eminence He so richly deserves be cause of His person and work (Phil. 2:9-11). People who reject the claims of Christ in a future day, will con fess Him, not from faith, but against their will. It is subjugation in that hour. Christ is going to subdue all things to Himself. Having done this, He’ll turn everything back to the Heavenly Father aga i n . The re deemed, both Jew and Gentile, are going to make up the totality of the redeemed body of Christ. Christ is the head, in contrast to the human race of which Adam is the head. Ephesians 1:11 reminds us that we have obtained the heritage of God. He works all things out according to the purpose of His own will. Every believer is not only a saint but also an apostle of Christ. Properly speak ing, there are not to be groups in the church made up of clergy and laity. This is not biblical. We’re all together in Christ. The Holy Spirit plays a promi nent part in salvation. This reveals that all the Trinity is at work in bringing to man eternal life. Verse 13 shows us the Third Person’s min istry in redemption. God’s grace is verified when His children are sealed by the Spirit. The idea of sealing stems from the ancient practice used on official documents. A signet ring was pressed into a coating of wax. This could indicate both ownership and protec tion. Paul touches upon this in Ro mans 3:14-16. In the book of Acts, we find that the Holy Spirit first came upon the Jewish believers (Acts 2:1-4). Next He came upon the Sam aritan converts (Acts 8:17). Finally He came upon the Gentile believers (Acts 10:44). The main significance of these visible revelations of the Holy Spirit seems to be found in the suggestion that God was thus plac ing His stamp of approval upon these groups. It was evidence of the prog ress of the Gospel over national, so cial, and religious barriers. Let us 25
enslaved kinsman. We can see the analogy and typology here compared to Christ. By His death on the cross He became your Kinsman-Redeemer in order that we might have ever lasting life. The experience of forgiveness of transgressions (Eph. 1:7) is the most wonderful aspect of our salva tion. The basic concept of forgive ness is “to remit” or “to send away.” The concept of forgiveness was set forth biblically by the Psalmist when he wrote, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he re moved our transgressions from us” (Psa. 103:12). The idea is that God no longer holds man accountable for his sins because of Christ’s atone ment. It’s not that God can’t recall our sins, but that He will not hold them against us any longer. Unsaved man can’t understand such spiritual truths. The believer has been given sufficient wisdom and prudence to un derstand the mystery of God’s will (Eph. 1:8, 9). The word mystery is a favorite of the Apostle Paul. It means an open, revealed secret, a previously hidden truth which now has become dis closed. Paul uses the word to desig nate truths concerning personal re demption. The revelation of this mys tery is altogether God’s prerogative. In verse 10 we find, “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.” We find a similar expres sion in Galatians 4 :4. God has chos en to accomplish His total redemptive activity through Christ. There is a Scriptural evidence to suggest that even the natural uni verse will be redeemed or renovated because of the effects of man’s sin (Rom. 8:19-22). At present, the work of Christ is only partially complete since many people still reject His Saviourhood and Lordship. One of these days He’ll be given the pre
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