People come to earthly inheritances either by heirship, gift, or purchase. Any who are heirs can tell you how they came into their estate, and by what right they have their inheritance. How is it that the Lord’s children have come by their inheritance of salvation and eternal glory?
1. It is theirs by PURCHASE. It is not the child of God who has purchased it, but rather the LORD Jesus Christ, their elder Brother. He paid the price in full, and therefore it is called ‘the purchased inheritance,’ Ephesians 1:14.
2. It is theirs as a GIFT. In Luke 12:32, our Lord told His disciples, ‘it is your Father’s good pleasure to GIVE you the kingdom.
3. It is theirs by HEIRSHIP. It is not by natural birth, but rather spiritual birth. Because the LORD Jesus Christ paid the price by His shed blood, and God imputed righteousness to their spiritual account, once for all, upon completion of His death, the Spirit of adoption has been given to them, whereby they cry -‘Abba, Father,’ Romans 8:15.
4. It is theirs by FAITH. It is not faith that procures it, but receives it, by the grace of God, and embraces it as already accomplished by the LORD Jesus Christ. Faith enjoys the comfort of what Christ accomplished. ‘Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved (that righteousness worked out, established and imputed at Calvary), let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, (that which God-given faith produces).
5. It is assured by the SPIRIT. The Spirit of God is the earnest of this inheritance, Ephesians 1:14. The meaning of an earnest is a 'pledge' or 'part of the full purchase money – or property – given in advance as a guarantee that the full amount will indeed be paid.' Today we would say 'deposit' or 'down-payment.' When you pay a deposit on a house or a car you are offering a small security of your commitment to paying the full purchase price within either days, months or years (depending on the terms of the agreement). What God is saying to His blood bought elect ones is that we should look upon the Holy Spirit as a divine guarantee that we are indeed saved by the blood and righteousness of Christ and will finally in time therefore inherit Eternal Life!
-- By Ken Wimer, Shreveport Grace Church Bulletin, September 20, 2009
1. It is theirs by PURCHASE. It is not the child of God who has purchased it, but rather the LORD Jesus Christ, their elder Brother. He paid the price in full, and therefore it is called ‘the purchased inheritance,’ Ephesians 1:14.
2. It is theirs as a GIFT. In Luke 12:32, our Lord told His disciples, ‘it is your Father’s good pleasure to GIVE you the kingdom.
3. It is theirs by HEIRSHIP. It is not by natural birth, but rather spiritual birth. Because the LORD Jesus Christ paid the price by His shed blood, and God imputed righteousness to their spiritual account, once for all, upon completion of His death, the Spirit of adoption has been given to them, whereby they cry -‘Abba, Father,’ Romans 8:15.
4. It is theirs by FAITH. It is not faith that procures it, but receives it, by the grace of God, and embraces it as already accomplished by the LORD Jesus Christ. Faith enjoys the comfort of what Christ accomplished. ‘Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved (that righteousness worked out, established and imputed at Calvary), let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, (that which God-given faith produces).
5. It is assured by the SPIRIT. The Spirit of God is the earnest of this inheritance, Ephesians 1:14. The meaning of an earnest is a 'pledge' or 'part of the full purchase money – or property – given in advance as a guarantee that the full amount will indeed be paid.' Today we would say 'deposit' or 'down-payment.' When you pay a deposit on a house or a car you are offering a small security of your commitment to paying the full purchase price within either days, months or years (depending on the terms of the agreement). What God is saying to His blood bought elect ones is that we should look upon the Holy Spirit as a divine guarantee that we are indeed saved by the blood and righteousness of Christ and will finally in time therefore inherit Eternal Life!
-- By Ken Wimer, Shreveport Grace Church Bulletin, September 20, 2009
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