Purchased and Sealed

 “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:13-14).

 There are several things that happen when one, in faith, obeys the gospel. Of course, one’s sins are washed away by the blood of Christ (Heb. 10:22). We have a new way of life, based in the righteousness of God rather than futility of sin (1 Pet. 1:18-19). Here Paul adds to this our being sealed with the Holy Spirit. While we receive the Spirit’s indwelling when we obey the gospel (Acts 2:38), what does being sealed with the Holy Spirit mean? What should it convey to us?

 The term sealed (σφραγίζω, sphragizo) conveys various realities. The seal served as a legal protection and guarantee. It was placed on property, wills, and such to serve as proof of ownership and identity. Being sealed as a Christian is a mark of ownership that we belong to God, and are no longer under the bondage of sin. We belong to God and have confidence in the promises He makes for us, rather than face the consequences of sin and the condemnation it brings. Paul expressed this truth to the church at Rome. “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Rom. 14:7-9). While Satan would claim we have no right to redemption due to our sins, by the blood of Christ we are adopted by God out of sin (Gal. 4:5-7) and chosen as His own (1 Pet. 2:9).

 Not only this, it also confirms to us that what God has begun working in us, our sanctification, He will continue and bring about. The work God begins in us when we identify ourselves with Him by being immersed in Christ, He will carry out to completion. Paul reminded the Christians in Philippi they were in his prayers, “that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:10-11). In this sense we are sealed with the Spirit as God’s guarantee to us, that what He has begun in us, He will fulfill it. This was Paul’s confidence, “that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).

 This is the basis of our confidence in who we are as children of God. In the efficacy of what God offers us through the sacrifice of Christ, He will not abandon us or stop before reaching the goal of eternal life with Him in heaven. Just as Jesus assured the thief on the cross that he would be with the Lord in Paradise (Luke 23:43), so through the promised Spirit God assures us of the eternal glory waiting for us. Let us have confidence, then, in the life we live. Let us not compromise our faith, or be swayed by the delusions of Satan. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23). God keeps His word; let us hold fast the promise, living faithfully each day for Him. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30).

μαράνα θᾶ

Robert