7. We have obtained “an inheritance” only “in him” [i.e., Christ] (Eph. 1:11).

Again there are several interpretive possibilities: (1) it may be translated “we have obtained an inheritance” (see Col. 1:12; Eph. 1:14a); (2) it may be translated as a simple passive: “we were chosen or appointed by lot”; or (3) it may mean, “we were made to be an inheritance”, namely, God’s inheritance. For the latter idea, quite common in the OT (where Israel is described as God’s “lot” or “chosen portion”), see Ps. 33:12; Deut. 9:29; 32:8-9. In favor of (1) is the reference to “adoption” in v. 5. As God’s adopted children, we stand to inherit everything that is his!

8. It is only by virtue of our being “in him” [i.e., in Christ] that we were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13).

 Spiritual sealing:

• Its meaning – (1) to authenticate (John 3:33; 6:27; 1 Cor. 9:2) or confirm as genuine and true, including the idea that what is sealed is stamped with the character of its owner; (2) to designate or mark out as one’s property; to declare and signify ownership (see Rev. 7:3-8; 9:4); (3) to render secure or to establish (i.e., protect; cf. Eph. 4:30; Matt. 27:66; Rev. 20:3)

• Its instrument – With what are we sealed? The Holy Spirit. It isn’t so much that the Spirit does the sealing as the Spirit is the seal. Hence, sealing = the reception and consequent indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

• Its sphere – In regard to whom are we sealed? Christ (“in him”)

• Its time – When were we sealed? The Reformed Sealers (e.g., Richard Sibbes, Thomas Goodwin, John Owen, and in our day, Martyn Lloyd-Jones) sought to identify Spirit-baptism with the “sealing” of the Holy Spirit described in Eph. 1:13. I have no major problem with that, but they believed it to be an experiential event subsequent to regeneration (and therefore to be sought) that brings a profound, inner, direct, assurance of salvation (as over against a syllogistic assurance which one deduces from the fact that one believes). It also produces power for ministry and witness, joy, and a sense of God’s glorious presence. These men make no connection between baptism in the Spirit and the charismatic gifts. Indeed, aside from Lloyd-Jones, the Reformed Sealers were all cessationists (i.e., they believed that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit ceased when the original apostles died; see Martyn Lloyd-Jones' book Joy Unspeakable: Power & Renewal in the Holy Spirit [Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1984]).

The dispute, then, is over how we are to understand the relationship between “believing” (lit., “having believed” [an aorist participle]) and “sealing” (lit., “you were sealed” [the main verb]). Should we translate it, “after believing (or “since you believed”), you were sealed,” in which case sealing is indeed separate from and subsequent to saving faith (conversion)? Or should we translate it, “when you believed, you were sealed,” in which case sealing and believing are simultaneous? Grammatically speaking, one can find evidence for both usages in the NT (although “when you believed” is more probable; see esp. Acts 19:2). Gordon Fee is inclined to think that believing is indeed antecedent to sealing, but, he says, “the two verbs have nothing to do with separate and distinct experiences of faith. Rather, the one ('having believed [in Christ]' logically precedes the other ('you were sealed'); but from Paul's perspective these are two sides of the same coin” (670). So, whereas there may be a basis for equating the “sealing” of the Spirit with the “baptism” in the Spirit, there is no basis for making the latter a separate and subsequent event that brings an extraordinary anointing or experiential empowering.

The word “pledge” or “earnest” or “guarantee” (ESV) refers to a portion of the total purchase price paid in advance as a promise that the full payment will come in due course. See 2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5. In giving the Holy Spirit to us “God is not simply promising us our final inheritance but actually providing us with a foretaste of it, even if it ‘is only a small fraction of the future endowment’” (O’Brien, 121). For our purposes it must be noted once again that this glorious blessing and the assurance of the future consummation of our salvation is true only by virtue of or as a consequence of our being “in him” (v. 13).

Conclusion

Although we have reached the end of the focus of these articles, we should take note of yet additional blessings described in Ephesians that are ours as the fruit of being in union with Jesus Christ:

Ø We were made alive “together with Christ,” “raised up with him,” and seated “with him” in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:5-6). We see this most clearly by noting how Paul adds the preposition “with” (sun) to each of these verbs. He made us alive together with him (sunedzōopoiēsen). He raised us up with him (sunēgeiren). He seated us together with him (sunekathisen). Paul says much the same thing in Colossians 2:12-13 where he says that believers have been buried with him (suntaphentes), raised with him (sunēgerthēte), and made alive together with him (sunedzōopoiēsen).

Listen closely and reflect on what Paul says in Ephesians 2:4-6. Earlier in Ephesians 1:20-23, Paul tells us that God (1) has raised Jesus from the dead, (2) has seated Christ at his right hand and (3) has exalted and elevated him to a place of unchallenged authority. Ok, Sam, but what has that got to do with me? How does this truth about Jesus Christ help me get free of the shame that dominates my life?

Anyone who has done any counseling or ministry to those who have been abused or suffer with depression or live every day shackled by shame will tell you that the most fundamental problem people face is one of identity. They don’t know who they are in Christ, nor do they know what God has done for them. The remarkable thing about this portion of Ephesians is that what Paul said in chapter one concerning what God has done for Jesus, he now in chapter two says that he has done the same thing for us! Stop and ponder this breathtaking reality: if you have trusted in Jesus, God sees you as having been raised from spiritual death, exalted up with Christ and seated in the heavens with Jesus, and invested with authority over all demonic spirits. This is who you are!

We need to stop thinking of ourselves as a loser, as a failure, as a castoff from the rest of the world, as a disqualified reject. Let the Holy Spirit awaken you to this incredible truth. Let me state it again: You have been raised, exalted, and seated in the heavens together with Jesus, and given authority over the entire realm of Satan and his demons. I know that this runs counter to your experience day in and day out. We still live in our mortal bodies and still struggle with the sinful impulses of the flesh. People slander you. They use you. They exploit you. They sin against you. They abuse you. And the only way we can survive and live above the damage they inflict is by constantly reminding ourselves and reflecting on the reality of what God has done for us in Christ Jesus.

We especially need to see what this means for our battle against Satan and all demonic hosts. When God seated Christ at his right hand, Paul says that this placed him “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, . . . and he put all things under his feet” (Eph. 1:21-22). Do you see what is being said here? Because you are one with Christ, united with him by faith, God has also raised, exalted, and seated you above all demonic powers. Folks, I’m not making this up. They are just as much beneath your feet and subject to your authority as they are to the authority of Jesus. Listen to what Paul says about you: God, “being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ . . . and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places” (Eph. 2:4-5).

So, don’t ever think that in your war with shame and self-contempt and hopelessness and depression that you are at the mercy of Satan and his demons. No! They are under your feet, just as surely as they are under the feet of Jesus and subject to his authority.

Ø God intends to put on display in the coming ages the riches of his grace in kindness toward us “in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7).

Ø We were “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10).

Ø It is a result of our being “in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:13) that we have been brought near to God.

Ø It is a result of our being “in” Christ that we are growing into a holy temple “in the Lord” (Eph. 2:21).

Ø It is the fruit of our being “in him” (Eph. 2:22) that we are being “built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

Ø It is “in” Christ Jesus that we have boldness and access to God (Eph. 3:12).

Ø We were “taught in him” [i.e., in Christ] to put off the old self (Eph. 4:21).

Ø It is “in the Lord” that we find “strength” to overcome the enemy (Eph. 6:10).

Praise be to Christ Jesus “in whom” we have all the blessings of eternal life!