August 7 - Ephesians 1:13

August 7
Ephesians 1:13

Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom  also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. 

Sin does not send a person to hell. The biblical reason for anyone not going to heaven is they don’t believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior/Messiah. Heaven is promised to those who believe, meaning they have put their eternal salvation and trust that:

• Jesus is the Son of God, and He is God
• That He died on the cross for your sins
• That God rose Him from the dead
• That He now sits on the right hand of His father God
• That one day, Jesus is coming back for you, His body, to rule and reign for an eternity.

As we continue to look at our spiritual blessings that we have in heavenly places, which we can draw on even now while we live on the earth - through, and because of Christ, the Apostle Paul tells us that when we come to trust in Christ and accept the Gospel as truth, two things happen:  1) God gives you the ability to trust in Jesus, meaning you believe in Him and His promises and what you heard is the truth. 2)  You have become sealed with the Holy Spirit as a promise from God.

That belief gave the Holy Spirit permission to take up residence within you. At that point, you become sealed until the day of your salvation, meaning your belief keeps you sealed in Christ – in your hope of salvation. The Greek word for "sealed" is sphragizo (sfrag-id'-zo); from NT:4973, meaning to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security or preservation (literally or figuratively); by implication, to keep secret, to attest.  In the Thayer's Lexicon (NT 4972) it refers to marking a person or confirm. 

Does that mean you can lose your salvation once you believe in Christ?  Absolutely, if you stop believing.  Remember, it isn't sin that brings you to heaven.  It is your belief in who Jesus, is and what He has done for you that keeps you sealed unto eternal salvation. Don't think, however, for one minute that sin doesn't play a part in developing unbelief.  Every time you sin, which all believers do, but you do not repent, your spirit becomes hardened.  You keep doing that over and over, your heart can get so hardened to where it can one day change your belief to unbelief.  It is at that point where your eternal salvation can be at risk.

Verse 14 tells us that once we believe in Jesus as God's Son, the Holy Spirit becomes the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of God's glory. In other words, the Holy Spirit is our guarantee – our seal, of our eternal inheritance with Christ because of what Christ did for us.  Christ purchased our salvation through the shedding of His blood for our sin, which gained us redemption from our sin to spend eternity with our redeemer.