Ephesians 1 Part 8 (5-15-05)

Ephesians 1:14
(Bible Study Time 5-15-05)

The book of Ephesians, Chapter 1, reveals some of the spiritual blessings that believers of our present age experience in Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul says that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings, and he says that we who first trusted in Christ have obtained this inheritance, that we should be to the praise of God’s glory.

As members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, we are among those who first trusted in Christ. This description sets us apart from those who will put their trust in Christ during the tribulation period. The entire nation of Israel and many others as well will be saved during the tribulation period.

But during that time of tribulation, God will send strong delusion upon the majority of mankind so that they will believe the lie of Satan. The antichrist will proclaim himself to be God as he sits in the temple of God.

However, in spite of all this evil that will take place during the tribulation period, God is already working out His glorious plan to reconcile all things to Christ, whether things in heaven or things on earth. But we are among those who first trusted in Christ. We today have been set apart from those who will be reconciled to God in the ages to come.

Paul says that believers today have redemption though the blood of Christ, even the forgiveness of sins. However, he is very clear that our redemption will not be complete until we receive our new immortal bodies from God. Colossians 3 says:

Colossians 3:4 (NKJ)
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Philippians 3 says:

Philippians 3:20-21 (NKJ)
20 . . . our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

We have assurance that this will take place before the tribulation period because when Paul told Timothy about the perilous last days of our present age, he said nothing about the antichrist, the abomination of desolation, or anything else that relates to the tribulation period. He said only that:

2 Timothy 3:13 (NKJ)
13 . . . evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

And this gives us a clear signal that the evils of the tribulation period will not take place until after the members of the Church, the Body of Christ, are taken up to be with Christ in the glory of heaven.

In Ephesians 1, Paul uses a beautiful expression as he speaks of the rapture if the Church. In verse 14, he refers to the rapture as the redemption of the purchased possession. Paul told the Corinthians in I Corinthians 6:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJ)
19 . . . do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

We were slaves to sin and slaves of Satan, himself, but Jesus Christ paid the price for our freedom. He bought us for Himself, and then He set us free. He gave us the Holy Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.

In Ephesians 1, Paul says that the Holy Spirit within us is the guarantee that someday God will complete the redemption that was purchased at the cross. When you purchase a house, you usually put some earnest money down as the guarantee that you will at a later time complete the transaction.

Well, God already has our reward, our inheritance, waiting for us, and He has given us the Holy Spirit as the guarantee that the transaction will be completed someday. When Jesus Christ catches us up to be with Him in glory, then He will have redeemed His purchased possession.

When you buy a house and you put down your earnest money, the seller is going to want something substantial, something real, to show the validity of your intentions, and when God gave us the Holy Spirit to live within us, He gave us verifiable, internal proof that He will someday complete the redemption that He has already begun in our lives.

When Jesus Christ comes into our hearts, the old man is crucified with Christ, and the new man is generated by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul draws a sharp contrast between the old man and the new man in Ephesians 4. Beginning at verse 17 we read:

Ephesians 4:17-32 (NKJ)
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart;
19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ,
21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another.
26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27 nor give place to the devil.
28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

The new man is a beautiful creation of Jesus Christ, and we are going to look at each of these aspects of the new man in detail in a few weeks, but for now I think we can see the tremendous transformation that takes place in the heart of the believer when the Holy Spirit has the freedom to work.

God has given each person freedom of choice, and as a result, the Holy Spirit will not enter into a person’s life until He is invited to enter. He can draw people to Christ. He can convict people of their sin. But he will not dwell within the heart of a person unless He is invited in.

If you are listening today and have never invited Christ into your life to teach you, direct you and to protect you, won’t you invited Him in today? Salvation is just that simple. Ask and ye shall receive.

However, even after we receive the Holy Spirit, we still have the temptations of the flesh to deal with because we still have a body of flesh. We must guard against anything that would hinder our fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

Ananias tried to lie to the Holy Spirit in Acts, Chapter 5, and he was struck dead. Stephen told the members of the Sanhedrin in Acts, Chapter 7, that they were resisting the Holy Spirit even as their fathers had done. As we read a few moments ago, Paul tells us in Ephesians 4 not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

God has given us the Bible as the very word of God to strengthen us in the Holy Spirit. Paul said:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJ)
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The Holy Spirit wrote the Bible, and the Holy Spirit uses the Bible to provide all that we need to live a victorious life in Jesus Christ. When we see the Holy Spirit at work in our hearts, this is the guarantee that our inheritance in Jesus Christ is certain. Paul calls the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit of promise, and the promise of our inheritance is that someday we will no longer have to deal with a body of flesh. We are going to be given a glorious body like that of the Lord Jesus when He redeems His purchased possession.

Notice that the Holy Spirit is not only the guarantee of the promise, but the Holy Spirit sets His seal upon our lives. When the President of the United States puts his seal upon a document, that seal gives the words of that document authority. The seal is the proof that the words are the words of the president.

The Church which is the Body of Christ is the purchased possession of God, and God sets His seal upon us to show that we belong to Him and to bestow upon us the power and the authority that we need to carry out the work that God has given us to do. In Luke 24, just before the Lord Jesus ascended up into heaven, He told His disciples:

Luke 24:49 (NKJ)
49 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

The Holy Spirit gave the disciples the ability to speak with authority on God’s behalf. When the disciples spoke in tongues on the Day of Pentecost, Peter spoke boldly and said, "This is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel." Then Peter went on to quote verse after verse from Joel, Chapter 2 as well as from the Psalms.

When God sets His seal upon us, He gives us the power and the authority to speak for Him. The power and authority of the disciples was made evident by miracles, wonders and signs. Today, however, grace is the mark of the Holy Spirit. As we saw in Ephesians 4, Paul said:

Ephesians 4:29 (NKJ)
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

Colossians 4 says:

Colossians 4:6 (NKJ)
6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

When we speak with the authority of the Holy Spirit, we should not speak so much with a dogmatic tone, but our speech should reveal the grace of God. We speak the truth, but we speak it in love. Our speech shows the tenderness and true concern of Christ. II Corinthians 2 puts it this way:

2 Corinthians 2:14-17 (NKJ)
14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?
17 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

What a privilege it is to represent Christ and bear the fragrance of Christ as we speak the truth in love.

Well, I see our time is gone. Thank you for listening to Bible Study Time this morning, and be sure to tune in again next week at this same time.

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

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