Graduate 187: Advent & Ephesians, Day 14
"...who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory."
You may not have noticed, if you've just been reading each of these entries individually, but vv. 3-14 are actually very carefully and thoroughly structured. There is a past-present-future progression that runs from Paul's speaking about predestination to his treatment of our current redemption to his contemplation of Christ's future administration. There is also a Trinitarian progression that begins by focusing on the Father in vv. 3-4, the Son in vv. 5-12, and the Holy Spirit in vv. 13-14.
We've already alluded to the importance of the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity and its significance for us as adopted sons and daughters in God's family. But this picture would not be complete without the action of the Holy Spirit. Here Paul emphasizes that the Holy Spirit is the seal that marks believers and identifies them as belonging to God. Paul goes on to expand upon this basic metaphor by talking about how the Holy Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance. Not only does the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives point to a present reality. It also directs our attention to a future hope.
Yet we must be careful not to distinguish these present and future elements too sharply for they are closely connected. Foulkes writes, "Christians' experience of the Spirit now is a foretaste and pledge of what will be theirs when they fully possess their God-given inheritance." (Foulkes, 65) What does that experience of the Spirit's presence consist in, then? This is a point that is puzzling to many believers. What does it mean to be 'indwelt' by the Holy Spirit and what is the evidence of this indwelling. At different times, people have tended to focus on particular manifestations, especially in the form of certain spiritual gifts. But I think that if one wants to understand what the influence of the Holy Spirit looks like, one should first look at the example of Jesus Christ and then at the example of His followers. And when we do this we see that the Spirit's manifestations are extremely rich on not limited to a narrow range of activities or events.
At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus' spoke about the Holy Spirit's influence on His life. He quoted the prophet Isaiah, saying:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are downtrodden,
To proclaim the favorable years of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19)
During His last night with His disciples, before His crucifixion, Jesus told His followers:
"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will behold Me no more; but you will behold Me; because I live, you shall live also. In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him." (John 14:16-21)
Later, the Apostle Paul, speaking to the Galatian church, says: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..." (5:22-23)
There are many more passages that we could go to for information about the role and activities of the Holy Spirit. But I think the following may be useful for our basic understanding now: the principle evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit is a transformed life. When we choose to put our faith in Jesus Christ--when we choose to follow Him, to apprentice ourselves to Him, to follow His example and instructions, then the Holy Spirit begins to work in our lives to change and transform us. The result is that our lives become characterized increasingly by love, joy, peace, etc. The Holy Spirit's presence and activity is indispensable. Not only does God work to change our dispositions and attitudes, but He also works in our circumstances. Relationship with God, after all, is about more than just behavior modification; it is fundamentally about entrance into the kingdom of God--a realm and domain in which God's will is efficacious in our lives and in our circumstances. Only if the Holy Spirit is present and working do we see all these kinds of changes. And when we see these kinds of changes, we know that God's Spirit is working in us. For those who have not experienced this, the kind of assurance that I am talking about can seem mysterious, but for those who have submitted themselves to the will of God in a way that actually affects how they live their lives, they will see the different results.
This present activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives also points to a future reality and hope. But this future reality will not be so radically different from the present reality as some suppose. This future reality will consist just in a deepening and strengthening of the relationship with God that we enjoy now. The shift will be radical in many ways, but there will also be a strong continuity between then and now. Jesus, Himself, said that Eternal Life just is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent. (John 17:3) The knowledge that He refers to is knowledge that comes from interactive relationship. And that interactive relationship is something that we can enjoy, in some measure, now, and will enjoy most fully after the final redemption.
What does this future redemption consist in? Paul has already spoken of our having been redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ. However, the process of redemption will not be complete until the end when all things are brought under the authority of Jesus Christ. (See v. 10.) And all of this will also be to the praise of His glory.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
You may not have noticed, if you've just been reading each of these entries individually, but vv. 3-14 are actually very carefully and thoroughly structured. There is a past-present-future progression that runs from Paul's speaking about predestination to his treatment of our current redemption to his contemplation of Christ's future administration. There is also a Trinitarian progression that begins by focusing on the Father in vv. 3-4, the Son in vv. 5-12, and the Holy Spirit in vv. 13-14.
We've already alluded to the importance of the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity and its significance for us as adopted sons and daughters in God's family. But this picture would not be complete without the action of the Holy Spirit. Here Paul emphasizes that the Holy Spirit is the seal that marks believers and identifies them as belonging to God. Paul goes on to expand upon this basic metaphor by talking about how the Holy Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance. Not only does the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives point to a present reality. It also directs our attention to a future hope.
Yet we must be careful not to distinguish these present and future elements too sharply for they are closely connected. Foulkes writes, "Christians' experience of the Spirit now is a foretaste and pledge of what will be theirs when they fully possess their God-given inheritance." (Foulkes, 65) What does that experience of the Spirit's presence consist in, then? This is a point that is puzzling to many believers. What does it mean to be 'indwelt' by the Holy Spirit and what is the evidence of this indwelling. At different times, people have tended to focus on particular manifestations, especially in the form of certain spiritual gifts. But I think that if one wants to understand what the influence of the Holy Spirit looks like, one should first look at the example of Jesus Christ and then at the example of His followers. And when we do this we see that the Spirit's manifestations are extremely rich on not limited to a narrow range of activities or events.
At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus' spoke about the Holy Spirit's influence on His life. He quoted the prophet Isaiah, saying:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are downtrodden,
To proclaim the favorable years of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19)
During His last night with His disciples, before His crucifixion, Jesus told His followers:
"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will behold Me no more; but you will behold Me; because I live, you shall live also. In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him." (John 14:16-21)
Later, the Apostle Paul, speaking to the Galatian church, says: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..." (5:22-23)
There are many more passages that we could go to for information about the role and activities of the Holy Spirit. But I think the following may be useful for our basic understanding now: the principle evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit is a transformed life. When we choose to put our faith in Jesus Christ--when we choose to follow Him, to apprentice ourselves to Him, to follow His example and instructions, then the Holy Spirit begins to work in our lives to change and transform us. The result is that our lives become characterized increasingly by love, joy, peace, etc. The Holy Spirit's presence and activity is indispensable. Not only does God work to change our dispositions and attitudes, but He also works in our circumstances. Relationship with God, after all, is about more than just behavior modification; it is fundamentally about entrance into the kingdom of God--a realm and domain in which God's will is efficacious in our lives and in our circumstances. Only if the Holy Spirit is present and working do we see all these kinds of changes. And when we see these kinds of changes, we know that God's Spirit is working in us. For those who have not experienced this, the kind of assurance that I am talking about can seem mysterious, but for those who have submitted themselves to the will of God in a way that actually affects how they live their lives, they will see the different results.
This present activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives also points to a future reality and hope. But this future reality will not be so radically different from the present reality as some suppose. This future reality will consist just in a deepening and strengthening of the relationship with God that we enjoy now. The shift will be radical in many ways, but there will also be a strong continuity between then and now. Jesus, Himself, said that Eternal Life just is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent. (John 17:3) The knowledge that He refers to is knowledge that comes from interactive relationship. And that interactive relationship is something that we can enjoy, in some measure, now, and will enjoy most fully after the final redemption.
What does this future redemption consist in? Paul has already spoken of our having been redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ. However, the process of redemption will not be complete until the end when all things are brought under the authority of Jesus Christ. (See v. 10.) And all of this will also be to the praise of His glory.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
posted by Metaphysician_delta | 6:40 PM
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