Ephesians 1 Part 9 (5-22-05)

Ephesians 1 Part 9
(Bible Study Time 5-22-05)

According to Ephesians, Chapter 1, the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance in Jesus Christ. When we witness the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, we have assurance that our inheritance is secure. However, we must realize that the changes we see here and now are but a glimpse of the total glory which we will someday experience.

When Christ who is our life appears, then we also will appear with Him in glory. But even now, our citizenship is in heaven from whence we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that is may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself.

Because this inheritance is guaranteed, we can say with full assurance that we have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 3:16 (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The Holy Spirit is God’s seal of acceptance upon our lives. Manufacturers in our country often work hard to earn the seal of approval which independent researchers offer. The American Dental Association has a seal of acceptance which is placed upon certain products which have been tested and approved. Only those products which have passed the test are given their seal of approval.

Well, God has placed His seal of approval upon us. We are accepted in the beloved. He was tested in every way. According to the book of Hebrews, Jesus Christ can sympathize with our weaknesses because He was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Christ was tested in the wilderness by the devil. He had had no food for forty days and forty nights when the devil came to him and said, "If thou be the son of God, command that these stones be made bread." Jesus quoted the scriptures and said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

The devil took Jesus up to the top of the temple and said, "Cast yourself down, and angels will lift you up." Jesus passed the test and said, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."

When the devil offered Jesus all of the kingdoms of this world if He would but bow down and worship the devil, the Lord Jesus remained faithful to the word of God and said, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve."

Later, the Lord Jesus was repeatedly tested by the scribes and the Pharisees. The Bible says that the Pharisees plotted to entangle Jesus in His words. They asked, "Is it lawful to pay taxes?" Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar those things which are Caesar’s."

They asked, "If a woman is married to seven brothers, whose wife will she be in the resurrection?" Jesus said, "In the resurrection there is neither marrying nor giving in marriage."

They asked, "Which is the greatest commandment of the law?" Jesus answered plainly, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, soul and mind, and the second greatest commandment is, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself’."

Jesus Christ was the spotless Lamb of God, who came to take away the sin of the world. He was tested and tried in all points such as we are, yet without sin.

God placed His seal of approval upon the Lord Jesus. At the time of Jesus’ baptism and on the Mount of Transfiguration, God spoke from heaven and said, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."

While Jesus was dying upon the cross, He cried out, "My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me?" But this time the heavens were silent. There was no voice from heaven to comfort and console, for God had turned His back on His only begotten Son. The Bible says that Jesus cried out again, with a loud voice, but again the heavens were silent, and Jesus yielded up His spirit.

They took his body and laid it in a grave, but the grave could not hold Him. On the third day Jesus came back from the dead and was taken up into heaven where He was glorified and exalted. He was given a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. And we who believe are accepted in Him and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

There is no indication that God would ever, under any circumstance, take away the Holy Spirit from those who believe. There is no indication that God would take away the salvation which He has given to us. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.

God knows the end from the beginning, and there is nothing that takes Him by surprise. He planned our salvation in consultation with all the members of the Godhead before the foundation of the world. Therefore, it is inconceivable that God would grant salvation one day only to take it away the next.

In Galatians, Chapter 3, Paul answers those who theorize that salvation must be maintained by good works even after we are saved by faith. In verse 2 we read:

Galatians 3:2-3 (NKJ)
2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

Paul was reminding the Jewish believers that they had kept the law for years and years, but they did not receive salvation until they put their faith in Jesus Christ. They kept the law faithfully, but they were lost in their sins until they experienced the power of faith in Christ.

Then Paul reminded them that when they got saved, the Holy Spirit gave evidence of that salvation by means of miracles, wonders and signs. People spoke in tongues. People were healed of their diseases. Demons were cast out. Paul asked, "Did these things ever happen to you as a result of keeping the law? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?" Paul said in Galatians 2:

Galatians 2:18-20 (NKJ)
18 "For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
19 "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.

Galatians 2:21 (NKJ)
21 "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."

If God were to take away our salvation as a result of sin, then our salvation would be dependent upon our own good works, and we would find ourselves under the same curse as those who were under the law, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

If keeping my salvation depends upon my own goods works, then I will either live in doubt and fear of losing my salvation, or I will learn to disregard my sin as a spirit of self righteousness grows within my heart.

Since living in constant doubt and fear is too painful to endure, many learn that self righteousness is more tolerable. They may convince themselves that they are good enough as they compare themselves to others by the standards of society. But God does not think the way society thinks. He said:

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJ)
8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," . . .
9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

The essence of self righteousness is pride. Therefore, as self righteousness grows, pride also grows. What a paradox! The better we think we are the worse we really are. Proverbs 6 lists even a proud look as one of the seven things that God hates.

The Pharisees stand as the supreme example of those who were self righteous. They wrongfully accused an innocent man. They paid for perjured testimony in the trial, and on the basis of that testimony they executed the man. But, somehow, they thought they were innocent before God. Jesus knew their hearts and said, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."

Our only hope of living a life that is pleasing to God is to humble ourselves before the Lord and ask for His help. If we seek we will find. Psalm 34 says:

Psalm 34:18 (NKJ)
18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.

Psalm 51 says:

Psalm 51:15-17 (NKJ)
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; you do not delight in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart__ these, O God, You will not despise.

Isaiah said:

Isaiah 66:1-2 (NKJ)
1 Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool . . .
2 "But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.

The Lord Jesus had harsh words for the Pharisees. He said:

Matthew 23:13-15 (NKJ)
13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
14 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector who both went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee said, "God, I thank You that I am not like other men-- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.

The tax collector, on the other hand, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but he said, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!"

Then Jesus said of the tax collector, "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

We are saved by God’s grace and accepted in the Beloved. We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, and by God’s grace He will keep us safe and secure in Jesus Christ until the day when God catches us up to be with Him in the glory of heaven.

If you are listening today, and you find yourself plagued with fears and doubts about where you will spend eternity, you can trust what God has said in His word. Jesus Christ died for your sins, and those who put their faith in Him are given eternal life.

You do not have to worry that God will take your salvation away. Jesus said:

John 10:27-29 (NKJ)
27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.

If you are listening today, and you find yourself thinking that God will accept you because you live a pretty good life, I would ask you to seriously consider your relationship with God. If you have never accepted Christ, humble yourself before the Lord and accept Christ as your Savior. Jesus Christ will enter into your life and fill your life with blessings.

If you have already trusted Christ but have continued to live with a determination to do good deeds so that you will be guaranteed a place in heaven, that is the sin of pride. Humble yourself before the Lord, confess your sin and God will give you the assurance that you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit until the redemption of the purchased possession at the rapture of the Church.

Psalm 34:18 (NKJ)
18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.

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