The vision of the Church is, first and foremost, that of the Father. It represents the ultimate goal of God’s eternal and benevolent plan, which He executed at the appointed time through Jesus Christ, our Savior (Eph. 1:9-10). The Lord Jesus came into the world to reveal the Father’s will, His plan that He formed within Himself for His sons.

This plan forms the foundation of the promises of the gospel and constitutes the hope of the saints. It is the vision that God’s plan, which the Lord entrusted to the first apostles, has been preserved and transmitted to the saints of every generation; for in it lies the hope of the chosen people.

Today, the situation is dire: there are almost as many visions or hopes as there are churches, denominations, and sects. Countless schools of thought have arisen throughout history, and the seven pillars of the unity of the Church—one body, one Spirit, one hope, one faith, one baptism, one Lord, and one God—have been displaced.

The Father’s vision seemed to have vanished, due to the lack of true apostles who humble themselves for the heavenly vision they are entrusted with and who glorify only the Son of God. The Father’s vision is the hope of the saints, which had completely transformed the perspective of the first-century believers, convincing them that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

They hoped for nothing from this world, believing they were not part of it. On the contrary, they were certain that they must bear witness to the heavenly vision—a truth the world cannot know—through a life of persecution and tribulation.

On this matter, the Apostle Paul encouraged the brothers, saying that it is through many tribulations that we must enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). He also wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:19,

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.“

The Lord Himself predicted that we would have tribulation in the world (John 16:33). This is only because we are not of the world, and the world hates the Son of God whose Name we bear (John 15:18-21).

In the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the man of God speaks extensively about this will of the Father, which was a secret He kept until the appointed time.

“Knowing that this will is the foundation of our hope, which consists of things no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man…” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

“He interceded for the beloved, so that they may KNOW what is the HOPE of His CALLING, what are the glorious riches of His INHERITANCE among the saints…” (Ephesians 1:18).

We believe that the hope attached to His calling is an inheritance in the fullest sense of the term, and not merely eternal life. It is eternal life in a place or territory destined for us, which will belong to us forever.

In his prayer for the beloved, the Apostle Paul asked for a spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17) in the knowledge of God. Until that which is perfect comes (1 Corinthians 13:9-10), we will always have only a partial knowledge.

This knowledge must necessarily grow, but it is on the day of the Lord, when we will be permitted to know as we are known because we will see Him as He is (1 John 3:2), that we will finally know perfectly. Thus, until the coming of the Kingdom of God, there will always be things to understand and know in the knowledge of God.

This is also what God intended to make known to us when, through the pen of the prophet Isaiah, He said:

“The entire revelation to you is like the words of a SEALED BOOK, which they give to one who can read, saying, ‘Read this, please.’ And he says, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.’ Or like a book which they give to one who cannot read, saying, ‘Read this, please.’ And he says, ‘I cannot read’” (Isaiah 29:11-12).

There will always be a sealed portion in the knowledge of God, whose content cannot be accessed without revelation, and another unsealed portion, which we must nevertheless KNOW how to read. To have a spirit of wisdom in the knowledge of God is to know how to read (to understand the message of) the content of what is revealed.

This stems from the fact that there are things that are difficult to understand. The Scriptures acknowledge this and warn us, as we see the author of the epistle to the Hebrews rebuking them in these terms…

This text is an excerpt from the book The Legitimate Son and the Restoration of All Things written by Wiftherlin Léon.

We invite you to read the following article, “I WILL RETURN.“