SEALED!

As I was reading my devotions for Tuesday, the passage about being “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” stuck out for me:

 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. (ESV)

 But, what does it mean to be “sealed” with the Holy Spirit? My ESV Study Bible has the following note:

 Sealed can mean either that the Holy Spirit protects and preserves Christians until they reach their inheritance … or that he “certifies” the authenticity of their acceptance by God as being genuine—they bear the “royal seal” … (Crossway Bibles, 2008)

 No matter which interpretation you choose, I’m thankful to be sealed with the Holy Spirit! I’m thankful for the protection and preservation of the Holy Spirit … where would I be without those? I do not think we really grasp the magnitude of our wrestling against the  “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV) As our protector, I believe that the Holy Spirit often fends off the enemy without our even knowing about it. And, then, there’s the preservation factor … keeping us from paths of destruction and encouraging us on the right paths. I suspect we’ve all sensed the Holy Spirit telling us “don’t go there” when we’ve faced temptation. I also think we all know we’re much better off when we listen to the Holy Spirit’s prompting.

 

I’m also thankful that I bear the ‘royal seal’ of God. Just off the cuff, I can think of a few things that a wax seal accomplished. First, it was a mark of authenticity. Not just anyone had access to the royal seal that imprinted the wax. The seal marked the document as official. A wax seal would also give evidence if a document had been tampered with. I could go on, but I hope you get the idea that the indwelling Holy Spirit is God’s permanent mark on a Christian. In many ways, it’s like God’s stamp of ownership. You’re His child … it’s official, and you can’t be tampered with. Sure, Satan will try, but He can’t pluck you out of the Father’s hand (John 10:28-29). 

Friend, if you are a child of God, please take courage … you have been “sealed for the day of redemption” by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30)!

 

In His grip, 

Pastor Decker