Blessings from the Holy Spirit

[0:00] Do you realize your salvation began in eternity past? That's right. We've been talking the last few weeks about the blessings from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We looked at how all three members of the Godhead play a role in our salvation.

[0:19] They all have a part. And there are things just like Nathan said earlier in the songs that we sang just a moment ago that there are things that God does that we cannot and we will not ever understand until we are with our Heavenly Father and our minds, our finite minds, are just not able to comprehend them. God chose us before He ever created the world.

[0:48] He knew that Adam would sin. He knew that we would be separated. He knew that He would have to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place. So God literally began our salvation in eternity past. And last week we looked at our blessings from Jesus Christ Himself. He redeemed us. He forgave us. He revealed God's will to us. He made us an inheritance both to Himself and an inheritance to us. So we move from eternity past in verses 4-6 and history past in verses 7-12 to the immediate experience, the immediate present experience of not only the Ephesian believers, but for you and for me today in verses 13 and 14 of Ephesians chapter number 1.

[1:48] Let's read that together this morning. Read that this morning as we begin. Verse 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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. What we see here is, or what we saw week before last, what God the Father had done. He chose us and He's accepted us in Jesus Christ. And Jesus redeemed us. He forgave us. He made it possible for us to know what once was a mystery, that Jew and Gentile would become one in the body of Christ, and that we could know that we are part of the body of

[2:53] Christ. And then today we are going to be looking at the blessings from the Holy Spirit, the things the Holy Spirit does for us when we trust Christ as our Savior. And the first thing that we see is that we're safe. We're sealed. The Holy Spirit comes into our life when we trust Christ as our Savior. And what He does is He seals us. We see that in verse number 13. In Him you also trusted. He says, after you heard the word of truth.

[3:29] Now what we see is the entire process of salvation is included in this verse. From start to finish, it's in this verse. So He says, in whom also you trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed. It tells how the sinner becomes a saint. First, the Bible says, he hears or she hears the word of truth, in whom also in Christ we trusted when? After we heard the word of truth or read the word of truth. We're so pleased to have a Gideon couple with us this morning. Of course, we always have a Gideon with us, Miss Yura. But the ministry that the Gideon's perform is placing God's word into people's hands. And it is through God's word that we hear and we read the word of truth that God has given to us. And so the first way salvation begins is we first have to hear the gospel. It first has to be shown to us so that we can understand. So first, He says, we hear the word of truth. This is the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and He rose again. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and the following beginning verses. The Ephesians were Gentiles and the gospel came to the Jew first. We see that in Romans chapter 1 and verse number 16. But the good news for them, we see that in that third phrase, the gospel of whose salvation?

[5:27] Talk to me this morning. The gospel of your salvation. So He says, yes, the gospel came to the Jew first, but also to the Greek, also to the non-Jew. So it is not something that's just for a select group of people.

[5:43] God's chosen people, the Jews. But He says, it's for your salvation also that Jesus Christ died on the cross. So you believed after you heard the word of truth, and He says the gospel of your salvation.

[6:03] Paul, being a Jew, brought the gospel to the Gentiles as he shared the word of God with them. So the Ephesians heard the gospel, and it was for them. So what we see here is that the gospel began with us hearing, and then what we do is we believe. And I've got to start this over again because it crashed. And the wonderful thing about our salvation is God knows that we need Him, and God knows that without Jesus Christ as God who came to the cross to die in our place, that was the only way that we, you and I would be able to understand what it takes to become a part of the family of God.

[7:06] So the first thing that the Holy Spirit does is, once we trust Christ as our Savior, He literally, He seals us.

[7:18] The Ephesians heard the gospel, discovered that it was for them. He says, your salvation in verse 13. Now, even though the Bible teaches election, the Bible announces us in Mark to go into all the world and to share the gospel. Why is that? Because the Bible says, whosoever will may come.

[7:40] Whosoever will. Whosoever believes. He says, all that call upon the name of the Lord shall be what? Shall be saved. So Paul brought the gospel to these Ephesians, and they believed, they trusted.

[7:55] Now, we don't discuss election with people who don't know Jesus, because all they need to know is what? Christ died for them, and God loves them. Jesus died for them, and He's offering them salvation through their trust.

[8:10] We simply announce the truth of the gospel, and we invite people to Jesus. And what the Holy Spirit does is, the Holy Spirit does the rest.

[8:20] D.L. Moody, the famous preacher, used to say, Lord, save the elect, and then elect some more. What God does, what God does, and we do what we can do, and that is simply share the gospel.

[8:36] So having heard the word, these Ephesians believed, and this is the faith that brought salvation, Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9. And this pattern also follows what Paul preaches, or teaches, rather, in Romans 10, verses 13 through 15.

[8:53] So when you get a chance, read Romans 10, verses 13 through 15, and it follows this same pattern. So it's God's plan for salvation, when the Ephesians believed.

[9:08] Now what we see is, in whom you trusted after you heard the word of truth. The previous verse talks about, in whom, he says, in whom you trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed.

[9:25] Now, it talks about after you believed, but that word, according to the original Greek, should read, when you believed. Because the Holy Spirit indwelling us does not happen subsequent to salvation, like it's some special extra gift that we receive.

[9:45] Sometime later, it happens the moment we trust Christ as our Savior. There are so many things that take place the moment we place our faith and trust in Christ.

[9:56] And the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the sealing of the Holy Spirit, are a couple of those things that take place that very moment. So we receive God's Holy Spirit the moment we trust Christ as our salvation.

[10:10] So it's not an experience subsequent to salvation. When you get a chance, read Acts chapter 10, verses 34 through 38. Now, why is that significant?

[10:22] Talked a lot about what God does. Talked a lot about when the Holy Spirit indwells us. But what's the significance of the sealing? I mean, why is that something to jump up and down about?

[10:35] Well, for one thing, it speaks of a finished transaction. When we seal something, it means that we're done with it. When you write a letter and you sign your name, you put it in an envelope.

[10:48] And back years ago, when they would take a wax from a candle and pour it over where it was shut, and that was when they sealed it and put some type of stamp on it.

[11:01] And what that signified was they were done. They did not have to go back in and edit that letter, that note. It was done. It was a finished transaction, and it was sealed.

[11:13] And the one who would be opening it would be the one who would be the recipient of that information. So it was a finished transaction, even today when important documents are signed.

[11:26] If you go to a notary, what does a notary do after they witness your signature and they sign it? What do they do? They reach into that little pouch and they get that that almost looks like a stapler but with a big round button on the end.

[11:39] And they take it, and what do they do? They place their seal upon that piece of paper, and it says, this is done. Anything that's changed after this is wrong.

[11:53] It was not part of the original transaction. It wasn't part of the original deal. So it's a finished transaction. The seal also implies ownership.

[12:08] Not only that it's finished, but who owns it. God put his seal on us because he purchased us as his very own.

[12:19] It also signifies security and protection. Do you remember reading about the tomb of Jesus? What did the Roman soldiers do to that tomb after Jesus was placed in there?

[12:35] They rolled that stone in front, and it says they sealed the tomb. Why is that? Have you ever bought something, and it's got a warranty? And it's got this special seal over where it closes, like maybe a little door where people sometimes, they'll go in and they'll unscrew it, and they'll look and see what's inside and take it apart.

[12:58] And then they go and bring it in, and they say, I'm sorry, the warranty's void. Well, how do you know? Because you broke the seal. And so what the seal signifies for us as a follower of Jesus Christ is security and protection.

[13:16] Nobody else. Satan can't even come in and fiddle with our salvation. Isn't that great news? We're sealed until the day of redemption. So the Roman seal on the tomb of Jesus Christ carried this meaning in Matthew 27.

[13:29] So we as believers belong to God. We're safe. We're protected because we're part of that finished transaction. According to John 14, verses 16 through 17, how long does the Holy Spirit abide with the believer?

[13:47] Not like the Old Testament where he came and went. He's with us forever. He's here with us as part of our salvation. But then when we're ushered into eternity, we'll be with God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit forever.

[14:02] It's possible for us to grieve the Holy Spirit, but he'll never leave us. And he won't desert us at all. And another use for the seal is signifying authenticity.

[14:18] Now, this goes in a number of different areas, but those that are particularly careful because they want to make a lot of money is like Major League Baseball, the National Football League, Disney.

[14:38] What do they do when you buy one of their products? Or what do you buy when you buy a product where that manufacturer has paid a boatload of money to the Major League Baseball or to Disney?

[14:54] What do you see on that product? You see a... I'm looking for a particular word. It's our same word. You look for a seal.

[15:04] Exactly. And so there's a seal. And what they've done is they've spent a whole lot of money on coming up with a seal that if you tamper with a seal or if you... It's a hologram.

[15:16] A lot of the seals today, especially when you buy a cap from the... Not only has it been in the pro area, but it's also in the area of universities.

[15:28] You buy an LSU cap, if they paid LSU money to be able to sell that cap, it's got a seal on it, a seal of authenticity that it is their logo.

[15:41] And so what that means is authenticity. What happens a lot when people buy on places like Amazon from a place in China or from a place somewhere?

[15:53] Matter of fact, the same thing's happening. I was reading an article last night about what's happening with this virus that the people are getting into.

[16:04] People who have never done this before, they'll buy a product from China and they will sell it to the medical community or to the military as a real device.

[16:15] Well, the problem is they're finding there are a lot of counterfeits. And so what this seal of authenticity does is it proves that this is the genuine deal.

[16:27] So the Holy Spirit, well, the Holy Spirit, God has given us the Holy Spirit to prove to us that you've got the real deal. This is my Holy Spirit.

[16:38] This is not a counterfeit spirit because we know there are counterfeit spirits in this world today. But he says this is the real deal.

[16:50] Romans 8, 9, if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. It's simply not our profession with our mouth or religious activity or good works.

[17:02] He said, unless you have the Holy Spirit, he says, you are not mine. So we see he sealed us. The second thing we see is he's given us a guarantee.

[17:15] There are a lot of people that will not buy something unless there is a guarantee. And I fall into that category. You know, I will look and I will do research before I buy something. And I'm thinking, you know what? Well, first of all, I know I need to know that it's real.

[17:27] I need to know that it's authentic. And if I'm going to plop down some money, I need to make sure that if it doesn't work like I expect it to work, you're going to give me my money back.

[17:39] And so what God said was, I give you a guarantee. We see in verse 14, the Holy Spirit is our what? Is the guarantee of our inheritance.

[17:51] He has pledged to us and he has guaranteed to us that it is real. And the Holy Spirit has sealed the deal. Who is a guarantee of our inheritance?

[18:02] Until when? Until we're redeemed. Until we get to heaven. Until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory. Have you ever heard of someone giving earnest money?

[18:16] That happens a lot. We hear that term a lot in the real estate arena. Earnest money. Earnest is a fascinating word and it's not just a person's name. Earnest money.

[18:28] In Paul's day, it meant the down payment to guarantee the final purchase of a product or of a piece of property. If I want to buy something that you have, I will give you a portion of it and say, I promise you, this is the guarantee that I'm going to come back and I'm going to finish the transaction.

[18:49] And I'm going to buy it and I'm going to pay you what we have agreed upon. And so earnest money, this guarantee. So who is the earnest of our inheritance is the term that's used here.

[19:03] It means that it's the guarantee that God is going to finish what he started. Amen? God will finish it and we will be able to appreciate and enjoy the result of our salvation.

[19:18] So even today, when we're talking to a real estate person, they talk about earnest money. The Holy Spirit is that first installment on our salvation.

[19:30] And we're going to be able to enjoy the finished work eventually and when he brings us to glory. And the redemption of the purchased possession refers to the redemption of the body of Christ at the return of Jesus.

[19:48] We see that in Romans chapter 8, verses 18 through 23. First John chapter 3 and the first three verses. Now redemption is experienced in three stages.

[20:03] We have been redeemed through our faith in Christ. Ephesians chapter 1, verse number 7. We are being redeemed as the Spirit works in our lives to make us more like Christ.

[20:17] Romans chapter 8, verses 1 through 4. And then we shall be redeemed when Christ returns and we receive our new bodies. And that's what he's talking about until the redemption of the purchased possession.

[20:31] He will come for us. He will redeem us. And we will be with him in heaven. The word earnest, you think, well, it's just a monetary term or it's just a real estate term.

[20:47] Well, that's not the case. And this was a little bit new to me when I studied this. But the word translated earnest also means engagement ring.

[21:00] That's right. So you ladies, when your husband proposed to you, did you realize he was giving you a guarantee? That's right.

[21:13] He was giving you a guarantee of his love. He was giving you a guarantee of his commitment that he was going to follow through with that ask. And so in Greek culture, as a matter of fact, isn't an engagement ring an assurance or a guarantee that the promise made is going to be a promise kept?

[21:38] So it's not just something that we do as far as property is concerned. It's something that we do when we pledge our love to someone. And this is the guarantee that I'm going to follow through on this promise.

[21:53] And it's not simply a commercial one, but a personal guarantee of love. Do you realize that we are the bridegroom of Christ? Now, we know that he will come and he will claim his bride.

[22:04] Now, guys, sorry, we're called a bride. That's just the way it is. That's what Scripture calls us. And so he says, we are the bride of Christ. And just like an earthly marriage relationship, Jesus has given us that engagement ring, so to speak, the earnest, the Holy Spirit.

[22:22] And he says, I'm going to follow through. And we are going to be united one day in heaven. And we're going to enjoy each other's company forever and forever and forever.

[22:33] So we know that he'll come and he'll claim his bride because he's given us the promise of his spirit. He's given us the engagement ring of the Holy Spirit. So what greater assurance could we want?

[22:46] Now, we've looked at a number of Bible doctrines since we have been looking at Ephesians. Ephesians is full of Bible teaching, full of Bible doctrines that if we really look into them deeply, we find so many riches.

[23:04] We find so much from the book of Ephesians. So the first thing that we see is true riches come from where? Not from the bank, not from the loan company, not from big business.

[23:21] True riches come from God. He is the one that provides true riches that will last, that will never be able to be, that will never be taken away. That's a source of great encouragement to us, that this is where true riches come from.

[23:35] It's an encouragement to know that God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit are all working on our behalf. And we know that what he started, he will finish. 1 Timothy 6, 17, he's given us all things richly to enjoy.

[23:51] He gives us eternal riches. It makes all other riches meaningless. A distraught wife came to a marriage counselor one day and told her story that her marriage was about ready to dissolve.

[24:11] And she kept on saying, but we have so much. We have so much. Look at this ring. This diamond is worth thousands of dollars.

[24:21] We have a beautiful house. We have three cars. I can't believe this is happening because we have so much.

[24:33] And the counselor said, you know, it's good to have things that money can buy. But provided you don't lose the things that money cannot buy.

[24:44] You can have a house but not have a home. Or an expensive ring and have no love. So isn't that true about our lives?

[24:56] You know, there are a lot of things money can buy. But what we have in Christ, money cannot buy and money will never buy. So we have that in Jesus Christ.

[25:07] And these spiritual riches open up to us all the wealth that God has and he wants to give it to us. So when we are prone to moan and gripe about, well, you know, look at what I don't have.

[25:22] I don't have all the health that I really want. I don't have all the money that I really need. I don't have all of this. I don't have the relationships and I don't have whatever. Think about what we have in Christ.

[25:35] And the riches that we have that will never be taken away, that money cannot buy. And all of these riches, number two, come by God's grace. We don't deserve it.

[25:45] We didn't earn it. We didn't work for it. Now, there are things that we do work for. You know, we work for respect. You know, we have to earn respect from people.

[25:57] But we don't earn love from God. We don't earn salvation. We don't earn forgiveness of our sin either. Did you notice that after each of these sections, what God the Father gives, what God the Holy Spirit, Jesus the Son gives, and what the Holy Spirit gives to us, he added a purpose behind each of those gifts.

[26:23] Well, why? Why has God the Father chosen us, adopted us, and accepted us? Ephesians 1.6 says, to the praise of the glory of his grace. God did all of this for us so that he could get the glory.

[26:36] You know, he didn't just have pity on us. God saved us so he could get the glory. It's all about God. Starts with God. Ends with God. And it's all about God.

[26:47] Lest we think it's about us. It's all about God. Why has his Son redeemed us, forgave us, let us know the will of the Father, and made us an inheritance? Ephesians 1.12, that we should be to the praise of his glory.

[27:01] Jesus did what he did so God could get the praise. And why has God the Spirit sealed us? Verse 14, and became the guarantee of our future blessing.

[27:13] To the praise of his glory. So God the Father did what he did to get the glory. Jesus the Son did what he did so God the Father could get the glory. And the Holy Spirit does what the Holy Spirit does.

[27:25] So God could get the glory. So where's the glory? It should all go to our Heavenly Father. You know, we often have the idea that God saves sinners because he has pity on them.

[27:36] And yes, God loves us. But God loves us because he chose to love us. There's nothing in us that's lovable. Nothing about us. That deserves the love of God.

[27:47] God simply chose to love us. He chose to redeem us, to save us, to make us part of his family. So everyone could look and say, look how great God is. To the praise of the glory of our Heavenly Father.

[28:01] His creation reveals his wisdom and his power. But his church reveals his love and his grace. When you and I live and breathe and represent Jesus Christ, we represent the love and grace of the Father.

[28:18] So the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit's role in the salvation of mankind sealed the deal and guaranteed that God will finish what he started.

[28:36] Now, there are those who would say, well, you know, you have to be careful because, you know, if you go off on the deep end and, well, you may lose your salvation. Now, suffice it to say, the Bible says that we're sealed until when?

[28:52] Until we sin enough to lose it? We're sealed until the day of redemption, where he has made, he's paid that purchase price. Holy Spirit is the earnest and it's that engagement ring that God will complete and the bride of Christ will one day be with him in heaven.

[29:10] We can't deserve and we can't earn these spiritual riches. We can only receive them by grace through faith. So if you're listening, still listening to this this morning by way of Internet or here this morning, if you don't know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you, after this morning, have no excuse because we have heard the gospel.

[29:32] Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for our sin. If we will but simply place our faith and our trust in Jesus and what he did on the cross as being the finished payment, the full payment for your sin and mine, the Bible says it is by grace through faith that we're saved, not of ourselves.

[29:56] It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. And all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It doesn't matter what you've done.

[30:07] God loves you. Jesus Christ died for you. And salvation is available simply for asking. And we receive that gift of eternal life. It's ours for the asking.

[30:20] And it's promised that we will receive it. The Holy Spirit will seal us. And he'll be that guarantee that God will come back for us one day.

[30:32] Let us pray. Lord God, we're so very thankful for what you do in our salvation, what you have done for our salvation, and what you will continue to do until we are with you in heaven.

[30:53] So, Father, we thank you for your love for us. We thank you that you've made it possible for us to become a part of your family. We thank you that you've made it possible for our sin to be forgiven, for us to be redeemed, and for us to be a part of your family.

[31:10] Lord, we thank you. We praise you. Lord, it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[31:22] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.