THE BELIEVER'S WEALTH
Ephesians 1:7-14
Charles Spurgeon once told a story
of an elderly woman he was visiting in the almshouse. His attention was drawn
to a framed document on the wall of her room, and he asked her about it. She
said that years before, she had cared for an aged gentleman, and before he
died, he had written out a little note of appreciation to her followed by his
signature. He had shortly afterwards died. After much persuasion Spurgeon was
allowed to borrow the paper. When he took it to the bank, they exclaimed, “we
have been wondering to whom the gentleman left his money.” She was a wealthy
woman, but she had been living like a beggar.”
Similarly, Christ when he ascended
to heaven he left incredible riches to all those who would follow Him. Sadly,
so many of his followers today do not their inherent wealth. They live just like
that beggar woman in the almshouse. Last Sunday, as we pondered Ephesian
1:1-6, we observed God is the blessed one who pours out his blessings on his
people. In return we were to praise Him for all our spiritual blessings in
Christ, for choosing us before the foundations of the world to be holy and
blameless before God; and for predestining us to be His adopted children. T
This
morning, however, we turn to Ephesians 1:7-14, to observe the basis which makes
us possible to bless God. That basis is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself. We will also discover “The Believers Wealth in Christ.” I hope to
clarify three difficult theological terms and concepts such as: “The
redemption, the inheritance, the seal of the Holy Spirit etc.
I.
WE HAVE BEEN REDEEMED: Vs 7-8, “In him we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace, that he
lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding.” What is redemption, and
what is the basis of our redemption?
Redemption is not a common word
that we hear it often, but we may be familiar with another equivalent word,
called “Ransom.,” which means “repurchase' or 'buy back'.” A sum of money or
other payment demanded or paid for the release of a prisoner. Redemption is a
crucial theological concept in Judeo-Christian faith. The recipients in Ephesus
given their Jewish background were familiar with redemptive transactions in the
OT. For instance, when an ox gores another, a redemption price is paid as
restitution; when, after 50 years, land is to be redeemed, a price is paid as a
re-inheritance; or, when Boaz married Ruth, because she was a widow, he became
her redeemer and paid a price to her next of kin.
The
Greek word translated “redemption” occurs 10 times in the NT. Paul uses the
same language in 1Corinthians, where he wrote, “you have been bought with a
price.” In Biblical language, redemption means cost; restoration; renewal; the
beginning of an intimate relationship. Given
these definitions, redemption means, “The recalling of captives (sinners) from
captivity (sin) through the payment of a ransom for them. Who were the
captives? Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 6:23 “For
the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”
Sin
is presented as slavery and which ultimately leads to eternal death. All the
sinners therefore are slaves, a ransom must be paid in order to set the prisoners
free or buy the slaves back their freedom. That ransom was the blood of Christ
through his death on the cross. Dear brothers and sisters you and I at one
point were slaves to Sin and condemned to death.
But
thank God, in Christ we have redemption from the world of sin, through his
blood on the cross and the forgiveness of our sins. Christ has done all this
for us in accordance with his rich grace.
What should be our response to His abundant grace? We will resolve to
love, worship and serve Him all our lives here on earth and forevermore in His
eternal Kingdom.
II.
IN CHRIST WE HAVE OBTAINED AN INHERITANCE
This
inheritance, partly is a reiteration of what was written earlier in Vs 5-6, “he
predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according
to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he
has blessed us in the Beloved.” Long,
long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What
pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration
of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.” (The Message). Let’s us ponder on this rich blessing of our
inheritance.
Without Christ we were without a
family, without heritage and inheritance. Our identity was that of the orphan.
But now, in Christ we have a family, we are heirs and our inheritance is this:
that we might be to the praise of His glorious grace. Our inheritance is that
He might be glorified. In Vs 8 we read,
that he lavished on his grace with all wisdom and understanding.
Jesus gave us what we do not
deserve, therefore we can give Him back what he deserves. i.e. “High Praise.”
We will revel in giving Him the High Praise throughout eternity, but the
practice of giving praise begins each time when we gather to worship Him on the
earth. In our worship we encourage people to be free to clap, sing, lift up hands
and dance (though it is a radical idea for some of us) why? Because there is
fullness of Joy in His presence.
Worship is ought to be a celebration
of our redemption, and a time to give praise and glorify Jesus for lavishly
pouring His grace upon us the undeserving. It is also a time of remembering our
rich inheritance, that one day we will be in His presence along with the rest
of the saints and the faithful who have gone before us. But what is the
guarantee that everything will work out as He has promised according to His
will? Vs 13-14, “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the
redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
III.
WE HAVE BEEN SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
When we have heard the truth, the
good news of our salvation, the Holy Spirit has convicted us of our sins and we
have opened our hearts and believed in Christ. At that very moment something
dramatic has happened to us, God’s Holy Spirit comes in to dwell within the
believer and secures and preserves his eternal salvation. The sealing of which
Paul speaks of here refers to an official mark of identification placed on a
letter, contract or other document.
Apostle
Paul understood the power of a “seal” as he once asked the high priests for
letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so he might take those belonged to the
way as prisoners. Acts 9 There are four truths signified by the seal in the
Bible. 1. Security (Daniel 6:17, Matthew 27:66) 2. Authenticity (1 Kings
21:6-16) 3. Ownership (Jer 32:10) 4. Authority (Esther 8:8-12) Based on these
truths how can we understand that we are marked with a seal of the Holy
Spirit?
First,
it means that we are secured by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Secondly, our faith
and message are authenticated as the Spirit of God teaches and reminds us of
everything that Jesus had taught his disciples. Thirdly, we are not of our own
we are the temples of the Holy Spirit, bought by the precious blood of Jesus.
Fourth, we give an account to a higher authority
Paul
says, we are not only marked with a seal of the Holy Spirit by which our
salvation is secured, but also the Holy Spirit is given as his pledge to us for
our future inheritance. The Holy Spirit is the “down payment” the guarantee of
our glorious inheritance. He is the certainty of our redemption. He reminds us
that we have been chosen, by His grace, for His praise.
Your
head may be spinning with all these theological terms and concepts. You may be
wondering what do all these mean for me living in the 21st Century?
What am I to do with these thoughts? Whenever we read God’s word these are
always the question for us. What does the text mean? The meaning of this text
speaks to us of our new-found identity in Christ.
Let
me expand who we are in Christ. In Christ we are a new creation. In Christ we
were chosen before the foundations of the world to be Holy and blameless. We
are redeemed, we are purchased by his blood therefore we are His, that’s what
we are. In Christ, we can be grace filled people. We have an inheritance, and
we are marked with a seal of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy is given as a
guarantee for our future inheritance. All these spiritual blessings make us
super wealthy in Christ. Yet, when we are faced with struggles we forget our
true identity in Christ.
In
Christ, we are all the above and much more. In Christ we are much more than who
the world believes we are, or what we believe we are. As you go into the world this
week don’t go out thinking, “Oh poor me! No one loves me! Ever body hates me!
That is having a pity party.” Instead walk out thinking and behaving like as if
you are super wealthy in Christ. Of course, do this not with pride but with humility.
Go out and live out your new-found identity in Christ in freedom and with a
sense of dignity. As you go, do not forget to praise God for you have been
redeemed, have an inheritance and have been marked with a seal of the Holy
Spirit. Amen!
