“The Promised Seal” ( Ephesians 1: 13 – 14, HCSB ) by Carley Evans

“When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory.”

 

We hear “the message of truth, the gospel” and we “believe in Him.” Simultaneously, we are “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” Jesus promises the Comforter, the Helper to His friends. And Paul calls “the promised Holy Spirit” the “down payment,” the guarantee of “our inheritance.” God’s plan is to redeem us “to the praise of His glory.” And His seal is much superior to any other guarantee.

 

Odd how we trust that our funds are federally insured in a bank when we see the seal of the FDIC; that we believe our meats are safe if approved by the United States Department of Agriculture. We see the seal USDA and we believe.

 

Yet, many of us doubt our salvation. We doubt that God has redeemed us, set His seal permanently upon us. We seem to forget we are purchased with the blood of God’s own Son, that nothing interferes with God’s ultimate goal to bring all things together under one head, that is, Jesus Christ.

 

We belong to the Lord. Therefore, “I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength.” (Ephesians 1: 18-19)