But the more I have studied Ephesians
1, the bigger it has gotten. Let's go back tonight to Ephesians
1, verses 13 and 14. And I have to acknowledge we
will again just skim the surface. Paul is talking about our experience
of grace. by God-given faith in Christ,
verse 13, in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, after
that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,
which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased
possession unto the praise of his glory. God the Holy Spirit,
having created life and faith in us, is the Spirit, the Holy
Spirit of promise, by which the believer is sealed in Christ. which is, or who is, the earnest
of our inheritance, that is, this Holy Spirit upon us, is
the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession unto the praise of his glory. Now let me show you
six things in these two verses of Scripture that are simply
amazing. First, Here the Apostle Paul
speaks to us about the sealing of the Spirit. And we've already
looked at this some, but there's so much that will yet need to
be said when I finish this. The sealing of the Spirit is
his blessed witness with our spirits that we are the children
of God. The sealing of the Spirit is
that witness planted in us, assuring us that we are the children of
God. By this witness of the Spirit,
by him dwelling in us, he sheds abroad the love of God in our
hearts and assures us that salvation in all its fullness is ours in
Christ. Giving us faith in Christ and
a good hope through grace, he tells us that all grace is ours
and all glory too. In a word, by giving us his spirit
as the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father, our God
and Savior puts his seal upon his own work and stamps it as
genuine. He puts his seal on his work
of grace in us and stamps it in our hearts and consciences
as that which is genuine. Turn and look at this with me.
John 6, verse 33. Let's look at two passages here
with regard to this seal of the Spirit, this testimony within
us. John 6, verse 33. Scripture here tells us concerning
our Savior, he that hath received his testimony hath set to his
seal that God is true. Now receiving the testimony God
has given of Christ by faith, and that's the only way it is
received. We don't receive God's testimony proving it by logic
and reason and argument. Rather we receive God's testimony
by faith, simply believing God. The believing sinner receiving
God's testimony has proof in his own heart, and what better
proof can there be? Proof in his own heart that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. and that he himself is born of
God. Let me show you this, 1 John
chapter 5. 1 John chapter 5. We receive
God's testimony, and by receiving God's testimony, that is by believing
God, taking Him at His word. The believing sinner has set
in his own heart, by the grace of God, proof that he is born
of God. 1 John 5, verse 11. This is the record that God hath
given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life. In chapter 5, verse 1, John says,
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And he's saying exactly the same
thing here. He that hath the Son hath eternal
life. This is the record God has given
in His Word. And this record we receive believing
Christ. And believing Him, we have proof
that we are born of God. The Holy Spirit, who seals us
in grace, is here described as the Spirit of promise. The Holy
Spirit of promise. What does Paul mean by that?
The Holy Spirit of promise. Perhaps he simply means for us
to understand that it is God the Holy Spirit who verifies,
attests to, and confirms in the believing sinner the promise
that God, who cannot lie, made before the world was to give
eternal life to his elect. Perhaps that's what he's talking
about. Paul certainly mentions that in Titus chapter 1 and verse
1. That life that we have in Christ,
God promised in covenant grace, receiving us and accepting us
in Christ the Beloved, the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world before the world was, God promised to give you eternal
life. And in the fullness of time, he sends his Spirit, that
Holy Spirit of promise, to verify God's promise in you. Perhaps
that's what he's referring to. Perhaps Paul is referring to
the many places in Scripture where our Savior declared, and
where the prophets declared, that God would send His Spirit,
verifying that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, has come, has finished
His work, and is enthroned in glory. Let me show you a few
of them. Turn back to Ezekiel 36. Let's just look at what the prophet
Ezekiel says. You're familiar with Joel 2,
where he speaks of pouring out his spirit, and Zechariah 12,
where he speaks of pouring out his spirit upon us. Here is God's
word of covenant, by which he tells us that he has fulfilled
his covenant when he sends his spirit to us. Ezekiel 36, verse
27. God says, I will put my spirit
within you, and calls you. to walk in my statutes, calls
you to believe, calls you to hear and obey my voice. And you
shall keep my judgments and do them. Chapter 37, verse 14. The Lord says, I shall put my
Spirit in you and you shall live. And I shall place you in your
own land. Then shall ye know that I, the
Lord, have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord. When I put
my Spirit in you, and I put you in the land of your possession,
that physical land of Israel, over which Jews and Arabs have
been fighting for all these years and will continue to, until they
either kill each other out or Christ comes again, that physical
land was only typical of God's bounteous, gracious inheritance
provided for us in Jesus Christ our Lord. And he said, when I
put you in possession of this land, I have put my spirit in
you, and you shall know that I did it, that I have done this
thing, that I have performed it, that which I have spoken.
Chapter 39, verse 29. Again the prophet writes, speaking
for God, he says, Neither shall I hide, neither will I hide my
face any more from them, for I have poured out my Spirit upon
the house of Israel, saith the Lord. Now with those words, the
prophets speak of the outpouring of God's Spirit, affirming and
attesting God's covenant mercy in us, His gift of life, the
forgiveness of sins, while our Lord Jesus walked on this earth.
Turn to John 14. You remember how he spoke concerning
the coming of the Spirit. When you see these things fulfilled,
the prophet Joel said, you'll know the Messiah is here. And
in Acts chapter 2, they were fulfilled. Here in John 14, our
Lord Jesus is speaking of himself going away. going to the Father,
for he has now finished his work that he was sent here to do when
he goes back to the Father. And as the result of his finished
work, he says, I, the Messiah, the King, the Redeemer, sitting
on the throne of grace, will give you, send to you, pour out
to you, plead with my Father for you, that you may have my
Spirit. Look what it says, John 14, 16.
And I will pray the Father, And he shall give you another comforter. Now there are two words used
in the New Testament for another. One is used by the Apostle Paul
in Galatians 1, where he speaks of the Arminian freewill worksmonger
coming and preaching another gospel. Here's a vessel. And if I had
sitting over here a trash can, that's another vessel. But it
is another vessel altogether of a different kind. And that's
what Paul talks about when he speaks about the gospel. He says,
which is not even similar, but rather it's altogether a different
kind. Here the Holy Spirit is spoken
of as another comforter. An exact likeness. Exactly the
same kind of Comforter. Exactly the same kind of God. Exactly the same kind of peace
as I am. The Lord Jesus says, I will pray
the Father and He will give you a comforter exactly like me.
Now this is important. That He may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth. whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth
him. But you know him. You know him. This is not a mystery to you.
For he dwelleth in you, and he's going to keep on dwelling in
you. He shall be in you. Verse 26. But the Comforter,
which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name,
He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your
remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. When the Comforter
is with you, in you, guiding you, directing you, He will bring
to your understanding that which I have taught you. Chapter 15,
verse 26. The Lord Jesus is still speaking.
When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the
Father, He said, I'll pray the Father and He'll send you. Now
He says, I'll send you. How can this be? Was He confused? No. He and the Father are one. And He and the Spirit are one. He, the Father, and the Spirit
are one God. He says, I will send the Comforter
from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth continually
comes to you from the Father, he shall testify of me." Testify. He shall bear witness of me.
He shall tell you of me. He shall verify me. He will speak from me. Look in chapter 16, verse 7. Nevertheless, I tell you the
truth, it is expedient for you. The word is needful or necessary. It is expedient for you that
I go away. You cannot enter into glory except
I go away. You cannot be redeemed except
I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter,
the promise of the Father, will not come unto you. But if I depart,
I will send him unto you, and when he comes, when he is come,
he will reprove." Now that word is convince. We like to use the
word convict, and that's all right, but our use of the word
convict in religion isn't really what's being spoken of here.
It's not, he will sort of teach you, sort of make you understand. Now this word means he will thoroughly
and absolutely convince the world. Obviously not everybody in the
world. No, no, no. But all his elect scattered through
all the earth. Those to whom he sends his spirit.
He will convince you, my people throughout the world and throughout
the ages. He will convince the world of
sin. of righteousness and of judgment. Now that's what Holy Spirit conviction
is all about. Self-righteous religionists like
to make Holy Spirit conviction whatever they want it to be.
For example, if you happen not to like television, Well, I'm
just convicted the Holy Spirit wouldn't have me watch television.
And what that really means is if you do, you ain't as good
as me. Or if you happen to prefer to eat beef rather than pork,
well, I'm just, the Holy Spirit convicted me of that. As you
know, I enjoy tobacco. And I can tell you how many times
folks say to me, well, when God convicted me of my smoking, he
just took it away. And what they're really saying
is, if you really was as good as me, you'd put it away too.
It's got nothing to do with such nonsense. Nothing to do with
it. When He comes, He convinces every
chosen, redeemed, called sinner of three things. You are sin. That's all you are. and of righteousness. What does he say? He says of
sin, because they believe not on me. You are sin. And he will convict you, convince
you, reprove you of righteousness. What's he talking about? Oh,
he'll teach you how you ought to dress, and how long your hair
ought to be, and how long you ought to read your Bible every
day, and how much time you ought to spend in prayer. Not righteousness
that you ought to perform, but of righteousness finished. He
will convince you of righteousness because I go to my Father. And
I could not go to my Father if I had not fulfilled what the
prophet said, if I had not borne in everlasting righteousness
by my obedience unto death. End of judgment. Of judgment. Oh, when the Spirit of God comes,
he convinces a man that there's going to be a day of judgment.
No, you were born with that. Read Romans chapter 1. Every
human being walking on this earth knows he's going to meet God
in judgment. Folks may suppress it and deny it and say, I don't
believe that. Every human being who's ever walked on this earth
knows he's going to meet God in judgment. And any who says
otherwise is a liar, and he lies against his own conscience. What's
he saying? He will convince you of judgment.
Judgment is finished for you. Because righteousness is yours
in Christ and the Prince of this world is judged because Christ
by His blood has taken away every accusation that can be laid against
you. Read on. Our Savior says in verse
12, I have yet many things to say unto you, but you can't bear
them now. You can't understand them now.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth. For he shall not speak of himself,
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will
show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall
receive of mine, and shall show it to you. All things that the
Father hath are mine. Therefore said I, that he will
take of mine, and show it unto you. He will show you things
to come. Oh, if you just walk close to
God and you really submit to the Spirit and you really have
a special anointing of the Spirit, then you can know what's going
to happen before it happens. No. No. That's not what he's
talking about. He will be to you the earnest
of things to come. the spirit of promise in you,
showing you the things of Christ. After his resurrection, our Lord
Jesus told his disciples, to wait at Jerusalem until he poured
out his spirit upon them. And thus the church of the living
God was immersed in the spirit of God, in the spirit of life,
and a new thing was established in the earth, a living kingdom
called the kingdom of God, the church of God, and we were made
to live in the spirit. We're back here in our text.
Paul, if I am not mistaken, is specifically referring not so
much to those many promises in the Old Testament and the words
of our Savior as he walked on this earth, but rather he is
referring to the promise that God made to Abraham. When God
said to Abraham back in Genesis chapter 12, in thee and in thy
seed shall all nations be blessed. Let me show you. Turn to Galatians
chapter 3. We're told in verse 17 of Galatians
3, Abraham's seed, by whom and in whom the blessing of the covenant
comes to God's Israel, is none other than Jesus Christ. He said,
not to seeds as of many, but to seed as of one. Specifically, the blessing of
the covenant to which the promise refers is this Holy Spirit of
promise spoken of in Ephesians 1.13. One of our Savior's objects
in dying for us, one of his purposes in redeeming us is that we might
receive the promise of the Spirit. Look at verse 13. Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on the
tree. That, that is for this purpose, this is the reason why
he did it. There's no other way this could
come to pass, that the blessing of Abraham That is the blessing
of God in covenant grace typified and spoken of typically in that
covenant he made with Abraham. That the blessing of Abraham
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. What is that? That
we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Oh, let us then ever give thanks to God for the marvelous, wondrous,
Holy Spirit of promise. Without His gracious operations,
without His mighty works, without Him coming to take up residence
in us, we would yet be dead in trespasses and sins, lost, ignorant,
blind to the glory of God, incapable of faith, incapable even of prayer,
incapable of anything spiritual. But now, since he, the spirit
of truth, is God. We have life eternal in Jesus
Christ our Lord. Now, let's look back at our text
again. Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit
upon us is the earnest of our inheritance. The pledge, the earnest of our incorruptible
never fading inheritance in heaven. This inheritance, which is the
Father's gift, his bequest to his children, comes to us through
the merits of the testator's death, through the blood of the
everlasting covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's ours forever,
but here the Holy Spirit is called the earnest of our inheritance.
Now, when you buy a piece of property, most of you have done
so, house or piece of property, unless you had the cash in hand
to pay for it, when you purchased the property, you gave some earnest
money. It's called a down payment. If
you purchased it at auction, you're required to pay a certain
percentage of the auction price that day. And if you fail to
come up with the rest of the money, you lose the down payment. You lose the earnest. But the
earnest, the down payment, is not separate from the price of
the property. It's part of the whole. It's
one with the whole. Let's see if I can illustrate
it in another way. You remember the Levitical law. God gave law
concerning the offerings of the firstfruits. The firstfruits
were to be offered first to the Lord. The firstfruits were the
pledge of what was coming later. But they were part of the whole
harvest. And so the wheat that was offered
in the firstfruits was exactly the same as the wheat that would
be gathered in the full harvest. And the earnest money you put
down to pay for a piece of property is part and parcel with the whole
and the pledge that on a given time you will pay the whole thing.
That's what the Spirit of God is with regard to salvation.
He is the first fruit of heavenly glory, of the inheritance of
God's grace. the pledge that we shall possess
the whole thing, but he is a part of the whole. All his gifts,
all his operations of grace are a part of the whole. So that
his gifts of grace, his teachings, his influence, the operations
of grace, his quickenings, revivings and refreshings that he gives
us from time to time, his anointing, his auction. These things are pledges of the
inheritance awaiting us and exactly the same thing as what is awaiting
us. everlasting anointing, and unction,
and teaching, and direction, and understanding, and light,
and comfort, and joy, and peace. The earnest is one with that
which shall be possessed. Now, I've said all that because
it's very important. Let there be no confusion about
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as the earnest of our inheritance.
The Spirit of God dwelling in us is the Spirit of Christ himself. We read in verses 16 and 17,
the Savior said, I'll pray to the Father to give you another
comforter. The Spirit of truth, verse 17, whom the world cannot
receive. The world can't know, but you know Him. He dwells in
you. Now watch verse 18. I will not leave you comfortless.
I will come unto you. But he's talking about the Spirit.
Yes, he is. He's talking about himself. One,
one God coming to us in the person and work of the God-man, our
mediator. Look at Romans chapter 8, verse
9. Romans 8, verse 9. Paul is telling us that we're
not in the flesh, but in the spirit. Don't we live in this body of
flesh? Yes, but we don't live after the flesh. We live after
the Spirit, if we're born of God. Verse 9, Romans 8. Ye are
not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. That's where our life
is. If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any
man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Was Paul confused? No. He's talking about Christ
dwelling in you. And if Christ be in you, you
see that? The body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life
because of righteousness. Both the earnest of our inheritance
and the full inheritance is Christ. Christ dwelling in us and Christ
possessed by us. Christ in you is the hope of
glory. That's the earnest of grace.
Soon we shall have the full inheritance. Christ in glory is the full inheritance. Christ is revealed in us here.
There we will see him face to face. Christ is with us here,
making himself known to us, visiting us, coming to us. guiding us,
directing us. There we shall have the fullness
of His presence forever. How it delights our souls for
Him to come and speak to us by His Word. Oh, how it shall delight our
souls for Him to never cease speaking to us. How delightful
it is for Him to visit us in the special manifestations of
His grace, speaking peace to our hearts, indescribably more so, when He
constantly manifests His boundless grace and constantly speaks peace
to our hearts. This earnest within us, this
seal of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of promise, is that by
which our God graciously prepares us and makes us meet to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light. In Romans 9.23, I think
it is, the Apostle speaks of vessels of mercy. Vessels of
mercy of four prepared unto glory. You've often heard folks say
heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. And that's
exactly what it is. Come, our Savior says, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
And he, by his grace, prepares us, making us fit for that kingdom. Understand what I'm saying. Understand
what I'm saying. The work of God in you is vital
to your everlasting salvation. The whole basis of our hope before
God The whole basis of our hope, the only ground upon which we
have hope before God, is the finished work of Jesus Christ,
our substitute, when he has brought in everlasting righteousness
and put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. But we have no hope
until the Spirit of God comes in us in his saving operations
of grace. The basis of our hope is the
imputed righteousness of Christ. But hope itself is Christ our
righteousness imparted to us. Christ in you, the hope of glory,
by which he makes us new creatures. Gives us a new, holy, heavenly
nature. That which is born of God and
cannot sin. And this is what's done in the
new birth. He makes us new in Jesus Christ
the Lord. Now, until a sinner has been
given this inner work of the Spirit, until the Holy Spirit
of promise comes in you as the earnest, the pledge, the foretaste
of the heavenly inheritance, you have no knowledge of any
interest in God's love, God's election, Christ's redemption,
or the call of God's grace. But when he comes, He comes convincing
us of an assured interest, allowing us now to lift our hearts to
heaven and cry, Abba, Father. Allowing us now to draw near
unto God in all his holiness through the blood of Jesus Christ,
sprinkled upon our hearts, purging our consciences of dead works
with full assurance of faith. That's what the Spirit of God
does. Look in Colossians chapter 1, let me show you. Verse 25, Paul says concerning
the gospel of God's grace, Where have I made a minister according
to the dispensation, the stewardship of God which is given to me for
you? Now what's this? To fulfill the
word of God. even the mystery which hath been
hid from ages and from generations, but is now, but now is made manifest
to his saints. This is something that, he says
this is made manifest to his saints. This is not, this is
not speculative, this is not, this is not some kind of a thing
that you, you say well, if you study it enough you're going
to get hold of this. This is what's made manifest in the new
birth. To whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. How does the song go? He lives, he lives, I know my
Savior lives. Because He lives within my heart. And you'll never know that He
lives until He lives in you. You will never know that He lives
until He lives in you. I don't care what theology books
you read. I don't care how much scripture you memorize. I don't
care how much you try to convince yourself it's so. You will never
know that He lives until He lives in you by His Spirit. So that every holy desire, every
heavenly affection, every gracious longing for him, mourning in poverty of spirit, hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Every bowing to his throne, every
submission and acquiescence in his will, everything that turns
our hearts and sets our affection on our Redeemer, everything that
sets us looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto
eternal life, all these things are but the pledge of the Spirit,
of the glory that awaits us. And by these things, he makes
us meet to be the partakers of the inheritance of the saints
in life. and assures us that God hath
not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation and glory
in Jesus Christ. And that which he has done, he
will do. Turn to Philippians chapter 1. Verse 6. I am confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good
work in you, has he convinced you of your
sin, of his righteousness of judgment? Has he called you to
mourn what you are? Has he stirred in your soul a
sense of your deep need of Him, your poverty without Him, as
He caused you to hunger and thirst after His righteousness. As He set your heart upon Christ,
longing for Him, He which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it. Okay? Until the day of Jesus
Christ. Look at 1 Thessalonians chapter
5. I never will forget the first time
God brought this text home to my heart. I was just a young man. had not long known anything about
the experience of God's grace. And an event happened that terrified
my soul. And I thought, surely, everything's
gone. And looking for consolation,
and the only place where you can find consolation as a believer,
I opened God's Word. And this is what I read, 1 Thessalonians
5, 23. The very God of peace sanctify
you wholly. God sets you apart from the rest
of the world in election. He set you apart from the rest
of the world in redemption. He set you apart from the rest
of the world by the effectual call of His grace. And when He
gets done with this world, He's sure enough going to set you
apart completely. And I pray God your whole spirit
and soul and body Be preserved blameless unto the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, that's good, but it's all
meaningless without this next word. Faithful is he that calleth
you who also will do it. That means this. The glory which
awaits us in heaven. will be nothing new to the believer,
but only the expansion of what we have experienced of his grace
and continually experience of his grace today. Nothing new. Nothing new. Oh, we will see
him as he is then. But right now we see him who
is invisible, do we not? Then we will have peace Perfect,
undisturbed peace forever. But right now, the peace of God
that passes knowledge keeps our hearts and minds by Christ Jesus. Then we will know His love. All the length and breadth and
depth and height of His love that passes knowledge. But right
now, we are convinced of His love. Heaven will merely be the
completion of what we now have in God's grace. The earnest is
part and parcel with the inheritance. The psalmist is saying in Psalm
84.11, the Lord will give grace and glory. And that's very much
what Paul is teaching us here in Ephesians 1, 13 and 14. Grace experienced here is glory
begun. Glory shall be grace completed
and consummated. Now, let me show you something
else. The Apostle tells us here that
the Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession. What's this redemption of the
purchased possession? Redemption is deliverance, taking
the word in its widest possible sense, as it is used here. It is the complete deliverance
of God's elect by the blood of Christ and the power of His grace
from all sin and all the consequences of sin, from the fall of our
father Adam and his ruin, from our own sin and all the consequences
of the fall and of sin, into that which Paul describes as
the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Now, this redemption
is accomplished by the blood of Christ at Calvary, in that
he by his blood has redeemed us from the curse of the law.
This redemption is accomplished by God the Holy Spirit in regeneration,
in that he redeems and delivers us from the death of Sihon, in
which we were born. But there is a day appointed
by God, when our Lord Jesus Christ shall redeem us. This is purchased possession.
Now listen to me. The Lord Jesus didn't just buy
my soul. He bought me body, soul, and
spirit. And though this dust Shall this
body shall return to the dust again? He will not lose one particle
of the body that he shed his blood to purchase. He's going
to have me and all his ransom with him in resurrection glory.
Oh, what will that be when the dead in Christ rise? And we which
are alive and remain are caught up together with them to meet
the Lord in the air. And so shall ever be with our
Lord. That's the redemption of the
body awaiting us. And we shall be completely, fully,
perfectly conformed to Christ our Savior. And we shall possess fully Christ
as our inheritance. And Christ shall possess us fully
as his inheritance. He said, my son, give me your
heart. And one day soon, He's sure enough
going to have my heart. All of me. And I shall have all
of Him. And that to the praise of His
glory. All of it. to the praise of His
glory. Amen.