Embracing Our Inheritance

At the fullness of time, God’s sons and daughters will be part of what is united together in Him—things on heaven and earth. What will happen when all things are brought together? Ephesians 1.11 says we’ll receive our inheritance in full. It’s something so certain that Paul speaks of it in the past tense: We have received an inheritance. God always keeps His promises.

1. Ephesians 1.11-12: The Ground of our Inheritance 

   1. 1.11 - in Him, we have obtained an inheritance…

      1. Ten times in 1.3-14 do we read of the phrase In Him, or before Him, or in the beloved.

      2. There is no way to get anything God offers apart from Jesus.

   2. When did you get “in” Christ? Romans 6.3-6 - your baptism united you with Christ.

   3. 1.11b - works all things according to the counsel of his will. Work - “energy” 

      1. God always works out what He plans. Why? 1.12 - to the praise of His glory.

   4. 1.12-13 - Look at just one more thing here … God’s benefits, blessings, and power … are only available to those who choose to take advantage of it.

2. Ephesians 1.13-14a: The Guarantee of Our Inheritance

   1. 1.13 - In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

   2. 1.14a - who is the guarantee of our salvation until we acquire possession of it.

      1. The Spirit’s work: confirmation.

      2. Galatians 4.7: So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.

   3. 1.13b - we have been sealed. To be “branded or marked in order to distinguish one person/thing from another.” Culturally, to be sealed meant:

      1. Approval - you have met the approval of God. See Ephesians 1.6.

      2. Authentication - Official documents are often signed and stamped with a seal over the signature. It guarantees the document is authentic. See Ephesians 4.30.

      3. Appropriation - A seal establishes ownership. See Colossians 1.13.

      4. Security - See 2 Timothy 2.19 - The lord knows who are His…

      5. Completion - Seals indicated a finished transaction. See Colossians 2.13-15.

   4. If you have responded in faith to God’s call of salvation, if you’ve responded from the heart, you have been sealed. You have been marked as belonging to God.

      1. We can exhale and rest in the promises of God. Romans 8.31-39

3. Ephesians 1.14b - The Goal of Our Inheritance

   1. 1.14b - to the praise of His glory. God wants to be glorified through you.

   2. We should all be humbled by God's work. All we should want to do in this world is lift up Jesus in every way possible.

4. As We Close…

   1. Those in Christ have been blessed with every spiritual blessing.

   2. Never, ever forget who you are and what you’ve been given!