In Christ: Know It, Live It - 16 (The Down Payment)

"...the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance, until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:13,14

Not only is the Holy Spirit the SEAL of our salvation, marking us as God's own and securing the safety of our journey from the cross to Heaven, He is also God's GUARANTEE. What does this mean?

• The word for GUARANTEE here means an earnest, or down payment. It was very much like what many of us did when we purchased our homes. We paid a part of the price as a first part of the full price. It was our promise that the rest would be coming, as well.
• The Holy Spirit in us is God's down payment OF OUR INHERITANCE, that is, our inheritance of God Himself, and Christ, and Heaven. The first part of our final inheritance in heaven with God and Christ has been given to us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. HE has brought into our lives the LIFE of Heaven. We are experiencing NOW the Life of God and Christ and Heaven...in a measure. We know God, we fellowship with God, we are being made to be like Christ, we know Spirit-enabled worship, we experience multi-cultural fellowship with Christ's body, we battle victoriously against Satan...and more.
• But there's MORE TO COME! The best of the Spirit-filled life at this time is only a taste, a PART of what is to come when we receive our full inheritance. YET it is a REAL taste! Think of it...no matter how good and sweet and precious and pure and liberating our worship or fellowship is now, it is only a TASTE of what is to come. Bring it on, Lord!
• And though this life the Spirit has brought is just the down payment, it is a GUARANTEE that the rest is coming. Count on it! The Spirit in us is GOD's PROMISE that the full inheritance will be ours. We WILL see His face. We WILL have His name written on us. We WILL enjoy pleasures at His right hand forever (Psalm 16:11). There will be NO MORE crying or pain. We WILL worship WITHOUT impure motives, fear of man, distracted minds, or diminished passion. Bring it on, Lord!
• This God the Guarantee will continue WITH US, indwelling us, UNTIL we "acquire possession of it" v.14.

Life here during our earthly journey is PRIMARILY ABOUT HEAVEN. We are being schooled for eternity. God is shaping us in the gym of this life for the next. Is it not because we still have so little understanding of this that life here and now yields so little joy and heaven lacks motivating passion? We have a destiny, brothers and sisters. It is not a $300,000.00 home or a six digit job or an ideal retirement...it is HEAVEN. IF you and I do not get all the taste of heaven we can now by pursuing Jesus passionately by the Spirit...WHAT will we miss in HEAVEN? The Scriptures are clear that how we live NOW will have a determination on how we enjoy and experience Heaven.

Think about it. And...let us also remember that the Spirit GUARANTEE is doing all this for "...the praise of HIS glory."