness. When God is happy, glory bursts forth. Notice that the
allotment (or inheritance) is His allotment. It is the enjoyment of His
allotment among the saints. This must refer to the inheritance that Christ will
receive. Ask of Me, and I will give the
nations as Your allotment, and as Your holding, the limits of the earth (Psalm
2.8 CV). Surely, in that day, the Son will enter into the
joy of His heart, the joy that was set before Him as He was led to the cross.
This is in accord with the riches of His glory.
The glorious riches of this secret.
Finally, we conclude
with another word from Paul that sums up the secret of His evangel for the
nations.
I am now rejoicing
in my sufferings for you, and am filling up in my flesh, in His stead, the
deficiencies of the afflictions of Christ, for His body, which is the ecclesia
of which I became a dispenser, in accord with the administration of God, which
is granted to me for you, to complete the word of God―the secret which has been concealed from
the eons and from the generations, yet now was made manifest to His saints,
to whom God wills to make known what are the glorious riches of this secret
among the nations, which is: Christ
among you, the expectation of glory― Whom we are announcing,
admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we should be presenting every man mature in Christ Jesus;
for which I am toiling also, struggling in accord with His operation, which is
operating in me with power. (Colossians 1.24-29 CV)
The secret was concealed from the eons and the
generations, yet, praise God, it is now manifested to the saints. God has willed
to make known what are the glorious riches of this secret among the nations.
The secret is Christ among the nations, the expectation of glory. By His
spirit, Christ walks among us now to lead us into His eonian glory.
This is why Paul admonished all and taught all the wisdom
of God. He saw the destiny for those who love God. He struggled and toiled for
every man, not only for the ecclesia but for every man, that all should be
presented mature in Christ Jesus.
This is my prayer for all who are reading this material.
It is not about facts and figures. It is about us seeing the purpose of the
eons in such a way that it leads us to become mature in Christ and not to be led astray by the many deceptions of our
wicked day. As we see God’s purpose in Christ,
it is to bring about change in our lives leading us toward the perfection that
is a mature man in Christ as we press
on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
By the riches of His grace, glory will come. This is the
promise of Christ. May Christ dwell richly in your heart and may you pursue
Christ and all His riches!
We pray that soon we will enter into all the riches of His
glory among the celestials.