This week’s devotions are based on Week 1 of the Series Ephesians: Becoming Who You Are (CLICK HERE)
Everyone likes a guarantee!
Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Giving a deposit is a common business practice. If you are wanting to rent a beach condo for a week, to secure your reservation, you will have to put down a deposit, which is a portion of the whole amount you eventually will pay. I’ve bought used cars and when I go look at a car, I take a $100 to give the person if I am serious about buying the car so he knows I will come back and give him the rest of the purchase price.
A deposit secures a future reality.
A deposit is a portion of the full, not the total experience.
A deposit is an expression of commitment to follow through on the rest of what was promised.
So, to wrap up this week of devotions, here is another gift of God’s grace that he gives to us to give us certainty of what is to come. He gives us the Holy Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.
How so?
Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.” The power to believe comes through the power of the Word. What the Word calls us to do (Believe!), it also carries the power of the Spirit to do! So whenever a person says, “Jesus is my Savior and Lord,” this is evidence of the power of the Spirit at work. 1 Corinthians 12:3 says, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”
The moment God works faith in your heart, you are given the Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing the inheritance to come.
To be sure, the Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift. He gives us those insights into the word of God, the will of God and the work of God. He opens our mind to understand the mystery of God’s will as it came to fulfillment in Jesus Christ. He makes spiritually confusing things spiritually edifying. Maybe most importantly, he shifts our whole heart, mind and actions from love of self to love of God. He keeps our eyes pointed forward to heaven where our eternal home is, not fixated on the things of this world that are temporary and fleeting.
Yet what we experience today is a shadow of the full inheritance that we have in store for us in heaven. It’s hard to even imagine what it will be like to enjoy all the richness of God’s presence and the glory of heaven, but the glimpses we see and feel today are only to make us long for the fullness of what the Deposit has guaranteed to us.
It’s coming. When God gives a deposit, he is not kidding around or giving himself a way to pull out of the deal. He gives a deposit. He guarantees what is to come. We can stop our spiritual shopping. We can stop looking for a better eternal deal. We can let go of any worry or anxiety about the future because we have God’s Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.
And when God gives a deposit, he will certainly, by his grace, pay out our inheritance in full!
Apply: What peace does it give you that God has given you his Holy Spirit and GUARANTEES you the inheritance of heaven?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your grace that chose me, called me and gave me the deposit of your Holy Spirit to secure as a gift of grace the inheritance you have promised to me. AMEN.