I recently made reservations at a hotel for an upcoming trip I am taking. As expected, I needed to give the hotel a credit card number to hold the hotel room. Why? They wanted a guarantee that I would pay for the hotel and, most of all, that I would actually come. But, on a much grander scale, Scripture promises that Jesus left His followers a guarantee that He would return and that His followers would have eternal life with Him, and that is the Holy Spirit.
The apostle Paul spent a lot of time talking about the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 5. In this chapter, Paul wrote, “The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him” (verse 14). The Holy Spirit, according to Paul, is a guarantee of our salvation. Unlike people or products that will let us down, the Holy Spirit’s guarantee of our salvation is something we can depend on. We do not have to guess or wonder. Some biblical scholars understand this verse to mean that the Holy Spirit is a “down payment” for the salvation in Jesus that is to come for all who believe in Him. The Holy Spirit is a promise of what is to come that we can stake our lives on.
In a world where nothing seems guaranteed, we can be completely confident in the Holy Spirit’s guarantee of our salvation. If we place our faith in Christ, we can be secure in our salvation. This precious, beautiful life we live in the Holy Spirit is only a picture of what will come when we finally have eternal life in Jesus.
Take a few moments to reflect. On how the Holy Spirit has impacted your life. How has the Holy Spirit brought you peace when you were fearful? How has the Holy Spirit helped you say “no” to sin when you were tempted? How has the Holy Spirit comforted you? After reflecting on these things, write a prayer to God, thanking Him for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
"This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes."
