Key Verse: “In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:11-14 CSB)
In the opening of his letter to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul outlined some of the “spiritual blessing in the heavens” (v.3) that are ours in Christ Jesus. Our blessing in Christ began in eternity past when God “chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him” (v.4). It also continues into the present, namely through the forgiveness that God offers to us based on Jesus’ work on the cross (v.7). But the spiritual blessing that is ours also has a future sense. Because Jesus is God and our lives are now found in Him, no matter what happens next, our future is secure in His hands.
How do we know for sure? How can be so confident about what awaits us down the road? The security of our future is rooted first in the sovereignty of God. Paul wrote, “In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will” (v.11).
Paul reminds us that God is completely sovereign. He holds all the power. Whatever He chooses to do will always happen. His purposes and plans cannot be thwarted. Those whom He has chosen and adopted into His family are now secure in His hands. No matter what our circumstances, God is working it all out according to His sovereign will. That is amazing, isn’t it?
But it doesn’t stop there. The sovereignty of God is not the only reason why we can rest assured about our future. We also have the Spirit of God. Prior to His ascension into heaven, Jesus had told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were “baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). This would be the fulfillment of the promise that Jesus made to them earlier when He spoke of the One whom the Father would send in His name afterward (John 14:26).
Thankfully, God’s Spirit is for all of us who have trusted in Jesus. Paul wrote that on the day of your salvation, the point at which “you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you also believed” (v.13), something incredible occurred. On that day, you were “sealed in him with the promised Holy Spirit” (v.11).
Why is that so significant? Paul continued by saying that the Holy Spirit is “the down payment of our inheritance” (v.14). Just as a parent passes on his possessions as an inheritance to his children, the Holy Spirit is the first installment or deposit from God serving as His pledge to us of what is to come. God has “put his seal on us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians 1:22) of our future.
One of the amazing realities of being a Christian is that, although we don’t know the future, we know the One who does. He holds it secure in His sovereign hands. He has given us His promised Spirit as the guarantee. So until that day, when we go from this life into the next and see Jesus face to face, we can walk with confidence. No matter how hard it may get now, we can rest assured of what awaits us.
Prayer: God, I thank you that you have sealed me with the Holy Spirit as a promise of what is to come. No matter what happens to me today, I know that because of Jesus my future is secure in your hands. Fill me with faith and hope as I look forward to that day. Amen.
Author: Jonathan Miller has served in pastoral roles for more than 13 years in churches in Barrie, Oakville and Burlington, Ontario. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Prison Fellowship Canada, a ministry that mobilizes and equips local churches to engage in the restorative work of prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, and victims across Canada. Jon holds degrees from McMaster University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Adrienne have been married since 2004, and live in Burlington, Ontario with their 4 children. Jon’s greatest passion is to know Jesus and to see lives transformed by Him and for Him.
