Ephesians 1:14b – Believing is Seeing

… until the redemption of those who are God’s possession

Summary: In this passage, Paul points us to an important aspect of our present and future condition, and our relationship with God’s Holy Spirit.

Sometimes, when we examine a text very closely, we can lose sight of the larger context. Let’s avoid that danger by stepping back from this passage and looking at the whole sentence* again:

“When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1: 13b-14)

When we believe in Jesus (John 3:14-15), Jesus sends his Holy Spirit (John 15:26). Paul describes this gift as a “seal” and a “deposit.” Both of these metaphors convey the idea that God gives us his Spirit to affirm that we will, indeed, inherit eternal life (John 6:47).

There are two aspects to this passage we should touch on. The first is the notion that we are not fully redeemed until something in the future happens. This may be splitting hairs, but I think it is important for us to be aware of it. As long as we are in this life, that is to say, as long as we occupy a corrupted physical body, we are going to struggle with sin (1 John 1:10). The reason for this is that our physical body was awakened to a sense of its own self when Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree (Genesis 3:5).

When we die, we are given new bodies. Jesus describes it this way:

“When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” (Mark 12:25)

The angels in heaven have bodies similar to the body Jesus had after his resurrection. When necessary, they can manifest themselves in this world as physical bodies. In Genesis 18:16, the angels who visit Abraham are called “men.” In Genesis 19:1, these same beings are called “angels.” My impression of angelic manifestations is that angels prefer to be in heaven. After all, who wouldn’t? (Demons, of course, don’t have that option.)

Paul is affirming that the full redemption of our being is not completed until after we shed this corrupted body. The second point to note is that the presence of the Holy Spirit is intended to be something we are aware of. Both a “seal” and a “deposit” are visible signs of ownership. God, it appears, wants us to be assured that he is coming for us.

There are many ways the Spirit manifests himself in our lives as believers. The challenge, I think, is to believe what we are hearing and seeing (Mark 9:24).

Application: Think about the way the Holy Spirit has made himself known in your life.

Food for Thought: How do we know that the Holy Spirit is present and active in our life?

*Keep in mind that for the sake of discussion, we are working within the context of a specific translation.