Supporting Texts: Matthew 5:10, 12; John 15:20; Acts 14:19-22; Romans 8:17, 10:14, 17; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Colossians 1:12; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Peter 1:3-4; Revelation 5:9-11.
I am sure that by now you have had time to think through the tragic event that occurred just days ago; that is, the murder of Charlie Kirk by the means of an assassin’s bullet. There is no doubt that Mr. Kirk was murdered because of his insistence of biblical convictions and for being willing to address these issues publicly. In short, Charlie Kirk was obviously and intentionally martyred for his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our country’s founders placed in the first amendment of the Bill of Rights in our Constitution the right of religious freedom, but that did not stop this young man’s murder because of his religion.
Actually, as Christians, we should recognize that we are engaged in a great battle. Ephesians 6:12 tells us that “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Because of this cosmic warfare, Christians should prepare themselves for this fight. The Bible also warns us of being persecuted for our faith. In John 15:20, the Lord Jesus said, “Remember the word that I said to you, “A slave is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you…” The Apostle Paul warned us, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).
The persecution of Christians has been happening almost from the beginning of the Church Age. The apostles John and Peter were arrested and thrown in jail simply for preaching about faith in Christ. After Stephen was murdered by an angry mob for his faith, the Bible tells us that “a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem” (Acts 8:1), forcing Christians to abandon their jobs, their homes, their families and move away from Jerusalem. Still the persecution continued. In Acts chapter twelve, the Apostle James, the brother of John, was martyred for his faith. Down through the centuries, who knows how many thousands of Christians have been murdered for no other reason that that they believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
In Acts 14, another angry mob stoned the Apostle Paul “and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead” (Acts 14:19). The early centuries of the church were filled with believers giving their lives for their faith. Multitudes died at the Coliseum in Rome while many others died in places around the empire. I have a book in my library entitled, “Fox’s Book of Martyrs” and it is filled with stories of numbers of Christians who were forced to die for their faith. When Jesus spoke to His disciples about the end times in Matthew 24, He told them, “They will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name” (Matthew 24:10). Our Lord followed this prophecy by telling those who would trust in Him for salvation that in the end times, “many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another” (Matthew 24:11).
Based on the Lord’s message in this chapter, we understand that the persecution of Christians will increase in frequency and in intensity as the time of His coming draws closer. So, my question to you is, are you prepared? Will you be able to face being persecuted for your faith when that day comes? We did not think such a thing could happen in America, but it did! I am not trying to frighten you: we must not live in fear. But I am urging you to prepare yourself to stand for your faith and for your Lord.
The Lord has given us great blessings that enable us to stand when we face trials, tribulations, and even persecution. Paul has identified several of these already in the first chapter of Ephesians. In His salvation, the Lord has made us saints and He has given us every spiritual blessing in Christ. He specifically chose us from before the world’s foundation and adopted us as His own children. He has redeemed us and forgiven us of all our trespasses according to the riches of His grace. And He has clearly outlined His purposes for the future. Today we will discover how God has prepared us for our life here and now and in the future. He has given every believer and amazing inheritance in Christ and He has sealed us with His Holy Spirit. Finally, we will discover that He has given us a pledge or a down-payment that eternally secures our salvation. We begin with our inheritance in Christ.
GIVEN AN INHERITANCE. Ephesians 1:11-12
God’s Perspective on the Believer’s Inheritance. Many of us have heard of people who have received vast sums of money as an inheritance. We may have even dreamed of there being a knock on the door and someone telling us that a relative we never knew existed has passed away, leaving us a large fortune. In the New Testament, the idea of an inheritance extends to include all spiritual good provided through and in Christ, and particularly all that is contained in the hope grounded on the promises of God.
In fact, the inheritance the Lord gives to each believer includes every spiritual blessing that comes to us from heaven in Christ. That God grants an inheritance to believers is affirmed in many places in the New Testament. For example, in the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul tells us, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:16-17). In Colossians, he tells us, “The Father…has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light” (Colossians 1:12). And, the Apostle Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4). Along with eternal salvation, God has granted to every believer a glorious inheritance in heaven with Jesus.
The believer’s inheritance includes every promise God has made. The Lord Jesus is the ground for our inheritance and the One who guarantees that it will be given to us. That God has granted us an inheritance shows how valuable we are to Him. Think for a moment of the price God paid to purchase us and make us part of His inheritance! It cost Him the sacrifice of His One and only Son to grant us this great blessing.
God’s Sovereign Purpose. God’s perspective is also seen in His sovereign purpose. So intentional was He in giving us His inheritance that He did all that was necessary for us to be made eligible to receive it. He predestined us, that is, from eternity past God has declared every elect sinner, even though vile, rebellious, useless, and deserving only death and eternal condemnation – who trusted in His Son, would be made as righteous as the One in whom they put their trust.
But this predestination is not a matter of simple whim or impulse on God’s part; it is according to the plan of God, who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. In His infinite wisdom, of all the possible choices, our Lord chose this plan and purpose as His will. This, then, is the greatest of all purposes and it is entirely satisfactory to Him now and it will be for eternity. Another part of God’s perfect plan is that it would be to the praise of His glory. This means that people are redeemed for the purpose of restoring in them the divine image that was corrupted by sin. Since God created men and women to be in His image, and therefore bear the divine likeness, God’s goal in salvation is also the goal of creation. God desires creatures that will give Him glory for both proclaiming and displaying His glory. It is for this reason that He redeems men and women.
The First to Hope. Verse twelve speaks of those who were “the first to hope in Christ.” In this he again refers to the supreme wisdom of God. Paul reminds us in the first chapter of Romans, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). The gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ was proclaimed first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles. Those Jews who believed in Christ are the ones that were the first to hope in Christ.
I am sure you remember that small group of believers who met in Jerusalem when God sent the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. On that day, thousands of Jewish men and women placed their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, receiving Him as their Messiah. They knew He was the One God had promised to send to them. These new Jewish believers were the first, but they certainly were not the last. And for all of them God had one significant primary goal – that they would bring praise and glory to the Lord who saved them!
SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. Ephesians 1:13
Listened to the Message of Truth. Having described God’s plan in sending the gospel message to the descendants of Israel first, Paul now turns to the Gentiles who have come to faith in Christ. This was the eternal plan of God put into place before the world was created. In answer to the sinful rebellion of the human race, and the subsequent punishment that fell upon all creation, God chose to offer a plan of rescue for those who would believe. That plan involved the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that would atone for sin and guaranteed the completed work of the Lord Jesus by having Him rise from the dead.
This message of the gospel, which is the testimony of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, was designed to be sent to all the world and it was a message that must be proclaimed and a message that must be heard. Once heard, it was and is a message that must be believed. God’s process includes the preacher, the message, and the hearer. In the tenth chapter of Romans, Paul asked these questions, “How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14). This is how God intends to reach the lost. The preacher takes the message of Jesus to the world and proclaims the gospel message. In that same passage in Romans, Paul wrote, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). So, God sent preachers and missionaries with the message of the gospel so that Gentiles could hear it, receive Christ as Savior, and be saved. That, then, is “the gospel of your salvation.” It was this magnificent, life-changing message that was proclaimed and some of the Gentiles of Ephesus believed. It is still God’s plan for evangelism. God sends a messenger with the gospel to reach those still in spiritual darkness.
You Also Believed. In the case of these Gentiles, they believed the gospel of salvation. The gospel message is that all people are lost, Jew and Gentile alike, and that on their own, there is nothing they can do to save themselves. If they stay in their current condition, they will stand condemned before their Creator and will endure eternal punishment. Being a good person, church attendance, baptism, or doing good works cannot bring salvation. “There is none righteous,” the Bible declares, “not even one.”
God sent Jesus into the world to be the Savior. There is no other Savior and no other way any person can be saved. These Gentiles in Ephesus heard this message and they believed in Jesus. They called upon Him to be their Savior. They put aside their pride, confessed their sin, and trusted in Jesus alone and He granted them His salvation. The Bible says, “As many as received Him (the Lord Jesus) to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). And so, they believed in Jesus, received Him as their one and only Savior, and they were saved. When a man or woman, boy or girl, whether they lived two thousand years ago or they live today, when they receive Christ by confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing in their heart that God raised Him from the dead, they are eternally saved. They are given eternal life and that can never change.
You Were Sealed with the Holy Spirit. Why is that? How can I declare eternal salvation in Christ? Because each person who trusts in Christ as Savior is forever sealed by the Holy Spirit. God’s spiritual blessings for believers are based not only on the sovereign election of the Father and the redemptive work of the Son, but also on the seal of the Holy Spirit. Let me give you three words that reveal God’s promises that come to the believer at the instant of their salvation. The first is identity; the believer is eternally identified with the Holy Spirit. When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in his or her life. Life in Jesus Christ is different because the Spirit of God is now within. He is there to empower us to spiritual growth and equipping for the ministry God has designed for us. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate and Helper. This “seal,” in Roman times, was made by putting an official symbol on wax that was placed on a document and then impressed with a signet ring. This designates a second word: ownership. Being sealed by the Holy Spirit pictures His ownership of our lives. In the Old Testament, God instructed the prophet Jeremiah to purchase some land in his hometown of Anathoth. Jeremiah paid the price and in the presence of witnesses, the deed to the land was signed and sealed, establishing that Jeremiah was the owner of this property. Because we are sealed, we forever belong to the Lord.
The third word of interest is authority. In the fifth chapter of Revelation, a scroll with seven seals is presented to God. A Redeemer is sought for who has the authority to break its seven seals and open the scroll. Jesus stepped forward and took the scroll, which was the deed to the earth and everything in it, and because He is the only One authorized, He took the scroll, showing that He has the authority to rule over the entire universe. That Christians are sealed with the Holy Spirit is one of the greatest Biblical proofs that we are eternally secure in our salvation in Christ.
THE PLEDGE OF REDEMPTION. Ephesians 1:14
God’s Pledge of the Believer’s Salvation. The Holy Spirit is given to every believer as a pledge that guarantees our salvation and our divine inheritance. When a person receives Christ, his or her environment and circumstances do not change. They still look the same, usually they still live at the same address, and their family remains the same. God does not typically take us home immediately to heaven because He wants us to remain in service to Him and to be His witnesses for Him in this world. To guarantee our salvation, the Holy Spirit is given to each believer. This pledge in the original language is the word arrabon, and it means down payment, or a pledge that was given to secure a purchase. A form of this word even came to be used for an engagement ring. Yesterday we had a wedding here at High Prairie Church. Jeffrey Young married Josie Parsons. Some time ago, Jeffrey proposed marriage to Josie, and she accepted his proposal. As a pledge of marriage, Jeffrey gave her an engagement ring or an arrabon that promised her that he would marry her. And he did!
As believers we have the Holy Spirit as the divine pledge of our inheritance, God’s first installment of His guarantee that the fullness of the promised spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ will one day be completely fulfilled. They are assured and guaranteed with an absolute certainty that only God could provide. In this sense, the Holy Spirit is the divine engagement ring Christ has given to His bride, the church, and she will never be neglected or forsaken. He will keep all of His promises.
God’s Great Goal of Redemption. Our salvation and all of the promises, blessings, and privileges we gain through being saved are bestowed with the purpose of eternal redemption and for us to praise and worship the Lord. The great, overriding purpose of God’s redemption of men is the rescuing of His possession – those who belong to Him. All creation belongs to God, and in His infinite wisdom, love, and grace He chose to provide redemption for the fallen creatures He had made in His own image. He saved us to serve Him and to praise Him. We are saved to be restored to our intended divine purpose of creation – to bear the image of God and bring Him greater glory.
We have looked at spiritual blessings that are given to every Christian at the moment they receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit give these gifts to those who trust Christ. Each member of the Trinity plays a profound part in each believer’s life. These treasures of grace are not earned; they are the instant possession of every believer and are the basis for their position in Christ. God’s goal is for each of us to use our positional gifts to grow and honor the Lord by living a life pleasing to Him.
These gifts: our inheritance in Christ, being eternally sealed with the Holy Spirit, and being given the pledge of redemption, are ours and they have become our identity. It is who we are. We wonder how the early Christians faced persecution and martyrdom. I believe it was simply because they knew who they were. They knew they were saved and they knew God would keep all of His promises to them. They knew that, once this life was over, they would be immediately welcomed into the presence of the Lord Jesus. That is why these blessings and promises are so important to us, because they empower us to stand faithfully when we face trials and tribulations. Christian, learn about them and recognize what God has already given you. And, if you have never received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, won’t you consider doing that today?
