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The Firstfruits of Redemption
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anointed with to heal the sick? That is what it says in Acts 10:38. “How God anointed Jesus of
Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about…”
raising people from the
dead
? Well, it did happen, but that’s not what that verse says. He didn’t do that everywhere.
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about
doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.” He went
about healing.
Later the Bible says He was raised from the dead by that same Spirit Who anointed Him to heal.
(Romans 8:11) Healing bodies and raising bodies from the dead—is there any connection there
at all? Why would He have a right to heal a body? If anyone has ever been healed, it was based
on what Jesus was going to do or has already done. Now we’re all looking back because it has
already been done.
When Jesus bought and paid for your resurrection, your healing was included in that. Let me
reiterate: When He bought and paid for your resurrection, He also bought your healing. Why?
Because He bought your body, giving Him the legal right to do anything to the body—from
quickening you a little bit, to healing you, to putting new organs in, all the way up to raising you
from the dead. When He bought your body and bought your resurrection, He bought everything
else. He has a right to change your body a little or a lot, and anything in-between.
Now look at verses 13 and 14. “…after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation: in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the
praise of His glory.” Do you know what earnest is? It’s sad how ignorant we, the body of Christ,
are of this. What is the earnest? For one thing, it is something you have right now in this life, in
the person of the Holy Spirit. If you look up the word “earnest” in Greek, it has the connotation
and idea of an engagement ring. Now an engagement ring is not a wedding ring, but a real
engagement and a real engagement ring mean something. What does it mean? There are some
nice engagement rings, ten-carat rings. There are some whopper engagement rings. There are
some hugely-expensive engagement rings, but it wouldn’t have to be a ring. We think of a ring,
but in different cultures, there have been all kinds of presents—everything from castles to
countries and everything in-between. But what was the engagement gift or token? What was the
earnest? It was a relatively small part given now, with the rest to follow later. The earnest of our
inheritance, or the firstfruits of our inheritance, is a relatively small portion that we have now
that is representative of the rest we’re going to get later. And it’s in the Holy Spirit, Who is in us.
Now, earnest is not when we all get to heaven. Earnest is now, right here, right now. You get to
wear the engagement ring before you get married, or if it was an engagement gift, you get to
drive the engagement car before you get married. If it was an engagement gift, you get to enjoy it
right now. You don’t have to wait.
There is a wonderful teaching in this. He is the bride Groom. We are the bride. We have not at
all seen what the bride is going to come into at the end of this thing, but we have the earnest that
we can enjoy here and now. This really is needful to help understand the rest of this.