Dorothy Sayers tells of a Japanese convert struggling to grasp Christian theology. "Honorable Father, very good," he said to his missionary teacher. "Honorable Son, very good. But Honorable Bird, I do not understand at all" (Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations & Quotes, 437).
Jesus proclaimed, "When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself . . . . He shall glorify me" (John 16:13-14).
"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after they ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."
The Spirit is described as "that holy Spirit of promise." He is the Holy Spirit of promise in two ways:
(1) He was promised by the Father and the Son;
(2) He is the guarantee that all God’s promises to the believer will be fulfilled.
These promises are described as our "INHERITANCE."
"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and JOINT-HEIRS WITH CHRIST" (Romans 8:16-17).
Hebrews 1:2 says that the Father "hath appointed [His Son] heir of ALL things."
This passage tells us that there are two ways the Spirit guarantees that we will one day receive our promised inheritance:
(1) He is our SEAL;
(2) He is our EARNEST.
"Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are SEALED unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30).
"Who hath SEALED us, and given the EARNEST of the Spirit in our hearts" (2 Corinthians 1:22).
God "hath given unto us the EARNEST of the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 5:5).
As a seal, the Holy Spirit guarantees that WE WILL BE KEPT SAFELY FOR THE INHERITANCE.
As an earnest, the Holy Spirit guarantees that THE INHERITANCE WILL BE KEPT SECURELY FOR US.
Not only is the inheritance kept for us; we are kept for it.
"Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, RESERVED IN HEAVEN FOR YOU, WHO ARE KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:3-4).
OUR INHERITANCE IS RESERVED; WE ARE PRESERVED.
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).
I. AS A SEAL, THE HOLY SPIRIT GUARANTEES THAT WE WILL KEPT SAFELY FOR THE INHERITANCE (v. 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."
The sealing of which Paul speaks here refers to an official mark of identification that was placed on a letter, contract, or other important document. The seal usually was made from hot wax, which was placed on the document and then impressed with a signet ring. The document was thereby officially identified with and under the authority of the person to whom the signet belonged.
"The sealing of the Holy Spirit is the word of God the Father who sets the Holy Spirit as a seal upon each gospel believer to preserve him until the redemption of his body, which completes his salvation" (Floyd H. Barackman, Practical Christian Theology, 213).
"HEARD . . . BELIEVED . . . SEALED."
"Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).
A better translation of verse 13 would be, "Upon believing, ye were sealed."
God the Father does the sealing; He seals us in Christ, with the Holy Spirit.
Every believer is given the Holy Spirit the moment he trusts in Christ. "Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9).
The seal of God’s Spirit in the believer signifies four primary things: AUTHENTICITY, OWNERSHIP, and SECURITY.
A. A Seal Signifies Authenticity.
When King Ahab tried unsuccessfully to get Naboth to sell or trade his vineyard, Queen Jezebel volunteered to get the vineyard her way. "So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal" (v. 8) and sent the letters to various nobles who lived in Naboth’s city, demanding that they arrange false accusations of blasphemy and treason against him. The nobles did as they were instructed, and Naboth was stoned to death because of the false charges. The king then simply confiscated the vineyard he had so strongly coveted (1 Kings 21:6-16). Despite the deceptions contained in the letters Jezebel sent, the letters themselves were authentically from the king, because they were sent with his approval and marked with his seal. The seal was his signature.
When God gives us His Holy Spirit, it is as if He stamps us with a seal that reads, "This person belongs to Me and is an authentic citizen of My divine kingdom and member of My divine family."
B. A Seal Signifies Ownership.
In Jeremiah 32, the Lord told Jeremiah to buy a piece of land. The contract was agreed on, and the stipulated payment was made in the court of the palace guard before the required number of witnesses. In the presence of the witnesses the deed was signed and sealed, establishing Jeremiah as the new legal owner of the property (Jeremiah 32:10).
When the Holy Spirit seals believers, He marks them as God’s divine possessions, who from that moment on entirely and eternally belong to Him. The Spirit’s seal declares the transaction of salvation as divinely official and final.
"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? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Ephesians 4:30 tells us that our sin grieves the Holy Spirit. It’s interesting that the two verse that surround Epheisans 4:30 highlight sins of the tongue.
"Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man" (Matthew 15:17-18).
C. A Seal Signifies Security.
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, "that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel" (Daniel 6:17). Any person but the king who broke or disturbed that seal would likely have lost his life.
In a similar way the tomb where Jesus was buried was sealed. Fearing that Jesus’ disciples might steal His body and falsely claim His resurrection, the Jewish leaders obtained Pilate’s permission to place a seal on the stone and to guard it with soldiers (Matthew 27:62-66).
In an infinitely greater way, the Holy Spirit secures each believer, marking him with His own unbreakable seal.
Charles Ryrie gives us an example of sealing from everyday life:
Registered mail furnishes a good example of the security concept of sealing. When registering a piece of mail, it not only has to be sealed carefully but then the post office stamps it a number of times across the edges of the seal to be able to detect any tampering with that seal. Only two people can legitimately break the seal, the recipient or the sender (if it is delivered back to him). In the case of believers, God is the Sender and God is the Recipient, and God is the One who does the sealing. So only God can break the seal and He has promised not to do so until the day of redemption (Basic Theology, 360).
II. AS AN EARNEST, THE HOLY SPIRIT GUARANTEES THAT THE INHERITANCE WILL BE KEPT SECURELY FOR US (v. 14).
"Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."
The Greek word for "earnest" is arrabon. It originally referred to a down payment given to secure a purchase. Later it came to represent any sort of pledge.
One day Arthur Lewis, an expert in biblical Greek, was walking along the streets of Athens. Accompanying him was a professor who teaches Greek. They stopped occasionally to read the sign in shop windows.
As they gazed into a jewelry store, they saw a sign with the word arrabon on it. When they entered and talked to the proprietor, he told them that in modern Greek the word arrabon means "an engagement ring." The Greek professor thought for a moment, then commented, "How interesting! In the New Testament that’s the terms for ‘a guarantee, a down payment’" (Our Daily Bread).
The Lord Jesus Christ has given to us an engagement ring—the Holy Spirit—and He has promised, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).
Revelation 19:7-9
John MacArthur writes,
As believers, we have the Holy Spirit as the divine pledge of our inheritance, God’s first installment of His guarantee that the fullness of the promised spiritual blessings "in the heavenly places in Christ" will one day be completely fulfilled. They are assured and guaranteed with an absolute certainty that only God could provide. The Holy Spirit is the church’s irrevocable pledge, her divine engagement ring, as it were, that, as Christ’s bride, she will never be neglected or forsaken (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Ephesians, 36).
Romans 8:29-30
"Unto the praise of his glory."
This is just one more reason to praise God!
We are not saved and blessed for our own glory but for God’s.
"This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise" (Isaiah 43:21).
CONCLUSION
The Holy Spirit is our SEAL who guarantees that WE WILL BE KEPT SAFELY FOR THE INHERITANCE.
The Holy Spirit is our EARNEST who guarantees that THE INHERITANCE WILL BE KEPT SECURELY FOR US.
For as far back as she could remember, Annie associated her Aunt Edith with a beautiful walnut piano. Each visit to her aunt’s brought the opportunity to lovingly stroke the finely carved piano legs and cautiously play the ivory and ebony keys.
It was no surprise, then, that her aunt’s will left the piano to Annie. At the time, however, Annie’s family had no room for the piano. A relative agreed to keep the piano until Annie could take it. Finally, after Annie graduated from college and got a place of her own, she called her relative to make arrangements to move the piano.
Her relative’s response shocked her: "Why, that old thing! I sold it last year to get a new air conditioner!"
Perhaps you know of a similar story regarding an inheritance, or perhaps you have experienced a similar disappointment. Few issues can create disputes in families like inheritances can.
Fortunately, God’s inheritance is not like human inheritances! (Today in the Word, Nov. 29, 2001).
