God's Down Payment

Ephesians 1:13b,14  ... ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Our salvation has been sealed with the Holy Spirit. The other day I put a check in an envelope and sealed it shut. Then I went to the Post Office and mailed it.  As I left the Post Office I had full confidence that the envelope would reach its destination and that the rightful owner of the check would receive it. That envelope that was sealed shut, remained so until the rightful owner broke the seal and opened it up and to obtain the check inside, which was rightfully his. The envelope was sealed in order that only the buyer could open it and take possession. Likewise God has placed us (the check) in an envelope (in Christ.)  At salvation we were placed, created in Christ and were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. The Holy Spirit is the seal that keeps the envelope shut until the rightful owner receives it and takes possession. The Holy Spirit keeps the check secure in the envelope until God gets it and takes full possession. As believers we are in the mail on our way from one destination to another. The envelope that we are in is Jesus Christ and that envelope is sealed by the Holy Spirit until it reaches it's destination in Heaven. At that point God will break the seal and take full possession of that which He has purchased. Ephesians 4:30  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. One day God will unseal the person that He has purchased with His own blood. So if your sealed, your secure until redemption day. Also in this text we see the Holy Spirit is called the earnest of our inheritance. The word "earnest" means a down payment or a promise of full payment to come. The Holy Spirit was given to us as promise from God that He would give us a full inheritance. Of course Heaven is apart of the inheritance put that is just the land God is giving us. He has a mansion and riches stored up for us as well. Everyday we live as believers with the indwelling Holy Spirit is God's guarantee that we are His and He will receive us for good. This is exactly why He the Holy Spirit is called, the Holy Spirit of promise. Have you spent time talking with the Holy Spirit today? What a great friend He is!