Ephesians 1:11-14

INTRODUCTION

Through the years I've had many conversations with young and old alike who face life with a foreboding sense of unfulfillment. They wonder if life has the potential to be wonderful and exciting. Ephesians 1:11-14 speaks to that issue. Life can be meaningful and fulfilling because of the promises God has for those who are in Christ.

A. The Integrity of God's Promises

It is easy to be cynical whenever someone makes a promise. We've all known people who made promises and didn't keep them--and we've all made promises we didn't keep. Our society is full of promises, albeit broken promises. Governments make promises and break them. Advertisers make promises and break them. Preachers make promises and break them. Husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, moms, dads, uncles, aunts, friends, and enemies make promises and break them.

But there is One who makes promises and never breaks them.

1. 2 Peter 3:9--"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise."

2. Titus 1:2--"God ... cannot lie."

3. Hebrews 10:23--"He who promised is faithful" (NIV).

4. Romans 4:21--"What he had promised, he was able also to perform."

B. The Identification of God's Promises

1. The double meaning of our inheritance

Ephesians 1:11 begins, "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance." The Greek verb translated "have obtained" is in the past tense. There are two possible translations that result in two different meanings.

a) We are Christ's inheritance

The passive verb could be translated, "In whom we were made an inheritance." That would mean we are Christ's inheritance--He inherited us. Even if that is not what Paul intended this verse to mean, it still is a true statement.

(1) Presented by the Father

Jesus said, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me" (John 6:37). We are a gift from the Father to the Son. That's the sense in which we are His inheritance. Malachi 3:17 says, "They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels."

God granted the church to His Son as a reward for His faithfulness. Because of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, "God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow" (Phil. 2:9-10). God not only exalted Jesus because of His work on the cross, but also gave Him the spoils of His victory: us.

If you're struggling with a lack of self-worth, remember that you were important enough for God to give you to Jesus as an inheritance. You're a love gift from the Father to the Son.

(2) Purchased by Christ

Christ bought us at the cross.

(a) 1 Corinthians 6:19-20--Paul said to the Corinthians, "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price."

(b) Acts 20:28--Paul told the Ephesian elders, "He hath purchased [the church of God] with his own blood."

b) Christ is our inheritance

The King James Version translates Ephesians 1:11, "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance." So the passive verb can mean that we have received Christ as an inheritance. In one sense we are His inheritance; in another sense He is our inheritance. No matter which translation is appropriate to the exegesis of Ephesians 1:11, we know both are true because of what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:21-23: "All things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours, and ye are Christ's." First he said all things are ours, then he said we are Christ's. We inherit everything, and He inherits us.

Are People Seeing Less of You and More of Christ?

First Corinthians 6:17 says, "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." When you became a Christian you became one with Jesus Christ. In a sense you lose your identity because the Christian's identity is Christ. In Philippians 1:21 Paul says, "To me to live is Christ." That was his identity.

As Christians we are to be living examples of Christ to the world. We are to love like He loved, help like He helped, care like He cared, and share like He shared. God didn't put us in the world to take advantage of others; we're to serve others. So when a true Christian lives the way he ought to live, the world will see the reality of Christ in his life.

In the context of Ephesians 1, I believe Paul is emphasizing that Christ is our inheritance because he has been discussing the things God has given us (vv. 3-10).

2. The description of our inheritance

First Peter 1:4 says that because you were begotten in Christ, you have "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you." Part of your inheritance is appropriated the moment you become a Christian, although the fulfillment of it is yet future.

Ours is a limitless inheritance. Second Peter 1:4 says we have been given "exceedingly great and precious promises." Second Corinthians 1:20 says, "All the promises of God in him [Christ] are yea, and in him Amen." All God's promises were made in behalf of those who belong to Christ.

Whatever you might be looking for, you can be sure God promised it. God has promised believers peace, love, grace, wisdom, eternal life, joy, victory, strength, guidance, provision for all our needs, power, knowledge, mercy, forgiveness, righteousness, gifts of the Spirit, fellowship with the Trinity, instruction from the Word, truth, spiritual discernment, and eternal riches, to name a few. When we became Christians we were made one with Jesus Christ. Therefore we receive everything the Father gives Him. Paul said we were made "heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:17).

REVIEW

In Ephesians 1:3-14 Paul praises God for the wonderful promises He has made to us through Jesus Christ.

I. THE ELEMENTS OF THE BLESSING (v. 3)

II. THE ETERNAL FORMATION OF THE BODY (vv. 4-14)

A. In the Past--Election (vv. 4-6a)

B. In the Present--Redemption (vv. 6b-10)

LESSON

C. In the Future--Inheritance (vv. 11-14)

There are three things I want you to see in this text: the ground of our inheritance, the guarantee of our inheritance, and the goal of our inheritance.

1. The ground of our inheritance (vv. 11-13a)

a) The fact of our union with Christ (v. 11a)

"In whom [Christ] also we have obtained an inheritance."

The ground of our inheritance is Christ. There's no way to receive anything God has to offer apart from Christ. Acts 4:12 says, "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Our inheritance comes from being one with Christ. In fact Ephesians 1:3 says we are blessed because we are in Christ.

This concept of our union with Christ is seen vividly in Romans 6:3-5. Paul said, "Know ye not that, as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death, that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." When you became a Christian, in a sense you were transported back in time and nailed to the cross of Christ, buried with Him, and risen with Him. Now you are one with Christ forever. When you died with Him your sins were paid for. When you rose with Him you were enabled to live a new life. Now that you are one with Him you receive all the inheritance God could ever give His beloved Son.

Ultimately the wonder of all wonders is that someday when when Jesus appears, we will be like Him (1 John 3:2). Romans 8:29 says God predestined us "to be conformed to the image of his Son." It's not that God loves us just enough to bring us into His family; He loves so much that He makes us like His Son.

b) The cause of our union with Christ (vv. 11b-13a)

(1) From the divine perspective (vv. 11b-12a)

(a) Predetermination (v. 11b)

"Being predestinated according to the purpose of him."

God predetermined that we would obtain an inheritance in Christ. Ephesians 1:4 says, "He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world." That concept boggles my mind. I'll never understand why God would choose an inadequate, useless sinner like myself. But He predestinated each one of us according to His own purpose. The Greek word translated "predestinated" (proorizo) means, "to mark out the boundaries." God planned out the salvation of each believer.

(b) Power (v. 11c)

"Who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."

The Greek word translated "worketh" (energeo) is the origin for the English words energetic, energize, and energy. Whatever God plans, He energizes. He created the world simply by desiring to do so. Whatever He thinks is energized into reality because He is all powerful.

Since God in His grace chose us to be a part of His plan for eternity, He surely will bring it to pass. Paul said to be "confident of this very thing, that he who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6). What God starts He finishes.

Notice the use of energeo in Ephesians 1:19-20: "According to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought [energeo, "energized"] in Christ, when he raised him from the dead." God is so powerful that He raised Christ from the dead.

Whatever God plans He brings to completion. That's the thought behind Paul's series of rhetorical questions in Romans 8:22-34: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?, Who is he that condemneth?, and Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? The implied answer: no one. When God plans to do something, it's irrevocable. Ours is a secure hope!

(c) Preeminence (v. 12a)

"We should be to the praise of his glory."

Here we see salvation from God's perspective. It insures that He receives the glory He deserves. People who don't understand why God desires praise and glory for Himself don't understand His pure and holy right to it. As sinful creatures we seek glory for the wrong reasons. When others seek it we assume they have wrong motives themselves. But we shouldn't project those motives onto God. He seeks glory for the only legitimate reason: He completely deserves it.

So far we have looked at only one side of predestination: God's side. But what about the human side?

(2) From the human perspective (vv. 12b-13a)

"Who first trusted [hoped] in Christ; in whom ye also trusted, after ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also after ye believed."

The human perspective of our divine inheritance is that we had to place our hope in Jesus Christ--we needed to believe. From God's perspective we've been predestinated; from our perspective we had the faith to believe.

(a) The unresolved question

How can predestination and personal faith both exist at the same time? I don't know. Throughout Scripture there is tension between God's sovereignty and man's will. And it is a tension we are incapable of reconciling completely. But it is our responsibility to believe both truths without reservation, just as they are revealed. We know those truths are in perfect harmony in God's mind, and that should satisfy us.

Someone pictured the divine and human sides of salvation this way: When you look up to heaven you see a sign that reads, "Whosoever will may come." But as soon as you enter heaven and pass by the sign, the back of it reads, "Chosen in Him before the foundation of the world." You need not try to resolve such seemingly irreconcilable truths, just thank and praise God for them. Your responsibility is to respond in faith, knowing that they are harmonized in God's mind.

(b) The ultimate response

While it is true that the believer is predestinated, he must also respond to the gospel. That's why verse 13 says you hoped in Christ "after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-- having also believed" (NASB). We must respond in faith and believe.

Romans 10:17 says, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Faith is our response to God's elective purpose. When we believe we confirm God's elective purpose. Believing is our part. We are not required to perform spiritual gymnastics or rituals to be saved. Romans 10:10 says, "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." The apostle John said, "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12). More than anything else God hates a system of religion that teaches people they can earn their way to heaven.

The Counterfeit Christian Confusion

Many people today identify themselves as "born-again" Christians, but habitually manifest characteristics that are not Christian. The result is they confuse the world about what Christianity really is. One of the main confusions is people who claim to be Christian yet believe they'll get to heaven on the basis of their good deeds. A true Christian is not in the process of trying to earn his way into heaven because he knows he can't. Paul said, "By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified" (Rom. 3:20). There is only one way to heaven, and that's through faith in Christ. The true Christian simply believes in Christ for his salvation. His good works are the outworkings of his faith (Eph. 2:8-10).

2. The guarantee of our inheritance (vv. 13b-14a)

"Ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, who is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession."

How do we know that Christ is our inheritance? What is the guarantee that once we jump into Christianity with both feet that we won't discover that it's a dead end? The Holy Spirit. God has provided a guarantee because He knows we need to have confidence in our salvation.

We have not yet been totally redeemed. We have been redeemed spiritually, but we await the redemption of our bodies (Rom. 8:23). We haven't received our full inheritance because we're not in heaven yet. But we know it will happen because we "were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the earnest of our inheritance" (Eph. 1:13-14). The Spirit is the guarantee that "the redemption of the purchased possession" will indeed happen.

When we became Christians, God gave each of us the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 says, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his [Christ's]." Paul said, "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 6:19). When you became a Christian, God took up residence in your life. That's why you have a new life. The Spirit of God indwells you not only to equip you for ministry, but also to guarantee your inheritance. Romans 8:14 says, "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Verse 16 says, "The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God."

a) The seal (v. 13b)

"Ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise."

What does it mean to be sealed? In Paul's day an official document would be sealed with wax. An impression would be made in the hot wax with the signet ring of the king or another official. The seal would signify that the document was official.

The Spirit of God is our seal. Let's look at four things that the seal of the Spirit signifies.

(1) A sign of security

In Daniel 6:6-7 praying to God was forbidden for thirty days. But Daniel prayed to God anyway and was discovered by the king's men (vv. 10-11). Verse 16 says, "Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spoke and said unto Daniel, Thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee." The king didn't want to put Daniel in the lions' den, but he had been conned into signing the document by his officials. Verse 17 says, "A stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords, that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel." Anyone who saw the king's seal knew he dare not open the den because the highest authority in the land had sealed it.

When Christ was buried in a tomb, the Roman guard rolled a stone across the opening and then sealed it with the seal of Rome (Matt. 27:66). That meant no one was to open the seal unless it was a power greater than Rome. And a power greater than Rome broke the seal: the power of God.

When you became a Christian, God put His Holy Spirit in you. He stamped us with His signet ring, thus declaring us secure. No one can ever touch our lives unless he is a higher authority than Almighty God, and there is no such authority.

(2) A sign of authenticity

When God gave us His Holy Spirit, He declared us to be authentic children of the King. The only authentic Christian is one who possesses the Holy Spirit.

(3) A sign of a completed transaction

Jeremiah was a faithful prophet who did what God asked. One of the things God asked him to do was buy a piece of property (Jer. 32:7). After Jeremiah bought the field, he sealed the transaction (v. 14). Similarly, when you put your faith in Jesus Christ God gave you the Holy Spirit and that finished the transaction.

(4) A sign of authority

When God gave us the Holy Spirit, we were enabled to speak from God's Word with authority (cf. John 16:23).

When God gave you the Holy Spirit, He gave you the only guarantee you'll ever need.

b) The guarantee (v. 14a)

"[The Holy Spirit] is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession."

The Greek word translated "earnest" (arrabon) means "down payment." Just so we know that the promises God has given us are legitimate, He gives us the Holy Spirit as a down payment on those promises. That's how we know He won't renege on the rest of His promises.

A form of arrabon also came to be used for an engagement ring. The Bible tells us that one day there will be a marriage supper where Christ is the Bridegroom and the church is the bride (Rev. 19:7-10). We know the wedding will take place because He gave the church an engagement ring--a symbol of commitment. The Holy Spirit is that engagement ring. He represents God's commitment and investment in us. So that we'll know His inheritance is laid up for us, He has given us a down payment: the Spirit of promise. The Spirit continually reminds us that we are children of God and will one day see the fulfillment of God's promises.

3. The goal of our inheritance (v. 14b)

"Unto the praise of his glory."

God wants to be glorified through you. He didn't make you a Christian for your own glory. The moment you seek to exalt yourself as an authority is the moment you enter competition with the eternal God. That kind of competition can have only one winner, and it won't be you! We're to be God's servants.

I am humbled by God's grace in my life. What He has done for me is to the praise of His glory. My only desire is to lift up Jesus Christ. My heart is filled with praise for One who would be so gracious to such a sinner as myself. I hope it is your desire to be to the praise of His glory.

Focusing on the Facts

1. Why are the promises of God more believable than the promises of men? Support your answer with Scripture.

2. What are two possible translations of Ephesians 1:11? Explain each one. Which one is more appropriate to the context of Ephesians 1?

3. What is our inheritance? Is it strictly future? Explain.

4. What is the ground of the believer's inheritance?

5. What major truth did Paul teach in Romans 6:3-5? What are some of the results of that truth?

6. From the divine perspective, how did we obtain our heavenly inheritance?

7. How is God's power connected to His predetermined plans?

8. According to Ephesians 1:19-20, what did God's power do?

9. Why is salvation presented from God's perspective (Eph. 1:12)?

10. From the human perspective, how did we obtain our divine inheritance?

11. How can we resolve the conflict between the human and divine perspectives on salvation?

12. If we are predestined, must we respond to the gospel? Why?

13. What is our guarantee that we will receive our inheritance (Eph. 1:13-14)?

14. What is significant about being sealed with the Holy Spirit? How do each of the four characteristics of a seal apply to a Christian?

15. What does the Greek word translated "earnest" mean?

16. What is the goal of our inheritance?

Pondering the Principles

1. How many of the promises of God are ours (2 Cor. 1:20)? Why is it important to know what God has promised us? Write down as many of the promises you can remember that God has given us. Keep that list, and as you read your Bible for devotions or study, record additional promises you come across. Whenever you feel sad, pull out your list as an encouragement and thank God for what He has promised to give you.

2. Reread the section on the goal of our inheritance (see p. 10), and ask yourself this question: Do you exalt yourself over God? You may not do so in an overt way, but it is very easy to forget God as you make your plans for the day. Seek to live each moment for God--to involve Him in everything you do each day. Every moment you do that it will be "unto the praise of his glory."