Ephesians 1:13-14

Day 8

“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14

The Holy Spirit: Sealed with a Promise
Continuing the Trinitarian theme of Ephesians 1:3-14, Paul now turns our attention to the work of the Holy Spirit in the work of salvation.  We have seen the role of God the Father and God the Son.  Now the focus moves to the role of the Holy Spirit in the work of salvation.  There are two prominent works by the Holy Spirit given here.  First, the Holy Spirit seals us.  Second, the Holy Spirit is given as a pledge. 

The kings of antiquity used the seal to mark documents as authentic.  The seal placed on a parchment was made of wax and bore the image of the signet ring of the king.  Pressing the king’s signet ring into the warm wax left an indelible mark.  This mark gave the document authority and credibility. How do we know that we truly belong to God?  The Holy Spirit provides the authentication for the believer in the same way that the Roman Emperor’s indelible mark gave ancient documents their authenticity.  Paul said it this way in Romans 8:9-11. “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”  The Holy Spirit authenticates the relationship between God and the believer.  When a person puts their faith in Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God comes into that person’s life.  The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit verifies the new relationship.  Before coming to Christ, we were dead in our sins and alienated from God.  When we trust Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are made alive and brought into relationship with God.  This transformation must happen in every person in order for that person to have the hope of eternal life.  As Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.”  In that same John 3 text, Jesus informed Nicodemus that rebirth comes through the work of the Holy Spirit.  It the Spirit that gives life.  It is the Spirit who comes into our dead hearts and makes us alive through our faith in Jesus Christ.  The Spirit does the work of bringing dead sinners to life. 

Even before the Roman Empire, the use of signet rings and seals played a role.  Consider the verse in Esther 8:8 when King Ahasuerus issued a decree of protection for the Jewish people.  “Now you write to the Jews as you see fit, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring may not be revoked.”  The seal marked a decision by the king that was irrevocable.  That same idea arises here.  God, the Sovereign of the universe, has issued a decree that is irrevocable.  All who believe in Christ Jesus are forever brought into right relationship with God.  The Holy Spirit brings spiritual life where there was spiritual death.  Because of sin, we were spiritually dead and separated from God.  The Spirit brings the life at the moment a person places their faith in Christ.  After this initial life-giving work, the Holy Spirit provides the ongoing authentication of this unchanging and unbreakable decree that we are now alive and we belong to God.

The Holy Spirit: The Deposit for Our Inheritance
In addition to the mark of authenticity, the Holy Spirit functions as a type of down payment.  When purchasing a property, buyers often place a non-refundable deposit to show the seriousness of their offer.  The deposit demonstrates the commitment and resources to complete the transaction.  In this text, Paul described the Holy Spirit in similar manner.  God pays a deposit into the life of the believer, the down payment of His Holy Spirit.  The presence of the Holy Spirit demonstrates the commit God has to completing His plan of salvation in each person who believes in Christ.  God never leaves a project unfinished.  What He starts He will surely bring to completion.  God’s end goal is the summing up of all things in Christ Jesus.  By our faith in Christ we share in the inheritance that Christ Himself provides for us.  The financial language of inheritance prompted Paul to think in those terms when considering this aspect of the Holy Spirit’s work.  The Spirit grants substantial confidence for the believer.  Like a land purchaser who puts down a massive deposit with an eye toward the completed transaction, so too God gives us great confidence now and in the future.  He gives to us His presence and power through the indwelling Holy Spirit.  We can know for sure that the end goal will certainly come about and it will be exceptionally glorious.  

Suggested Prayer:  Thank You God for the gift of Your Holy Spirit.  You have marked us as truly Yours through the Spirit’s abiding presence.  You have also given us Your promise to finish in us what You have started.  We praise You Oh God for Your amazing plan in salvation.  We praise You for our destiny in Your presence.  We praise You for Your wisdom to grant to us confidence in our destiny through Your Holy Spirit.

Ephesians