Signed, Sealed and Delivered
Ephesians - Live Like You Really Are
Chuck Sligh
April 15, 2012
TEXT: Ephesians 1:13-14 – “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Who is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
INTRODUCTION
Illus. – Pastor Jeff Strite tells of a 4-year old boy who was visiting his aunt’s home. She was pregnant with her first child and she allowed him to place his hand on her belly and feel the baby kick. His little face scrunched and he said, “How does the baby get out of there?” Well, she wanted to keep it simple so she said, “The doctor will help.” His eyes widened in amazement as he said, “You’ve got a doctor in there, too?”
Of course, she didn’t have a doctor inside. To get that kind of help she needed to get into her car; drive down to the hospital; wait in the ER; and THEN her doctor would be there to help. It would be so much easier for pregnant mothers if the doctor WERE inside helping out. The Bible teaches God the Holy Spirit is inside the person who has believed and been saved.
In verse 13 Paul begins our text by reminding the Ephesians that they heard the Gospel of salvation and believed the message of the Gospel, and what happened when they did that is the topic of our sermon today.
We’ve been looking at the spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ that Paul speaks of in verse 3 that are reserved for those who are “in Christ.”
• In God THE FATHER, verses 4-6, we have the blessings of chosenness in verse 4; a predetermination that we will receive all the blessings of sonship in verse 5 and in verse 6 acceptance in Christ, who is God’s beloved Chosen One.
• In God THE SON, we receive the blessings of redemption from Satan’s control and forgiveness of sins in verse 7 and an eternal inheritance in verses 11-12.
Now let’s turn our attention to the blessings of God the Holy Spirit in our text, verses 13-14:
I. FIRST, PAUL TELLS US THAT BELIEVERS ARE SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT – Verse 13 – “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”
Now it’s important to understand that Paul doesn’t say that the Holy Spirit seals us, but that we are sealed WITH the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit Himself is God’s seal.
He is referred to as the “holy Spirit of promise” here because He was promised in both the Old Testament and by Jesus in His earthly ministry. The Holy Spirit had never been given quite this way before. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came UPON people for special guidance, strengthening or empowerment, but He didn’t permanently dwell IN people.
But Ezekiel promised in Ezekiel 36:26-27 – “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”
Why would God give His spirit to dwell in us?—To cause us to walk in God’s word and to do His will. All of man’s religion is based on outward obedience to external rules and regulation. Christianity is based on God Himself, in the form of God the Holy Spirit, coming inside of us and changing us from the inside out, working from within to help us and empower us, like the doctor in the mommy’s tummy.
Jesus promised on several occasions that He would send the Holy Spirit as a comforter and guide, and in John 4:14, He said referred to the Holy Spirit as “living water” that would be INSIDE of us. These promises for the indwelling Holy Spirit were fulfilled when Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. From that day on, the Holy Spirit indwelt believers.
Now what does Paul mean by saying that believers are “sealed” with the Holy Spirit? A seal in Bible days was an official mark of identification placed on a letter, contract or other important document. It was usually made from hot wax, which was placed on the document and then impressed with a signet ring. It essentially served the same function a signature does today.
This sealing signified two things in Bible days:
• First, a seal signified SECURITY.
We see an example of a seal used as security in Esther 8:8 – “Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.”
Another example is in Daniel 6. When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, King Darius, along with his nobles, placed their seals on the stone placed over the entrance to the den and Daniel explains why—“that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.” Any person but the king who broke or disturbed that seal would have lost his life.
But seals were not reserved for kings: even among ordinary citizens, once a document was sealed, it could not be changed or altered.
Paul is teaching that when the we believe on Jesus Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit is given to us as a seal of their security. Later in his letter, in Ephesians 4:30, Paul wrote, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” How long does Paul say we are sealed with the Holy Spirit?—UNTIL THE DAY OF REDEMPTION! “The day of redemption” is a term used in the Bible for when we go to heaven, when not just our soul is redeemed from the penalty of sin, but our body will be redeemed from the very presence of sin.
Here we see the promise of the eternal nature of our salvation. You cannot lose your salvation, brethren! You cannot fall from grace, if by that you mean once being saved, but falling back into a state of being lost again and bound again for hell.
What a comfort to know that you are SECURE in Christ Jesus if you have been saved by faith in Christ! When you trusted in Jesus Christ to save you, Paul teaches that the Holy Spirit was given you as the seal of your security. At that point, God saved you, and no one can reverse it.
Jesus said, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [one] pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no [one] is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.” (John 10:28-29)
Because of the protection afforded by the seal of the Holy Spirit, I NEVER need fear that I will lose my salvation. I never need fear that somehow I might stumble and end up lost again. No, the seal of the Holy Spirit protects me and secures me from hell and judgment for all eternity and guarantees my reservation in heaven.
Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 – “Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ [which means the day the Lord returns].”
If you’re a believer, you’re signed and sealed, and you can count on being delivered to heaven as blameless as the day you were justified by God. God’s giving the Holy Spirit to believers as a seal first of all signified security.
• Second, a seal signified OWNERSHIP.
In Jeremiah 32, the Lord told Jeremiah to buy a piece of land. The contract was agreed on, and the specified payment was made in court before the required number of witnesses. In the presence of these witnesses, the deed was signed and sealed, establishing Jeremiah as the new legal owner of the property. (Jeremiah 32:10)
If an item had a person’s seal on it, it indicated whom it belonged to.
Illus. – When I lived in Washington state as a boy, I remember the timber industry there. If you went out into the countryside on the west coast you’d see millions of acres of timber, a major source of income for the state. All winter you would hear the sound of saws cutting trees down.
I found out that every log that is cut has a seal stamped on it from the logging company that cut it down, and thus owns that log. Then the logs are transported to the huge timber yards by logging trucks or many times are just floated down river. In springtime you can see millions of logs being floated to the factory to be cut up and made into usable lumber. When they get to the factory, there’s never any problem determining which company the logs belong to. The seal determines who the owner was.
Folks, God has put his seal on us because He has purchased us to be His own. And that seal is the guarantee that no matter what may happen—we will ALWAYS belong to God. God never has a problem determining who His kids are. All believers have a seal from the distant lands of earth that says, “Property of Jesus Christ.”
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” The day you were saved, the Lord Jesus Christ, who paid the price for you with His precious blood on Calvary, became your new master. Therefore, you belong to God. You’re not your own anymore; you don’t call the shots anymore. Your Master does!
What are the implications of this truth? Let’s think about them for a few moments:
> When God tells you something in His Word that you should do or not do, then you as a believer should obey.
Your master has spoken. If the master commands, the servant simply obeys without question. Now you belong to Jesus, and HE gives the orders.
> The list of applications to our lives goes on and on:
--- Your Master says that you should be holy. – Are you living a life of holiness, set apart from the world and sinful desires?
--- Your Master says that you not forsake the assembling yourselves with other believers. – Are you faithful in church and homegroup.
--- Your Master says that you’re to be honest and not lie or steal. – Are you honest in all you do and truthful in all your words?
--- Your Master says that you should not be wrapped up in material things and the pursuit of money. – Are you free from those sins?
--- Your Master says that you should tithe of your income to God. – Are you obeying the Lord in this matter?
--- The Master says that you should “redeem the time”—that is, don’t squander your time on useless activities, but invest it in things that will count for eternity. – Are you doing that?
--- Your Master says that you to be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. – Would those traits characterize your life?
--- The Master says to not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. – Are you obeying your Master?
Paul said, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Glorify God by obeying your master, by serving the one who bought.
In our text, we see first that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, but that’s not all Paul teaches about the Holy Spirit in this passage.
II. NOTE SECOND THING WE SEE FROM OUR TEXT IS THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GIVEN US AS AN “EARNEST” – Verse 14 – “Who is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
The word “earnest” is an interesting one in the Bible. Harper’s Bible Dictionary tells us this about this word, “[It was] a commercial term, probably brought west by Phoenician traders. It means, strictly, the first installment of a gift or payment, put down as a pledge that the rest will follow later.” [The New Bible Dictionary (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1962.]
Even today when you want to buy a house or property, estate real agents will still sometimes refer to your down payment as “earnest money.”
Now what was Paul teaching here? Paul says that the Holy Spirit is a down payment on the Christian’s inheritance. He is the first installment, if you will, of all the riches awaiting you in glory. The Holy Spirit, and the blessings He brings into our lives even now are wonderful, aren’t they? But brethren, the Holy Spirit is just a partial down-payment of greater blessings to come. He’s the first installment of the greater fellowship we will enjoy with the Lord in His presence in heaven!
Illus. – Suppose you’re sitting in your home one night and the doorbell rings. A man is there, and he says, “I’m a lawyer with such and such a firm, and we’re trying to locate a relative of a missing person. Your name is so and so. Did your mother come to this country from Scotland fifty years ago, and did she have a brother who went to Australia?”
You say, “Well, yes, as a matter of fact she did. We have the family Bible here. It’s all written down. There’s my mother. She was born in Edinburgh on such and such a date. She had a brother and he went to Australia, and we never heard from him again.”
“Well,” says the lawyer, “this is wonderful news. This is the last link in the evidence. He went to Australia and had a son to whom he left his fortune. That son died and left no heir. The lawyers in Australia have traced it back to Scotland; the Scottish people traced it over here; and we have come to you because we believe that you are next of kin.”
You say, “Wow! That’s great. Well, it’s clear I’m the one you’re looking for.”
“Well,” the lawyer says, “I’m very happy to inform you that you have a LARGE inheritance.”
You say, “I can get that new Chevy I’ve been looking for.”
He says, “It’s a VERY large inheritance.”
You say, “Cadillac.”
He says, “In fact, your uncle had a huge investment in Apple stock and owned two large oil refineries.”
You say, “Rolls Royce.”
The lawyer says, “Now, of course, it’s in the courts and you can’t get anything very soon except the down payment. Your uncle owned hundreds of thousands of acres of sheep ranches. Oil and gold have been discovered there. It’s going to be three or four years before you can get it all, but they have a little down payment that’s ready for you now.”
Disappointed, you ask, “Well, how much is this little down payment?”
“This little down payment is fourteen million dollars.”
You say in amazement, “Fourteen million dollars! If that’s the little down payment, what’s the whole thing going to be?!”
Folks, all the certified public accountants in the world could not add up the glories of the inheritance reserved for us who are saved. Even if it could be converted into a monetary value, it would be impossible for all the bankers, accountants and lawyers in the world to calculate its worth. All they could do is tell us a little bit about the interest on the interest. It’s about as close as anyone can get to grasp our inheritance, because the “earnest”—the down payment—is God the Holy Spirit of promise. And He is given us to live inside us, guide us, keep us secure, convict us, comfort us.
CONCLUSION
• Dear believer, the Holy Spirit lives inside you. He was a gift to you from God. He’s the security of your salvation. If you’ve trusted in Christ, you never need to fear that you can lose your salvation. Rest in your security and enjoy your salvation rather than living in constant fear that you could be lost again.
The Holy Spirit is the mark of God’s ownership of you. If God is your owner and master, are you living in obedience to your master? If not, why not start today?
The Holy Spirit is the down-payment on many wonderful blessings yet in store for you. – Live with all your heart for the Lord who is so gracious to bless you so wonderfully.
• Are you here without Christ in your heart? God has wonderful, indescribable blessings He wants you to have and experience. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:9 – “… Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” Why miss out on the blessing of God? Come to Christ and be saved TODAY.
