The Down Payment of Glory

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“The Down Payment of Glory” (2 Corinthians 5:5)

I. Introduction. A. Orientation. We’re looking at our communion/fellowship with the Holy Spirit: 1. Last week, we saw that He seals us: “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13). a. He takes another blessing Christ has earned and applies it to us: the divine image, Christ’s image. b. As a king would apply his image to the wax seal, so the Spirit applies His image to our souls. 2. He does this for two reasons: a. The first is to validate His promise: this is His divine assurance that what He has promised us, He will give us. (i) His image impressed in our souls assures us that we are His: when we begin to think, desire and act like Christ. (ii) So that we don’t get discouraged, we need to remember we will never do this perfectly in this life. (a) We will still struggle with sin, in our minds, hearts and actions. (b) But there will be real growth in holiness, according to our use of the means of grace and our fighting against sin. b. The second reason He seals us is to set us apart. (i) As the 144,000 in Revelation were set apart from the destruction coming on Jerusalem (70 AD), as those who groaned over the abominations committed in Jerusalem at the time of the exile were set apart and protected from judgment, so the Lord sets His seal on us to set us apart. (ii) In this sense, it’s something only God sees, but we can know it’s ours when we see the stamp of the divine image on our souls. B. Preview. 1. This morning, let’s consider another way we have communion with the Spirit: He is the pledge of our eternal inheritance. a. Paul tells us this no less than three times in his letters: (i) “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge” (2 Cor. 1:2122). (ii) “Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge” (2 Cor. 5:5). (iii) “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the

2 redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:1314). b. This pledge the Lord gives us is not so much something the Spirit does, but is the Spirit Himself: He is our foretaste of glory, the down payment, if you will. 2. What we’ll look at now is this pledge of the Spirit the Lord gives to those who love Him. We’ll see two things: a. First, this particular grace is the Spirit Himself. b. Second, how the Spirit is the pledge of heaven. II. Sermon. A. First, let’s see that this particular grace of the Spirit is the Spirit Himself. 1. We know the Lord has given us His Spirit. a. Paul writes, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Gal. 4:4-6). b. And, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). c. He is the one who applies Christ to us, unites us to Christ, becomes a principle of new life in our souls, enables us to love and receive Christ. 2. But do you know that the Spirit is the pledge or down payment of heaven? a. What is a pledge? (i) It’s a part of that which is promised, the guarantee that the rest will be given at the time agreed on. (ii) Because it’s part of the whole, it’s also the same nature as the whole. (iii) If we commit ourselves to pay so much money to buy something, we usually pay part of it up front – the part we pay is part of the money we owe. b. The Lord has made us a promise: (i) He has promised eternal life – happiness, peace and joy in heaven forever. (ii) To show us that He is serious, He has given us a pledge or part of it now. (a) What we have now of His Spirit is the down payment. (b) He is also the guarantee we will receive the whole. B. Second, let’s consider how the Spirit can be a pledge, or down payment, of heaven. We need to do this from two different perspectives: from God’s and from ours. 1. First, the Spirit is the down payment from God’s perspective in that He gives us the Spirit as part of our inheritance. a. As we saw was true of a pledge, so the same is true here: He is of the same kind as the whole.

3 (i) Our inheritance is the fullness of the Spirit, when He takes away all our sin, all our sorrows, and makes us perfectly happy and able to enjoy God’s glory in His presence. (ii) Right now we have some joy in God, some comfort in His promises, some victory over our sins: This is the down payment He gives to assure us that one day we will have the full inheritance. b. The Lord has done many things to confirm that He will give us the inheritance: (i) He has given us His Word, His promises, His covenant, His oath; He has shown us that He is faithful, and that His plan is unchangeable. (ii) But the Spirit is the only One who confirms this promise from within. (a) He says through Isaiah, “‘As for Me, this is My covenant with them,’ says the LORD: ‘My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,’ says the LORD, ‘from now and forever’” (Isaiah 59:21). (b) He has given us His Spirit, the first-fruits of glory, the greatest pledge of His love, to assure us of heaven. 2. Second, the Spirit is also the down payment from our perspective: He is that portion of heaven that is now in our hearts. (Heaven on earth) a. He, who is the love of God, shows us the love of God. (i) He shows us that the Father accepts us, that He is our Father, that He will deal with us as children, that the inheritance will be ours. (ii) The Spirit gives us the confidence to call God, Father (Gal. 4:6), which shows us we are not servants, but sons; and if sons, then heirs of God (v. 7). (iii) Paul writes in Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (iv) If we know we are the children of God, then we also know that we have a right to the inheritance. b. The Lord gave us His Spirit to show us what the inheritance is. (i) Paul writes, “Just as it is written, ‘Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him’” (1 Cor. 1:9). (ii) How many times have you heard this quoted to prove that we can’t really know anything about heaven? That it’s greater than we can ever imagine? (iii) That isn’t true. Paul continues, “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God” (v. 10). (iv) It’s true that unbelievers don’t understand because they don’t have the Spirit – but we do. (v) He is part of the whole – our foretaste of heaven. (a) Here we have a just a taste of that love, joy, glory and freedom from sin – there, we will have it in its fullness.

4 (b) But just that taste He gives, gives us an unquenchable desire for more, which is what keeps us moving forward. (c) The more we have of the Spirit here, the more we understand what our inheritance in heaven is like, and the more we will be assured that it’s ours. (d) This is also why we should be careful not to grieve the Spirit, but to do all in our power to be filled with His presence, as Paul commands us (Eph. 5:18). 3. Finally, how is this down payment or foretaste of glory different from what unbelievers experience of the Spirit’s influence? a. We know He works at some level in the hearts of unbelievers: (i) He restrains sin. (ii) He convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). (iii) He strikes fear in their hearts – He does these things in the hearts of believers as well. (iv) In some He works so powerfully that they believe they’re saved. b. But He doesn’t do what He does in the hearts of believers. (i) Unbelievers never experience anything of the love for holiness the Spirit creates. (ii) They love the idea of no more pain and sorrow, and a world of perfect happiness and joy, but they don’t love the idea of finding that happiness and joy in God, His Son, or in the removal of sin – this is something they can’t understand and don’t want. 4. In closing, what have you experienced? a. Do you have this down payment of the Spirit? (i) Do you love the Father and the Son, and heaven, for their holiness? (ii) Does this foretaste of the glories of heaven make you hunger and thirst for the full inheritance? (iii) This is the Lord’s testimony to you that you are His child and an heir of heaven. b. Are you interested in heaven for other reasons? (i) Do you want to go to heaven because you believe the streets are made of gold, the gates of pearl; because you think you can do the things you loved in this world? This isn’t what heaven is like, and if this is all you want, it doesn’t show that you have the down payment of the Spirit. (ii) Do you want to go to heaven only because you don’t want to go to hell? Would you stay in this world if you could? Again, this shows the absence of the Spirit. (iii) Pray that the Lord would change your heart, that He would open your eyes to the true riches, that He would give you His Spirit. (iv) Your eyes must first be opened by the Spirit to see the glory of Christ, before you will ever be able to embrace Him as your Lord and Savior. Amen. http://www.graceopcmodesto.org

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