Holy Spirit:The seal and the earnest of our inheritance (3)
Happy New month…It shall be a month in which you grow in Christ exponentially with the help of the Holy Spirit and fulfil God’s purpose for your life in Jesus’ name.
The Holy Spirit being the earnest /arrhabōn/ of our inheritance will be our focus today.Apostle Paul emphasised this three times in his writings:
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,which is the earnest /arrhabōn/ of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory”-Ephesian 1:13-14 KJV
“Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest/arrhabōn/ of the Spirit in our hearts”-2 Cor 1:22 KJV
“Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest/arrhabōn/ of the Spirit“-2Cor 5:5 KJV
To understand the three Scriptures above better, let’s read them in other translations:
“And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.The Spirit is God’s guarantee/arrhabōn/ that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him” NLT
“And he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment/arrhabōn/ that guarantees everything he has promised us” NLT
“Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit/arrhabōn/, guaranteeing what is to come”NIV
I already explained what earnest /arrhabōn/ means in Part 1 of this series.You can read it here.
From the verses above,the synonyms of earnest/arrhabōn/ are: Guarantee,surety,first instalment,deposit,pledge.
God had a transaction with man to ‘buy’ his soul,so that man should not perish.Though He paid the price for this transaction with the blood of His Son,man is yet to fully become what God desired because the fixed time for the total redemption of man’s soul has not come.Therefore,to prove to man that He is serious with the transaction,God needs to solidify this agreement/covenant with an earnest/arrhabōn/,a guarantee, a surety, a first instalment, a deposit, a pledge.So,He gives His children the Holy Spirit.This Spirit is an integral part of the total package of inheritance meant for God’s children.
1)The Holy Spirit is given to God’s children for them to be certain that the other inheritance is sure.
2)He is given to the elect as a pledge that can speak on their behalf or intercede for them when the need arises.
I want us to look at three stories in the Old Testament that emphasise these two points:
“About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.” Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.” Judah recognized them”-Gen 38:24-26
Can you imagine what would have happened if Tamar didn’t collect the pledge from Judah during the bargain? Or what if she had collected it but had misplaced the earnest? Tamar would have died.It was the earnest that saved her from death.
If you have the earnest of the Spirit,there is no place for fear of eternal death!You can’t die!!! Let me write it in another way:Eternal life is guaranteed for anyone with the earnest of the Spirit!!!
A)THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOU IS A GUARANTEE FOR ETERNAL LIFE
HEAVEN IS SURE FOR ANYONE WITH THE ARRHABON.THE EARNEST HIMSELF WILL TESTIFY THAT YOU ARE GOD’S CHILD AND IF YOU ARE GOD’S CHILD,THEN YOU ARE HEIR,HEIR OF GOD AND CO-HEIRS WITH CHRIST… HALLELUYAH
The second story is about Judah.He stood as a surety(ârab- from where the word:ărâbôn was formed) for Benjamin when Israel was not willing to release Benjamin to go to Egypt at the request of Joseph.I hope you remember that story…Judah pleaded for the release of Benjamin this way:
“I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever”-Gen 43:9
“I will guarantee his safety. You may hold me personally responsible. If I do not bring him back and set him before you, then may I bear the guilt before you all my life.”(BSB)
Let Judah represent the Holy Spirit…
Let Israel/Jacob typify God…
Let Benjamin represent You…
Let Egypt be the World…
And Canaan where Israel was living be the Heaven…
Therefore,if the Holy Spirit says He will be your surety and responsible for your safety to the world and back to your Father in heaven,do you still think you won’t make Heaven and possess your inheritance?
B)THE HOLY SPIRIT IS TOTALLY COMMITTED TO TAKING YOU BACK TO GOD EXCEPT IF YOU ARE UNWILLING
The story did not end there.Benjamin’s sack was found with the King’s silver cup on his way back home with his brothers!Judah’s integrity was at stake!He began to intercede on behalf of Benjamin.I screenshot Gen 44 where this story can be found.I want you to pay attention to the heading:
C)AS JUDAH INTERCEDES FOR BENJAMIN IN THE SAME WAY THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO IS YOUR SURETY INTERCEDES FOR YOU WITH GROANS THAT WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS:
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words”-Romans 8:26
He is pleading and interceding on your behalf with groans that are too deep for words…
I pray that you will yield yourself to the ministration of the Holy Spirit this new month.
I will continue on Wednesday by God’s grace.