Sealed by the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 1:13-14 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

This weekend, I came across this devotional on the above Bible verse. It states that from very ancient times it has been the custom to confirm and guarantee an agreed-on purchase by sealing the contract with a seal that could only be broken by the buyer when he was ready to take possession of his purchase. The marvelous transaction seen by the Apostle John at God’s throne in heaven was in reference to this practice. There, only the Lamb of God is found worthy to open the seven-sealed scroll on which is recorded the title to the whole creation. “And they sung a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). The purchase price had been paid at the Cross on Calvary, and the resurrected Lamb of God had come to claim His possession.

And we are part of that possession! The price has been paid for our redemption from sin’s bondage and eternal damnation, but on this side of eternity, we have not yet entered on the inheritance which our great Redeemer has promised us. In the meantime, the Believer’s individual title deed, as it were, has been sealed by none other than the Holy Spirit. He is not only the seal, but also the “earnest”—that is, the down payment, the earnest money—who guarantees the total “redemption of the purchased possession” at glorification.

John 14:15-17 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

The Devotion concludes that the indwelling Holy Spirit’s personal presence in our lives is our assurance that the full promise will be fulfilled, and we are urged in Ephesians 4:30 to “grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption”. 2 Corinthians 1:22 proclaims, He “has also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts”.

Blessings