Ephesians 1:14

 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:14 NKJV).

The Amplified Bible states it this way:

That [Spirit] is the guarantee of our inheritance [the firstfruits, the pledge and foretaste, the down payment on our heritage], in anticipation of its full redemption and our acquiring [complete] possession of it—to the praise of His glory.

This lends itself to the idea that we have not yet been fully redeemed, but are awaiting our redemption at a future time.  This is fortified by the following verses:

And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us (Romans 8:23 NLT).

… Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:8-9 NKJV).

Paul and Peter are both highlighting a very important concept for us, as believers, to grasp.  Salvation is an on-going process that is past, present and future.  Our past salvation is the justification that we received when we first believed.  We were translated from the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of Light, went from being sinners to saints, and went from being enemies of God to being adopted into His family.  We were made righteous by the blood of Christ in that one moment in time. 

However, that was the beginning of the process.  We are currently in the middle of the process – the here and now of salvation which is sanctification.  That’s what Paul refers to in his letter to the Philippians:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13 NKJV).

We are currently called to co-labor with God by simply getting out of His way so that the life of Christ that dwells in us by the power of His Spirit can have full reign in our lives. 

Then there is the future aspect of salvation, which is the redemption of our souls and bodies or what theologians call glorification.  There is coming a point in our future – whether it is the return of Christ to us, or our return to Him via our physical death here on earth – when we will experience the full and final work of salvation.  We will be complete, whole and walking with Jesus. 

As I ponder these three phases of salvation – past, present, and future – I realize that each has a poignant place in the life of a believer.  Our salvation past reminds us of the great grace and mercy of God; our salvation future keeps our hope alive; but it is our salvation present that – if we are doing it right – will keep us humble as we recognize that we are truly the branches and without being connected to the vine, we have no shot at walking in the holiness we are called to walk, which the Bible makes painfully clear is way beyond what most of us settle for:

Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did (1 John 2:6 NLT).

Today, I will ask God to work in me to do will and to do His good pleasure and then I’ll try to get out of His way.

Check out Gennarino's devotional on this same verse at: Ephesians 1:14.