Sealed People of God

  

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

SEALED PEOPLE OF GOD

Eph 1:11-14

11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession — to the praise of his glory.

NIV

Having sunk our teeth into God working out everything in our lives in conformity with the purpose of His will, so that we who put our trust in Jesus might be for the praise of God’s glory, we now turn our attention to being sealed. Once we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. This gives us the evidence to know that the Holy Spirit comes upon us or within us the moment we believed in the word of truth, which is the gospel, or could be said that Jesus is the word of truth. Nevertheless, the moment we believed we were marked in him with a seal. This would appear to prove there is no second experience of being baptized in the Spirit. Yet, there were believers in that time who had yet heard of the baptism in the Spirit and when Paul or someone laid hands on them, they received the Spirit and at least several times it is recorded they spoke in another tongue. So then, it does make us ponder on whether being sealed with the promised Holy Spirit is the same thing, or different, than being baptized in the Spirit. We know that Jesus promised his disciples that when he left to go back to heaven, that He would send the Spirit, and that they should wait for Him to come upon them. They had already believed by had not yet had the Spirit come upon them or had been baptized by Him. So, this seal must be something else, as it happened the moment we were saved. God is marking us with His Spirit meaning that we now have His seal upon us, declaring that we belong to Him. This seal denotes ownership, rather than the guidance the Spirit does as he leads us into all truth. The Spirit does all that and more, manifesting His gifts in us, and developing or producing His fruit in our lives. But this seal does not appear to be all that, but simply a way to show we belong to God, although as the Spirit does all that within us, it would also seem that is the evidence of being sealed. It shows us that we have indeed been sealed. This then also gives us proof of our inheritance and at the same time was proof to those at the time of this letter, because we are those who are God’s possession because he has redeemed us. This mark that we carry also gives us the confidence that we will receive our inheritance someday. Let us live out our days, living as the sealed people of God.