"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1:6)

The High Priest of Israel wore the inscription "holiness to the Lord" to illustrate to all who obeyed God that they were "accepted before the LORD" (Exodus 28:36-38). Joshua, as a type of all believers, was granted "places to walk" in the courts of God (Zechariah 3:7). Christ's disciples were commanded to "ask" the Father for "whatsoever," since they were chosen and ordained to "bring forth fruit" (John 15:16). We have permission to "ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7).

But there is more! Not only are we accepted, we are "sealed with that holy Spirit of promise" (Ephesians 1:13), an "earnest |down payment, deposit| of our inheritance" (v. 14). We are "stablishe|d| . . . anointed . . . sealed" (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).

We are "confirmed" in everything (1 Corinthians 1:4-8), consecrated and sanctified to serve (Exodus 28:41; 1 John 2:27), and given the "earnest of the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 5:5) to empower our ministry.

The Holy Spirit does His work through a threefold ministry in our lives. He will work on Christ's behalf, through our witness, to bring conviction to those not yet in Christ (John 16:7-11). He will also minister to us as the teacher of our spirits to guide us into all truth (John 16:13; 14:17, 26; 15:26).

Furthermore, the wisdom, prudence, and knowledge of God are revealed to us through His work in us (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). All that is necessary for our "effectual working" (Ephesians 3:7) is "graced" to us so that we can "work out |our| salvation" (Philippians 2:12). We are "complete in him" (Colossians 2:10). HMM III