7 Points about the Riches of God

“Riches” is an interesting Bible study.

Let’s first consider the definition from Webster’s 1828:

RICH’ES, noun 1. Wealth; opulence; affluence; possessions of land, good or money in abundance. Riches do not consist in having more gold and silver, but in having more in proportion than our neighbors. 2. Splendid sumptuous appearance. The riches of heav’n’s pavement, trodden gold. 3. In Scripture, an abundance of spiritual blessings. Lk 16:11. The riches of God, his fullness of wisdom, power, mercy, grace and glory, Eph 1:7, 2; or the abundance supplied by his works. Psa 104:24. The riches of Christ, his abundant fullness of spiritual and eternal blessings for men. Eph 3:8.”

Paul uses the word riches more in Ephesians than any other epistle. He speaks of the riches of His grace twice (Eph. 1:7, 2:7). He speaks of the riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8). He speaks of the riches of His glory (Eph. 3:16) and in Eph. 1:18, he speaks of the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. When we compare those riches to Webster’s definitions, we know Paul isn’t simply talking about how pretty His riches are, the splendor of His riches. He is largely talking about the immensity of spiritual wealth to us because of these attributes of God.

Our wealth is endless because God’s grace is endless. When Paul is talking about riches, he means the overwhelming abundance of treasure for us to enjoy that’s found in His grace.

So here are 7 Points about Riches in Paul’s Epistles.

1. Riches of God’s Grace, Goodness, Longsuffering, Mercy, Etc.

On the one hand, Paul is saying that God is not merely “good” or “merciful” but He is also “rich in goodness” (Romans 2:4). He is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4). There is an inexhaustible supply and an overflowing aspect to His attributes.

On the other hand, Paul speaks of the “riches” of these attributes in God in the sense that we have spiritual wealth in abundance because God possesses these attributes in abundance.

Ephesians 1:7 – “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”

God didn’t give just enough grace to us to be saved. God poured out exceeding and immeasurable grace to you in extreme abundance. And now our wealth is endless because God’s grace is endless.

2. Riches of Christ

Similar to the Father, these are also lavishly abundant spiritual benefits to us because of who Christ is. These attributes are also why Christ achieved that victory for us at Calvary.

Ephesians 3:8 – “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;”

We’d make the point and rightly so that the unsearchable riches of Christ is the full body of revelation committed to Paul. It’s unsearchable because this was a secret hid in God until it was revealed through Paul. You can search the OT night and day and not find one reference to the mystery or the Body of Christ.

All those points are certainly true. Yet, Paul rephrases the mystery here as the unsearchable riches of Christ. These are riches to us being in Christ and these riches are connected to the person of Jesus Christ. He is the reason we have these riches. All these benefits to us also mirror the character of Christ. For example, all spiritual blessings, redemption, forgiveness, wisdom, are found in Christ Himself and those blessings mirror Christ’s attributes. He is full of blessings, redemption, forgiveness, wisdom, and so much more. Those benefits to us being in Christ are inexhaustible just as those attributes are inexhaustible in the person of Christ.

Plus, there are endless benefits to our lives when we put on the attributes of Christ and live in a way that reflects His image.

3. Riches of Glory

“Riches” are also tied to the glory of God the Father, except God’s glory isn’t simply the light emanating from His essence. When Paul writes of the glory of God or the riches of that glory, I’d suggest that Paul more often than not is writing about the glory of His Son and the glory of what His Son achieved at Calvary on our behalf. The Son is the glory of the Father. What the Son achieved at Calvary is glorious and is the glory of the Father.

Ephesians 3:16 – “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.”

You are enabled to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man because of the endless benefits to you through Christ’s glorious victory over sin and death accomplished at Calvary. The benefits to us are part of the riches of the glory of what Christ achieved at Calvary.

Another connection between glory and the person of Christ is Colossians 1:27 – “…Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Christ is the hope of our glory. He is the confident expectation of a sure thing that we will be glorified. There are overwhelming blessings to us and there is immeasurable value in having God’s presence inside of you that’s functioning as your hope.

4. Riches of Wisdom and Knowledge

“Riches” is also used to describe the bottomless depths of God’s wisdom.

Romans 11:33 – “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”

Here, “riches” point to endless depth — an inexhaustible, unsearchable warehouse of insight that belongs to God alone. It’s an invitation to stand in awe and humility and marvel at the vastness of God’s genius in all HIs wisdom and knowledge.

5. Riches as a Contrast to Worldly Riches

Sometimes Paul uses “riches” in ironic ways.

2 Corinthians 8:9 – “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”

This is a paradox of divine inversion—Christ’s physical poverty became the means by which believers are made wealthy spiritually. Riches can be found in sacrificial love.

6. We are to Create Spiritual Wealth

Since God is generous because of His attributes, we are to be generous after we put on His attributes and our generosity should be seen in our good works.

1 Timothy 6:18 – “That they do good, that they be rich in good works…”

Good works is anything you do in the Lord that perfectly aligns with the sound doctrines of grace in Paul’s epistles, but when you put on the attributes of Christ there is to be liberality in you just as there is liberality in God and in Christ. This shifts the focus from having to doing, from possessing to giving away, and from self-accumulation to generosity.

7. The Riches of the Glory of His Inheritance in the Saints

This is a category unto itself unique from every other reference to riches in the Bible. Here, the spiritual wealth and benefits to us come from the glory of God’s inheritance. This part of a prayer request in which Paul shares that he wants us to grasp the immeasurable, overflowing abundance of wealth to us found in this specific glory, which is God’s inheritance. Why? So we may know the Father better and walk away as one who has the characteristics of wisdom.

We might suggest the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints is the wealth found in all the Godly praiseworthiness of His inheritance, which is both the Body of Christ and everything God will possess through the Body of Christ.

We may skim highlight the depths of this expression through what we lovingly call “Hal Questions.”

Are those our riches or God’s riches? YES.

Are the riches strictly found in our relationship with God or in our relationships with other believers who have God in them? YES.

Is this about understanding what those riches are or is this about experiencing those riches in our lives every day? YES.

Is that glory the light of God, the light emanating from us when we sit in our heavenly seats, or is it the value of the life of Christ in us who made all that literal glory possible? YES.

Is God’s inheritance the saints or is it God taking possession of everything through the saints? YES.

Is this verse about us treasuring everything we’ve been given from God or is this about treasuring all the things that God treasures? YES.

Eph. 1:18 is a verse that demands mediation and thought so that you can personally wrap your head around the details and the big picture of that expression. Why? Because that helps you to see everything from God’s perspective. To see what God treasures so you will also treasure the things He treasures. To value what God values, to see as true wealth what God says is true wealth.

By seeing what God sees, you come to appreciate just how much He values you as His possession, how much He values the glory of His Son and the life of His Son inside of you, and how treasures on Earth can never compare to the value of God’s eternal life through His Son.

When you wrap your head around the sheer scope and vastness of all that love, all that grace… in that process, you will know the Father better. Knowing the Father better means you grow immeasurably in a spiritual sense. And by knowing the Father better, you will possess more of the characteristics of wisdom as if God had revealed Himself to you personally.