Ephesians 1:14 The Earnest

… who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Eph. 1:14

The Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 18 on Assurance of Salvation states:

Although hypocrites and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favor of God and estate of salvation, which hope of theirs shall perish: yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him, may in this life be certainly assured that they are in a state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope shall never make them ashamed.

This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion, grounded upon a fallible hope; but an infallible assurance of faith, founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidence of those graces unto which these promises are made, the testimony of the Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God: which Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption.

The Scripture makes it abundantly clear that he who believes in the Son has eternal life (Jn 3:16, 36, 5:24, 6:47, 1 Jn 5:10-11). The gospel of John and epistle of 1 John were written by John for this explicit purpose – that ye may know that ye have eternal life (Jn 20:31, 1 Jn 5:13). Salvation, while something that is to be consummated in the future, is something we possess today, based upon faith alone in Christ alone. The gift of salvation, as all of God’s gifts, are given to us, without repentance (Ro 11:29). God assures the Christian disciple of His preserving grace, many times in the Scripture and in many ways (see Is 43:1-3, 54:10, Jn 6:35-40, 10:27-30, 17:11,12,15, Rom 5:8-10, 8:1, 29-30, 35-39, 1 Cor 1:7-9, 2 Cor 4:14,17, Eph 4:30, Col 3:3-4, 1 Th 5:23-24, Heb 9:12,15, 10:14, 1 Pet 1:3-5, 1 Jn 2:19,25, 5:4, 11-13, 20, Jd 1, 24-25). The doctrine of the final Perseverance of the Saints is demonstrated throughout Scripture yet, John Reisinger has written:

The doctrine of Assurance of Salvation has been the subject of both confusion and controversy down through the years. Actually, it goes all the way back to the New Testament times. The question, “Can I really be sure I am going to heaven?” has been given a variety of answers. Some have not only said yes, but have gone a step farther and taught that you must be sure or else you do not really have faith in Christ. At the other extreme, men have not only answered with an emphatic “No!” but have earnestly contended that any form of assurance of salvation was a dangerous delusion of the devil. In between these two positions have been the many forms of ‘maybe’ which were attended by many ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ that tended to nullify each other. I personally think this is one of the most misunderstood doctrines of our generation.

Ephesians 1:13-14, we see a three-fold role of the Holy Spirit in assuring the Christian of God’s gift of salvation. First, He is the “promise,” that is, God promises to give Him to everyone who repents and believes. Second, He is God’s ‘seal,’ that is, His mark of ownership and of authenticity. And then thirdly, the Spirit is the earnest or pledge, which God gives to His children, guaranteeing their safe passage into eternity. The Greek word, arrabon, has come to mean, “an engagement ring,” in modern Greek; however, in ancient times it was a trader’s word signifying the first installment or deposit – the portion of the purchase price paid in advance which guarantees full payment. While an engagement ring promises marriage, but is not itself part of the marriage, the arrabon, or deposit, is more than a guarantee – it is part of the actual payment itself. So by giving us His Holy Spirit, God is not merely promising a final inheritance, but is actually giving us a foretaste of it! What a joy it is to know that because of the indwelling Holy Spirit, eternal life is something which we possess a share in today.

Judges 6: 25-32 Tear Down That Altar

After calling him, God wasted no time in testing Gideon’s commitment. That very night, God returned to Gideon and gave him a very difficult assignment. He was to bear a strong testimony for God before his own family and neighbors where a man usually finds little honor.

The Lord’s command to Gideon was that he was to destroy the false worship center built to Baal on his father’s property. He was to build a true altar of worship to the Lord on the very same location and offer a burnt sacrifice to the Lord. The bull he was instructed to offer was to be seven years old, that is, mature and fully grown. The purpose of this burnt sacrifice was to provide atonement or reconciliation with God. In it God provided the only way to approach Him in order to become reconciled and acceptable to God. A person secured atonement or reconciliation with God through the substitute sacrifice. The sacrifice was to be totally consumed by fire, symbolic that the sacrifice paid the full ransom to free the believer from sin and death; the sacrifice bore the full punishment of God’s justice and judgment that was due the sinner. Keep in mind that the burnt offering was a type of Christ, a picture of Christ, dying as the substitute sacrifice for us.

No doubt, God instructed Gideon to offer a burnt sacrifice to demonstrate a renewed reconciliation and recommitment to God. Whatever the case, Gideon was given a most difficult assignment, that of destroying the false worship center of his father and neighbors. Gideon knew what any person in that position would know, if he obeyed the Lord, he would be risking his life. For tearing down a worship center and constructing an altar of worship to one’s own God upon the same sight was the ultimate indignity against Gideon’s father and neighbors. He could expect only the most severe consequences, perhaps even mob rage and violence. This fact clearly demonstrated the strong courage and dedication of Gideon.

Are there any altars in your life that God has commanded you to tear down?

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Ephesians 1:13 Sealed

… in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

Ephesians 1:13

Upon belief, the Christian is sealed, which is the peculiar work of the Holy Spirit. Though He is certainly at work in the human heart, drawing the sinner to Christ and regenerating him, this is the first explicit mention of the work of the Holy Spirit in Ephesians chapter 1. If you will recall, we have already seen the work of the Father in eternity past, in election and predestination, and the work of the Son on the cross, in redemption; now for a brief few verses the Holy Spirit is given attention in His work of sealing.

The Holy Spirit is the prominent promise of the Old Testament (see Is 32:15, 44:3, Ez 36:27, 39:29, Joel 2:28, Zech 12:10). He is also the promise which Christ left with His disciples (Lk 24:49, Jn 14:16-17, 16:13-14, Gal 3:14). It was not until Jesus was glorified that the promise of the Holy Spirit was realized (Jn 7:30, Acts 1:4-5, 19:2). It is no wonder that Paul refers to the Divine Person here as, ‘the Holy Spirit of promise.’ He is both the gift of the New Covenant, and the guarantee of our future inheritance. He is likened to the engagement ring given upon the promise of marriage by the bridegroom.

Sealing is a manifold work – the word sfragi/zw (sfragidzo) refers to a stamp of authority, as a king would seal a letter with his signet ring impressed upon a wax seal. An unbroken seal is a token of authority, ownership and safety. As such we can imagine the Holy Spirit as God’s signet ring, impressing the image of His Son upon the human heart, marking it out as His own (2 Tim 2:19), and indicating that whatever is marked out by him will safely return home to Him (see also Rev 7:3, 9:4). The word is not often used in the New Testament; at times it refers to a literal seal, as at the tomb of Jesus Christ (Mt 27:66). It is notable that when the word appears as an illustration of that which is spiritual, it is usually linked to both the Holy Spirit and the act of believing on the part of the individual (see Jn 3:32-34, 6:27-29, 2 Cor 1:18-22).

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Ephesians 1:11-13 Heard, Believed, Trusted

n 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. Eph 1:13

We have been cherishing the Spiritual blessings of Ephesians 1 which God, according to His own good pleasure, has by free grace bestowed upon us, in Christ. Having been enlightened to the purposes of God which our eternal destiny is involved in, we come now, to the earthly detail of our salvation – after having heard the Gospel, we then come to faith – that is, belief and trust in Christ. Though we cannot take credit or praise for it, it is through faith that we are saved. There needs to be an exercise of faith, without which none of the other blessings of salvation are genuine; yet although man is responsible for trusting Christ, all glory nevertheless goes to God. How we understand the detail of our coming to Christ must pass the test that promotes God’s glory alone, as salvation comes in spite of ourselves – it is all of God and all of grace. This has been Paul’s emphasis in the words, “according to the counsel of His own will.” We are not saved on the basis of our own will, but on God’s will. God never apologizes for free grace; yet, on the other hand, neither does He apologize for calling all men to faith through the preaching of the Gospel. Rather there is a tension that exists in Scripture between God’s sovereign choice and the manner in which our salvation works out in our life.

We see an example of this tension in Matthew 11:25-30 where Jesus prays, thanking His Father for revealing Himself to babes while hiding himself from the prudent of this world. In verse 27 Jesus says that only those whom He wills to reveal the Father to, will come to know Him; all this, yet in verse 28, He calls all men to come to Him and find rest. Some in the church believe that a general call for all men to come to repentance and faith is incongruous with a salvation which is the product of God’s good pleasure alone; so they fail to press upon the consciences and wills of men to make a decision to come to Christ. Failure to understand the role of man’s responsibility to obey the command to come to Christ, to believe, or to repent – have caused many preachers to refuse to compel men to come; but that is the very commission of the preacher (Lk 14:23). The means that God uses to place us in Christ is faith which comes by hearing the Word of God, which comes through the conduit of the preacher’s voice (Rom 10:9-17). No one can say they are a Christian apart from hearing and receiving the word of truth. This is why Paul told Timothy to “preach the word” … “do the work of an evangelist.” (2 Tim 4:2,5). In 1 Tim 2:4 Paul states that God would have all men to be saved, and then follows that up by stating how men are saved, as they come to a knowledge of the truth. This is Christianity. Many different religions and cults can produce testimonies of changed lives, moral or ethical lifestyles, and good people; but the vital question of Christianity is, “have you come to a knowledge of the truth?” We become Christians as that which has been previously unattractive, boring, and incomprehensible becomes the most wonderful news we have ever heard. Though it is the same truth heard from the same preacher, it is only when the Gospel is believed that it becomes alive, vibrant, and understood. The definition of a Christian is one who has rested the trust and hope in Jesus Christ alone for his salvation. It is the Gospel preached, heard, believed, and trusted that is the power of God unto salvation.

This week read Paul’s preaching of the Gospel to Agrippa in Acts chapter 26. Take note of the elements of his sermon, in particular how he brings it to a closing in verse 27. Ask God to help you to ‘close the deal’ so to speak in your Gospel witness to others.

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