Our Inheritance In Christ
Notes
Transcript
Good Morning
My wife is mad at me, she says that I ruined her birthday.
Which is ridiculous because I had no idea it was her birthday.
I want to thank all who came out Friday and helped with Larry’s funeral. You guys did a great job serving and loving like Jesus. I was a hard day, but a good day as well. We celebrated Larry and glorified God.
This Saturday at 8am is the men’s breakfast.
The Men’s Retreat is coming up in April. It is on the 24th and 25th at Falls Creek. We will be staying in the cabin with First Baptist Anadarko. If you want to go, let me know and we will get you registered. It really is a lot of fun. It is not just sitting listening to people talk. They have all kinds of events and things to do all throughout the day.
Today we are going to be in Ephesians 1:11-14.
Last week we talked about the redemption we have in Jesus Christ. In Him we have forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He not only gives us, but He lavishes it on us. He gives us grace upon grace. God doesn’t just forgive some of our trespasses. If we are adopted as His son’s and daughter’s, He forgives them all! If that wasn’t enough for us, He gives us all wisdom and insight. When we repent and believe, God gives us His wisdom and understanding. As we are obedient to His commands, studying His word, fellowshipping with other believers, and making disciples, the more and more He gives of His wisdom and understanding. It is just like children, they can not handle learning everything at once. They have to be taught different things depending on their age. For us it is dependent on obedience and faithfulness to the commands of God.
Part of that insight was the mystery of His will, that mystery that was prophesied about by the prophets of the Old Testament is Jesus Christ. It has been God’s plan all along for His Son to be salvation to whomsoever calls upon His name.
We ended by seeing that God plans to unite all things, heaven and earth, in Christ when the time is right and He returns to redeem His people and silence all the hostile powers.
Today we are going to look at the inheritance we have in Christ and the down payment that God gives us when we first believe in His Son. All of this will be to the praise and glory of God.
Please stand as we prepare to hear God’s Word.
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Pray
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
Exalting Jesus in Ephesians Assured by the Spirit (Ephesians 1:11–14)
On top of all the other blessings already mentioned, Paul now references the believer’s “inheritance” or heritage (vv. 11, 14). Paul says “in Christ” we have this inheritance (v. 11). Apart from Jesus our future is not hopeful. It is tragic. It is because of the work done on the cross and the empty tomb that we have a hope that the world does not understand.
The phrase “we have … received an inheritance” is one compound word in Greek. Paul speaks of something in the future that is sure to happen. The translation here is difficult. It could mean “we were made an inheritance (or heritage)” or “we have received an inheritance.” The former is the notion that we are God’s possession, an idea repeatedly mentioned in the Old Testament (e.g.,
20 But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day.
Exalting Jesus in Ephesians Assured by the Spirit (Ephesians 1:11–14)
The latter use is more like
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
Exalting Jesus in Ephesians Assured by the Spirit (Ephesians 1:11–14)
(see also
Exalting Jesus in Ephesians Assured by the Spirit (Ephesians 1:11–14)
Both are great options! We are God’s possession, and through Christ we have received a glorious inheritance.
I believe that Paul is referencing the latter, because he says in Christ we obtained an inheritance. When someone repents and believes in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they are promised an inheritance.
I read these verses and I think to myself, I am so selfish. I have been given so much that I don’t deserve and yet I want more. Christ is enough. I don’t deserve anything that God has given to me. What I deserve is judgement and eternal separation from God. Yet, in His great mercy and grace, He has given me restoration and an inheritance that I can not even imagine what it will be like! God is so good.
Paul continues in verse 11 telling us that we were predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to His will.
Paul is telling us that the reason God saved us was so that He could be glorified through the work of His Son. Nothing is done for us to get the glory, because we don’t deserve glory!! God is the only one who deserves to be glorified. Everything He does is for His glory. Christ came so that the Father would be glorified. The Holy Spirit does work so that God get the glory.
If we do something for our glory, then we are not doing God’s work! We are not being obedient! When we come to actually realize all that God has done for us and all that Jesus gave up and suffered so that we could be made right with God, when we realize all our sin has cost, there is nothing in us to brag about or to glorify except Jesus. In Him, we have an inheritance, In Him we have salvation, In Him we are forgiven!
In us we have judgement and eternal separation!
12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
I struggled with these two verses until I opened up my commentaries. I struggled because I didn’t pay attention to two small words, we and you.
Paul is talking about when we become in Christ. He uses the words we and you. How is Paul different than the Ephesians?
Paul is a Jew, they are Gentiles. Paul is stressing God’s sovereign plan in the ordering of salvation history. He is telling us that the Lord’s inheritance is not limited to the Jewish believers. They obviously had a special privilege as the first to hope in Jesus, but the Gentiles are also recipients of God’s amazing grace.
Paul is emphasizing that there are no second class citizens in the kingdom of God. All believers are God’s possession, redeemed for His glory.
Exalting Jesus in Ephesians Assured by the Spirit (Ephesians 1:11–14)
Paul mentions the responsibility of people by saying, “We who had already put our hope in the Messiah”, and “When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him” (v. 13, emphasis added). Once again we see this mystery of sovereignty and responsibility. People receive salvation when they hear the gospel and believe in Christ.
Predestination does not take away our responsibility to hear the truth and respond to it. We have to accept the work that Jesus did and turn from our sins.
Paul tells us that when we hear the word of truth, the gospel that is salvation, and we repent and believe, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is the way, the truth, the life! Jesus is also the Word of God. So God’ truth comes to us by hearing the word and when we believe in the word, we are given life. It is all Jesus! Jesus has to be our everything! He is enough!
Only those who truly repent and believe in Jesus Christ will be sealed with the Holy Spirit. This sealing that God does, is God promising that He will finish that which He started.
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
It is God who creates the faith in us and it is Him who will complete it on the day that Jesus returns! If our faith is dependent on us to complete, we would all be doomed! If we could lose our salvation, we would. Remember that in us is nothing but sin and separation from God. It is God who, the only one who is good, that puts the good in us. It is Him who will persevere us to the end.
This seal that we receive marks us God’s own possession! We are His. God puts His seal on our hearts when we repent and believe!
God has sealed us and He will keep us until the day of redemption!
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Paul ends by telling us that God has given all believers a down payment on our inheritance, the Holy Spirit.
Just take a moment and let that sink in. The Holy Spirit is just the down payment on our inheritance!!!! There is so much more God has for us. In light of that last verse, just imagine what heaven will be like.
The Holy Spirit is just a little taste of what eternity with God will be like!
The Holy Spirit is such a great gift from God, that Jesus said in John 16:7
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
Jesus told His disciples that it was for their benefit that He leave so the Helper will be sent. That helper is the Holy Spirit and now we are told that the helper is a down payment to our inheritance, a taste of eternity with God.
How encouraging is this!!
Paul ends verse 14 with to the praise of His glory. That really is all that is left to do after hearing these verses about our inheritance and the promises of God.
Exalting Jesus in Ephesians The Guarantee of the Spirit
There is nothing left to do but to join Paul in worship and declare God’s praises to the nations who are not worshiping Him. God is calling the nations to praise Him for His mighty salvation.
God the Father has chosen us, God the Son has redeemed us, and God the Spirit has assured us. Let us worship the triune God. We were made for praise, and our hearts will only be satisfied when we begin praising this God.
Liberty, God has started a good work in us, He is faithful to finish what He started. It is up to us to be obedient to His commands and make sure that we are praising only Him who worthy of all praise, God!
God has sealed us and given us His Holy Spirit to guide us and direct us. We must learn to hear His voice. He will not shout and yell, he has a still small voice. We have to be quite and listening so that we can hear Him. We have to spend time in quite meditation listening. We are His possession, let’s make sure we are giving Him the glory and that we are pointing people to His Son.
Liberty, let’s go and show our communities the love of Jesus and tell them the truth so that they can respond to it!
Let’s pray
