Riches of His Inheritance
A Sermon on Ephesians 1:18
Originally preached June 12, 1955
Scripture
18The 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,
Sermon Description
There are common objections to Christianity. Christianity is only for the weak. It is of no consequence today because it does not care about what is happening in the “real” world. Christianity is a waste of time because it is caught-up in other-worldly matters. These objections are as common today as they were in Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s day. In this sermon on inheritance from Ephesians 1:18 titled “Riches of His Inheritance,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones meets the objections head on and points to the reality that the Bible does call Christians to fix their minds on the world to come. What is important is that this is a good thing for this world. Looking to the list of faithful men and women of Scripture and of history, Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that the ones who did the most for this world had their eyes set on the world to come. The greatest benefactors of this world are those men and women of God who were concerned about the inheritance of the saints. If humanity forgets the next world, everything goes wrong for this world. To be uninterested in the glory to be revealed in heaven is to be unlike the Lord Jesus Christ himself. The Christian must be fixed on the glory to come when they will be with God.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul prays that Christians may know God and the hope of their calling.
- Paul prays specifically that Christians may know "the riches of the glory of [God's] inheritance in the saints."
- There are two views on what this means: 1) God's inheritance is in the saints; 2) The saints' inheritance from God. The second view is more likely.
- Paul prays that Christians may know the glorious state and condition God has prepared for them.
- Many today dislike focusing on the afterlife and heaven. But this view is unbiblical. The Bible commands us to set our minds on heavenly things.
- Focusing on heaven has historically led to great earthly benefits, like hospitals, education, and political reforms. Forgetting heaven leads to earthly troubles.
- We should consider heaven because of the comfort and encouragement it provides, and because it leads to holiness. Jesus himself focused on the joy set before him.
- We know little about heaven because human language cannot fully capture its glory. But we know we will be with Christ, see him face to face, and be like him.
- Heaven will be incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading. There will be no sin, sorrow, or death. It is only for the saints - those set apart for God.
- Nothing can prevent the saints from inheriting heaven. We must make sure we are saints, then dwell on the glories of heaven.
- We should pray for enlightened eyes to see heavenly realities, and set our affections on things above. The glory to come far surpasses our present sufferings.
The Book of Ephesians
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.