“And you also were included in Christ
when you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation.
Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal,
the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance
until the redemption of those who are God's possession
- to the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:13-14
when you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation.
Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal,
the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance
until the redemption of those who are God's possession
- to the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:13-14
When we become God’s children, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit the moment we believe! This is the last spiritual blessing of Ephesians 1 and an ancient way of signifying at least four results: transaction, ownership, security and identity.
Believers are sealed to indicate that the transaction is complete – “paid in full” – our full redemption is guaranteed even though the process of being conformed to the image of Christ takes time.
God stamps us with a seal as a mark of ownership. In a sense believers have a mark on their foreheads showing they are separated and set apart for God, and distinguished and marked as belonging to Jesus. They are His personal, treasured possession.
Setting a seal prevents opening, thus indicating protection or security. Believers are off limits and cannot be tampered with – nothing can separate us from God. Even when believers grieve the Spirit, they cannot unseal the seal set by the Spirit.
Sealing is an imprint of a believer’s identity and authenticity – that they are placed in Christ forever. They may look no different on the outside, but they have been made different from others inside. It is for their encouragement as well as to enable them to be an evidence to others and a witness to the world.
The joy believers experience now through the Holy Spirit is just a token or a first installment of the rich blessings that His children will receive in eternity. The Spirit’s illumination is an earnest of everlasting light; sanctification is an earnest of perfect holiness; and his comforts are earnests of everlasting joys.
Joyce
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