Living in the light is living in confidence. We can see where we are going, and we know we will arrive at our destination. There is no “we might make it.” We will experience eternal life in heaven with the Lord! How can we be confident of heaven? Check out today’s passage.

Ephesians 1:13-14
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

In Paul’s day, letters were sealed with hot wax. A signet ring was pressed into the wax to ensure authenticity. The believer has been sealed with the Holy Spirit. He is the One who enables us to demonstrate the authenticity of our relationship with God. But there’s more. He is also the “guarantee of our inheritance.”

I remember the first house Lori and I bought. We signed what seemed like a mountain of paperwork and then wrote a big check, the down payment. The down payment did not pay off the house. It was simply a promise that every month, we would continue to pay what we owed until the debt was paid off. In our passage today, Paul explains that the Holy Spirit is God’s down payment to us. The word translated as “guarantee” is a legal term meaning “first installment.” The word signifies the first payment, which serves as a pledge for the completion of the transaction. The Holy Spirit is the promise that the work God began in us will be brought to completion (Philippians 1:6).

The gift of the Holy Spirit, given the moment we believe, is God’s commitment to our future blessings of eternal life and our great reward in heaven. It is the Spirit who testifies with our spirit that we are indeed children of God (Romans 8:16). It is by the Spirit of sonship that we can cry out “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15). It is through the Spirit that we can walk in the light…all the way to heaven.

Father, thank you for the Holy Spirit that lives within us. Thank you for the assurance that the work you start will be completed. In Jesus’ name. Amen.