A three fold security - Ephesians 1:11-14

A manager and a sales rep stood looking at a map on which coloured pins indicated the company representative in each area. "I'm not going to fire you, Wilson," the manager said, "but I'm loosening your pin a bit just to emphasize the insecurity of your situation."

That humorous picture conveys the kind of insecurity in which many people live today. We are constantly told that there is no such thing as a job for life. Large firms relocate at the drop of a hat making thousands unemployed. Pension schemes fail to deliver, stock markets under perform. In the home people face increasing insecurity in their marriages and the children of parents who separate are often unwilling to make commitments to others because they have felt let down by those on whom they had depended.

God's great desire for his people is that they should feel totally secure in his love and power. Everything else in life may be unstable -- our health, our family, our job, our education, our society, our world. At any of these levels you may feel as if you are out on a ledge forty stories up in a gusting wind. You feel yourself losing balance and falling, and every brick you grab pulls out of its mortar. But whatever your circumstances you may know that God loves you and is keeping you.

Let's make sure we understand one thing from the outset: when you swore allegiance to Jesus Christ you signed up for the most dangerous mission in the world. How did Paul describe it? Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword -- we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered (Rom. 8:35-36). The great apostle himself endured shipwreck, beating, ill health, exhaustion, misunderstanding, and imprisonment. He has a huge vision to spread the gospel across the known world and was able to carry the burden of floundering mission churches and conduct a letter-writing ministry to congregations across Europe. And in his old age he has not only avoided burnout and nervous breakdown but he is dreaming of bringing the gospel to Spain. What gave the apostle such stability and energy? It was his conviction of the determination of God to exalt his Son and his security in the love of God. And that security of the love and power of God is brought to us by the Spirit whose work is the focus of verses 11 to 14.

Like the legs on a three-legged stool there are three great truths, which support the Christian and give assurance and security.

1. Chosen and Precious

First we are told here that God and precious choose us to Him. In verse 11 the we that Paul uses probably refers to the Jews. He is going to go on an d include the Gentiles in what he says but for now the reference is to Paul himself and the Jews. We were chosen Paul says.

Now the word here is an interesting one. It literally means to appoint or choose by lot. It's a concept that reminds us of the allocation of the land to the people at the time of the conquest of Canaan. Each tribe was allocated land by lot as their inheritance. So that a possible and perhaps preferable translation would be in whom we were allotted as an inheritance or in whom we have been made his inheritance. This fuller meaning does not take us away from the idea of being chosen but it does introduce us to a wonderful new idea which is mentioned again later in verse 14 where Paul speaks of those who are God's possession and again in v 19 where he speaks of the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints." It is not just we who have an inheritance in the Lord. He has an inheritance in us. Believers are God's heritage. "Save your people, and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd also, and carry them forever (Psalm 28:9). Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance (Psalm 33:12). Remember the people you purchased of old the tribe of your inheritance, whom you redeemed, Mount Zion where you dwelt" (Psalm 74:2).

We are important in a particular way to God. Now that is quite staggering and we wonder why that should be when as we properly confess there is no intrinsic goodness in us. We are people who are born and shaped in iniquity. So how come God can look on say, and us "You are my inheritance." To see why we need to look ahead to the end of verse 12 where we see the purpose for which God has chosen us. He chose us or predestined us to be to the praise of his glory. There is nothing that shows the righteousness of God more clearly than the fact of hi unwavinerng commitment to his glory. All that he does is for his glory. So God has a plan for a people who will bring him praise. He is determined to bring it about.

Well it's quite a staggering thought that we should be counted an inheritance for God. But that in itself doesn't give us security. The security comes from the fact that God has chosen us, predestined us to this purpose. He didn't choose us because we were good enough. He didn't choose us because he could see ahead that we would choose to trust and serve him. He chose us rather as part of an overarching plan, which includes every detail of the universe. We were" predestined according to the plan of his who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will." Now if my place in God's affections depended upon how good a Christian I am then the pin would be very shaky at times. But my place in God's affections doesn't depend upon that. It depends up [on his eternal purpose. It depends upon his unchanging plan. It depends upon his unshakeable resolve to make me into an instrument of praise and worship to his name. And on that I can rest secure.

2. Hearing and believing

There is, of course an other side to the coin of predestination. God who ordains people to salvation also ordains the way by which people are saved. There is only one way by which you can be saved and that is by hearing and believing the good news. Now this is where the Holy Spirit's work comes into prominence. You see plenty of people hear the gospel but it near makes any difference to them. You see in our natural state all of us are blind to the gospel, blind to beauty of grace, and unmoved by the love of God. Spiritually we are dead. There is no sight no hearing any sense of wonder at spiritual things. The gospel seems irrelevant; it is for someone else but has nothing to do to me. Sermons are dull and dusty, Christian talk is an embarrassment and it all seems to make no sense. That is the away people are without God's Spirit in their lives and without God's Spirit they are never going to believe the Good News of Jesus. Not today, not tomorrow, not in a thousand years.

But then God acts. One day God sends his Spirit and opens ears that were stopped more solidly than if they had been filled with tar. The good news of a saviour who loved me and came seeking me and went to the cross to take away my sin is heard and it makes sense. I am the sinner for whom Christ died. But wonderfully mine are the sins that have been paid for on the cross. I am electrified by the news. I hear I understand nod I believe the Good news. And it is all down to the work of the Holy Spirit.

This then is your great assurance that you belong to the Lord. Assurance is not some intellectual game whereby I speculate over whether or not I am a elect. It is a very practical matter. The elect are those who hear and believe the Good News concerning Jesus Christ. And only those who hear and believe the Good News about Jesus Christ are the elect. Hearing and believing is the sign that we belong to Christ. God chooses people who are dead in their sins and makes them alive by His Spirit so that they are able to hear and believe the voice of Jesus.

God never separates election from the business of hearing and believing the gospel. There are two practical consequences of this.

Firstly do you connect with the experience of which I am speaking? I am not asking you this morning whether you count yourself a Christian as opposed to a Moslem a Hindu or a flat earthier. I am asking if you have been enabled to see that you are a needy Sinner and Jesus is a perfect Saviour. I'm asking you if your only hope is in Jesus Christ. If you can answer yes to that then you are eternally secure. Only God's Spirit can enable proud self-reliant people to cast themselves on Jesus mercy.

Secondly if that is true for you then do you see how important it is to share your faith? Before people can believe they must hear the gospel. God doesn't separate his choosing from the task of evangelism. Our role is to proclaim the gospel and pray that God will act by His Spirit and gather in his people. Evangelism is a necessity but it is a work that is successful because God who chooses has chosen to work through our puny efforts.

3. Sealed

The third leg supporting our security in God's love is in v 13 where we are told that we are sealed by God with the Holy Spirit. The seal Paul speaks of refers to the official mark of identification on a letter. Even today we often see something similar on a contract or other important document. The seal was usually made from hot wax. It was then laced on the document and impressed with a signet ring. What was the function of a seal? Well first of all it authenticated the contents. When a royal coat of arms was seen on the wax seal of a letter it authenticated that letter as having come from the king. Such a seal could not be copied. Secondly it provided security. It acted a little like these tamper proof seals that some tins of food come with today. The fact that the seal is unbroken guarantees the quality of the content. When Daniel was thrown in to the den of lions king Darius placed his seal on the stone that was put in place over the mouth of the cave. Any person but the king who broke that seal would probably have lost their life. The seal secured Daniel in his prison. It made the entrance tamper proof. The third thing that a seal was used to do was to confirm ownership of something. When God told Jeremiah to go and buy a plot of land at Nashotah he went and paid the money and then the contract was signed and sealed. This meant that Jeremiah was the new owner of the property.

Now the Holy Spirit is God's seal. Every believer has the Holy Spirit.Romasn 8 If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not belong to Christ." We are not speaking of some extra gift given to advanced Christians. It is a gift received on entry. Without the Holy Spirit you cannot believe. And the seal of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit Himself. Sealing is not something that happens later on. The sealing of the Holy Spirit is one of the great things Paul has been speaking about throughout this section and which he introduced in verse 3 saying God has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing.

If you are a Christian then you have the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit authenticates you as belonging to Jesus, the holy Spirit gives you security binding you to the heart of God with an unbreakable tamper proof seal and the Holy Spirit.

Now this seal of the Holy Spirit is something that we experience. It is not some abstract theory. It is a kind of testimony that God has given to us assuring our security and us of his ownership. We see for example that Paul goes on to say that the seal is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession.

When you pay a deposit on something you are making a down payment that secures your right to it. If you are going on holiday this summer you may already have paid a down payment on your holiday. You are assured that you have a seat reserved or a hotel room booked even if you haven't paid the whole price. The Holy Spirit that we have now is our guarantee that we will enter into the glories of heaven. God has given us hi assurance that there is a place for us. Jesus is saying once again to us by his Spirit. I have gone to prepare a place for you.

But the word deposit also conveys more than a future promise. It speaks of the enjoyment now of that future good thing. Paul in Romans 8:23 speaks of the Holy Spirit as a first fruits. The first enjoyment of a fuller harvest. We are helped in our thinking of our promise of a future home in heaven by the story of how Israel was promised a future home in Canaan.

You remember that Moses sent spies ahead into the land and Joshua and Caleb brought back with them the luscious fruits of the land of promise. Huge cluster of grapes as well as pomegranates and figs. All who say down with them to eat that mouth-watering banquet had an idea of what lay ahead of them. I remember when we were boys at home and we knew that there were people coming for dinner later in the day we would learn to hover in the kitchen when our mother was preparing the food. And usually amidst cautions to "be patient and we would have our share" we would come away gleefully with some nibbles- a foretaste of the spread that was to come. The Holy Spirit brings to us a foretaste of heaven.

Do you have a love for the Lord Jesus and love to meet Him in His word and speak to him in prayer. That love is a foretaste of the joy that will be seeing Him face to face. Do you have a new sense of the odiousness of sin and find a new struggle in your life with temptation. Strange as it may seem that too is a result of realising that your life is now hidden with Christ and sin will have no place in heaven. Do you enjoy the company of other Christians, are you seeking to find out the will of God for you and to obey that will with enthusiastic joy. That too is a foretaste of heaven when all of our powers will be employed in God's service and our voices will join with all his people in praise.

God gives us this deposit, this foretaste of glory and calls us to look forward. And he too looks forward to that day when he will have something too. That's what it says- looks at v 14 we have an inheritance in God and God amazingly, wonderfully, has an inheritance in us. We are his possession. Once again it's a wonderful Old Testament expression. God loved to use a word for his people Israel that kings used for their own household treasure. This is how God views us- believe it or not- and this is what God is determined to redeem on that last great day. His precious possession. As the hymn puts it "I am his and he is mine."

And so no more doubts, no more fearfulness. The Lord says to every believer this morning "Child don't be anxious. Live in the security of my love. Serve me with faith not fear. Let the joy of the Lord be your strength. God and bring in the kingdom with glad abandon because I will never let you go."