September 06 2025

Saturday September 06

Sealed With the Holy Spirit of Promise

Ephesians 1:13-14

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Welcome to Pastor's Chat. Today we're continuing to look at the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit as we are reading about Him in Ephesians 1:13-14. Jesus promised in John 14 that He would give and send the Holy Spirit. John 14 begins with Jesus assuring His disciples with these words and making several promises to them: “Let not your heart be troubled…”. We live in a world full of troubled and fearful hearts. Even believers today face tremendous fear concerning so many different things in their lives, in their families, their personal lives, and in a world today that is so confused, mixed up, and filled with violence. But Jesus says, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me." 

Then Jesus promises them a future in heaven, "In My Father's house are many mansions. I'm going to prepare a place for you." He promises, “I will come again”. He will return one day for them.  He promises them that He will answer their prayers. “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it…”. He promises He is the only way to heaven. “I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” What a great chapter.

Then in verses 16-20, Jesus promises them: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”  

How will He come to them? He will come in the person and ministry and work of the Holy Spirit. Paul would later write, “Christ in you, the hope of glory”. “At that day…”, is speaking of what happened on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came down on them as promised. Today the baptism and indwelling for the Holy Spirit begins the moment we trust Christ as our personal Savior. At that very moment, the Holy Spirit, according to Romans 6:3, “baptizes us into the body of Christ”. Also in 1 Corinthians 12:13 we read: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”

Ephesians 1:13 also tell us that we are also sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. What is the significance of this sealing of the Holy Spirit? For one thing, it speaks of a finished transaction. Even today, when important legal documents are processed, they are stamped with the official seal to signify the completion of the transaction.

This sealing also implies ownership: God has put his seal on us because He has purchased us to be His own. Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.”

This sealing also means security and protection. The Roman seal on the tomb of Jesus carried this meaning (Matt. 27:62-66). So, the believer belongs to God, and is safe and protected because he is a part of a finished transaction. And according to John 14:16-17, the Holy Spirit abides with the believer forever. It is possible for us to grieve the Spirit and thereby lose the blessings of His ministry (Eph. 4:30). But He doesn't leave us.

Another use for the seal is as a mark of authenticity. Just as a signature on a letter attests to the genuineness of the document, so the presence of the Spirit proves the believer is genuine. "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" (Romans. 8:9). It is not simply our lip profession, our religious activity, or our good works, but the witness of the Spirit that makes our profession authentic.

Thank God for the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives today. Indeed, what a rich blessing from God the Holy Spirit.

God bless!