Using an inheritance as a promissory note is common in today’s society. And yet, it was also common in the time of Paul who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, used this custom to help Christians in Ephesus better understand their promised, eternal future.
“… 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.” Ephesians 1.13,14
Putting this in plain English we could say:
…after hearing the message of the Good News you believed in the Lord Jesus, were saved and then were given the Holy Spirit as a promise. The Holy Spirit is the Promissory Note of our salvation until the day that His property is Restored to the praise of His glory.
Obviously this text is not referring to bootleg or fleshly Christians, but only to those who are born of the Spirit.
It is glorious to live by the faith and know that sacrificing the will of our flesh for the Lord Jesus has such immediate rewards.
We haven’t seen Jesus, haven’t felt or touched Him, haven’t seen Heaven or the angels, nothing…
All we have is an inner conviction that guarantees our eternal life.
Jesus prophesied about this certainty when He said: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”John 20.29
Those who are born of the Spirit, as God’s Treasured Possession, have this Guarantee. As long as they are on loan to this world for His work of saving souls, they have the Holy Spirit of Promise that testifies to their spirits that they will be rescued when the Lord Jesus returns.
They exist for His glory.
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