The Earnest of Our Inheritance

Transcription

1 The following sermon was preached at Redemption Baptist Church on Sunday, 19 November We encourage you to look up the Scriptures that are referenced. May the Lord speak to your heart as you study His Word. The Earnest of Our Inheritance Ephesians 1:12-14 As I have been preaching through Ephesians chapter 1 in the last month, we have learned many rich truths about salvation. The Apostle Paul uses words such as blessings, inheritance, and riches to describe the spiritual possessions that Christians have because of their position in Christ. We have seen what each member of the Godhead has done, and is continuing to do, to make salvation possible for us. First, Paul describes God the Father s role in our salvation. We are told that the Father chose each believer in eternity past to be holy and without blame before Him in love (in other words, to serve Him with their lives after their salvation). We are told that the Father predestinated each believer to the adoption of sons (in other words, to be the legal heir of all that He possesses). Then, Paul tells us about the Son s role in our salvation. Christ is the One who redeemed us with His blood. He gives believers wisdom and prudence so that they can understand God s will for their lives. Christ enables us to understand our destiny in this life, and in the ages to come. But that s not all. In verses (which we will be reading today), Paul tells us about the Holy Spirit s role in salvation. It is vital that we understand the Spirit s role in our salvation, because it just as important as the Father s and the Son s roles are. All three members of the Godhead work together to accomplish what Paul calls the counsel of his will. By the way, it is called the counsel of his will because three divine Persons are involved in it! From eternity past, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit counselled together concerning your salvation, Christian. To this very hour, they agree together concerning their will for your Christian life; and they work together, in perfect unison, to accomplish it. In some aspects, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have very distinct roles in our salvation; yet, in other ways, their roles are identical. Their roles in our salvation are so intertwined with each other, and so dependent on each other, that you can t have one without the other two. The Father chose, from eternity past, to save us by His grace. However, He could not have poured out His grace on us if His Son, Jesus Christ, had not come to earth to have His Father s wrath poured out on Him! And the Father s grace could not be applied to us if the Son had not sent the Holy Spirit to us to provide us with the New Birth. This morning we will see what the Holy Spirit does to accomplish our salvation. The title of this message is The Earnest of Our Inheritance. Read Ephesians 1: In these verses, I would like to point out two vital things that the Holy Spirit does in order to accomplish our salvation. First of all...

2 I. The Holy Spirit persuades sinners of their need of salvation (vv a). In verse 12, Paul clearly states God s will for every believer. God s will is That we should be to the praise of His glory. God s will for every believer is that we should be trophies of His grace. His will is that all creation should look at us, who have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, and see God s handiwork in our lives! In light of this truth, we who know Christ as Saviour are faced with a sobering question: Am I allowing God to accomplish this purpose with my life? To what extent am I bringing glory to God? If we were to answer that question out loud, the best any one of us could say is, I accomplish this purpose some of the time; but I fall far short of accomplishing it all the time. We who are saved are still far from perfect. Though we have the new nature that Christ has given us, we still have the old sinful, Adamic nature; and oftentimes, our old nature wins those battles that arise in our soul every day. Of course, it doesn t have to be that way. As long as you submit yourself wholly to God, and allow the Holy Spirit to control you, He is able to work His righteousness in you; and God is honoured and glorified. (In other words...you make Him look good!) But when you sin against God, He is not glorified. Sometimes you bring glory to God with your life; but oftentimes, you fail to do so. That is why God is refining the dross in your life every day, to make you more like the perfect, spotless image of His Son. Thank God, He is not done with you yet! When will He be done with us? On the Resurrection Day! On that day, Christian, you will stand before God completely sinless in body, soul, and spirit. On that day, you will be a perfect trophy of His grace. God will be able to say, Here was a man (or woman) who was a sinner, rightly condemned, and under my curse; but I redeemed him. Not only did I forgive him of his sins, but I removed his sins completely! Here he is now sinless, spotless, just like my Son, Jesus Christ! On that day, we who are saved will be to the praise of his glory in the fullest, most complete sense of the word. Now, notice what Paul says next. (Read verse 12 again.) Paul was just talking about the future time when we will be sinless, spotless trophies of Christ s grace. But now, in the second half of this verse, Paul reminds us of the time when God s will for us began. When was that point? It was when we first trusted in Christ. Christian, at the moment you believed on Christ, God began to work His will in you; and He will continue to work His will in you until the day of Christ (in other words, the Resurrection Day). Read Philippians 1:6. Now, let s go back to our Scripture in Ephesians, and read verse 13 again. (Read Ephesians 1:13.) In verse 12, Paul reminded us of the future Resurrection Day, when we will be completely to the praise of his glory. Then, he reminded us of the time when God first began to work His will in us (the time when we believed on Jesus Christ). But he doesn t stop there. Paul now traces it back to the very beginning to the time just before you were saved. As an unsaved person, how were you able to believe on Christ in the first place? Paul answers that question. The answer is: You heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Someone who loved you, and cared for your soul, confronted you with the Word of God. Particularly, that person confronted you with the Gospel the message that Christ died for your sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, so that your sins might be paid for, and you might be saved. You heard that

3 wonderful message: and you believed it. Christ then moved into your heart, and began to work His will in you. But it all began with the hearing of the Word of God. Your faith in Him sprang up from the seed of God s Word in the soil of your heart. Read Romans 10:9-17. Read 1 Peter 1: So, we ve seen when God s will begins for a person. It begins when that person hears and believes the message of salvation from God s Word. Yet, there is a problem. Actually, it isn t a problem : it is a problem only from our perspective, because it is somewhat hard to understand. The seeming problem is this: How can a person believe on Christ? Hearing God s Word is certainly no guarantee that a person will be saved. Millions of people hear the Word of God sometimes countless times in their lifetime yet still reject it. They reject it because their eyes are blinded by their sin. They are also blinded by Satan himself. Paul said that the Gospel is hid to them that are lost. And why? Because the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ...should shine unto them (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). Lost people may hear the preaching of the cross; yet, Paul says that The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18). The Bible makes it clear that no one even seeks after God! Let s take a look at that Scripture. Read Romans 3: How can a man believe on Christ, when the Scripture makes it very clear that no one seeks after God, or even has the ability to understand God s Word when he does hear it? Christian, how were you able to go from being lost in spiritual darkness, to being saved, and walking in the light? How were your eyes opened so that you could even see the light? How did that transformation take place? The answer is: The Holy Spirit did His work in your heart! Read John 16:7-11. Folks, salvation would not be possible without the Holy Spirit! The Father sent the Son; the Son purchased your salvation; but the Holy Spirit must convict you of your sin, and of your need of salvation. The Holy Spirit must illumine the meaning of Scripture to you. He must convict you of sin (the fact that you are a sinner separated from God). He must convict you of righteousness (the fact that you need to have Christ s righteousness applied to your account in order to be saved). He must convince you of judgment (the fact that Christ took your judgment upon Himself on the cross, so that Satan might be judged, and defeated). If the Holy Spirit did not convict men of these things, and open their eyes so that they can understand them, none of us would be able to understand what Christ did for us on the cross: nor would we even seek to know. The Holy Spirit works in and through the Word of God to open men s eyes to the light. The Spirit of God and the Word of God always go together. That is why Paul referred to the Word of God as the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). If you have been saved, then this truth should make you all the more grateful for what God has done for you. If you have not been saved, then this truth should make you run to Christ without delay! Jesus said in John 6:44 that no man can come to Christ unless the Father draw that person to Him, through the Spirit of God. That means that you cannot push Christ aside, and believe on Him whenever you feel that it is finally convenient for you to do so. The Bible tells us that God s Spirit will not always strive with man. When you

4 reject Christ s offer of salvation, and resist the Holy Spirit, and resist Him, and resist Him, and resist Him, there may come a day when He will not illumine your eyes to the truth anymore. When that time comes, you will not be able to respond to Him. Your eyes will remain blinded, and your heart will remain as cold and hard as stone, until the day you depart this life, and split the gates of hell open. The Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary for your salvation. He convicts and persuades sinners of their need of repentance and faith in Christ. My friend, have you responded to His call? II. The Holy Spirit seals the believer (vv. 13b-14) (Read verses 13 and 14 again.) In verse 12, and in the first half of verse 13, we saw that faith in Christ begins when a person responds to the Gospel of salvation in the Word of God. We also saw, from other Scriptures, that it is the Holy Spirit who convicts men of the truth of God s Word, so that they can be saved. The Holy Spirit is absolutely vital to our salvation, because He enables sinners to see that they need to be saved, and draws them to Christ. But now, in the second half of verse 13, and in verse 14, Paul gives us the second reason that the Holy Spirit is absolutely vital to your salvation: namely, He seals the believer. The New Testament teaches that the moment a person is saved, the Holy Spirit literally comes to live inside that person. In John 3, Jesus called this phenomenon the New Birth. Just as physical birth brings a person into the citizenship of an earthly kingdom, so the new birth (the entrance of the Holy Spirit into a man or woman, after that person has believed on Christ) brings that person into the kingdom of God. I could preach months of sermons on all the things that the Holy Spirit does for the believer. He illumines the meaning of Scripture to the believer. He comforts. He gives wisdom. He renews our mind, and gives us the mind of Christ. He gives us the desire and the power to live righteously. But before the Holy Spirit begins to do any of these ministries for the Christian, there is one very important thing that He does: He seals the believer. Now, when we think of a seal today, we usually think of an official mark on a document, which shows that that document is legitimate. (For example, the seal on Katie s and my marriage licence proves that our marriage is backed up by the authority of the State of Indiana.) However, a seal, in the ancient world, was more than just a mark of officialdom. The Greek word for seal (sphragizo), which Paul uses here in verse 13, conveys two very strong ideas. First of all, the word seal conveys the idea of ownership. Brethren, do you realise that we who are saved are the only part of the physical universe that God indwells? Yes, it is true that God is omnipresent. There is nowhere in the universe where God is not present. Yet, at the same time, the Bible makes it clear that God is not in His creation. He is outside His creation, and separate from it. Now, this goes directly against what a huge portion of humanity believes. The Hindu religion, and many other pagan religions, teach pantheism the belief that nature is god (or, what they call god ). Panentheism is very similar. It teaches that God is in the rocks, in the trees, in every person, and so on. Essentially, this belief also teaches that nature is god. Tragically, these pagan beliefs have permeated the Western world in the last century. When this church was still meeting at the Summerhill School, there was a banner, in the gymnasium, which stated that God is in the rocks, and in the air, and in everything everywhere. My friends, this is utter heresy! God is apart from, and separate from, His creation. Isaiah says that God inhabits

5 eternity. He does not belong to our dimension of space and time. He is the Creator of space and time. Space and time are under His rule. Yet, God, when He so chooses, enters into space and time. He has done so many times in the past. When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, He stepped into space and time, and manifested His presence in a pillar of fire and cloud, and in the Tabernacle and the Temple. For centuries, He stepped into the bodies of his prophets (such Moses, David, Elijah, and Ezekiel), and empowered them to prophesy, and to do amazing miracles. Many times throughout the Old Testament, the Son of God appeared to people in bodily form. Then, when the fullness of time was come, Christ stepped into space and time in the most amazing way: He actually took on human flesh, and was made a Man, and was born of a woman! Does God still step into space and time in this New Testament age? Yes, He does. However, He does it in an even better way now. God does not merely move into the saints bodies for a time, and then depart, as He did with Old Testament saints: He takes up permanent residence inside us! Isn t that an amazing thought? We who are saved are the only part of God s creation that God indwells. His presence within us means that we belong to Him! His presence is the seal of His ownership of us. Now, how should that truth affect you, practically speaking? Well, when you fully understand that your body, soul, and spirit belong to Him, then you cannot help but realise that you should submit to Him. Every day, Christian, your will should be in submission to God s will. Read 1 Corinthians 6: In the Old Testament, the Tabernacle (and, later, the Temple) was the house in which God made His dwelling. Today, God makes His dwelling in the Temple of the local church (not in a building, but in the congregation of saved, baptised believers). He also makes His dwelling in the bodies of individual believers. That is the kind of Temple that Paul is talking about here in 1 Corinthians 6. This truth has very practical implications; and Paul mentions at least one of these implications in this passage. Paul says that because our bodies belong to God, we therefore should not use our bodies for fornication (sexual relations before marriage). It may be considered O.K., in our modern world, for men and women to move in and live with each other: but not so with God s people. Young people, don t ever give in to the pressures of this world. Keep your body pure until marriage! Save yourself for the husband or wife that God gives you. For those of us who are already married, this teaching has practical implications, as well: Keep yourself only for your wife, or your husband. Hebrews 13:4 says, Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled; but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. This truth implies that we should not defile our bodies and minds with alcohol or drugs, which control us, and pervert our judgment. This truth also implies that we should not take our bodies to any place where sin is glorified. We should not use our tongues to tell lies, gossip, slander, or speak malicious words. We should not use our hands to heap up treasures in this world; rather, we should use our hands to lay up treasures in heaven. Our bodies are not our own. They belong to God. In 1 Samuel 15, the prophet Samuel said to King Saul, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Think about that statement. Do you ever rebel, Christian? Any time you do what you want to do instead of what God says to

6 do, you are rebelling. Well, guess what? God sees it in the same light as He sees witchcraft. Is disobedience really that bad? Yes, it is. You see, the very essence of witchcraft is that I am going to do my will, regardless of what God says. Anyone who has ever dabbled in Wicca or witchcraft knows that witchcraft has only one law: Do as thou wilt! By the way, why are so many people flocking to witchcraft today? Because they seek to have power in their lives without submitting to the God of the Bible. They want power to manipulate people through spells and charms, instead of humbly submitting to God s plan and purpose. They want power to make circumstances in life go their way (such as to get a job, money, etc,), instead of trusting in God to meet their needs. They want power to take vengeance on people through curses, instead of submitting to God, who says, Vengeance is mine, I will repay. The essence of witchcraft is, I will control my life, God not you! That s a sobering thought, isn t it, Christian? You have no right to act independently of God. He is your Owner! When you sin, that sin is not a little mistake : it is wilful rebellion. Will you lose your salvation if you sin against God after your salvation? No. However, God, as your rightful Owner, will chastise you when you choose to follow your will instead of His. Those of us who have children know what it is like to have a little toddler who thinks he knows better than mummy and daddy. You see something dangerous, and you say, No, don t touch! So what does the lad do? He touches it! He doesn t see the danger. For a parent, that is frustrating, isn t it? Well, guess what? Our Father knows the end from the beginning. When He says, Don t go there! Don t touch!, He knows what He s talking about. Yet, like a two-year-old, we go ahead and do what we want to do. Just as a loving father disciplines his child, so God chastises us when we disobey. (And, believe me, His chastisement hurts!) A seal conveys the idea of ownership. Does it convey anything else? Yes. It also conveys the idea of protection and guarantee of contents. In the ancient world, a seal meant that the owner took the responsibility to ensure that the possession would not be tampered with, or molested. For example, the seal on the tomb of Christ meant that the body of Christ belonged to Rome: and no one was allowed to touch His body. Of course, Rome had no power to guarantee the contents of Christ s tomb, because they were dealing with Almighty God! Men can make guarantees, and not be able to carry them out. But when God makes a guarantee, no one can interfere. As the God who cannot lie, He binds Himself to His promise; and He has promised never to cast out those who believe on Him! (See John 6:37.) Now, not only is the Holy Spirit the seal of the believer: He is also the earnest of our inheritance. (Read verse 14 again.) This word earnest here in verse 14 means the down payment, or deposit. Basically, it means the proof that the purchase will be finished at a later date. Now, interestingly enough, Paul didn t use a Greek word, here. He used a Hebrew word, and carried it over into Greek. It is the word arabon. There is only one place in the whole Old Testament where this word arabon is used. Let s take a look at it. Read Genesis 38: In these verses, we find that Judah was not at a high spiritual point in his life. His wife had recently died; and he was, apparently, feeling lonely. So, he visited a harlot. Now, as if it weren t bad enough that Judah visited a harlot, it so happens that this harlot was his own daughter-in-law, Tamar. Tamar disguised herself, so that Judah wouldn t know her. (She did this because she, being a widow, desired a child; and Judah had not given her his youngest son to marry, as he had promised.) When Judah finally found out who this harlot was, it shocked

7 him to the core. In fact, it seems that this was a major turning-point in his life, when he finally repented, and got right with the Lord. After this, Judah became a completely different man so much so, that God honoured him with the privilege of being a direct ancestor of Christ. Now, the main reason I bring up this account is to show you that word pledge in verse 18. The Hebrew word for it is arabon. Judah s signet ring, bracelets, and staff were the arabon the pledge, or down payment. They were the proof that Judah would later come back and finish the transaction, and give Tamar the kid from his flock, as he had promised. We can relate to down payments, can t we? When you make a down payment for a mortgage, you d better finish the transaction, or else you re in trouble! The bank will see to it that you make the rest of the payments or else they will take something from you that you don t want them to take! But God needs no one to ensure that He keeps His pledge. He will finish the redemption of the purchased possession. What is the purchased possession? According to Romans 8:23, it is our bodies. On the Resurrection Day, Christ will make good on His promise concerning our bodies. He will give us new, glorious, immortal bodies, with no sin nature in it. This is a promise; and God never goes back on His promises. So, until the Resurrection Day until the day when Christ completes His purchase, and gives us our glorified bodies absolutely no one can snatch us from God s kingdom. No one can put us back under the possession of Satan! The presence of the Holy Spirit in our bodies is the proof of purchase. The Holy Spirit is the arabon the pledge, or guarantee that the purchase will be completed. Conclusion: Christian, the blessings that God has given you are unfathomable! God the Father purposed your salvation, chose you to serve Him, and sent His Son into the world to carry out His plan. God the Son purchased your salvation, and has supplied you with the wisdom to understand His plan. God the Holy Spirit convicted you of your need of salvation; and then, at the moment you believed, He came into your body to indwell you, and to seal you until the day of redemption. The question is: are you fulfilling His purpose in you? Are you conscious of the fact that you are His purchased possession that you are bought with a price, and that you are not your own? Are you submitting to His will? To those of you who have not received Christ as Saviour, I would ask: Why do you wait? Your salvation is not by your good works; it is by faith alone in Jesus Christ. However, that kind of faith demands that you turn your life over to Him. It s called repentance. Perhaps you believe intellectually that Jesus is the Saviour: yet, you are not willing to put your trust in Him, because you don t want to relinquish control of your life. Should that be what is keeping you back from coming to Him for salvation, don t play games with God any longer! If you are waiting for a convenient time, after you ve lived your life the way you want to live it, God may not wait around for you. Without the conviction of the Holy Spirit, you cannot come to Him. If you keep resisting Him, there may come a day when He will allow you to harden your heart, and go your own way: and He will not bother you anymore! Turn to Him today! Now is the accepted time: behold, now is the day of salvation.