"In Him also, we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory."
Ephesians 1:11-14
That old song comes to mind whenever I read these verses. Jesus signed His name in blood to our lives. He sealed us with His Holy Spirit as His, and then presented (delivered) us to His Father as righteous. We belong to Him. Now, while I am not usually searching for Biblical truth in Motown, it seems to me that it is apropos in this situation.
There are many promises for believers in these verses. Many realities that perhaps we as Christians take for granted. The fact that we have obtained an inheritance is astounding in and of itself. The inheritance that we have obtained is heaven itself, and eternal life there with Jesus Christ. It is a place where no one really knows what it is all about, other than that they treat gold like asphalt up there...because the streets are paved with it, and they use it as a construction material (Revelation 21)!
The theology of predestination can get you into trouble if you don't understand it. God did not predestine some people to hell and some to heaven, as some would have you believe. It is that God, whom time has no jurisdiction over, sees the beginning and the end of time, at the same time, and knows who will choose Him. God is not bound by time and space, like finite man. God is infinite. Not bound by our time or physical location. He is an eternal present. He sees the beginning and the end, at the same time.
And then, beloved, He seals us with His guarantee, His deposit if you will. His down-payment for us, of things to come. He has purchased us with His blood, and is one day soon coming to redeem that which He has purchased. In the meantime, we have the promise, the down-payment that He truly is coming for us, and that we belong to Him. The seal of His Holy Spirit has been placed upon our lives, so that as we walk with Him, His Holy Spirit teaches us all things. We can depend upon Him. He is there in our life.
Beloved, kind of disjointed thoughts today. But know this, that the Holy Spirit lives within us, as a guarantee that we belong to Jesus, and that the Holy Spirit of God will lead and guide us and teach us all things. Go out there this day and walk in the confidence and knowledge that you belong to Him! Amen.
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