ou co-heirs with the saints elected for his eternal
kingdom; and he has made you partakers of all eternal, divine,
heavenly blessings. In your sufferings and conflicts, remember these
glories ordained for and given to you, and remembering rejoice the
more and willingly fight and suffer to obtain possession, to enjoy
the fruition, of what is certainly appropriated to you in the Word
and in faith.

40. The writer of the epistle calls it "the inheritance of the saints
in light," or of the "light" saints, that is, the true saints. Thus
he distinguishes from false saints, intimating that there are two
classes of saints. To one class belong the many in the world who have
only their own claim to sainthood: the Jews, for instance, with their
holiness of the Law; and the world generally, the philosophers,
jurists and their kind, with their self-righteousness. These are not
saints of light; they are saints of darkness, unclean, even defiled.
In Philippians 3, 8 Paul counts such righteousness loss and refuse.
To this class belong also many false, hypocritical saints in the
company of Christians who have the Gospel; they, too, hear the Gospel
and attend upon the Holy Supper, but they remain in darkness, without
the least experience of the wisdom and understanding that knows the
divine will. But they who exercise themselves in these spiritual
graces by faith, love and patience in temptation, and perceive the
wonderful grace and blessing God imparts through the Gospel--these
honorably may be called the saints, destined, even appointed, to
eternal light and joy in God's kingdom.

"Who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us
into the kingdom of the Son of his love; in whom we have our
redemption, the forgiveness of our sins."

41. Paul now expatiates on the things that call for our gratitude to
God the Father. He sums up the whole teaching of the Gospel, showing
us what is ours in Christ and giving a glorious and comforting
description of his person and the blessing he brings. But first, he
says, we ought, above all, to thank God unceasingly for the knowledge
of his revealed Gospel. In it we have no small treasure. Rather, it
is a possession with which all the gold, silver and other riches of
this world, all the earthly joy and comfort of this life, are not to
be compared. For it means redemption from eternal, irreparable loss
and ruin under God's eternal, unbearable wrath and condemnation. And
this wretchednes