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Day 5 - Because I have the Spirit, I can Enjoy a “Taste” of the Goodness of my Father’s House
That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 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 of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory (Eph 1:12-14)
The Holy Spirit plays a crucial role in our adoption and sonship as believers in Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, we can experience the love of God and understand our identity as children of God. The Spirit enables us to grasp the truth of the gospel and our position in Christ, empowering us to live in the freedom and joy that come from knowing our identity. As we continually come back to the truths of the gospel, the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit, confirming our status as heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. This is a washing and renewal, and it is how we are to “put on” Christ. This leads us to a deeper and more intimate relationship with God.
According to Ephesians, the Spirit is described as both a seal and a pledge. As the seal, the Spirit marks us with the impression of God's image so that we are marked by God and known by angels as the sons and heirs. This seal attaches us and joins us to God Himself, making us one with Him, and we have His life. It also marks us out as God's inheritance, the treasure He gave everything He had to purchase, and declares our value to Him.
As the Pledge, the Spirit is a "foretaste." In old times, if you were to purchase a plot of land, the seller would often give you a sample of its produce so that you could "taste" and have a sense of the quality of that which you would gain in full when the land became yours. This foretaste was a "guarantee" of what was to be redeemed after the purchase. We have been sealed with the Spirit who is the pledge, the foretaste, "guaranteeing the inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession." Although we were already redeemed by the work of Christ, the Bible says that the day we are manifested as the sons of God and glorified will be the "redemption of the body," and at that time we will enter the full enjoyment of our inheritance, and God will enter into the full enjoyment of His.
The Spirit is a "sample" of the kindness of God in the ages to come, and it is a "taste of the powers of the age to come" and the "taste" that God is good and gracious. God did not leave us with only a promise; He has given us a "taste." Have you ever noticed that when you read a menu for a restaurant you like, you start to hunger for the foods on it? You are acquiring a "taste for it." But when you order and the food is delivered, you get to really taste it. Today, the Spirit and the Word not only give us a taste for the feast in God's house, but by the Spirit, we can have a taste of the feast! We have access now, and this is called a "foretaste."
Verses
- "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." - Romans 8:14-17
- "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 of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." - Ephesians 1:13-14
- "Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." - 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
- "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." - 1 John 3:1-3
- "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." - Galatians 4:4-7
Prayer / Confession
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for making me a child of God and helping me understand my identity in Christ. Thank you for confirming my sonship through your witness and for being a seal and a pledge of my inheritance. Thank you for granting me a taste of the goodness of the age to come and for allowing me to experience a foretaste of the feast in God's house. Help me to enjoy focusing on the truths of the gospel and grow in my understanding of my adoption and sonship. Thank you for the work of Christ, which redeemed me and made me an heir of God. Let me always remember that I am no longer a servant, but a son of God through Christ. Amen.