In His Name Devotionals
GOD'S OWNERSHIP
In His Name Devotionals
GOD'S OWNERSHIP
You were sealed with the Holy Spirit “…with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:14 NIV)
Regarding God sealing you, if you are a believer, with the Holy Spirit as a pledge of your eternal inheritance, Paul says He does so “with a view to the redemption of (His) own possession,” referring to the day when God will take full possession of all that is rightfully His.
Satan, to a certain degree, usurped God’s rulership to become the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), and the whole world currently lies under his power (1 John 5:19). Consequently, all creation is in bondage to decay and “groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Romans 8:22). It eagerly awaits the time when all Christians will be fully glorified: when sin will be eternally vanquished. What a glorious time that will be.
If you are a Christian, you are God’s special possession, because you are His by redemption as well as by creation. John says the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders sing to the Lord, “Worthy art Thou...for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelations 5:9). Paul charged the Ephesian elders to guard carefully “the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).
That makes you a priceless commodity to God—part of “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
As God’s special possession, you should reflect His ownership and sovereign rule in everything you do. Remember, “you are not your own...for you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
