Sermon Title:

The Earnest of Our Inheritance

Key Passage:
Ephesians 1:11–14

Key Verse:
“Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” — Ephesians 1:14

Series:
The Riches of His Grace: The Believer’s Blessings in Christ

Topic:
The Holy Spirit as God’s seal, earnest, and guarantee of the believer’s eternal inheritance

Book:
Ephesians

Speaker:
Paul Tackett

Suggested Sermon Text:
Ephesians 1:3–14; Ephesians 4:30; Romans 8:16–23; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22; 2 Corinthians 5:1–5; Philippians 3:20–21; 1 Peter 1:3–5

Short Sermon Description:
Ephesians 1:14 identifies the Holy Spirit as “the earnest of our inheritance,” God’s present pledge that the redemption He began will be brought to completion. This sermon explains the biblical order of hearing, believing, and being sealed; the Spirit’s role as God’s mark of ownership; the meaning of the earnest; the heavenly inheritance possessed in Christ; and the future redemption of the believer’s body. It confronts the uncertainty of works-based religion and shows that eternal security rests upon the finished work of Jesus Christ, the promise of the Father, and the sealing presence of the Holy Spirit—not upon changing emotions or flawless human performance.

The Earnest of Our Inheritance

Introduction

Ephesians 1 opens heaven’s treasury and shows the believer what God has already given him in Jesus Christ. Paul does not begin with what the Christian must earn, achieve, purchase, or deserve. He begins with what God has accomplished “according to the good pleasure of his will” and “according to the riches of his grace.” The believer has been chosen in Christ, accepted in the beloved, redeemed through Christ’s blood, forgiven according to the riches of grace, given knowledge of God’s purpose, and made an heir. The chapter is not a display case for human merit. It is a monument to divine grace.

At the conclusion of this great sentence of redemption, Paul introduces the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The believer hears “the word of truth,” trusts Christ after hearing “the gospel of your salvation,” and is then “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.” The Spirit is not merely a temporary visitor, an emotional influence, or an occasional burst of religious excitement. He is God’s seal upon the purchased possession and “the earnest of our inheritance.” His indwelling presence is God’s pledge that everything promised to the believer in Christ will be brought to completion.

An earnest is more than an encouraging thought. It is a deposit guaranteeing that the full transaction will be completed. God has not secured the believer’s future with a human signature, a religious ceremony, or a promise made by an institution that might close its doors next year. He has given the Holy Spirit Himself. The believer’s inheritance is therefore as secure as the character of the One who promised it. Men break contracts, banks fail, governments change rules, and human heirs sometimes discover that the estate was spent before the will was opened. God’s inheritance does not suffer from poor management. The Spirit is the divine guarantee that the purchased possession will be redeemed unto the praise of God’s glory.

I. The Earnest Is Given After the Gospel Is Heard and Believed

Key Text: Ephesians 1:13

Supporting Texts: Romans 10:13–17; 1 Corinthians 15:1–4; Galatians 3:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:13

Ephesians 1:13 establishes the biblical order plainly: “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” A sinner must hear the saving message before he can intelligently believe it. The gospel is not an emotional atmosphere, a church ritual, a moral improvement campaign, or a vague invitation to become religious. First Corinthians 15 defines it as the good news that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Faith must have an object, and saving faith rests upon Jesus Christ and His finished work.

The verse continues, “in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.” The sinner hears, believes, and is sealed. The Holy Spirit does not regenerate a man so that he can later believe the gospel. The text says the sealing occurred “after that ye believed.” Neither does the sinner receive the Spirit by performing works after believing. Galatians 3:2 asks, “Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” The answer is obvious. The Spirit is received through faith in Christ, not through law-keeping, baptismal water, sacramental machinery, emotional exertion, or an additional religious experience.

This order protects the gospel from two opposite corruptions. It excludes the idea that salvation begins with human merit, and it excludes the idea that a sinner is secretly regenerated before faith without hearing and believing the gospel. God sends the message, the sinner hears the message, faith rests upon Christ, and the Holy Spirit seals the believer. Religion enjoys adding steps because every added step creates another tollbooth. Grace removes the tollbooths and points directly to Calvary. Salvation is received by faith because Jesus Christ has already paid the entire price.

Main Truth:
The Holy Spirit seals the sinner after he hears and believes the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ.

II. The Holy Spirit Is God’s Seal Upon the Believer

Key Text: Ephesians 1:13

Supporting Texts: Ephesians 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22; 2 Timothy 2:19; John 6:27

A seal in Scripture speaks of ownership, authority, identification, security, and authenticity. When God seals the believer with the Holy Spirit, He marks that person as belonging to Him. First Corinthians 6:19–20 declares, “ye are not your own” and “ye are bought with a price.” Salvation is not merely the cancellation of a criminal record; it is a transfer of ownership. The believer has been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ and sealed by the Spirit of God. Heaven recognizes the seal even when the world does not recognize the saint.

The Holy Spirit is not merely the One who applies the seal; He is the seal. Paul says believers are “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.” God did not attach a temporary religious label that peels away whenever the believer struggles. He placed His Spirit within the Christian. The seal is therefore as secure as the Holy Spirit is divine. If the believer’s final redemption depended upon the durability of human resolve, nobody would make it. Human determination can be strong before breakfast and missing by lunch. God wisely did not seal us with our own willpower.

Ephesians 4:30 gives the duration of this sealing: “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” A believer can grieve the Spirit, which is why the command is given. Yet the verse does not say he is unsealed every time he grieves Him. The Spirit’s grief proves His continued presence within a disobedient child of God. Sin damages fellowship, invites chastening, weakens testimony, and destroys reward, but it does not overpower the seal of God. The seal remains “unto the day of redemption.”

Main Truth:
The indwelling Holy Spirit is God’s permanent seal of ownership upon everyone who belongs to Jesus Christ.

III. The Earnest Is God’s Down Payment on the Full Inheritance

Key Text: Ephesians 1:14

Supporting Texts: 2 Corinthians 1:21–22; 2 Corinthians 5:5; Romans 8:23; Philippians 1:6

Ephesians 1:14 calls the Holy Spirit “the earnest of our inheritance.” An earnest is a pledge, deposit, or first payment guaranteeing that the remainder will follow. When a person places earnest money upon a purchase, the deposit demonstrates his intention to complete the transaction. God has done something infinitely greater. He has given His own Spirit as the pledge that every promise connected with salvation will reach its appointed completion. The believer presently possesses the Spirit while awaiting the fullness of the inheritance.

Second Corinthians 1:22 says that God “hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” Second Corinthians 5:5 repeats that God “also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.” The repetition matters. God does not want His children living as though their heavenly inheritance rests upon an unsigned agreement. The Spirit within is heaven’s present evidence of future completion. The Christian has not yet entered every aspect of his inheritance, but he already possesses the earnest. The first installment is not a sample that may be recalled; it is a divine guarantee that the complete redemption is coming.

The earnest also reveals that salvation is entirely God’s work. The believer did not pay the deposit, establish the inheritance, or secure the transaction. God planned redemption, Christ purchased the sinner, and the Spirit guarantees the completion. Philippians 1:6 says, “he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Religious flesh insists upon signing its name at the bottom so it can claim partial credit. Grace leaves no blank line for Adam’s autograph. God began the work, God maintains the work, and God will finish the work.

Main Truth:
The indwelling Spirit is God’s present pledge that the believer will receive the full inheritance promised in Christ.

IV. The Believer’s Inheritance Is Possessed in Jesus Christ

Key Text: Ephesians 1:11

Supporting Texts: Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 1:18; Colossians 1:12–14; Romans 8:16–17; 1 Peter 1:3–5

Ephesians 1:11 declares, “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance.” The phrase “in whom” points back to Jesus Christ. Every spiritual blessing named in this chapter is found in Him. The believer is not an heir because he possesses superior character, belongs to the correct family line, joined a particular denomination, or accumulated enough religious achievements. He is an heir because he has been placed into the Son of God. Christ is the heir of all things, and those united with Him share in the inheritance grace has provided.

Romans 8:17 says, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” The inheritance grows out of relationship. God does not make the sinner an heir by placing him under probation and waiting to see whether he behaves well enough to remain in the family. Through faith in Christ, the believer receives the adoption of sons and the Spirit of adoption. His service, faithfulness, and obedience will affect fellowship and reward at the judgment seat of Christ, but they do not create the family relationship. An heir may squander opportunities and suffer loss, yet the relationship rests upon birth and adoption rather than wages.

First Peter 1 describes “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven.” Earthly inheritances can be taxed, stolen, contested, wasted, divided, or destroyed. Heavenly treasure is not stored in a system vulnerable to moth, rust, thieves, market crashes, corrupt lawyers, or fighting relatives. It is reserved by God. The Christian’s inheritance is heavenly because his citizenship and Head are heavenly. Israel’s national inheritance concerns promised land upon the earth; the Church’s blessings are “in heavenly places in Christ.” Rightly dividing the word prevents the believer from stealing Israel’s deed while neglecting his own riches in Christ.

Main Truth:
The believer receives a secure heavenly inheritance because he is united with Jesus Christ and accepted in the beloved.

V. The Purchased Possession Still Awaits Complete Redemption

Key Text: Ephesians 1:14

Supporting Texts: Romans 8:22–23; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20; Philippians 3:20–21; 1 Corinthians 15:51–54

The Spirit is the earnest “until the redemption of the purchased possession.” The believer has already been redeemed from the guilt and penalty of sin through the blood of Christ. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Yet there remains a future aspect of redemption involving the body. The Christian’s soul is saved, his spirit is quickened, and his standing is secure, but his body remains mortal, corruptible, and subject to weakness and death.

Romans 8:23 identifies the future hope as “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” The body belongs to God because it was purchased by Christ, but it has not yet been transformed. The presence of sickness, aging, pain, temptation, and death does not prove redemption has failed. It proves the final stage has not yet occurred. The Spirit dwelling within the mortal body is God’s earnest that the same body will one day be changed. The Christian presently carries heavenly treasure in an earthen vessel, but God has not mistaken the vessel for garbage.

At the Rapture, the Lord Jesus Christ “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.” The dead in Christ will rise incorruptible, and living believers will be changed. Mortality will put on immortality, corruption will put on incorruption, and death will be swallowed up in victory. The believer’s hope is not to float forever as an unclothed spirit. God intends to redeem the purchased possession completely. The Spirit within is the pledge that the grave cannot keep what the blood of Christ has purchased.

Main Truth:
The Spirit guarantees that God will complete redemption by transforming the believer’s mortal body into the likeness of Christ’s glorious body.

VI. The Earnest Establishes the Believer’s Eternal Security

Key Text: Ephesians 4:30

Supporting Texts: John 10:27–30; Romans 8:29–39; 2 Timothy 2:13; Hebrews 7:25; Jude 24

If the Holy Spirit is God’s earnest and seal until the day of redemption, then the believer’s salvation cannot depend upon his ability to preserve himself. A guarantee lasting only until the first failure would not be much of a guarantee. It would be religious advertising with divine language and human fine print. Ephesians 4:30 states that the believer is sealed “unto the day of redemption,” not merely until the next temptation, emotional collapse, doctrinal misunderstanding, or bad week.

Eternal security does not teach that sin is harmless. The same verse commanding believers not to grieve the Spirit proves that Christian conduct matters deeply. Sin grieves God, damages fellowship, produces chastening, hinders prayer, ruins testimony, and burns up potential reward at the judgment seat of Christ. Yet none of those consequences means the believer has been removed from Christ. Second Timothy 2:13 says, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” Salvation remains secure because the believer has been joined to Christ, and God will not deny His own work.

Romans 8 declares that those whom God justified, He also glorified. Paul then challenges every possible accuser and every conceivable separator. Neither death, life, angels, principalities, powers, present things, future things, height, depth, nor any other creature can separate the believer from the love of God in Christ Jesus. The believer himself is a creature, so even his weakness cannot overturn God’s promise. Eternal security is not confidence in the flesh. It is the exact opposite: confidence that the Father’s purpose, the Son’s blood, and the Spirit’s seal are stronger than the flesh.

Main Truth:
The believer is eternally secure because God has sealed him with the Holy Spirit until the redemption of the purchased possession.

VII. The Completed Redemption Will Be Unto the Praise of God’s Glory

Key Text: Ephesians 1:14**

Supporting Texts: Ephesians 1:6; Ephesians 1:12; Ephesians 2:7–10; Revelation 4:11; Revelation 5:9–13

Ephesians 1:14 concludes with the words, “unto the praise of his glory.” Salvation begins with God’s will, is accomplished by Christ’s blood, is applied and sealed by the Spirit, and ends in God’s glory. The believer is blessed beyond measure, but man is not the center of redemption. God saves sinners to display the riches of His grace, the sufficiency of His Son, the faithfulness of His promise, and the power of His Spirit. Heaven will not become an eternal awards ceremony celebrating human potential.

The phrase “to the praise of his glory” appears repeatedly in Ephesians 1. Believers are accepted in the beloved “to the praise of the glory of his grace.” Those who first trusted in Christ exist “to the praise of his glory.” The earnest guarantees redemption “unto the praise of his glory.” The entire plan is designed so that no flesh can boast. Every redeemed sinner will stand in glory as evidence that grace accomplished what law, religion, morality, philosophy, and human effort could never achieve.

This truth should shape Christian living now. Because the believer is purchased, sealed, and destined for glory, he should live for the praise of the One who redeemed him. Eternal security is not permission to drag God’s name through the mud. It is a reason to present the body as a living sacrifice. The Spirit’s presence means the believer carries God’s seal into every conversation, decision, relationship, and place. A sealed package should bear some resemblance to the Owner named upon it. Grace saves freely, secures completely, and then teaches the redeemed to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.

Main Truth:
God guarantees the believer’s complete redemption so that salvation will eternally display the glory of His grace.

Conclusion

The Holy Spirit is “the earnest of our inheritance.” He is not merely a feeling experienced during a church service, a temporary influence that comes and goes, or a reward for reaching a higher level of spirituality. He is God’s seal upon everyone who has heard and believed the gospel of Jesus Christ. His presence identifies the believer as God’s purchased possession and guarantees that the inheritance secured in Christ will be received in full.

The believer’s present weakness does not cancel God’s future promise. The body still ages, suffers, struggles, and eventually dies unless the Lord returns first. Yet the Spirit dwelling within that mortal body is the pledge that mortality will one day put on immortality. The purchased possession will be redeemed. God has not invested the blood of His Son and the presence of His Spirit in a transaction He might later abandon. What He purchased at Calvary, He will claim in glory.

Therefore, the child of God should rest in the promise, rejoice in the inheritance, and live in a manner worthy of the One whose seal he bears. Assurance should not produce carelessness; it should produce gratitude, holiness, courage, and worship. The King James Bible leaves no room for confidence in human flesh, but it gives every reason for confidence in Jesus Christ. The Father planned the inheritance, the Son purchased the heir, and the Holy Spirit guarantees that redemption will be completed unto the praise of God’s glory.

Final Call

If you have never trusted Jesus Christ, you do not receive this inheritance through baptism, church membership, moral improvement, law-keeping, sacraments, family tradition, or religious sincerity. You must hear and believe “the gospel of your salvation.” Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and God will save you, place you into Christ, and seal you with His Holy Spirit.

If you are already saved, stop living as though God’s promise depends upon the steadiness of your emotions. Believe what He has written. You have been bought with a price, sealed by the Spirit, and given the earnest of an inheritance that cannot fade away. Grieve not the Holy Spirit whose seal you bear. Walk worthy of your calling, serve Jesus Christ faithfully, and look for the day when the purchased possession will be fully redeemed.

Closing Verse:
“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” — Ephesians 4:30

Closing Statement:
The Spirit within the believer is God’s unbreakable pledge that what Christ purchased with His blood will one day stand redeemed in glory.