In
Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your
salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of
the promise, who is a first installment of our
inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the
praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:13-14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
I love these verses! They are
a sort of culmination of the first part of the chapter and show the progression
of salvation. First, we hear the message of truth, the Gospel. Because we heard
it we believe in it. When we believed, in that moment, the Holy Spirit was
placed in our hearts. It was a seal showing we are God’s. It is our mark of
adoption as it were, God saying, “This one’s mine!” It is God in the spirit
coming to live in us, to help, guide and comfort us until we can reach heaven
to live with Him. It is a pledge to us, showing us that we are His, a promise
that what we believed was not vain or futile, like an engagement ring. It is
real! It is also the down payment of our inheritance. Yesterday I talked about
the inheritance we gain when we believe because we have been adopted by the
King. The Holy Spirit is the first part or installment of that inheritance. We
won’t get the full amount until we reach heaven, but this is a promise note of
what is to come. One could also look at it as the document showing that our
debt has been paid in full, that we have been redeemed! (I keep saying “it”
referring to the receipt of the Holy Spirit, not the Spirit Himself for He is a
person and God along with Christ and God the Father.) We are God’s possession
who He has redeemed from slavery to sin, saved from the death penalty, through
the blood of Jesus. He gave us the Holy Spirit, an extension of Himself, as a
promise that we have truly been redeemed. We are free! And any time satan wants
to tell us we aren’t we can show proof that God lives in side us so yes we are
free and no longer under his domain. He also gave us the first part of our
royal inheritance as adopted heirs of the King. How great is God that He would
do all of this for us, for you and for me! What sort of love is this! How do
you feel knowing that you are an adopted child of the King and have received
the first part of your inheritance as proof that you are free? Take some time
now to praise God for all that He has done for you!
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