Ephesians 1:12-14

 "God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him." Ephesians 1:12-14 (New Living Translation)

I made a choice to believe in Jesus when I was six years old. Several years later, I remember sitting in a church service and the preacher talking about losing your salvation. Now, I was young, and maybe my little heart misunderstood the gist of his message. However, for years I would waiver wondering if I was indeed saved. We don’t have to wonder though. Ephesians 1:13 says that when we believe in Jesus, He identifies us by giving us the Holy Spirit. It’s our guarantee that He has purchased us as His own people. I wish that my little heart would have understood this truth. It would have saved me a lot of doubt had I understood that His Spirit within me sealed me as His. I could do nothing to earn it, and I can do nothing to lose it.

The Holy Spirit within me also guarantees that I will receive the inheritance He promised. An inheritance can consist of many things. It can be money, property, or any other type of material possession. In Biblical times, an inheritance was typically land. What exactly is the inheritance that has been promised to those who believe in Jesus? For starters, He is our inheritance. Psalm 16:5-6 says, “Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!” (New Living Translation). We get to fellowship with Him for eternity. We get to continually be in His presence and reign with Him. We will no longer be separated from Him by the confines of this world. He will one day create a new heaven, and a new earth. Revelation 21 says, “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:3-4, NLT) This is our inheritance. He has given us right standing with Him, and He has given us His glory. (Romans 8:30).

And unlike the material possessions we are often given in this world, this inheritance will never spoil, or fade away. My dad gave me many things while he was alive. It delighted him to buy things for me. He would often hide hundred dollar bills in my purse or somewhere in my house when he came to visit. It made him happy. However, of all the things he gave me, his best gift to me was his faith. He lived a life that pointed me to Christ. He showed me how to walk with God daily. And even as he battled cancer, and life ebbed from his body, he trusted. He truly showed me how to live, and how to die. It was the greatest gift he could have given me. It was an inheritance that can’t be taken from me. God has given you an inheritance. It is an inheritance that will never perish and never end. This is our hope when life gets hard. This world is not our home. The things of this world will never satisfy us. In the words of C.S. Lewis, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world will satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

Truth to Remember:

Believers in Jesus have been marked with the Holy Spirit. This is a seal guaranteeing our inheritance in Him. This world is not our home. Our inheritance is to bear the glory of God, and reign with Jesus for eternity.