“In Whom (Christ) we have received an inheritance…..” (Ephesians 1:11) of which the Holy Spirit is the pledge (Ephesians 1:14). The Greek word for pledge is arrabon and comes from a Hebrew word signifying earnest money, something which stands for part of the price, and paid beforehand to confirm the transaction. Earnest money thus paid was forfeited if the purchase was not completed. In modern Greek arrabona is an engagement ring.
The will containing the text of the inheritance is the word of His grace;
“And now I entrust you, brothers, to God and to the word of His grace, the one being powerful to build you up and to give an inheritance to all those having been sanctified” (Acts 20:32).
The Word of God is the text of God’s will. Modern Christianity holds the text of the will and the Church has assumed the place of the executor, whose task it is to execute the will and release the inheritance to the beneficiaries named in the will. The executor holds the text of the will in the hand but has failed to execute it and the beneficiaries have not received their inheritance.
Holding the will in its written form does not release the bequests; it must be executed. Those who have been called to benefit under the will of God are poor, hungry and powerless because the will has not been executed.
“…but as many as took hold of Him He gave to them, those trusting in His name, authority to become children of God” (John 1:12).
The Greek word translated as “took hold” is lambano and is stronger than simply “receive”, which is how it is often translated in this passage. In Matthew 21:35, for example, the same word is used to describe the violent seizure of the vinegrower’s servants.
The point is, that since those who claim the mantle of executor of God’s will have failed to execute it, each one that God has called to be His children must themselves take hold of the bequests under the text of God’s will; we all have a copy; we must take hold directly of what God has given us and turn away from the hirelings who seek to manipulate God’s will for their own advantage.
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