Ephesians 1:13–14

As we move from verse 12 to verse 13 we notice a change in the pronouns, from "we" to "you." In writing, "we who were the first to hope in Christ," Paul had in mind believers gathered out of Israel, including himself. The "you" meant believers gathered from the Gentiles.

The Jews, or those who had been under Jewish teaching, had been for a while in an infant state, an Old Testament condition. But the Gentiles by faith passed straight into the full Christian blessing.

The Ephesian believers were sealed with the Holy Spirit after they believed (see Eph. 1:13). This verse gives us clearly the order that is always followed. First, they "heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation"; second, they believed it; third, they were sealed with the Spirit.

The writer well remembers an answer to this question: "After is not a question of time, but of order." Receive the gospel of your salvation, and you receive the Spirit. The second follows from the first. After the blow, the sword cut. How long after? It is simply cause and effect. The moment a man or woman receives the gospel of their salvation, God gives the seal of the Holy Spirit, claiming the believer for Himself for ever.

We now come to a word of very large meaning. It is so large that it can cover other gospel words such as justification, redemption, reconciliation… So in Ephesians 1:13, that one word sums up the whole deliverance that has reached us, in all its parts.

The Holy Spirit given to dwell in believers is Himself the seal. By Him God marks them out, takes possession of them as His own, and declares them to be His property… But the figure is that of a seal. A seal did not only show ownership by the mark stamped on it. It was also put on for protection. So believers are said to be sealed until the day of redemption. The seal keeps them safe until the Lord returns to receive them to Himself.

God claims the whole believer — body, soul and spirit. Even the body that dies He will claim and change at the coming of the Lord Jesus.

He is called "the Spirit of promise," probably because He is "the promise of the Father, which," says Christ, "you have heard of me." He is also the pledge of the coming inheritance — not a part of it, which would take from His glory.

He is sealed with the Holy Spirit as a believer not only in Christ, but in the gospel of our salvation — the work that Christ has done… This explains why there were people born of the Holy Spirit who were never sealed. The Old Testament believers, for instance, all looked for Christ. All were born of God, but not one was sealed with the Holy Spirit.

Notice the importance of the words "in Him," found twice in this verse. Their trust was not simply in the gospel, but in the person of Christ, of whom the gospel speaks… It is not a matter of having entered more into the truth of the work of Christ in redemption, but simply of believing in Him personally. The simplest believer therefore shares in the sealing of the Spirit.

'Earnest' is an old word for deposit, down payment, or guarantee. When a buyer of a house pays the deposit you know he intends to pay the balance. In this sense, the Holy Spirit is called 'the earnest of our inheritance' (Eph. 1:14; 2 Cor. 5:5): God has already given us His Spirit, so He will also give us the future inheritance — to share in Christ's universal dominion (Eph. 1:10, 22, 23). This is why it continues to say: 'to the redemption of the acquired possession' (v. 14). It is a future redemption. The inheritance is already ours, but it still needs to be 'redeemed'. It is like a cheque you already hold: the bank only pays it when you hand it in.

Scripture does not say that the Holy Spirit gives the earnest of our inheritance. It says that He is Himself the earnest of our inheritance. He is the guarantee that when the appointed time comes we will have the inheritance with Christ.

The Holy Spirit is given to us as an earnest of the inheritance, but He is never said to be the earnest of God's love. The earnest of His love would imply that I only get a little of His love now, and am to have a great deal more when in heaven. The love of God fully rests on the believer already. "The love with which You loved Me" — is this an "earnest"? Is it not the fullness of His love?

No, we are the heirs, heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ; and there is no possibility of confusing the heirs and the inheritance... The earnest is not for the inheritance, but for the heirs, as anyone can see. We have received nothing of the inheritance yet. Christ has not received it. He has purchased it with His blood, but power has yet to redeem that purchased possession... What must be the glory of the inheritance of which the Holy Spirit is the earnest!

In Ephesians 1:14 however the point is different. What He has purchased by His death He will in the end redeem by His power from every force set against Him. This is the difference between redemption by blood and redemption by power.

"The redemption of the purchased possession" looks forward. It points to the time when Christ will take possession of everything He bought. Then creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay. The first stage is the changing of our bodies into His image at His coming.

This is what we wait for. We wait not only for the coming of Christ, the resurrection of our bodies, and our being glorified together with Him. We wait also for the time when, as joint-heirs with Him, we will enter with Him on all that scene of dominion, blessedness, and glory which He won through His death... No wonder we are told that this final result is to the praise of God's glory! Our present acceptance in the Beloved is to the praise of the glory of His grace. Our share with Christ in His inheritance will be to the praise of His glory.