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Sermon #4029

The Hope of His Calling

A Sermon on Ephesians 1:18

Originally preached June 5, 1955

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Scripture

Ephesians 1:18 ESV KJV
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, (ESV)

Sermon Description

Christians can often feel distant from God. What is their response when coldness towards spiritual matters creeps into their heart? Does their assurance waver? How can they have a steady anchor for their Christian life? Rather than wait for another experience, the prayer of the apostle Paul for Christians is that they may know the hope of their calling. This is not a general hopefulness, but hope in God. More specifically, hope in God’s calling of them. This will have a profound effect on the assurance says Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. In this sermon on Ephesians 1:18 titled “The Hope of His Calling,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones expounds this great prayer of Paul and carefully navigates between the general call of God in the gospel for all and the effectual call of the Holy Spirit for believers. To find assurance, one must look to the covenant-keeping God and Scripture. The Christian must look to the God in whom there is no variation or change, to the Father who will keep His children by His grace until the very end. Dr. Lloyd-Jones challenges Christians to consider these wonderful truths of Scripture and pray this for themselves.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The apostle Paul is praying for the Ephesians that the eyes of their understanding may be enlightened.
  2. He wants them to know three things in particular:
  3. The hope of God's calling
  4. The riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints
  5. The exceeding greatness of His power toward believers
  6. Paul reminds them that spiritual knowledge is only possible through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. Without Him, we are in darkness and ignorance.
  7. The "eyes of your understanding" refers to having a spiritual understanding that permeates our whole being, not just an intellectual understanding. Our natural understanding is darkened until enlightened by the Spirit.
  8. Paul is praying for believers, showing we always need the Spirit's enlightenment and spiritual growth is progressive. We should pray for increasing knowledge of God.
  9. The "hope of His calling" refers to the assurance and certainty we have in our salvation by God's effectual calling. This is opposed to the general call of the gospel that goes out to all.
  10. Assurance comes through:
  11. Knowing the unchanging character and covenant of God who called us
  12. Understanding our calling is part of God's eternal plan, so if called, we are justified and glorified
  13. Grasping the truth of our regeneration and union with Christ by faith
  14. We should rest in Christ's unchanging grace, even when we can't see or feel Him. Our hope is in His oath, covenant, and blood.

Sermon Q&A

What Does Lloyd-Jones Mean by "The Eyes of Your Understanding Being Enlightened"?

What does Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones mean by "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened" in Ephesians 1:18?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, this phrase refers to our spiritual capacity to comprehend divine truth. He explains that we all have the faculty of understanding, but due to sin, this faculty has been darkened. Like a person with cataracts whose eye is still present but covered by opacity, our natural understanding is veiled and needs to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit. This enlightenment isn't merely intellectual but involves our whole being - what Scripture sometimes calls "the heart."

Why does Lloyd-Jones say Christians still need their understanding enlightened?

Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that even Christians need ongoing enlightenment because:

  1. As long as we remain in this world with sin still present in us, we need the Holy Spirit's enlightening work
  2. Spiritual knowledge is progressive - we never "arrive" or finish growing
  3. If we backslide or neglect our spiritual life, the Word won't speak to us effectively
  4. We must constantly depend on the Holy Spirit for fresh understanding, like gathering manna daily

What is "the hope of his calling" that we should understand?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that "the hope of his calling" refers to the assurance of our salvation. It doesn't mean the things hoped for (which is covered in the next petition), but rather our certainty that we have been effectually called by God. The "calling" here is not the general gospel call that goes out to everyone, but the special, effectual call that results in salvation - what Romans 8:28-30 describes as part of God's unbreakable chain of salvation.

How can Christians gain assurance of their salvation according to Lloyd-Jones?

Lloyd-Jones teaches that assurance comes through:

  1. Understanding the character of God - His immutability and faithfulness
  2. Knowing God's covenant - His unbreakable promises made before the foundation of the world
  3. Recognizing God's oath - His pledge confirmed by swearing by Himself
  4. Trusting God's power - Nothing can prevent His purpose
  5. Comprehending the doctrine of regeneration - If you're born of God, you cannot fall away
  6. Grasping our mystical union with Christ - We are in Christ permanently

Why does Lloyd-Jones criticize the Roman Catholic view of assurance?

Lloyd-Jones contrasts the Protestant/evangelical view of assurance with the Roman Catholic view. He states that Roman Catholics "dislike the doctrine of assurance of salvation" and "abominate it" because they believe certainty should rest in the church rather than personal assurance. He argues that the essence of Protestantism, as discovered by Martin Luther, is that individual Christians may know for certain they are saved and can "defy all devils and hell and Satan himself" with this confidence.

How should Christians respond to doubts about their salvation?

When doubts come through sin, illness, or demonic attack, Lloyd-Jones advises Christians to:

  1. Not rely solely on subjective experiences
  2. Return to objective truths found in Scripture
  3. Study and meditate on God's covenant and promises
  4. Answer the devil with Scripture as Jesus did
  5. Remember that being born of God means we cannot fall away
  6. Rest on God's unchanging grace even when feelings fluctuate

As Lloyd-Jones concludes with the hymn: "When darkness seems to veil his face, I rest on his unchanging grace... His oath, his covenant, his blood support me in the whelming flood."

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.