The Word of Truth

Ephesians 1:11-14 ESV

“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

1. Who are “we”? What inheritance have we obtained? 

2. Define “predestined.” Define “according to the purpose of him…”

3. What does it mean to “believe” in Jesus Christ?

4. What is the truth? What is the gospel message, in truth?

5. What does it mean to be sealed? Guaranteed? On what basis?

Keep going back to verse 1 so you know who “we” are here. “We” are not all people who have only made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. “We” are not those who have only prayed a prayer “to receive Christ.” “We are not those who have only confessed Jesus as Lord with their lips and who have proclaimed that they believe that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. And “we” are not those who only claim that they have received God’s grace.

“We” are those who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and who have been raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness (see Romans 6:1-23). So, we are the saints of God, his holy ones who have been set apart by God from the world and unto God, different from the world because we are being conformed by God to the likeness of Jesus Christ. 

We are God’s faithful ones who are full of the faith which God originated and provided and persuaded us to have, which is not of our own doing, not of the will nor of the flesh of humans. So we don’t get to determine what that faith should look like. God does. His word does. And his word teaches us that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and that we might live for him and no longer for ourselves.

And he died to deliver us out of our slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin so that we would now walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, and so that we would obey his commandments (New Covenant) and live holy lives, and no longer walk in sin. For he died not just to free us from the punishment of sin but to free us from enslavement to sin so that we would now serve him with our lives, by his grace and in his power.

[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15,21; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 6:1-23]

This is the “we” this is talking about here when it says that “we” have obtained an inheritance, for “we” are those who have been predestined of God according to his will and purpose for our lives. And predestined isn’t just about our Lord marking out beforehand what his will is for our lives, but it includes him setting limits and boundaries for us, which we can read about all throughout the New Testament. 

So, those who have this inheritance in Christ Jesus are those whom God predetermined should be conformed to the purpose of his will, adhering to his set limits and boundaries he put in place for us to adhere to. For it is God’s express will that all who call him, “Lord,” should be those who have forsaken their lives of sin to follow Jesus in obedience to his commands and who are living holy lives separate (different) from the world.

They are also those who heard and who received the truth of the gospel that Jesus taught and that his NT apostles taught. And they all taught that we must die to sin, not just once, but daily (in practice) and that we must be following our Lord in obedience to his commands, in practice, in holy living, and no longer in sin. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, and not righteousness, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

So we only are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, and we only have this guarantee of our inheritance with God if we have died with him to sin and if we are living to his righteousness, and if daily by the Spirit we are putting sin to death and we are walking in obedience to our Lord in practice. It doesn’t mean we are perfect people, but the Scriptures are clear that if we walk in sin, we will die in sin, and we will not inherit eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

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