Good morning and welcome to Tuesday’s podcast. My name is Alan and I have the privilege of taking you through the opening chapters of Ephesians. Yesterday we explored the idea of redemption, part of the foundational understanding of who Jesus is, what he has done and our new found freedom in Christ. We ended with the question, “will we let Jesus teach us how to live the better life?”

REFLECTION:

In today’s short passage, Paul continues to lay that foundation. Today we learn that we are chosen, that God has a plan for those who trust Jesus with their lives and that we became part of his in crowd when we heard and believed the good news about Jesus… v13 continues:

When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

I wonder what has been your experience of the presence of God? Have you ever been overwhelmed by his love and care? Have you ever felt his peace fall on you and fill you up? Have you heard his gentle whisper and known a renewed sense of direction and hope? Or maybe you have prayed and seen the power of God first hand as people have been healed, lives dramatically changed or battles won without lifting a finger or saying a word?

In the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, we get a glimpse of God enjoying an up close and personal, face to face relationship with Adam and Eve. They walked and talked in the garden just as we might walk with a friend. And then at the end… in the last book of the Bible, Revelation, we see the destination, the place where creation is heading and we see a new heaven and a new earth, a new holy city, and we hear these words… “Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them…”

You see, we have been redeemed. A payment has been made, we are no longer our own, we have been bought at a price by God himself. We are his possessions and he has acquired us…

When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal…

At the moment that we believed, that we placed our hope in Jesus, when we surrendered our way of doing things and accepted that we needed Jesus to show us the way, we were marked with a seal. We have been rubber stamped, we have been branded with a mark of ownership, we bear his mark, “The property of Jesus,” Price paid: the life of the Son of God. Paid in full.

But we don’t yet see him face to face, 24/7. Yes, our walk with him can be intimate (I believe much more intimate than most of us are yet to experience) but it is not yet Garden intimate… it is not yet City intimate.

We have been marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance…

And more than simply a mark in the flesh or ink on the skin, the seal that we have been marked with is the Holy Spirit. It is the gift of his presence, it is the gift of his power, it is the gift of relationship. It is a glimpse of what has promised: heaven on earth, eternal life, overflowing abundant life for all who trust Jesus and learn to walk in step with the Holy Spirit’s presence.

I wonder what has been your experience of the presence of God? Have you ever been overwhelmed by his love and care? Have you ever felt his peace fall on you and fill you up? Have you heard his gentle whisper and known a renewed sense of direction and hope? Or maybe you have prayed and seen the power of God first hand as people have been healed, lives dramatically changed or battles won without lifting a finger or saying a word?

This is our deposit, this is our guarantee, this is our foretaste of the end times, the end of the story.  We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.  But, why not simply take us to be with him now?  Well, the glimpse we get, the power and presence of the Holy Spirit marks us out, it sets us apart, but it’s not just for us.  The deposit guaranteeing our inheritance is enough for us to radiate with God’s power and presence.  As we are changed, we have been given the task of carrying that new message to a world that so desperately needs it.  We have been left here in the thick of the battles and the blessings, the highs and the lows with one job to do… we are here with the sole purpose of helping others to be rescued.

Yes we may be stay at home mums, or stay at home dads, teachers, solicitors, shop workers, builders, café owners, midwives or medics… but all of that will pass away… we’ll be there at the end of the story, and through God’s grace we get to invite others to taste and see that the Lord is good, and there’s more than enough to go round.

PRAYER:

Come, Holy Spirit.  Father, thank you that you have paid my ransom, that you have bought me, that you have taken ownership of me and my life.  Thank you for the Holy Spirit and the times when I’ve been aware of your presence with me.  Increase my awareness of the Spirit and my reliance on you, and help me to invite others to join in and to be part of your story.  Amen.

BIBLE READING: Ephesians 1:11-14

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.