I N D E X
oft becomes a lie.  In Deuteronomy 4:20 Moses reminds Israel that they were
taken to be unto the Lord, a people of inheritance, but in verse 21 he refers to
the good land which the Lord had given them for an inheritance.  Both statements
are necessary for the presentation of Truth.  Both Israel and the Church are
reminded by these passages that unless they are the Lord's portion, all other
portions will be a mockery.  That unless they find their inheritance in the
Lord, mere possessions will become vanity:
`All things are yours;' said the apostle, `whether Paul, or Apollos, or
Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to
come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's' (1 Cor.
3:21-23).
The Threefold Charter of the Church
`The Prior-hope'  (Eph. 1:12)
The inheritance, as we have seen (pages 141-147), is linked with the
blessing pronounced in verse 5 by the repetition of the word `predestinated'.
A
Predestinated to the adoption of sons,
i.e. constituting such `heirs'.
B  According to His good pleasure.
A
Predestinated to the inheritance described in verse 11.
B  According to the purpose of Him Who worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will.
This brings us to the end of the second great section of Ephesians 1,
verses 3-14, namely that which deals with the work of the Son, and calls forth
the refrain that we met in verse 7 and will meet again in verse 14 `to the
praise of His glory'.  We now enter the third section of this great charter of
the Church, which we have called `The witness of the Spirit'.
In the first section, `The Will of the Father', we have Choice.
In the second section, `The Work of the Son', we have Deliverance.
In the third section, `The Witness of the Spirit', we have Sealing.
Each section is ultimately concerned with inheritance.  The Will of the
Father settles who are to be His heirs; this is implied in the word adoption.
The Work of the Son sets those thus chosen free from the bondage of sin and
death, and fits them for their inheritance.  The Witness of the Spirit operates
during the period that elapses from the first act of faith, unto the redemption
of the purchased possession, and seals them for this inheritance.
The word `trust' today stands for reliance, confidence, credit, and only
in a very secondary sense is it used for `hope'.  This can be realized if we
were to interpose the word `hope' into a `trust deed' or the office of a
`trustee'.  Trust is connected with the old word trow, to hold true.  The word
trust is used in the Authorized Version, to translate two Greek words, peitho
`to persuade' and elpizo `to hope'.  In Romans 15:12 and 13 we have both verb
and noun of the latter coming together, where we read `In Him shall the Gentiles
trust.  Now the God of hope ...'.  While the verb elpizo is translated more
times by `to trust' than `to hope', the noun elpis is translated fifty-three
times `hope' and once `faith'.  This exception is Hebrews 10:23, `the profession
of our faith', which the Revised Version renders `the confession of our hope'.
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