Sealed with That Holy Spirit of Promise

2018-08-17

In whom ye also trusted, 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, (14) Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

This passage tells us a lot about how we are saved.

  1. The Word of truth was preached. We needed to hear the Gospel to be saved. The Gospel, defined as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) is the Word of God. Someone obeyed the Great Commission and told us how to be saved by believing on the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. One of my favorite verses is Romans 10:17, which reads: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Therefore, sharing the Gospel is so vital for people to be saved. Ephesians 1:13
  2. We heard, understood, and believed the Gospel. Many people may hear the Gospel, but either do not understand it or reject it. We believed it and were thereby saved. These things happened in the past and are settled. Ephesians 1:13
  3. We were sealed with the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that everyone who believes has the Holy Ghost inside of them (Romans 8:9). Here, we see that we are “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:14). Let us look at what this means in detail.

Sealed

This word sounds like a great promise. Let us look at what this means.

  1. To be sealed is to be approved of. Jesus told those who followed Jesus after He fed the five thousand to “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed” (John 6:27). The Father sealed the Son; the Son was sent by God to do His will and was His approved ambassador to the world.
  2. To be sealed is to be protected. The 144,000 Jewish men will be sealed during the period of God’s wrath on the earth in the end times. They were protected from the harm that is to come upon the earth:

    And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. (Revelation 7:2-4)
  3. To be sealed is to be closed up for an appointed time. A related word is used in Revelation 5:1: “And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.” Daniel is told, “Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end” (Daniel 12:9). The appointed time for us is the Day of Christ, or the rapture, for the Bible tells us that we “are sealed unto the day of redemption” with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).

The Holy Spirit is Our Earnest

In Ephesians 1:14, the Holy Spirit “is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.” The inheritance is a purchased possession, with the Spirit being the guarantee of our future redemption.

God Has Established Us

The Bible tells us, “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). God was the one who sealed us by giving us His Spirit. This sealing of the Spirit was initiated by God.

Unto the Praise of His Glory

This indwelling and sealing of the Holy Spirit glorifies God (Ephesians 1:14). Whatever God does, it is for His glory. Because we have that Holy Spirit of promise, let us please God for the rest of the days that God has given us.