The Seal And Promise

Ephesians 1: 7-14

In Him we have Redemption through His blood, 

Redemption is His total rescue from this whole fleshly existence, all the way into having the Resurrected body like Jesus was Resurrected with.   

the forgiveness of our trespasses, 

Our trespasses are the wilful sins we commit, knowingly disobeying what we know is right. This is only one of the kinds of sin we are rescued from. 

according to the riches of His grace 
which He lavished on us. 

God showered His grace on us abundantly, freely giving us all the good we could never earn or deserve. 

In all wisdom and insight 
He made known to us the mystery of His will, 

"Wisdom" is sophia, "higher, spiritual or lower, worldly wisdom."
"Insight" is phronesis, "intellectual or moral insight; prudence, wisdom." 

God's insightful wisdom has let us know what His will is, that was not known before. That we will one day be His kings and queens, managing all the worlds He will create in the future eternity, starting with Jesus' 1000-year reign on this Earth.  

according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 

God the Father intended to give the Lordship to the Son, which He did, making the Son the Lord God Almighty. 

with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, 

God the Father is looking at the end from the beginning, the overt rule of the Son, Christ Jesus our Lord

that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the Earth. 

After Jesus returns as King, He will unite all the Earth with the rest of the Universe and all creation, including the holy angels and the demons and their leader; all creation. 

In Him 
we also have obtained an inheritance, 

As Jesus' brothers and sisters, and His bride, and His body; we also will sit in His throne as He sits in His Father's throne, to administer and manage all the parts of His great Kingdom. 

having been predestined according to His purpose 

This is our final destination, why we were saved and molded and grown up in God's family; His purpose for us. 

who works all things after the counsel of His will, 

God is God, He does whatever He wants to do, and succeeds at everything. 

to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ 

Paul and the rest of the apostles and the believers in the churches he founded were the first people to be Christ's body, His bride. Through the ages since they lived, many more have been added to this number, and will be until He returns. 

would be to the praise of His glory. 

Our lives are to reflect the family's characteristics, and He will get all the credit for it all. 

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation--having also believed, 

When the Christians in Ephesus heard the message of the Gospel, they believed that Jesus died for them and rose from the dead, and put their trust in Him to do what He said He would do, to save them from sin. 

you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of Promise, 
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.

When they believed, God put His Holy Spirit into their spirits, just as He still does today into us. His Spirit causes us to be born spiritually into His family, and is the down-payment on the full Redemption that will be accomplished when we also are resurrected. He seals us up to this future, that nothing can change. 

And God still gets all the credit, all the glory and praise for having thought it all up, planned it all out, and carried out all His plans to their completion. 

O my Father, thank You so much for planning to create Mankind to be Your own children! That's why You are not willing for any of us to perish, but for all to come to the realization that we deserve that execution death Jesus died in our place as the Lamb of God. That is why He came as a human. 

Thank You for washing us so clean that we are without even a trace of a shadow of sin, completely pristine, so that You could come into us as Your Spirit to live permanently with us, never to leave or forsake us. He is our sealing wax, and our promise of everything else You have planned for us. 

Thank You for having me be born as a human, also, to be in Your own family, instead of an angel or any other sentient being. We will sit with You in Your throne, under the authority of Your Son. After we learn all the lessons and pass all the tests here. 

And Your Kingdom will never stop growing more extensive and expansive. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem, is God the Son, the Lord God Almighty, King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!