SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
Ephesians 1:13; 4:30
In this series we are going to look at the work/ministry of God the Holy Spirit. We know that He is a Person, and not a power/influence. He is fully part of the Trinity and on exactly the same level as the Father and the Son. We also know that He is the worker of the new birth (regeration) in sinners' lives. He is the one who works the faith and repentance. He makes everything new.
But the Scriptures also talk about some other aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit. For example, the "sealing" / "baptism" / "filling".
Any serious Christian will read it in the Bible and ask: WHAT EXACTLY does all that mean? I know that I have been regenerated. But, is there still something lacking in me? Is my armor perhaps incomplete? Am I a second class Christian? Is that perhaps the reason why I sometimes experience myself so inadequate: perhaps I need another few things which the Spirit does and which I did not even know existed? The church has never told me about it. Perhaps I still need to be "sealed" or "baptised" or "filled" by the Spirit.
It is interesting the way in which some preachers preach about the Holy Spirit. Often it is aimed towards creating uncertainty in true children of the Lord. There is always "something" you still need. They divide Christians up into different classes. First class (reborn AND sealed AND baptised AND filled). They are living in powerful victory.
But then there is a second class who are not yet in possession of such riches. They still need the baptism and to be filled with the Spirit.
Therefore, sometimes the Holy Spirit is preached about as though everything is uncertain, and as if people must just search a little deeper and try a little harder.
I challenge you: Show me where in the New Testament it talks about the Holy Spirit in this way. The opposite is true. The focus in the New Testament is mainly to encourage / comfort the children of the Lord, and underline assurance. The NT points to the riches and abundance the believer ALREADY HAVE, but perhaps does not know about or believe. Nowhere in the NT is there mention of 2 or 3 classes of believers.
Come, let us focus this morning specifically on the "sealing" by the Holy Spirit, and tomorrow night we will talk about the baptism and filling by the Spirit.
What on earth is this sealing?
It sounds like some or other mysterious experience which some elite-christians have had, but what most still have to obtain. If so, how do I get it? How does it work?
When we read Ephesians 1:13, it SOUNDS very much as though it is a thing which we still need to get AFTER we've come to repentance and faith. Let us listen to it once more: "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".
This "marked with a seal" at first sounds like something which will elevate a Christian's spiritual life to a higher level. Is there a Christian on this earth who does not yearn for something like that!! Spiritual vitamin injection. A spiritual breakthrough.
Let us take a closer look at it...
Perhaps it is better to first understand what is meant by "sealed".
"Sealing" was in ancient times a way to mark possessions, animals and slaves so that it was clear who the OWNER is. It is a kind of brand.
That is exactly what Paul tried to explain to the believers in Ephesus, who have met the Lord Jesus as Saviour. He told them: The Holy Spirit has marked you as God's REAL PROPERTY.
Actually: not “the Holy Spirit has sealed you”, but THE HOLY SPIRIT IS HIMSELF THE SEAL. In this manner the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove after His baptism, and the Father imprinted His hallmark of acceptance on Jesus.
The second meaning of the seal in ancient times was this: To prevent the theft of possessions / animals / slaves. In the way Jesus' grave was sealed to prevent that someone would steal His body. In Revelation 7 we read that believers are sealed against satan with the Lord's seal on their foreheads. Thus PROTECTION. Safe-keeping. Ephesians 4:30: "the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption". GUARANTEE: You will not become lost. The Holy Spirit Himself is that seal.
Now one can immediately see: This seal is not something some believers have, and others do not have. It cannot be something we must get hold of AFTER we have truly come to know the Lord. Because then it would mean: Some believers are not really the true property of the Lord, and some are not yet 100% protected - because that is the meaning of the "seal".
Go and read Ephesians 1:13-14 again and see what Paul is saying: “In CHRIST the Holy Spirit sealed you as possession of God!”
If you are IN CHRIST, you ARE at the very same time sealed by the Holy Spirit. It is one single issue! And, when are we IN CHRIST? Are only some believers IN CHRIST? No, when we come to faith in Jesus Christ and when we are being re-created by the Spirit, we are truly in Christ. And then we are also sealed by the Holy Spirit. Really too wonderful for words.
Instead of wanting to leave his readers in uncertainty and discouraged, the Apostle Paul wants to do the very opposite. He wants to tell them clearly: LISTEN PEOPLE: DO YOU REALIZE what you really HAVE? It is not an insignificant little thing which happened to you: You do not have to hope and imagine and wonder. You have been HALLMARKED by the Holy Spirit as true possession of the TRIUNE GOD. You do not have to be concerned about your end. You are sealed to PROTECT you. Look at yourself in the mirror and start to believe these things about yourself. Believe the Spirit of God!
And, ask yourself: Do I LIVE out of what I already HAVE? Tell yourself: I AM sealed by God the Holy Spirit. Ask yourself: Does my life EXPRESS that? Or, do I exist on potato-peelings, while there is already an almighty miracle of God's riches invested in my life?
Translated by Marthie Wilson