I want to spend the next couple of weeks talking about two main thoughts being expressed in verses 11 through 14. They pertain to the words ‘inheritance’, and ‘sealed’. I want us to consider them together because, you see, one is a promise of rich blessing, most of which is yet to be realized, and the other gives assurance that those blessings are secure and irrevocable.
“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will...” (vs 11)
Before we progress to this idea of ‘sealing’ in verse 13, let’s pause and consider the word ‘inheritance’.
First of all let’s not let it escape our notice that while we are promised an inheritance in Christ, we ourselves are His inheritance.
This is what the prophet Isaiah was getting at in his prophecy, chapter 53, when he said “If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring...” (vs 10)
And again, with Isaiah’s prophecy in mind, the writer to the Hebrews quotes Isaiah 8:18 as through him the Holy Spirit confirms to us that the verse refers to the relationship between Christ and His purchased possession (the church), when he says, “Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”
(Heb 2:13b)
Of all the assurances of scripture that God reckons the one who comes to Him in faith to be right with him; and that once we are His, adopted into his family, made sons, we are His forever; ~ of all the places that tell us of His faithfulness to keep His promises and to see us through into eternal bliss in His presence...places like the end of Romans 8 that assure us nothing can separate us from His love...
...if none of those passages were ever put to paper; if some evil power could rip them out of our Bibles and destroy them so that future generations could never read them...
...If we just understand this one truth, it should give us the greatest and sturdiest foundation of peace and hope for eternal rest that the human breast can contain:
That by purchase of His own blood, and by the fact that He rendered Himself willingly as a guilt offering for sin, we are now HIS inheritance. Even if He never promised us anything else, Heaven is sure for the one who believes in Christ and His cross, because we are His possession. Bought with a price!
No matter what other truth exists, about us or the world or the entire created universe, rest in this, you who have placed your trust in Jesus Christ for salvation,...
...you are His inheritance, and He will, will, will, receive all that is rightfully His, when all things are summed up in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth.
Praise be to God though, that there is so much more to it. If we were simply pawns in some cosmic chess game; if God’s only concern was ownership and ultimate control, then there would be no more to say than that we were His, we rebelled, He purchased us back and now we are His again.
I say “praise be to God”, because if that was all there was to it, then there would be no reason not to believe in the idea of universalism; where everything, and all people of all history will be summed up in Him, in that great reunion we discussed last week.
If there was no more to it than God reclaiming what was His, then we would have no choice and we would not be called ‘sons’. The idea of ‘adoption’ would not apply.
We would not be special, any more than one Styrofoam plate is more special than forty-nine others in a bag of 50. There would only be reclamation of a possession; nothing more. Nothing to praise about.
But I say, “Praise be to God”! Why?
Because love was involved.
“...we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will...”
The wording of this verse brings to mind the very familiar Romans 8:28,29
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren...”
Believer, the beginning of your inheritance in Him, is that you have been predestined to be made perfectly into His image...made like Jesus.
That is God’s purpose in you, and it is the greatest expression of His love. He works with and in you, to cause all things to work together toward that end...and calls you ‘brethren’ in the process.
This relationship is being expressed in the little song some of you may remember singing in Sunday School, taken from the Song of Solomon, 2:4 and 6:3, saying:
“I’m my beloved’s and he is mine,
His banner over me is love”
“I’m my beloved’s (His inheritance)
and He is mine (our inheritance)
His banner over me (a banner being a flag denoting property and character of a kingdom and identification),
is love.
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Note the order there in I Jn 4:10... First, God loved us, then, He sent His Son.
He didn’t love us because we were lovely. He loved us because He is.
And because He loved us, and all His decrees, all His works, all His purposes for us flow from that love, we are His possession; but also His pride and joy.
“Behold, I and the children Thou hast given Me”
“...we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will...”
WHY?
“...to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.”
I want you to note that throughout this passage, from the beginning of the epistle through verse 14, Paul keeps coming back to the message that all these spiritual blessings bestowed on us, all that God has planned and purposed in us, all that He is and has brought to pass concerning us, results rightfully in “...the praise of His glory”.
It has already happened in this sermon, as I was inspired earlier, to say, “Praise be to God”. It’s unavoidable! The mystery revealed, its truths known, bring forth praise from all grateful hearts.
Praise be to God! I am chosen! I am made and declared holy and blameless! I am predestined to adoption as His son... to the praise of His glory!
I have obtained an inheritance, according to His purpose, who works all things after the counsel of His will...who causes all things to work together for good for those who love God... to the praise of His glory!
And more; having believed the gospel message, I am sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise (vss 13,14), who is given as a pledge of my inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession (the great reunion)... to the praise of His glory!
Now we’re going to go on and talk about this sealing. But keep in mind, now and always, that the purest and highest end of our existence, of our salvation, of our inheritance in Him, of our preservation to eternal bliss, is that He might be forever praised and glorified and magnified and worshiped around His throne.
Now, in verse 12 we see that Paul says, “...to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.”
Then in verse 13 he says, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation - ...”
I think there can be little doubt that in verse 12 Paul is referring to the Jews, and in verse 13 he is addressing the gentiles ~ not only of Ephesus, but all who might read this letter afterwards.
“WE”, Jews ~ “YOU ALSO”, Gentiles
But I want to make clear that this is not a general reference to the Jewish nation, or to the Gentile world.
It is a very specific reference to the Jews who believed and did not reject their Christ, and the Gentiles who believed after hearing the message of salvation from those Jews who believed.
When Jesus gave His commission to His apostles, He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...” That word ‘nations’, to their ears, meant all the non-Jewish cultures and peoples.
The Jews as a nation had rejected their Messiah. They had rejected the gospel, and so were sidetracked until, as Paul said in Romans 11:25, “...until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in...”
But the first disciples and therefore the first believers, were Jews. It was to believing Jews that Christ gave the great commission, and it was believing Jews who first brought the gospel message to the Gentile world.
So Paul’s “we” in verse 12 refers to those who were Jews and believers in the gospel... and his “you also”, refers, not to all the Gentile world, but to those Gentiles who heard and responded in faith to the message of salvation.
Interestingly, by the very act of making that distinction, “we...you also”, Paul effectively sends out the message that there is no distinction; that both groups are made one through this same salvation message, and are equally heirs of Christ... ...equally sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Now let’s take this last line of verse 13, “...having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” and examine it one phrase at a time ~ only backwards.
First, “...the Holy Spirit of promise” Why does Paul use that terminology? What does he mean by, “of promise”.
For the answer we go first to Acts chapter 2. Following the ascension into Heaven of the risen Christ, the Apostles and other disciples, totaling in number about 120, are gathered in the upper room of a house for prayer.
Verse 2 says that suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
A minor side note here: Isn’t it interesting, that God called Elijah to the mouth of his cave to show him that He was not found in earthquake, wind or fire, but in a still, quiet voice; yet when the time comes for Him to fulfill His promise and pour out His Holy Spirit on mankind, He heralds the Comforter’s coming with noise like a violent, rushing wind, and tongues of fire!
Remember John the Baptist‘s declaration? “I baptize you with water, but after me comes One who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire”
Ok, back to the point ~ These newly filled and empowered disciples spill out onto the streets of Jerusalem, and Peter boldly preaches the message of salvation. The text of his sermon is taken from Joel, who prophesied the coming of this very day.
(Acts 2:17-21)
“And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; Even upon My bond slaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit and they shall prophesy. And I will grant wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath, Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Joel 2:28-32
Jesus also reiterated this promise, when He comforted His disciples with these words:
“...and I will ask of the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”
John 14:16,17
and
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me...”
John 15:26
Now, on the day of Pentecost, the promise had been fulfilled. The Helper had come to indwell believers, and not believing Jews only, but all men and women from every nation, who, having heard the message of salvation, believed.
We see this happening first, in Acts 10 at the home of a Roman centurion, named Cornelius. There’s a sermon there...several sermons... but for our purposes today I’ll refer only to verses 44 and 45. I strongly urge you to sit down later and read that entire chapter 10 of Acts, and let the Spirit minister the wonder of it to your heart.
Vss 44,45: Peter is in the process of preaching the gospel to Cornelius and his family.
“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. And all the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles also.”
and how did they know this?
verse 46 “For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God.”
Folks, there is a truth that is eternal; it was not just for the first century church...not just for these exciting early days when God was giving birth and growth to the infant church. It is a truth that is just as true today as then, and will be true always;
When the Holy Spirit of promise is poured out upon the one who believes; when He comes as promised, to help and to comfort and to teach of Christ, the recipient spontaneously exalts...rejoices...in God.
I am perplexed that in the church today there seems to be so many from whose lips I hear no praise, from whose demeanor I see no rejoicing; who claim Christ as their Savior, but if someone asked me, “Does that person have the Holy Spirit?” In honesty I would have to answer, “I do not see the signs.”
It’s not that we are obligated to put on emotional displays, or jump up and down, or shout “Glory!” in the grocery store. The truth is that when the Holy Spirit is present in the life, He shines forth His glory from that life, as a light bulb illuminates, permeates, and radiates the shade around it. The light cannot be hid!
The Holy Spirit of promise has come, and comes to all who believe, the moment they believe, and when true, saving faith has been exercised from the heart, there is evidence; there is immediate change; there is rejoicing; there is fruit in the life.
But we must move on.
The next phrase, going backward, is “...you were sealed in Him...” Sealed in who?
Sealed in Christ!
We all know what a seal is. We’ll talk about this again next week; but a seal, whatever type of seal it is, protects, preserves, and in certain types of seals, denotes ownership.
When I was growing up I was in the Methodist church, my father being a Pastor, (something I was never, never, never going to do...uh-huh...) and I don’t think I was ever aware of the debate over eternal security vs the danger of losing salvation through un-repented sin.
When I finally surrendered myself to the Lord at age 23 and subsequently went off to Bible College (to learn to do that thing I was never, never, never going to do...uh-huh...), by then my Dad was a Foursquare pastor, so I went to the Foursquare Bible College in Los Angeles.
From what I can gather, having listened carefully to my instructors and by the message I’ve heard coming from many Foursquare preachers, the position of that church seems to be that we are eternally secure as long as we stay “in Christ”; but that if, through practicing sin we take ourselves “out of Christ”, we can be lost.
Now, I don’t want any 4Sq pastors angry with me; as in any denomination there are minor differences in doctrinal beliefs, just as there are different personalities.
In our own association I have a brother whom I love dearly, a pastor of one of our churches, who believes the rapture will occur at the middle of the seven-year tribulation.
I have no problem with that. Our difference of opinion in that matter does not effect our relationship one iota. In fact, I can be gracious in the face of this difference between us; I have offered to hold his place at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb for three and a half years until he meanders in!
But when it comes to a foundational doctrinal issue such as eternal security, I have to take a stand; and it is not a difficult one to take, as it is grounded on solid rock.
Jesus paid it all, or He did not pay AT all. His blood sacrifice was sufficient to cover all my sin and shame, or God is a liar and we’re all demonically deceived.
But we’re not deceived by God. Throughout the scriptures, Old Testament and New, He has made this very clear; so clear that I wonder why it is debated at all!
He has provided my salvation in full ~ He has gone to prepare a place for me in His celestial kingdom ~ and Praise be to God, He has sealed me unto Himself as His own possession, His own inheritance ~ and though I severely tested His love, and presumed upon His grace, and gave Him every good reason to reject me utterly, yet His word tells me I am sealed. SEALED! Sealed, protected, preserved, to the day of the redemption of my body, to the praise of His glory... and I can find no hint in all of scripture that any power in heaven or earth can break that seal.
Not Satan’s wiles, not man’s doctrines, not even my own sin. Because, dear brothers and sisters, you who may not have yet believed unto salvation, you who are seeking for truth and wondering what life is all about.... JESUS PAID IT ALL!
I have to close. Back up to the last phrase:
“...having also believed...”
It’s as simple as that. In all these 14 verses at the beginning of this epistle, in these 14 verses that establish the theme of this entire letter, God does everything.
He blesses, He chooses, He makes holy and blameless, He predestines, He adopts, He lavishes His grace, He forgives, He redeems, He reveals, He purposes, He gives an inheritance, He seals, ...
....and the only thing we see us doing, is believing.
“In Him...after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -
HAVING ALSO BELIEVED...”
Do you understand why I can confidently and boldly declare that I and all who have put their faith in Christ’s shed blood and resurrection are eternally secure? It is because we did nothing.
If there was any part of our salvation that was dependant on man; on the seeker; for redemption to be accomplished ~ any small part at all; no matter how small, ~ then I would have to say that there is a weak link in the process and we’d all better just mind our ‘p’s and ‘q’s and hope that we don’t blow it.
But God has done it all; and He has called us, and He has granted us repentance, and He has, by His Holy Spirit of promise, brought about in us the obedience of faith, and He has placed his seal of ownership, of protection, of preservation over our souls; and more certain than yesterday’s news, is the fact that I will finally see Him face to face, in my glorified body, being rewarded with a crown which I will cast at His feet in worship, and I will reign and rule with Him eternally as a blood-washed, heir of God and joint-heir with His Son, Jesus Christ my Lord, who is head over all things; in whom all things will be ultimately reunited to the praise of His glory.
Can you say that today? Is this a truth in your own life? Have you ever recognized your need for a Savior and said “I’m sorry” to God, and believed in the message of salvation and received the gift of the Holy Spirit?
If not, today is the day. There may be no other. Don’t turn your back on Jesus one more time. You’ve heard the message of truth, the gospel of salvation ~ believe and be sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, and join me at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
You who have believed, rejoice! Exalt His Holy Name! You are sealed! Your redemption is sure, your inheritance awaits you, the table is set, and He’s coming soon... and He’s coming for you!
Praise be to God!
