Ephesians 1:13-14 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
In verse twelve we are told that the Father first trusted in Christ. The word rendered as “trusted” in that verse is defined in Strong’s as “to hope in advance of other confirmation.” The Father trusted the work of the Son in bringing about our deliverance before He ever created this world or any of its creatures.
Paul tells us here that we also trust in Christ. However, our trust is not the same as the Father’s trust was. He trusted before He spoke the world into existence. Our trust begins after we hear the word of truth. We do not trust until we have been taught the gospel of our salvation. We cannot hear the gospel of our salvation until we have been given spiritual life by the power of God through the Holy Spirit.
We are quickened by the Holy Spirit then blessed to hear the gospel of our salvation in Jesus Christ. Being moved to trust the saving work of Jesus in our lives, we are sealed by that same Holy Spirit of promise. God places His private mark upon us, signifying that we belong to Him and that nothing will separate us from Him. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the fulfillment of Jesus’s promise that if He departed He would send us the Comforter (Joh 16:7).
This is the pledge of our inheritance. We receive this portion now as surety of all that awaits us later. This pledge (earnest) is ours until the redemption of the purchased possession. We are His purchased possession, paid for by His blood (1Pe 1:19). Notice that we are already purchased. Our redemption is sure, but we have not yet come into the fullness of it. God, in His loving mercy, has provided us an earnest to be comforted by and rejoice in until our full redemption has come when we no longer need this tabernacle of clay.
God has accomplished all of this on our behalf. This wondrous work of deliverance and the joy of it here is all according to His purpose. Once we have come to this understanding of God’s amazing grace, it kindles in us a desire to praise Him. All that He has done causes us to praise His glory. His perfect work and will cause praising Him to be one of our chief joys in life.
May we be always ready to praise His glory for the revelation of the marvelous work He has wrought in us through Jesus!