Ephesians 1:13-14 Sealed with the Spirit

Sealed with the Spirit

Ephesians 1:13,14

Many people in the world today do not have a clear understanding of the process of getting to heaven. Our knowledge of heaven comes from the Bible. We need to go to the Bible to find out how to get there. We cannot just make up our own idea of how we may make it to heaven. We need to know for sure that we will get there and it is important to know how to get there for we all want to enjoy the presence of God our creator forever. We do not want to be in torment and share in the fate of Satan, the demons and those who do not believe. Paul is commending the Ephesians for believing when the heard the word of God. They recognized it as the truth and believed that Jesus Christ was the only way to get to heaven. The became a part of the body of Christ when they believed. They were sure of their destiny and salvation.

The Ephesians were not doubters, wondering how to get to heaven. Some of them previously believed in the goddess Artemis, a very sensual goddess of fertility and sensuality. This goddess was known throughout the region as a great goddess of plenty. Many had worshipped Artemis but when they heard the good news that is in the message of Jesus Christ, they forsook their dead religion and believed in the living God who could forgive their sins and give them peace and hope. When they believed they were sealed with the Holy Spirit. God came in the Holy Spirit to live in the hearts of those who believed. The Spirit came when they believed. Some Christians teach that there needs to be a second experience like salvation to receive the Holy Spirit. This passage teaches that the Holy Spirit come to live in our lives and empower us when we believe. All Christians need to have the filling of the Spirit of God which can be many times in the life of the believer. We all need revival. Some more than others. We all falter and need the Spirit to energize us, lead us and teach us how we are to live a victorious and exciting Christian life.

What does it mean to be sealed with the Spirit? The expression occurs here and in Eph 4:30. An owner seals his property with his signet to mark it as his; if at a later time he comes to claim it and his right to it is questioned, his seal is sufficient evidence and puts an end to such questioning. When we lived in Japan we did not use our signature for legal documents but we had to purchase a “seal” to use to mark all documents. They would not accept our signature there. In the time of Paul when this was written each official used to have a ring with his name on it and when he had an important document to make official he would get ink his signet with his family name and stamp the document with his ring. When someone would send out a letter the letter was rolled up and then a string was tied around the letter. A blob of wax was place on the knot of the string and the official ring was used to make an impression in the wax. If this seal was broken the recipient would know that someone had tampered or read the mail and the person who carried to letter to its destination would be punished.

The seal is a mark of ownership. Do you have any marks of ownership? Just as the ring was a signature to prove authenticity so the Holy Spirit is the mark of a genuine Christian. There are many religious people but Romans 8:9 says that “If any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” You are not a Christian if the Spirit is not living in living in your heart and working to change your life. If you do not experience the joy of the Lord, if you are not demonstration the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, you are not a Christian.

The passage tells us that we are sealed with the spirit of God when we believed. God gives us the Holy Spirit as deposit of our inheritance. When we return to God and believe that Jesus died for our sins on the cross and receive forgiveness and are cleansed, God sets up residence in our hearts. The word deposit in the English is a term used to describe a pledge which God makes with us. In Modern Greek the term used here in the Bible is used for the engagement ring. We are preparing for the wedding feast. Jesus said that He was going to prepare a place for us and when He returns He would take us to be his bride. Jesus said that the Spirit was sent to help prepare us for eternity with God. One of the functions of the spirit is to guide us into a life of purity so that when Jesus returns we will be ready to enter into the presence of the Holy God. So our possession of the Spirit here and now is the guarantee divinely given that we shall one day enjoy in its fullness, all that inheritance which God has reserved in heaven for those that love Him.

The Spirit is like a down payment to keep us and guide us for our life here on earth. The Spirit is a mark of ownership. In the west on the cattle ranges they brand the cows with a special mark This allows the cattle from different owners to graze on the same land. When it is time to take the cattle to market, there is no doubt as to whom the cattle belongs to. It someone else tries to steal the cattle the mark on the cattle make it impossible to take without being found out.

At home we have Tupperware containers. The products are guaranteed to seal. Their mascot is a seal which is on their lids. If the lid does not seal, they will replace the seal. Being a child of God means that we are preserved until the time when we will join Christ. Just like the food in the tupperware is sealed to keep it fresh, so too we also will be kept fresh if we have the Spirit of God in our hearts. I know that many times I have been refreshed by the Spirit when I have taken time for prayer and Bible Study. There are times when I am tired and really do not feel like studying or praying but God refreshed our spirit when we spend time with Him.

Being sealed with the spirit speaks of God’s protection from the evil one. The Roman seal on the tomb of Jesus was a sign that no one was to tamper with the stone to move it. The believer belongs to God and is safe and protected because he is a part of a completed transaction. Satan cannot come in and destroy because the Spirit of God protects us. If we have problems God may be allowing Satan to test our faith but God is in control and will never allow Satan to get the best of us.

The Spirit comes in to live in our heart to keep us and keep out the evil one. If we do not yield to the spirit it may be possible that evil spirits will try and come in to take possession of people’s lives. When someone engages in witchcraft, seances, fortune telling or consulting a medium, that person opens himself to evil spirits which may come and take possession. When the demonic forces come and live in a person’s spirit, the person begins to live a life of destruction, depression and bondage. The only way to get rid of evil spirits it by the person demanding the evil spirit leave and that person can then be freed from the problems which the evil spirit was causing in that person’s life.

In Ephesians 4:30 we are warned not to grieve the Holy Spirit with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. When we are disobedient to God’s way we can grieve the Holy Spirit. I believe that we can reject the Spirit living in our lives and in that way we will not enter into God’s presence should we die or Jesus returns. The Bible talks about the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit. To blaspheme to speak against or speak bad about someone. When we do that we are rejecting the Spirit which God has given us and on the judgement day we will be lost and not enter into heaven. If we break our relationship with God by a total rejection of the Spirit we are in danger of going to Hell. If the spirit is grieved the spirit cannot do his job of convicting us of our sins and we will die in rebellion against God.

There is coming a time when God’s people will be redeemed. The final price has been paid and we are just waiting until the day of judgement or day when Jesus returns to take his people to himself. This will be a glorious day for believers but a very difficult time for anyone who has not believed that Jesus is the only way, the truth and the one who gives eternal life.

Paul finishes this section with a statement of gratefulness because of what God has done for us. We are to praise God for this wonderful gift He has given us. What a wonderful provision for our protection, our strengthening and the fact that we have a part of our eternal inheritance here on earth if we are faithful.

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June 4, 2000