All for His Glory
Do you celebrate Juneteenth? If you have never heard of that day, it has a major significance in the lives of many African-Americans in the South. President Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation, which granted freedom to slaves in Confederate states, on New Year’s Day in 1863. Word didn’t reach all of the slaves until June 19, 1865, when a force of two-thousand Union soldiers arrived in Texas and informed them of their freedom.
Slavery in the United States was finally at an end. Many slaves had been redeemed or freed prior to the Civil War. Others were freed after the war, yet some had to wait until Juneteenth for their freedom. Early Juneteenth celebrations were picnics with family and churches that strengthened communities for the glory of God.
Do you celebrate Jubilee? Probably not unless you are Jewish. God instructed the Jews to observe a sabbath year every 7 years, just as He told us to observe the sabbath on the 7thday of the week. Sabbath is a word that means to rest. Each week we are to work 6 days and rest one day. During that day we are to spend time focused on God as we worship Him.
For a sabbath year, farmers were instructed to let their fields rest instead of continuing to plant crops on them year after year. Why? To prevent the soil from becoming worn out and useless. The jubilee was to take place at the end of the 7thSabbath year; every 50 years. During that year of Jubilee, all debts were to be forgiven, property would be returned back to the original owner, and slaves would be set free. It was all to be done for the praise of God’s glory.
As we continue our Stronger series, we will see how everything in our lives should be done for the glory of God. Even the many blessings that God has given to us are for the praise of His glory.
7 We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that He planned in Him 10 for the administration of the days of fulfillment—to bring everything together in the Messiah, both things in heaven and things on earth in Him. (Ephesians 1:7-10)
Redemption through His Blood
First thing we need to understand is that we have redemption in God through His blood. To be redeemed means to be “bought back.” It carries with it the sense of being released from slavery. By being redeemed by Christ, we are freed from sin, both the penalty and the enslaving power. This redemption was accomplished by the death of Christ on the cross where he shed his blood and died to secure our redemption. His death paid the price for our release from sin and death.
Verse 7 says this redemption is the forgiveness of our trespasses, or sins. Redemption and forgiveness go hand in hand. We cannot have one without the other. To forgive, in this instance, means to give up the right to punish someone for a transgression. It can also mean to give up our right to repayment, as I forgive you your loan.
God’s forgiveness was done out of the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. He gave us the ability to understand, the wisdom to comprehend the mystery of His will for us according to His good pleasure that he planned for us. He chose us and He piled on us the understanding of our need for forgiveness, which he provided through His redemption. All this was done for the administration of the days of fulfillment. That is the time when everything in heaven and on earth are brought together in Jesus.
11 We have also received an inheritance in Him, predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will, 12 so that we who had already put our hope in the Messiah might bring praise to His glory. (Ephesians 1:11-2)
Inheritance from God
Not only have we been redeemed and forgiven, but we have also been given an inheritance from God. God chose to adopt us as His sons and daughters. As such, we are co-heirs with God’s Son, Jesus. It is God’s will that everything He has and does will bring praise and glory and honor to His name. Including His children.
How is God’s name an inheritance for us? If our father was someone that had amassed a massive amount of money during his lifetime, but he did it through irreputable means, such as part of the mob or gun smuggling or the drug trade, we may enjoy a large inheritance when he dies, if he isn’t caught, but his name and his money will always be associated with that of crime. Blood money.
Yes, you would still be rich because you would inherit the fortune, but you also would inherit the name. The name of a criminal. With God, we not only inherit the riches of heaven, but we also inherit a name that has been praised, that is the only name worthy of glory and honor. We inherit a name of royalty. A name that is above all other names. That is our Daddy, the King of all kings. Besides, our inheritance isn’t about money or fame, it is all about getting to live with our Father for all of eternity.
13 When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 14 He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
We Possess the Down Payment
Sometimes you hear about some young girl that marries a wealthy old man and everyone thinks the same thing: she is just hoping to outlive him so that she can inherit his wealth. Sometimes children of wealthy people get tired of waiting for their parents to die so that they can inherit their wealth and chose instead to kill their parents to speed up that process.
Usually you have to wait for someone to die in order to inherit anything. But God, who will never die, has already given us a down payment on our inheritance: the Holy Spirit. We don’t have to wait until Heaven to be in the presence of God. He sent His spirit to come down to us, to live in us, to guide us, to teach us. God is with us always.
God chose you…but notice verse 13. When you heard the message of truth, the message of God’s free gift of grace, the good news of God’s salvation, and when you believed in God and this message, you were immediately sealed with a promise. That seal is God’s Holy Spirit.
During the time that this was written, seals were of great importance. If a king wrote a secret letter intended for only the eyes of one of his generals, he would bind it with his seal. If that seal was broken by anyone before it got to the general, he would know that the king’s message had possibly been tampered with. The message was no longer secret.
When Jesus was put in his tomb, Pilate had his seal placed on the stone that was rolled in front of the tomb. It was protected. That seal meant that it was a crime to enter the tomb. If you broke the seal, you would face the death penalty.
When you buy food at the store, it has a seal on it. If the seal is broken, you know that the food could have been tampered with and it is no longer safe.
When the president of the United States writes a letter, it is embossed with his seal so that everyone will know that it belongs to him.
God placed His seal on all that believe in Him. It is His way of saying, “You are mine. You are safe. You are protected.” We can be sure of our inheritance as part of God’s family because He sealed us with Himself.
God the Father, sent God the Son to bring redemption to all who ask for the forgiveness of their sins and promise to let God be their boss. Because of our choice to believe and follow Jesus, God the Father sealed us with God the Holy Spirit. A seal that can never be broken. A seal that cannot be overcome. A seal that is eternal. We are His and nobody can mess with us or take us away from Him.
And all of this has been done for His glory.
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