Jesus says this as recorded and witness by John in chapter 14: 14:3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
Where is this place which He prepares for us? Will it's within our soul and re-birthed spirit. Because within its re-birthing God has cut away the stony heart and replaced it with a heart of receptivity to His divine activities. This all takes place within what some of the ancient mystics call the dark night and we've called our first estate wherein we've received of His Spirit or the Holy Spirit as our trainer, teacher and tutor who opens our spiritual eyes and ears to see and then hear God speak to us through His Son by way of the second passage, the cross and in the likeness of His death to sin in mans flesh or heart. Wherein He begins His intended workings of the New Covenant in His Grace and Love.
Isn't that exactly opposite of what most people think? "Hey it's got to be tougher than that." But you see it isn't. It is so simple that even a 5 year old can understand it, 90 year old people can understand it, and every body in between can understand it. But oh you see the religionist, the legalistic, and the theologians, the idolatrous which each of these are or have come out of. They don't get it and the powers that be have just loaded it all down with all these other requirements, you've got to come this way, you've got to come that way, you've got to do this, you've got to do that, but listen, this verse exposes all that. This verse says it's just as simple as ABC. That when we come as a lost sinner and we believe the truth of this Gospel then God does everything else, we don't. Now let's finish the verse, and we'll see the first thing that God does when He sees us believe this Gospel.
Ephesians 1:13b
"...ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,"
Now this word sealed, and again we're not a language expert, we're not a Greek scholar, but we know this much from our little feeble attempts of studying language that this word "sealed" goes all the way back into antiquity, where it was a mark of ownership. If a king put his seal on something, it meant it belonged to the empire. If someone bought a piece of land, they would put their seal on that title deed, it denoted ownership. This seal never lost it's meaning all the way back through Scripture, or ahead through Scripture. In fact let's turn to Jude for a moment. Here we have almost the same word, at least it comes out of the same root if we're not mistaken.
Jude 1:1
"Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:"
See nobody knows better than women who cans fruit and vegetables what that word means. That means that once that jar or can is sealed, that food is good for who knows how long. It's preserved, it's sealed. So once God has sealed us, we are not just His for a week or two, but for how long? Forever! Now we know some people don't like that, but we can't help it because the Word declares it. We are sealed forever, but we do have to make sure we get into that believing position to be sealed. So looking at verse 13 again in Ephesians.
Ephesians 1:13
"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the (this) gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,"
Not being a cattleman or rancher, we like to use the Word, "branded." When that critter is branded, there's a mark of ownership that cannot be taken away. We might be able to mark it up a little bit, but you can't take it away. And here it's the same thing, the moment we believe this Gospel the Holy Spirit made us a mark of God's ownership. Now it's interesting that in the Greek the word "Spirit" is the Pneuma. And the moment we believe we receive the "Pneuma," the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the One who has become our brand, He is the One who denotes ownership that we belong to God. Now in the short of it we've acquired the Spirit of Christ restored to us. That portion of man that Adam lost that connected him to God. How through the revelation of the Last Supper on through His ascension, we're IN Him. Once the Holy Spirit has been placed within us as God's mark of ownership, then He goes into the other part of the Spirit works, and He becomes the earnest money or the down payment of our inheritance. King David put it this way in Psalm 51:10-13 "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee."
Ephesians 1:14a
"Which is the earnest of our inheritance..."
Now in order to compare Scripture with Scripture let's compare verse 14 and 11, this is essential for good Bible study.
Ephesians 1:11a
"In whom also we have (already) obtained an inheritance,..."
Well what's the inheritance? Now that requires us to go all the way back to the Book of Romans chapter 8, and dropping down to verse 14. It says the same thing only in a little different way.
Romans 8:14
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, (the Pneuma) they are the sons (the children, born ones the God-child) of God."
It doesn't say they might be, but rather they already are. So they've already passed through the dark night or entry into faith because as we've said faith is equated to walking at night without the aid of any light. Or by way of our own senses. Now verse 15.
Romans 8:15-17a
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption (Christ), whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit (the Pneuma) itself [Himself] beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God (by way of the Last supper on through all up through His ascension): And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;..."
Now you can see why we call Romans through Galatians doctrinal ground, come back to Ephesians. So what is our inheritance? For that which is a part of the One who has purchased us and made us His own. In other words everything that belongs to Christ also belongs to us, and that's our inheritance. And it's all because we believe this Gospel. That's where it starts, then God moves in, and He seals us with that Holy Spirit of promise, at our conversion, redemption and then as a gift (the initial installment if you will) of the Holy Spirit. He gives us the inheritance as in reserve until the fullness of Christ be birthed in us. Peter says as the day star is formed in us in 2 Peter 1:19. Now the next word for that next verse is the Pneuma Hagion. The Pneuma Hagion to be translated over into English means? The power from high.
Ephesians 1:13
"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the (this) gospel of your salvation: (and remember this Gospel is that Christ died for your sins, was buried, and He rose from the dead and that we're seen by God as being in Him) in whom (Christ) also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with (or given that mark of ownership) that Holy Spirit of promise."
The Pneuma Hagion the power given a son to be a martyr or witness of Christ in the flesh. Our spiritual union to God through the ontological essence of His Son now dwelling within us. In accord with John 17. To avoid needless repetition we'll stop with that said.
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