A DEPOSIT, NOT A TICKET
"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 1:13-14 NIV).
When we read passages like this, our perception of them is often filtered through the popular notion that salvation on this side of eternity has been expressed as merely a ticket to heaven; we accept the invitation and wait for the day that we can board the transport. While that is undeniably a portion of our inheritance, we as believers have been given far more than this by means of a deposit of the Holy Spirit.
A LIVING GUARANTEE
This living guarantee, as translated from the Greek word arrabón, is not just an I.O.U., or a promissory note to file away or pin to the wall for later redemption. This guarantee is actually a partial, yet substantial portion of the same full inheritance that we can expect to receive when all things are wrapped up at the end of time.
That means that if our inheritance were a store of gold, our guarantee would also be portioned to us in the form of a real, spendable deposit of gold. Of course, we're speaking here of more than just earthly wealth. The heavenly deposit within us, according to scripture is actually the very Holy Spirit Jesus promised would live within us.
ON THE INSIDE
"The Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you" (John 14:17 NIV).
Again, this seal of the Spirit is not simply a branding, identifying us for heaven, but his life within us is actually a real and present access to the heavenly account bought for us. This access is not merely a perk of our salvation, but salvation itself. Therefore, to the extent that we do not accept the Spirit's place in our lives, it begins to reveal the extent to which the world around the Church has influenced our perspective concerning the promise.
Instead of ignoring this access, however, Paul encourages that we investigate the expression of the Spirit's deposit within us.
THOSE THINGS
"Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed" (1 Corinthians 12:1 NIV)
"Now eagerly desire the greater gifts" (1 Corinthians 12:31 NIV)
"Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit... (1 Corinthians 14:1).
Here, gifts might be far better understood and as they are rendered in some translations, as "manifestations" or "things" of the Spirit. These things are simply those things God wants to do through us as sourced by the deposit of the Spirit within us. We should, therefore, eagerly desire to do so.
THY KINGDOM COME
That is exactly the same goal Jesus had in mind when he taught his disciples to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." The goal is that the deposit of heaven within us, being the same nature of our inheritance in heaven, would effect the world around us.
It is no coincidence then that Jesus would declare that the Kingdom is within us in just the same way he would announce that the Spirit would reside within us. These are in no way divergent or competing concepts. When we compartmentalize our Christianity in that way, we separate these truths as if Jesus had multiple religious missions, instead of one ultimate goal.
"From that time on Jesus began to preach, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near'" (Matthew 4:17 NIV).
The phrase translated here as "at hand," or "has come near" means more than simply having been provided a glimpse of heavenly things.
HELPS Word-studies
1448 eggízō (from 1451 /eggýs, "near") – properly, has drawn close (come near). 1448 (eggízō) occurs 14 times in the Greek perfect tense (indicative mood) in the NT which expresses "extreme closeness, immediate imminence – even a presence ('It is here') because the moment of this coming happened (i.e. at the beginning of Jesus' ministry)" (J. Schlosser). Copyright © 2021 by Discovery Bible.
How much closer to us can the Kingdom get on this side of creation than having the deposit of the Holy Spirit vitally dwell within us? That is the promise! Yet, for some reason, we keep folding over our ticket and ignoring the fine print which guarantees access to our inheritance now. We have, after all, been born into a Kingdom that Jesus promised was at hand, not out of reach.
EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
Our guarantee grants us none other than exclusive access, or in modern terms, a backstage pass to heaven to the extent that it can appear on earth's stage today. All this is so that we might fulfill Jesus' prayer that his Kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven. Otherwise, he would not have provided those great and precious promises found throughout scripture including the promise that we have been given now, all those the things needed for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
Citizens of the Kingdom live as if the Kingdom has been planted in their hearts because... it has! So while the guarantee is partial in terms of the full heavenly inheritance that awaits us, it is none-the-less an access far more extensive on this side of eternity than we might be able to imagine.
It's time believers pull out that ticket and reread the fine print. The Kingdom of God consists of righteousness, peace, and joy. Why would we believe that Jesus intends to withhold these until a spiritual bus trip to heaven when God has so plainly revealed that he set eternity within our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11)?
SEALED FOR, NOT FROM OUR INHERITANCE
Paul was the greatest proponent of the work of the Holy Spirit within the heart of believers and on this subject, was nearly a broken record:
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30 NIV)
"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come" (2 Corinthians 1:20-22 NIV)
In this passage, Paul again uses the word arrabón, denoting that this guarantee is of the same nature as the inheritance itself.
"For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come" (2 Corinthians 5:4-5 NIV).
The "Now but not yet" nature of this chapter, while definitively illustrating the difference between the life we live now and the one to come, it still remains clear that this guaranteed access is for now because we've been given our heavenly nature now, just as the word arrabón presents.
THE SAME FAMILY
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)
"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit" (John 3:8 NIV).
Being born of the Spirit means that the nature of the Spirit is already within our DNA. The deposit of the Spirit within us then is not some esoteric, theological concept; it is actually part of our new nature we've been given through spiritual adoption. Can we afford to look forward to heaven as only a future hope while ignoring the nature of heaven within us now? Why can't we do both?
OVERCOMING OUR IDENTITY CRISIS
We might just be able to draw a line from the identity crisis in the world today right back to the Church. If we ignore who we are, we leave the world powerless to see who God created the us to be. Finding a balance between our great and future hope, and the hope of glory already within the Church is perhaps our greatest challenge today, not who will be our next president. We are those who have received a heavenly calling which consists, in part, of the heavenly deposit within us as believers. Ignore that, and we separate the bond between his will on heaven and his will on earth.
It is time we return to heaven. That is, the heaven shed abroad within our hearts.
