The holy spirit seal

THE HOLY SPIRIT SEAL
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
GOTQUESTIONS.COM
Question:"What is the sealof the Holy Spirit?"
Answer: The Holy Spirit is referred to as the “deposit,” “seal,”and“earnest”
in the hearts of Christians (2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:13-14;4:30).
The Holy Spirit is God’s sealon His people, His claim on us as His very own.
The Greek wordtranslated “earnest” in these passagesis arrhabōn which
means “a pledge,” that is, part of the purchase money or property given in
advance as security for the rest. The gift of the Spirit to believers is a down
payment on our heavenly inheritance, which Christ has promised us and
securedfor us at the cross. It is because the Spirit has sealedus that we are
assuredof our salvation. No one can break the sealof God.
The Holy Spirit is given to believers as a “first installment” to assure us that
our full inheritance as children of God will be delivered. The Holy Spirit is
given to us to confirm to us that we belong to Godwho grants to us His Spirit
as a gift, just as grace and faith are gifts (Ephesians 2:8-9). Through the gift of
the Spirit, Godrenews and sanctifies us. He produces in our hearts those
feelings, hopes, and desires which are evidence that we are acceptedby God,
that we are regardedas His adopted children, that our hope is genuine, and
that our redemption and salvation are sure in the same way that a seal
guarantees a will or an agreement. Godgrants to us His Holy Spirit as the
certain pledge that we are His foreverand shall be savedin the lastday. The
proof of the Spirit’s presence is His operations on the heart which produce
repentance, the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), conformity to God’s
commands and will, a passionfor prayer and praise, and love for His people.
These things are the evidences that the Holy Spirit has renewedthe heart and
that the Christian is sealedfor the day of redemption.
So it is through the Holy Spirit and His teachings and guiding powerthat we
are sealedand confirmed until the day of redemption, complete and free from
the corruption of sin and the grave. Because we have the sealof the Spirit in

our hearts, we can live joyfully, confident of our sure place in a future that
holds unimaginable glories.
by PastorJack Hyles
(Chapter 29 from Dr. Hyle's excellentbook, MeetThe Holy Spirit)
Before an animal could be declare fit for sacrifice orfor food, he had to be
examined. This was required to receive the sealof approval. If, for example,
the animal was to be offeredfor a sacrifice, he was examined and approved by
the priest. If he was without blemish and qualified for sacrifice, a sealor
branding was placed on him to signify his acceptance.
Jesus offeredHimself as the perfectsacrifice. This is why He is calledthe
LAMB OF GOD. John 1:29, "The next day John seethJesus coming unto
him, and saith, Behold the LAMB OF GOD, Which taketh awaythe sins of
the world." These were the words of John the Baptist, the forerunner of
Christ, who introduced Him first as God's sacrifice. There are many passages
which point to Jesus as the LAMB OF GOD. Revelation7:14, "And I said
unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came
out of greattribulation, and have washedtheir robes, and made them white in
the blood of the LAMB."
Revelation13:8, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose
names are not written in the book of life of the LAMB slain form the
foundation of the world." Revelation19:7, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and
give honour to Him; for the marriage of the LAMB is come, and His wife hath
made herself ready." Revelation21:9, 14, 27, "And there came unto me one of
the sevenangels which had the sevenvials full of the sevenlast plagues, and
talkedwith me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the LAMB's
wife. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names

of the twelve apostles ofhe LAMB. And there shall in no wise enter into it any
thing that defileth, neither whatsoeverworkethabomination, or maketha lie:
but they which are written in the LAMB's book of life."
Since Jesus was the Lamb of God, meaning that He was the complete, perfect
sacrifice, He too must be examined and approved by God the Father. When
man sinned, he was separatedfrom God. God wanted that fellowship
restored, but He could not do so unless His justice was satisfied. God's mercy
said that He wanted to forgive man, but God's justice said that man could not
be forgiven unless a suitable sacrifice was found. Christ offered Himself as
that sacrifice, whichmeans that the sacrifice ofChrist as the as the Lamb of
God was the only way that God could be merciful and just. It was the only
way that God, within His righteousness, holiness andjustice could receive
man back to Himself. Since God wanted man's fellowship more than more
than man wants God's fellowship, then Christ first died FOR GOD. It is often
said that Christ died for us, but the main thing was that Christ died FOR
GOD in order that Godcould acceptus back, for Christ and Christ alone
satisfiedthe righteous and holy demands of God!
God approved His Son for sacrifice. Thatapproval must be followedby a seal.
That sealwas the Holy Spirit. John 6:27, "Labour not for the meat which
perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the
Son of man shall give unto you: for Him hath God the Fathersealed."
God announced His approval in Matthew 3:17, "And lo a voice from Heaven,
saying, This is My BelovedSon, in Whom I am well pleased." It is interesting
that at the same time that God announced His approval, the Holy Spirit was
upon Jesus. Matthew 3:16, "And Jesus, whenHe was baptized, went up
straightwayout of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and
He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him."
This simply fulfills the type that the sacrifice must be examined, approved and
sealed. GodacceptedChrist as the perfectsacrifice. He declaredHis approval
when He said, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." At the
same time the Holy Spirit was upon Jesus in the form of a dove sealing Him as
the only acceptable sacrifice forthe sins of man.

It must be remembered that the lamb was approved by the priest for sacrifice
AND for food. Ah, what a beautiful picture! Not only is Jesus the sacrifice that
God accepts andupon Whom God has placedHis approval and His seal, that
is the Holy Spirit; but Jesus is acceptable by God as a feast!We feaston Him.
Notice John 6:27, "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat
which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Sonof man shall give unto
you: for Him hath God the Fathersealed." Notice especiallythe stress on
"meatthat perisheth." This meat that perished had to be approved and sealed
by the priest. This meat that does not perish, evenour Saviour, was approved
by God and sealedby the Holy Spirit.
When the passoverlamb was slain, he was approved. He was examined for
four days, from the tenth day of the first month to the fourteenth day of the
first month, after which he was offered. Then for sevendays after he was
killed, the families feastedupon the sacrificedlambs. Hence, the lamb was
approved for sacrifice and for food. Praise the Lord, our Saviour is the only
acceptable sacrificeapprovedby Godand sealedby the Holy Spirit. He also is
the only approved One on Which we can feed in order that wed might grow in
grace.
We shall see that there is another sacrifice that has been approved by God
and sealedby the Holy Spirit. When a personcomes to Christ, he is accepted
by the Father in Christ. His faith is counted for righteousness. Romans 4:5,
"But to him that workethnot, but believeth on Him that justified the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness."Godthen sees the believer clothed in
the righteousnessofChrist, declares him blameless, without blemish. This is
the doctrine of justification. God declaredthe believer as righteous as Jesus
Christ, for He sees him clothed in Christ's righteousness,and his standing
before God is just as if he had never sinned. This does not mean that the
believer lives a life above sin; it means that he stands before God blameless
because he has had the righteousness ofChrist imputed to him in response to
his faith in the finished work of Calvary.
This makes the believer fit for sacrifice, forhe has been accepted. The
believer's sacrifice, however, is not that of offering himself to die as did his
Saviour, but rather offering himself to live for his Saviour! This is calleda

LIVING SACRIFICE. Romans 12:1, "I beseechyou therefore, brethren, by
the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." No one is fit to
become this sacrifice until he has first become inspected and examined. This
examination is done after the believer has put on Christ and is wearing His
imputed righteousness. He immediately receives the seal, whichis the Holy
Spirit. Ephesians 1:13, "In Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the
word of truth, the gospelof your salvation:in Whom also after that ye
believed, ye were sealedwith that Holy Spirit of promise." II Corinthians
1:21, "Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us,
is God."
Now that the believer has been examined and declaredrighteous, he is fit for
sacrifice, andGod will accepthis living sacrifice as holy and acceptable by
God. The Holy Spirit is this seal, and as such, is calledthe earnestof our
salvation. Ephesians 1:14, "Which is the earnestof our inheritance unto the
redemption of the purchasedpossession, unto the praise of His glory." This
word "earnest" means that the Holy Spirit seals us and becomes the
downpayment for our salvation. When a downpayment is made, it is forfeited
if the payment is not made in full, so when God allowedthe Holy Spirit to seal
us and become the earnest(downpayment) for our salvation, He was risking
the unity of the Godheadon the security that the believer has in Christ. If one
justified person could lose his salvation, then the Godheadwould lose His
unity.
This sealof the Holy Spirit is for eternity. It remaineth even in the end time.
Revelation9:4, "And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the
grass ofthe earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those
men which have not the sealofGod in their foreheads." The only ones that
will be preserved will be those who have the seal.
In some amusement parks when a person pays for his ticket, he receives a
mark on his hand that is not visible unless it is placed under the right light. He
wears this mark. When he presents himself for a ride or other entertainment,
this mark, invisible unless it is under the light, is presented, which means the
price has been paid for his admission. Thanks be to God, even when Jesus

comes again, we will be sealedby Him. Though that sealis unseen by man, the
seal(the Holy Spirit) is seenin the light of eternity, and we are declaredas
His! The sealof eternaldivine ownership shall be worn by the believer for
eternity! Hallelujah!
John Owen
The fifth generalwork of the Holy Spirit is His work in sealing us (Eph 1:13;
4:30)
To sealsomething is to impart the image of the sealto the thing sealed. The
characterof the sealis stamped on the things sealed. In this sense, the effective
communication of the image of Godto us should be our sealing. The Spirit in
believers, really communicating the image of God in righteousness andtrue
holiness to the soul, seals us. To have the stamp of the Holy Spirit as an
evidence to the soul that he has been acceptedby God is to be sealedby the
Spirit. In this sense, Christis saidto be sealedby God (John 6:27). He had
impressed on him the power, wisdom and majesty of God. “Sealing” confirms
or ratifies any grant or conveyance made in writing. In such cases, menset
their seals to make goodand confirm their grants. When this is done, the
grants are irrevocable. Sealing also confirms the testimony that is given by
anyone of the truth of anything. This is what the Jews did. When anyone had
given true witness to any thing or matter and it was receivedby the judges,
they instantly set their seals to it, to confirm it in judgment. So it is said that
he who receives the testimony of Christ “sets to his sealthat God is true” (AV)
or “has certified that God is true” (John 3:33). The promise is the greatgrant
and conveyance oflife and salvation in Christ to the souls of believers. That
we may have full assurance ofthe truth and the irrevocability of the promise,
God gives us the Spirit to satisfy our hearts of it. So the Spirit is said to sealus
by assuring our hearts of those promises and the faithfulness of the God who
promised. But though many expositors take this line, I do not see how this

accords with the true meaning of the word. It is not said that the promise is
sealed, but that we are sealed. And when we seala deed or grant to anyone, we
do not say the man is sealed, but that the deed or grant is sealed. Sealing
denotes possessionand assurance ofbeing kept safe. The objectsealedis
separatedout from unsealed
objects. Menset their seals onthat which they possessand desire to keepsafe
for themselves. So quite clearly, in this sense, the servants of God are said to
be sealed. They are marked with God’s mark as his specialones (Ezek. 9:4).
So believers are sealedwhen they are marked for God to be the heirs of the
purchased possessionand to be kept safe to the day of redemption. Now if this
is what is meant, it does not denote the giving of assurance in the heart, but of
giving security to the person. The Father gives the electinto the hands of
Christ to be redeemed. Christ having redeemed them, in due time they are
calledby the Spirit and marked for God, and so they give themselves up to the
care of the Father. We are sealedfor the day of redemption when, from the
stamp, image and characterof the Spirit upon our souls, we have a fresh
awarenessofthe love of God given to us, with an assuredpersuasionof our
being acceptedby God. So the Holy Spirit communicates to us his own
likeness, whichis also the image of the Fatherand the Son(2 Cor. 3:18). In
this work of his, the Holy Spirit brings us into fellowship with himself. Our
likeness to him gives us boldness with him. We look for his works. We pray
for his fruits, and when any effectof grace, any awareness ofthe image of
Christ implanted in us persuades and assures us that we are separatedand set
apart for God, then we have communion with the Holy Spirit in his work of
sealing."
A SEAL WITNESS LEE
Second Corinthians 1:22 says that God has sealed us, and Ephesians 1:13 and 4:30 tell us that, as
believers, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. The anointing in 2 Corinthians 1:21 is the
sealing in verse 22. Because God has anointed us with Christ, He has also sealed us in Him. To
be sealed with the Holy Spirit means to be marked with the Holy Spirit as a living seal. We have
been made God’s inheritance (Eph. 1:11). At the time we were saved God put His Holy Spirit

into us as a seal to mark us out, indicating that we belonged to God. The Holy Spirit, who is God
Himself entering into us, causes us to bear God’s image signified by the seal, thus making us like
God.
We should not regard the sealing as separate from the anointing. Actually, anointing implies
sealing. As we are under the anointing, the anointing becomes a sealing. In this way we become
different from others. Furthermore, the seal causes us to bear the appearance of God. When God
anoints, the anointing is the sealing. The anointing brings the divine essence into us. First,
through the anointing God adds the essence of Himself to us. Then this anointing seals us with
the essence of God, forming the divine element into an impression to express God’s image,
thereby making us the image of God.
The seal of the Spirit signifies ownership. It signifies that God is our owner and that we belong
to Him. The anointing within us as the sealing declares to the universe that we belong to God.
God possesses us, and He has put Himself upon us as a seal.
The Spirit as the seal of God upon us bears the image of God. This implies that the seal of the
Holy Spirit is the expression of God and brings God’s image into our being. When we bear the
Holy Spirit as the seal of God upon us, we bear the image of God and the expression of God. The
anointing within us becomes the seal, and the seal bears the very image of God. In this way we
bear the image of God. This means that we express God by being anointed and by being sealed.
Therefore, the seal of the Holy Spirit denotes both ownership and expression.
What Is The Sealof the Holy Spirit?
The sealof the Holy Spirit is mentioned in severalpassagesbut remains a
mystery for many students of the Scriptures.
The word “seal” (sphragis)is defined as:“an engravedobject used to make a
mark denoting ownership, approval, or closure of something (normally done
by pressing into heated wax and usually attachedto a document or letter).”
(“sfragi÷ß,” Louw & Nida, Greek-EnglishLexicon of the New Testament:
Based on SemanticDomains, 60.)
The sealis either internal (invisible) or external (visible).
There are many people who associatethe sealof the Holy Spirit with the
dwelling of the Holy Spirit [Please see further information concerning the
possibility of the gift being or not being the dwelling in our article: “WhatIs
The Gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:38?”]If the sealis the dwelling of the
Holy Spirit, then how would anyone know that they had it?

The definition of the sealitself points to the fact that it was external. It was
something visible.
1. Notice that Jesus'tomb was sealedwith a sealby the Roman authorities.
It was something visible for everyone to see (Matthew 27:66).
2. God promised through Abraham that through his seedall the nations of
the earth would be blessed(Genesis 12:1-3). The signor sealof this
covenantwas the physical (visible) circumcisionof all the males
(Genesis 17:1-14;Romans 4:11).
3. In 1 Kings 21:1-8, King Ahab wanted Naboth's vineyard. Jezebelwas
able to snatch it awayfrom Naboth by writing letters in Ahab’s name
and using the sealof Ahab to “authorize” the murder of Naboth. This
sealwas visible on the letter, giving the impression that it was
authorized by Ahab.
4. In Esther 3:12, King Ahasuerus sealeda proclamationwith his (visible)
signetring.
5. In 1 Cor. 9:2 when Paul calls the Corinthian brethren “the sealof his
apostleship,” he is emphasizing that they are the visible proof of the
legitimacy of his apostolic authority and his letters of recommendation
(cf. 2 Cor. 3:1–3).” (“sfragi÷ß,”NIDNTT-A, 547.)How did Paul
demonstrate he was the “evidence” (orseal)for the Corinthian church
to the false teachers who claimed he was not an apostle of Christ?
Answer: by impartingmiraculousgifts to those who had become
Christiansin the first century A.D. (See also Galatians3:1-5).
6. In 2 Corinthians 1:21,22 (ASV), Paul states:“Now he that establisheth
us with you in Christ, and anointed us, is God; who also sealedus, and
gave us the earnestof the Spirit in our hearts.” How were the Christians
at Corinth able to determine that Paul was sealedby the Holy Spirit?
How would his audience have recognizedit? Answer: he was able to
perform and impart miraculous gifts that were given from the Holy
Spirit. The designand purpose of the sealwere for the Holy Spirit to be
able to visibly guarantee the authenticity of His messengers [suchas
Paul and Jesus (John6:27)] with miraculous powers so that they could
serve as witnesses ofthe authenticity of God's message.
7. Ephesians 1:13,14 (ASV) states:“in whom ye also, having heard the
word of the truth, the gospelof your salvation, — in whom, having also
believed, ye were sealedwith the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an
earnestof our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own
possession, unto the praise of his glory.” This passagestates thatthe

EphesianChristians were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. The
promise is pointing back to Joel2:28-32 (Acts 2:17-21)where there
would be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the members of the
church in the first century A.D. This outpouring of miraculous gifts was
designedto help the growth of the infant church. Notice that in the city
of Ephesus Paul gives the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit to some
Ephesians in Acts 19:1-7. Paul’s letter to the Ephesian confirms these
gifts by stating that they were sealedwith the Holy Spirit of promise.
There are three objections usually brought forth againstthe idea that the seal
of the Holy Spirit was the confirmation of miraculous gifts as a witness to
God's revealedword.
1. The first objection states, “According to Ephesians 1:3-14 all Christians
receive the promises brought forth, such as the forgiveness ofsins (Ephesians
1:7); therefore, all Christians receive the sealof the Holy Spirit.” We know
that not all of the Christians in the first century A.D. receivedmiraculous gifts
(1 Corinthians 12:29-31). Those Christians in Ephesus who receivedthe
miraculous gifts were able to representthe whole group who had obeyed the
gospeland therefore the whole Christian community could be assuredthat
they had receivedthe promises. Jesus (and His disciples)did not heal
everyone, but the ones He healedwas evidence enough that Jesus was
speaking from God. In the same way, though all Christians in Ephesus did not
receive miraculous ability, their gifts were enoughevidence that the entire
body of Christ in Ephesus had confirmation of all spiritual blessings in Christ
(Ephesians 1:3).
2. The secondobjectionis basedon Ephesians 4:30 (ASV): “And grieve not
the Holy Spirit of God, in whom ye were sealedunto the day of redemption.”
Some have stated that if the sealis miraculous, then miracles are for today.
But since miracles have ceased(1 Corinthians 13:8), then the sealof the Holy
Spirit must be non-miraculous in nature. The word “unto” is the Greek word
eis, which can mean “with a view to.” Paul is stating that the Ephesian
Christians were sealedwith miraculous gifts, which would be a view to the
day of judgment. Miracles were performed in the first century that confirmed
the word for all time. They do not have to be repeatedover and over again
(written miracles confirm the word as much as when one saw them visibly and
are as equally effective, John20:30-31). They servedtheir purpose and
function. These Christians who confirmed the word with miraculous gifts can
continue to be viewedforward-looking to the day of judgment because the
word that was revealedin the first century recorded that there would be a day
of judgment for all of mankind to face (Acts 17:30; Revelation20:11-15).

3. The third objectionis basedon 2 Timothy 2:19, but this passagedoes not
speak of miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. The sealof the Holy Spirit is
literal language. It was something that could be visible and historicallyseenby
those in the first century A.D. Clearly, 2 Timothy 2:19 is a figurative passage
because no Christian has this statement literally written on their physical
body. 2 Timothy 2:19’s sealis figure referring to Jesus as the Owner of the
Christian - we belong to Him.
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The Spirit Sealing BY PINK
Closely connected with the Spirit's work of witnessing with the Christian's
spirit that he is a child of God, is His operation in sealing. This appears clearly
from 2 Corinthians 1:19-22 and Ephesians 1:13.
The riches of the Christian are found in the promises of God, and these are all
"Yes and Amen" in Christ: unless, then, our faith he built upon them, it is
worthless. It is not sufficient that the promises he sure, we must he
"established" upon them. No matter how firm the foundation (be it solid
rock), unless the house he connected therewith, actually built thereon, it is
insecure. There must he a double "Amen": one in the promises, and one in us.
There must be an echo in the Christian's own heart: God says these things, so
they must be true; faith appropriates them and says they are for me. In order
to have assurance and peace it is indispensable that we be established in and
on the Divine promises.
The Christian's riches lie in the promises of God: his strength and comfort in
his faith being built upon them. Now the same Divine power which delivered
the Christian from the kingdom of Satan and brought him into a state of
grace, must also deliver him from the attacks of the enemy upon his faith and
confirm him in a state of grace. Only God can produce stability: only He can
preserve that spark of faith amid the winds and waves of unbelief, and this He
is pleased to do-"He which bath begun a good work in you will finish it"
(Philippians 1:6). Therefore are we told "Now he which establishes us with

you in Christ. . . is God." Observe carefully it is not "has established," but
"establishes" - it is a continuous process throughout the Christian's life on
earth.
In what follows the apostle shows us what this "establishing" consists of, or
how it is accomplished: "and bath anointed us ... who bath also sealed us, and
given the earnest of the Spirit in our heart" (2 Corinthians 1:22). Each of these
figures refers to the same thing, and has to do with the "establishing" or
assuring of our hearts. Under the Old Testament economy prophets, priests,
and kings were authorized and confirmed in their office by "anointing"
(Leviticus 8:11; 2 Samuel 5:3; 1 Kings 19:16). Again; contracts and deeds of
settlement were ratified by "sealing" (Esther 8:8; Jeremiah 32:8-10). And a
"pledge" or "earnest" secured an agreement or bargain (Genesis 38:17, 18;
Deuteronomy 24:10). Thus the sure estate of the Christian is first expressed
under the general word "establishes," and then it is amplified under these
three figurative terms "anointed, sealed, earnest." It is with the second of
them we are now concerned.
It may be asked, But what need has the Christian of attestation or
confirmation of his state in Christ-is not faith itself sufficient proof? Ah, often
our faith and the knowledge we have of our believing in Christ is severely
shaken; the activities of indwelling sin stir up a thick cloud of doubt, and
Satan avails himself of this to tell us our profession is an empty one. But in His
tender grace, God has given us the Holy Spirit, and from time to time He
"seals" or confirms our faith by His quickening and comforting operations.
He draws out our hearts anew unto God and enables us to cry "Abba,
Father." He takes of the things of Christ, shows them to us, and brings us to
realize that we have a personalinterest in the Same.
The same blessed truth is found again in Ephesians 1:13. It is important to
note the order of the three things there predicated of saints: they "heard,"
they "believed," they were "sealed": thus the sealing is quite distinct from
and follows the believing, as the believing does the hearing. There are two
things, and two only, upon which the Spirit puts His seal, namely, two mighty
and efficacious works: first, the finished work of Christ, whereby He put away
sin by the sacrifice of Himself; and second, upon His own work in the hearts
of those who believe. In legal documents the writing always precedes the
witnessing and sealing: so here, the Spirit writes God's laws on the heart
(Hebrews 8:10), and then He seals the truth and reality of His own work to the
consciousnessofthe recipient.
The main intent of "sealing" is to assure, to certify and ratify. First, the Holy
Spirit conveys an assurance of the truth of God's promises, whereby a man's

understanding is spiritually convinced that the promises are from God.
Neither the light of reason nor the persuasive power of a fellow-mortal can
bring any one to rest his heart upon the Divine promises: in order to do that,
there must be the direct working of the Holy Spirit-"Our gospel came not
unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much
assurance" (1 Thessalonians 1:5): the "much assurance comes last! Second,
He gives the believer an assurance of his own personal interest in those
promises: and this again is something which none but the Spirit can impart.
We do not say that this sealing excludes all doubting, but it is such an
assurance as prevailsoverdoubts.
There are many uses of a "seal" such as proprietorship, identification,
confirmation, secrecy, security; but in Ephesians 1:13 the immediate thing
stated is the sealing of an inheritance: we have obtained an inheritance by
faith, and having believed we are "sealed." What is the specific use of a "seal"
in connection with an inheritance? It may either be the making of the
inheritance sure to a man in itself, or making the man know that it is his-
assuring him of the fact. Now it cannot be the former, for nothing is needed to
make Heaven sure once a sinner truly believes-the moment he lays hold of
Christ, the inheritance is certain. So it must be the latter: to make us sure, to
persuade our hearts the inheritance is ours. It is this the Spirit accomplishes
in His "seal."
The Holy Spirit is never called a "Seal" as He is an "Earnest" (2 Corinthians
5:5): it is only in relation to an act of sealing that this figure is associated with
Him; thus it is a distinct operation of His "in our hearts" (2 Corinthians 1:22).
It is not the stamping of God's image upon the soul (as many of the Puritans
supposed) that is referred to in Ephesians 1:13, for that is done before
believing, and not after. The order of truth in that verse is very simple and
decisive: in the gospel salvation is offered -it may he mine; faith accepts that
offer so as to make salvation mine; the Spirit seals or confirms my heart that
salvationis mine. Thus in "sealing"the Spirit authenticates, certifies, ratifies.
Observe that He does this in His special character as "the Spirit of promise."
He is so designated because, first, the Spirit was the great and grand promise
of the New Testament (John 14:26; 15:26, etc.) as Christ was of the Old
Testament. Second, because He works by means of the promises. Third,
because in His whole work He acts according to the everlasting covenant,
which, as it respects the elect, is a Covenant of Promise (Ephesians 2:12).
When He seals home a sense of the love of God and gives the soul a view of its
interest in Christ, it is done by means of the Word of Promise. It was so when
He "sealed" Christ (John 6:27) and consecrated Him to the work of

redemption. The Father said by an audible voice from Heaven, "This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased": this was repeating what had been
pronounced in the purpose of Jehovah the Father concerning the Mediator
(Isaiah 42:1); this the Holy Spirit brought home in power or "sealed" upon
the mind of Jesus atthat time.
The "sealing" or assuring operations of the Spirit are known to the believer in
two ways. First, inferentially: by enabling him to perceive His work in the soul
and from it conclude his regeneration. When I see smoke I must infer a fire,
and when I discern spiritual graces (however feeble) I reason back to the
Producer of them. When I feel a power within combating my corruptions, and
often thwarting my intentions to indulge the lusts of the flesh, I conclude it is
the Spirit resisting the flesh (Galatians 5:17). Second, intuitively: by a Divine
light in the heart, by a Divine authority felt, by the love of God shed abroad
therein. If I have any hope wrought in me, either by looking to Christ's blood
or perceiving grace in me, it is by the powerof the Spirit (Romans 15:13).
The Spirit brings to the mind of the Christian the sacred promises. He shows
us the good contained in them, the grace expressed in them, the perfection and
freeness of Christ's salvation declared by them; and thereby He seals them on
our mind and enables us to rest thereon. He shows us the veracity and
faithfulness of God in the promises, the immutability of the everlasting
covenant, the eternity of God's love, and that He has by two immutable things
(His word and His oath), in which it is impossible for Him to lie, given a firm
foundation for strong consolation to us who have fled for refuge to lay hold
upon the hope set before us in the gospel (Hebrews 6:18). It is in this way that
"the God of all grace" does, by the Spirit, "establish, strengthen, settle us" (1
Peter 5:10). It is by the Spirit's operations that the Christian's fears are
quietened, his doubts subdued, and his heart assured that a "good work"
(Philippians 1:6) has been Divinely begun in him. The Spirit indwelling us is
Christ's seal (mark of identification) that we are His sheep; the Spirit
authenticating His own blessed work in our souls, by revealing to us our
"title" to Heaven, is His sealing us."
Sealedwith the Spirit! Indwelling?
Holy Spirit Indwelling Series – Part4

As this series has progressedthe indwelling of the Holy Spirit has been
presentedas representative and not the same as the “gift of the Holy Spirit”
or being “filled with the Spirit”. This article will focus on the idea of being
sealedwith the spirit, what it means, and whether or not it is an indwelling as
some suppose. In conjunction with examining the terms “seal”or“sealed”, the
terms “earnest” and“anointed” will also be discussed.
The terms “seal” or “sealed”in the Old and New Testamentare seen
approximately 50 times. It is representedin the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
Indeed, there are three different words for these in the O.T and three for
them in the N.T. The terms can signify a mark of identification often
associatedwith a level of authority, a closing up, a protecting, an attachment,
and a witnessing or attesting, all depending upon context. As for the extent of
context involving the Holy Spirit and these terms, there are relatively few
verses to examine.
John 6:26-27 – Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye
seek me, not becauseye saw signs, butbecause ye ate of the loaves, and were
filled. Work not for the food which perisheth, butfor the food which abideth
unto eternal life, whichthe Son of man shall giveuntoyou: for him the Father,
even God, hath sealed.
In this text, Jesus had the night before fed a multitude of 5000. After He
crossedthe sea at night, the multitude sought him again. Asking when he had
crossedthe sea (He had walkedon waterpart way during the night and then
went in a boat with his disciples). Christ’s answerto them was the verses 26-
27. He tells them they had a miracle performed in their midst, but were
focusedon seeking more physical food. Instead, the miracle should have
causedthem to seek Christfor spiritual nutrition. It was this for which he was
sealed/marked. The term sealedhere is reference to His ability to perform the
miraculous. The miraculous was a mark or signidentifying He was of God.
His sealwas obvious for all to see, this is important when contemplating the
sealand its relationship to the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians1:21-22– Now he that establisheth us withyou in Christ, and
anointed us, is God; who also sealed us, and gaveus the earnest of the Spiritin
our hearts.
This verse not only displays the term sealed, but the other terms of interest:
earnestand anointed. Paul starts out his writing to the Corinthians discussing
the hardships he and the other disciples had gone through to preach the
gospeland even bring it to them. In the verses 21-22, Paultells the
Corinthians he, the disciples with him, and the Corinthians had been

established/confirmedin Christ. How had they been confirmed? Mark 16:20
shows the disciples confirmed the word they were sharing by signs (miracles).
Hebrews 2:3-4 shows God confirmed the teachings ofHis Word through
miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Even Christ identified his miraculous
works as that which gave witness to Him (John 5:36, 10:38). That the
Corinthians had the miraculous is obvious throughout both letters to them.
Next Paul tells the Corinthians Godanointed them all. I John 2:27 clearly
identifies the anointing of the Holy Spirit as miraculous, for the Christians
had inspired truth no one needed to teachthem. Finally Paul notes they were
sealedwith the Spirit – this was just as Christ. They were able to do the
miraculous. This gave them a pledge, security, guarantee, earnestin their
hearts knowing God will keepHis promises (vs. 20).
Ephesians1:13-14 – In Him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the
gospel of your salvation, – in whom, having alsobelieved, ye were sealed withthe
Holy Spiritof promise, whichis an earnest of our inheritance, unto the
redemption of God’s own possession, untothe praiseof his glory.
The apostle Paulwrites this letter to the Church at Ephesus. Like the
Corinthians they too had miraculous gifts. In verses 3-6, He tells them the
blessing they had because ofGod’s predetermine plan of adoption for them,
ultimately glorified God. In verses 7-12, he establishes the “wisdom and
insight” enabling knowledge oftheir redemption (riddance of sin, deliverance
from sin, liberation from sin) by Christ and the sharing of the gospel. All of
which came by the hand of God. It was indeed miraculous revelationthrough
the Holy Spirit. Again, this was God’s predetermined plan and glorified Him.
Verses 13-14, discuss the conversionof the Ephesians. They heard the gospel,
believed it, and following were sealedwith the Holy Spirit. To have a greater
understanding of this, we must recallwhat occurred in Acts 2 as studied in the
secondarticle in this series. The Jews heard, believed, and based upon that
belief repented and were baptized. Following their baptism, hands were laid
upon them and they receivedthe gift of the Holy Spirit – the miraculous. They
were sealed. This same situation was displayed in Acts 8:14-17 and Acts 19:5-
6. Acts 19 is very important because thatwas when the Ephesians receivedthe
Holy Spirit. They were sealedwith it by the laying on of hands. Here in
Ephesians Paul equates receiving the miraculous of the Holy Spirit to being
sealed. The visible manifestations marked them as followers ofGod.
In verse 14 the term earnestis used as in 2 Corinthians 1:22. The promise of
the Holy Spirit as prophesied from Joeland seenby all was a guarantee of the
inheritance of eternal life. It validated the faithfulness of God that man would
be heirs to an eternal kingdom. It was a view forward to the redemption of a

possession/acquisition. Thatpossessionwas the miraculous. The Ephesians, all
of mankind, would be ridded or liberated from the miraculous. To be clear,
the miraculous was given as a guarantee ofthe inheritance of God until which
time it would be removed. This would be done to the glory of God. How so?
The miraculous would cease in order to make room for the perfect, the unity
of the faith, the Word of God (I Corinthians 13:8-11;Ephesians 4:11-16). The
removal of the miraculous replacedwith only the Word of God would enable
men to grow into mature men on their own (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Ephesians4:30 – And grieve not the Holy Spiritof God, in whom ye were sealed
unto the dayof redemption.
Simply put, the Holy Spirit went to greatlengths, in demonstrating the power
of God. Through His Miraculous works the Word was confirmed, the Church
edified, and God was glorified. The sealof the Spirit was evident among the
first century Church. Yet, this was all done in bringing man to the written
Word of God. To turn awayfrom the Christian walk to the things of the
World would certainly grieve the Spirit of God.
From the 4 verses above discussing the sealof the Spirit, we againarrive at
the miraculous as we did with the “gift of the Spirit” and the “filling of the
Spirit”. Since the approach has been takenthat the miraculous is no longer
present today, these certainly could not be the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Again, in our final lessonwe will expand upon when the miraculous ended.
Before closing this article, there remains a question about sealing which many
people tie to the Holy Spirit and indwelling. Consider the following verses:
2 Timothy2:19 – But God’s firm foundation stands, bearingthisseal: “The Lord
knowsthose whoare his,” and, “Leteveryone who namesthe nameof the Lord
departfrom iniquity.”
Revelation 7:4 – And I heard the numberof the sealed, 144,000, sealed from
every tribe of the sons of Israel:
Revelation 14:1 – Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb,
and withhim 144,000whohad his nameand hisFather’s namewritten on their
foreheads.
The question is: What about Revelationand those who have been sealedthat
the Lord knows? Firstoff, understand there is a greatdeal of figurative
language in the book of Revelation. How does the lord know a person? In his
address to the 7 churches of Asia at the start of the book of Revelation, what
does the Lord continually say? “I know your works”. Jesus said:

Mat 10:32-33– “So everyone who acknowledgesmebefore men, I alsowill
acknowledgebefore myFather who is in heaven, but whoever deniesme before
men, I also willdenybefore my Father who is in heaven”.
God doesn’t need a foreheadbarcode system to figure out who the faithful
are. A man’s works sayit all (John 14:15). Second, in regard to numbers and
the book of Revelation, be assured, God’s cutoff line isn’t 144,000. In fact, it
can be recalledthat Abraham’s descendants (Christians)would be as
innumerable as sand on the seashore. Revelation7:9 confirms as much. The
sealof a Christian in this modern time is his deeds, works, orwedding clothes.
We dress ourselves for success or failure and that is a sealthat will be evident
for all to see.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 – For God willbringevery deed intojudgment, withevery
secret thing, whether good or evil.
The next articlein this series willassumemanhasa literal indwelling ofthe
Holy Spirit. In that case, whatexactlywould beits purpose?
This entry was postedin Travis Main and taggedHoly Spirit, Indwelling,
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SealedWith The Holy Spirit
By Dr. Harry A. Ironside | 1935
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospelof
your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealedwith that
Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnestof our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchasedpossession, unto the praise of his glory.”—
Ephesians 1:13-14
You will notice that these verses carry us back in thought to what has
immediately precededin the twelfth verse. There the apostle Paulsays, “That
we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ,” and he
speaks as a representative believer from Israel. The Gospelof God was to the
Jew first. Those who receivedthe message onthe day of Pentecostwere allof
Israelalthough they came from the many different parts of the world into
which they had been scatteredbecause oftheir sins. Wherever the message
went it was to the Jew first in those early days, and the apostle Paul, himself a

Jew, could speak ofthe glorious privileges which belong to them who are now
the people of God in Christ.
In verse thirteen he turns to the Gentile converts;therefore, the words are
especiallyappropriate as applied to ourselves, “In whom ye also trusted.”
Notice the different pronoun. It is “ye,” Gentiles. “In whom ye also trusted,
after that ye heard the word of truth.” He does not necessarilyimply any
lengthy period after they had heard the word of truth. It might be rendered,
“In whom ye also trusted, upon hearing the word of truth.” The Gospel
messagebelievedresults in immediate salvation. It is not necessarythat people
go through a long seasonofsoul exercise and travail of spirit after hearing the
Gospelbefore they are convertedto God. A man may hear the message forthe
first time and hearing, believe and live. Yet one can quite understand the
pitiful question of the Chinese woman who had lived in the darkness of
paganismall her life. The itinerant missionaries came to her village and for
the first time, she fearedthe only time, she heard the messageofgrace. She
came trembling and said, “It is a wonderful story. I have never heard it before
and you are leaving us tomorrow. I may never hear it again but I believe it.
Do you think once is enoughto make my soul secure?” Yes, once is enough!
“Once for all, O sinner receive it,
Once for all, O brother, believe it:
Cling to the cross, the burden will fall,
Christ hath redeemedus once for all.”
Mostof us have heard it over and over again. I wonderhow many cantake
those words to ourselves, “Inwhom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the
word of truth, the gospelof your salvation.” The Gospelis indeed the “good
spell.” That is the exactmeaning of the Anglo-Saxonword, “gospel.”Some of
the words that we think of as slang are really ground deep in our language.
We speak ofa soapbox oratoras a “spellbinder” and think of that as slang,
but the fact is, the word “spell” was used in that way centuries ago. The
Gospelis the goodspell, the goodmessage, God’s goodnews forpoor lost
sinners, it is God’s goodnews about His blessedSon. It cannotbe too often
emphasized that the Gospelis not goodadvice to be obeyed; it is goodnews to
be believed. It is something that God has told us about the Lord Jesus Christ,
and when we believe the message, we are saved. Now, following our salvation,
we are sealedwith the Holy Spirit—“In whom also after that ye believed, ye
were sealedwith that holy Spirit of promise.” A goodmany have been misled
by the rendering here given. “In whom also after that ye believed—“ they
have thought that this necessarilyimplied an interval betweenbelieving and
being sealedwith the Spirit; but I would callyour attention to the factthat we

have exactly the same word as in the previous part of the verse—“Inwhom ye
also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth.” Not necessarilya week or
a month of yet ten minutes after but upon hearing. And so we read in the
latter part of the verse that upon believingwe were sealedwith the Holy Spirit.
There is, of course, a difference betweenthe Holy Spirit’s regenerating work
and the sealing. The difference is as great as that betweenbuilding a house
and moving into it. You may move into it the moment it is ready. When the
Spirit of Godcreates man anew in Christ Jesus, that moment a house is built,
a temple is prepared, and then the blessedHoly Spirit of God moves in and
takes possessionofhim. “Ye were sealedwith that holy Spirit of promise.”
That is, the Spirit who had been promised in past ages and by our blessed
Lord when here on Earth, has now come to indwell every believer. Three
times in the New Testamentwe read of the believer being sealedwith the
Spirit. We find it here, in 2 Corinthians 1:22, “Who hath also sealedus, and
given the earnestof the Spirit in our hearts,” and then in our same epistle,
chapter four verse thirty, “Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are
sealedunto the day of redemption.” These are the only three direct references
to the sealing of the Holy Spirit in connectionwith the believer but in the sixth
chapter of John’s Gospel, the twenty-seventh verse, we read of the blessed
Lord himself that He was sealed. “Labournot for the meat which perisheth,
but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man
shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” You remember
when He came forth from His baptism in the Jordan, the Spirit of God
descendedlike a dove and abode upon Him and a voice from heavensaid,
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am wellpleased” (Matthew 3:17). That is
the sealing ofthe blessedSaviour. It is always interesting to note that it is in
the sixth chapterof John’s Gospelwhere he dwells on the fact that He is the
Living Breadwhich came down from heaven, which if a man eathe shall live
forever, that our Lord speaks ofHimself as sealed.
A sealwas a stamp, a mark of ownership, a mark of approval. You go to the
grocerystore and geta loaf of bread and it has a little stamp on it, or perhaps
it has the name of the bakery or the trade mark impressed upon the bread.
This was done by pressing the dough into the pan which had the name in the
metal. That name upon the loaf of bread is the maker’s guarantee. It is as
though he says, “I stand back of this bread.” It is just so with our blessed
Lord. He is the Breadof God, the Living Bread, the Breadof Life and God the
Father sealedHim when He gave Him the Holy Spirit without measure. And
now when we believe in Him, trust Him as our Saviour, the same blessedHoly
Spirit comes to live in us. God the Father seals us by the Spirit and says, as it

were, “This man, this woman, belongs to me, henceforth I stand back of him, I
own him as mine.”
It is a remarkable thing that the only two epistles in which we read of sealing
by the Spirit are Corinthians and Ephesians. Corinth and Ephesus were great
centers of the lumber industry in ancienttimes. A raft of logs would be
brought from the Black Sea andnotice sent to the different lumber firms that
the raft was in the harbor. These firms would send their men out and they
would look over the logs and make their selection. One would say, “I will take
all of those logs,” another, “Iwill take those,” and they would pay down a
little earnestmoney and then cut a certainwedge upon eachlog that the firm
had agreedto take. This was calledthe seal. The logs might not be drawn out
of the waterfor many weeks but eachwas sealedby the mark of the firm that
had undertaken to purchase them. I was standing on a high bridge at St.
Cloud, Minnesota, watching a lumber jam and as I saw the men working I
said to my friend, “Do all these logs belong to one firm?” “Oh no,” he said,
“there are representatives ofmany different firms working here in the
Minnesota woods.” “Well,”Iasked, “how on earth can they distinguish
betweenthe logs?”He showedme from the bridge how they were marked so
that when they reachedtheir destination down the river, the various firms
would be able to selecttheir own logs. Thoughyou and I are still tossing about
on the waters of this poor scene we have been sealedby the Holy Spirit of
promise and when the appointed day comes and the blessedLord takes His
own to be with Himself, that will be the day of the redemption of His
purchased possession, and He will take out of this world all who have been
sealedwith His Spirit. We will go to be with Him in yonder bright glory.
This enables us to understand the transition of thought as we pass into verse
fourteen. In verse thirteen the Holy Spirit is a sealand in verse fourteen He is
the earnest, “Whichis the earnestof our inheritance until the redemption of
the purchasedpossession, unto the praise of His glory.” I mentioned the
lumber dealerpaying down a small sum as an earnest, the rest to be paid in
full when the logs were drawn out of the water. Our blessedGod has given us
the Holy Spirit as the earnest, the pledge, that eventually we are to be taken
out of this scene and fully conformedto the image of His Son. Now we are
privileged to appropriate in a small measure what we shall have in all its
fullness when we gethome to heaven. Everything of Christ which we enjoy at
all, we enter into by the Holy Spirit.
“If here on earth the thoughts of Jesus’love
Lift our poor hearts this wearyworld above,

If even here the taste of heavenly springs
So cheers the spirit, that the pilgrim sings,
“What will the sunshine of His glory prove?
What the unmingled fullness of His love?
What hallelujahs will His presence raise?
What but one loud eternalburst of praise?”
What will it mean when we see Him face to face, when the lastvestige of sin
and infirmity will disappearand we shall be like Him for whom we wait—we
shall be to “the praise of His glory.” Think of it, every saint of God, every
redeemedone, every sinner saved by grace divine will add to the glory, to the
satisfactionofthe heart of God throughout eternity. It was in order that we
might thus be won for Christ, that we might be set apart for Himself, that our
blessedLord came in grace from the throne of heaven down to the cross of
Calvary. It was that He might redeem us to Godwith His own blood and
make us suited habitations for the Holy Spirit’s indwelling, that He savedus
and made us His own.
THE HOLY SPIRIT, An Experimental and Practical View by Octavius
Winslow
"The Sealing of the Spirit" or "The Believeran Epistle"
Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: 2 Cor. 3:2
You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by
everybody. 2 Cor. 3:2
But the only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves! Your lives
are a letter written in our hearts, and everyone can read it and recognize our
goodwork among you. 2 Cor. 3:2
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, Ephes. 1:13
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, Ephes. 1:13

And now you also have heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you.
And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you
the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. Ephes. 1:13
What an inestimable gift is God the Holy Spirit, and how vast is His work!
Each successive step we take in unfolding it does but more deeply convince us
of this. New rays of light are reflected, new aspects of importance present
themselves, and new features of interest and beauty are brought to view, as we
pursue our research into this essential and important department of Divine
truth. The more thoroughly and prayerfully we are led to investigate the
operations of the Spirit upon the soul, especially if we watch closely His work
in our own hearts, the more powerfully will the conviction press itself upon
the mind that all real advance in Divine knowledge, in righteousness, joy and
peace, is inseparably connected with His indwelling and sanctifying power. In
the previous chapter, we endeavored to unfold this. We have seen Him as the
Author and Finisher of holiness in the soul- beginning the great work,
carrying it forward, strengthening it when feeble, reviving it when drooping,
and thus preparing the believer for the "inheritance of the saints in light."
Closely connected with this part of His work is His sealing operation. As
various opinions have been held regarding the nature of the Spirit's sealing, as
it is a subject of a highly spiritual and practical tendency and (to an inquirer
after a more perfect knowledge of the truth) of much importance, we enter
upon the discussion of the subject the more readily, and, we trust, with
earnestprayer for Divine assistancein unfolding it.
THE NATURE OF THE SEALING OF THE SPIRIT
What do we understand by the sealing of the Spirit? What does the Word of
God teach upon the subject? There are various passages in which the same
figure is employed, but which do not convey the idea we ascribe to His present
operation. For example, there is a sealing spoken of in 2 Tim. 2. 19:
"Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord
knows those who are his." We think it clear that the seal here alluded to has
respect to the Father's sealing His people in election with the seal of His
foreknowledge, which, of course, is an operation anterior to the existence of
faith in the soul, and is within Himself, and not upon them. It is, so to speak,
His secret designation of His people, known especially and only to Himself.
There is also a sealing spoken of in the Song of Solomon 8. 6: "Set me as a seal
upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm: for love is strong as death." It is
equally clear that this cannot refer to the work of the Spirit, but must refer to
Christ's strong and unchangeable love to His people. They are set as a seal
upon His heart, the dwelling-place of love; and upon His arm, the instrument

of power; unchangeable love and omnipotent power are pledged to their
eternal security. As a seal set upon His heart and worn upon His arm, they are
precious to, and valued by, Him.
Nor are we to interpret the sealing under consideration to mean the
extraordinary gifts of the Spirit; for it is a remarkable fact, already alluded
to- and it speaks solemnly to those who are forming a higher estimate of gifts
than of graces- that the Corinthian church, the most distinguished for its
possession of the gifts of the Spirit, was at the same time most remarkable for
its lack of the sanctifying graces of the Spirit. It was the most gifted, but at the
same time the least holy community gathered and planted by the apostles.
The question still recurs- what are we to understand by the sealing of the
Spirit? It is that act of the Holy Spirit by which the work of grace is deepened
in the heart of the believer, so that he has an increasing and abiding
conviction of his acceptance in Jesus, and his adoption into the family of God.
It is a clearer and more undoubted manifestation of Christ to the soul, a
larger degree of the sanctifying, witnessing and anointing influences of the
Holy Spirit, evidencing itself in a growing holiness of character. Let us not be
misunderstood. We are not speaking of some peculiar and sudden impulse on
the mind, of some immediate suggestion or revelation to the soul, some vision
of the night, or voice in the air. No! we speak of a growth in a knowledge of
Christ, in sanctification of heart, in holiness of life, in an increasing and
abiding moral certainty of the believer's "calling and election." "In whom
also after you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." The
Holy Spirit is both the seal and the sealer; even as Jesus was both the sacrifice
and the priest. He deepens the work of grace in the heart; He witnesses to the
believer that he is born of God; He seals the soul to the day of redemption,
and by His indwelling and anointing influences enables him to say, "I know
whom I have believed- He has loved me and given Himself for me."
THE MANNER OF THE SEALING OF THE SPIRIT
With this brief and simple definition of the nature of the sealing of the Spirit,
we proceed to unfold the manner in which it is effected.
It is sometimes a sudden work of the Spirit. A soul may be so deeply sealed in
conversion, may receive such a vivid impression of Divine grace, such an
enlarged communication of the Divine Spirit, as it never afterwards loses. It is
sealed "unto the day of redemption"; and that too, in the most simple way. In
the hearing of a single sermon, the reading of a single chapter of God's Word,
some promise brought with the power of the Holy Spirit and sealed upon the
heart, in a moment the soul is brought into the full assurance of
understanding and of faith. Take, for example, that one precious promise

which the Spirit has sealed, never to be effaced, upon many a poor sinner's
softened heart: "him that comes unto Me I will in no wise cast out." O what a
sealing is this! God speaking to a poor, distressed, and disconsolate soul,
assuring it of a cordial welcome and of a free pardon- that though no tongue
can express its vileness and poverty, and no imagination conceive its deep
sorrow, yet, coming to Jesus just as it is, it shall in no wise be cast out! Is not
this an impression of the seal in the hands of the great Sealer, which is unto
the day of redemption?
Sometimes it takes place as the Holy Spirit unfolds to the anxious soul the
great truth that Christ is the Savior of a sinner. You have been long waiting
for some offering, some gift, some price with which to come; long lingering on
the margin of the fountain, waiting for some preparation to enter- in other
words (for it amounts to this), waiting to feel less vile, less unworthy, in order
that you may be more welcome. And now, the blessed Spirit opens to your
mind that great and precious truth, that "Christ died for the ungodly," that
He is the mighty and the willing Savior of a sinner; that no gift, no price, is
asked; no previous fitness or self-preparation is necessary; that the more vile
and unworthy, the more fit and the more welcome. O what an impression of
the seal is this upon a wounded heart! When the glorious announcement is
brought home to the soul- a full and free pardon for a poor sinner- the blood
of Jesus cleansing from sin- is it any marvel that no change of time or
circumstance can obliterate the impression or the remembrance of that
moment from the mind? It was a sealing of pardon upon a heart which God
had made soft, and which was the sure prelude to, indeed the beginning of,
eternal glory.
But in most cases the sealing of the Spirit is a more gradual work. It is a work
of time. The soul is placed in the school of deep experience and is led on step
by step, stage by stage. The knowledge of self and of Christ increases, deeper
views of indwelling sin are discovered, the heart's treachery is more acutely
felt, the devices of Satan are better known, the mystery of God's gracious and
providential dealings with His children is more clearly unfolded and better
understood. And all this, it may be, is arrived at through a process- the deep,
painful, yet sanctified discipline of the covenant- so that years may elapse
before a child of the covenant attains to the full sealing of the Spirit. And yet,
blessed be God, the work of regeneration is so perfect in itself, the blotting out
of all a believer's sins so complete, and his justification so entire, that a saint
of God dying in the first stages of the Divine life is safe forever. May we not
refer to the thief upon the cross as an example illustrating and confirming
this?
There are, then, degrees, or progressive stages of the Spirit's sealing. The first

impression is made in regeneration. This is often faint, and in numerous cases,
scarcely perceptible. Especially is it so in ordinary conversions. We mean by
ordinary conversions those that occur under the common influences of the
Spirit, in the use of the stated means of grace. Where the Holy Spirit descends
in an especial and extraordinary manner (as the history of the American
churches and, more recently, of many in our own land testifies that He
sometimes does), conversions assume a more marked character and type.
They are clearer, more perceptible, and undoubted. The work is of a deeper
kind, views of sin are more pungent, the law-work of the soul more thorough,
and, when the soul emerges from its gloomy night of conviction into the
glorious light of pardon, it seems more like the "perfect day" of God's
forgiveness. There is, in a work of grace transpiring during an especial
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a deeper impression of the seal of the Spirit
upon the heart, a clearer and more manifest sense of pardon and acceptance,
than in the normal conversions of ordinary times. Nor is this difficult to
account for. There is a greater and richer manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
This is the grand secret. He gives more of Himself. He imparts more of His
anointing influences; and the larger the degree we possess ok the quickening,
sanctifying influences of the Spirit, the more in proportion do we know of His
sealing operation. How this thought should awaken the desire, and impart
power and fervency to the prayer, for a more enlarged communication of the
Holy Spirit! Ceaseless should be the cry, "Lord, fill me with the Spirit!" But,
as we have remarked, in conversions occurring under the more ordinary
instrumentalities, the first impression of the seal of the Spirit is often but little
beneath the surface. The work of grace is feeble. It may be compared to the
faint outline of a picture: the design is there, the idea of the artist is seen, but
the fulness of its parts, the coloring, the light and shade, are lacking to the
perfection of the whole. It may be compared, also, to the first streak of
morning light, before it deepens into "perfect day," or to the gentle rising of
the rivulet, before it widens into the "broad river." Its beginnings are feeble,
and yet real. The light is not less light because it is but a faint and struggling
ray, nor is the rivulet less a rivulet because its issues are feeble and almost
unseen. Grace loses nothing of the greatness and glory of its character in the
smallness of its degree. An infant loses nothing of its identity with its species
because it is not a "perfect man," nor does the father disown it as his child
because it is the smallest and the feeblest of his family. O no! feeble grace is
still Divine grace; and he who touches but the hem, is as much saved, and shall
be as surely glorified, as he whose faith removes the mountain and casts it into
the sea. The first impression is as much the work of the Spirit as any deeper
one in after years. Let not the weak believer overlook or undervalue what God

has done for him. That feeble light, that little strength, that faint and
flickering ray, that touching but the hem- oh, it is the blessed product of God
the eternal Spirit. Nature never taught you your sinfulness, your
worthlessness, your vileness, your nothingness; "flesh and blood " never
revealed to you the absolute necessity of a better righteousness than your own,
nor led you to Jesus, as your "wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and
redemption." Then "give glory to the Lord your God" for what He has done.
Praise, O praise Him for the work He has wrought in you. Tell to others the
wonders of His love, His grace and His power. Confess his name before angels
and men. Be very diligent in seeking large and yet larger supplies of that
"river that makes glad the city of God." "In whom also, after that you
believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise."
But a yet deeper impression of the seal is made, when the believer is led more
fully into the realization of his sonship, when he attains to the blessed sense of
the "adoption of children." Although it is most true that the moment a sinner
believes in Jesus, he becomes actually an "heir of God, and a joint heir with
Christ," and enters into the family as an adopted child, yet the clear and
undoubted sense of this vast mercy may not be sealed upon his heart until
later years. He may long have walked without the sweet sense of God's
adopting love in his heart; the frame of his spirit and the language of his soul
in prayer may have been more akin to that of the "son of the bond-woman"
than the "son of the free-woman." He may have known but little of the "free
spirit," the spirit of an adopted child, and may seldom have gone to God as a
kind, loving, tender and faithful Father. But now the Divine Sealer- the
eternal Spirit of God- enters afresh, and impresses deeply upon his soul the
unutterably sweet and abiding sense of his adoption. O what an impression is
then left upon his heart, when all his legal fears are calmed, when all his
slavish moanings are hushed, when all his bondage spirit is gone, and when
under the drawings of filial love, he approaches the throne of grace and cries,
"My Father!" And his Father responds, "My child!" "You shall call me, My
Father, and shall not turn away from me." Jer. 3. 19. "In whom also, after
that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise."
In the process of sanctified affliction, the soul often receives a fresh and a deep
impress of the seal of the Spirit. The furnace works wonders for a believer. O
that he should ever wish to be exempt from it! Indeed, it may be remarked
that real grace is inseparable from a state of trial. Where there is real faith,
the Lord will try it. Where there is the true ore, the Refiner will prove it in the
furnace. There is not a grace of the Spirit but, more or less, and at one time or
another, Jesus tries that grace. "The Lord tries the righteous." He tries their
principles, tries their graces, tries their obedience, proves His own work,

brings out the new man in all its muscular fulness, develops the nature and
character of His work and shows it to be His mighty product, and in all
respects worthy of Himself. Much, then, as we would wish at times, exemption
from a state of trial, anxious for the more smooth and easy path, yet, if we are
really born of God, and His grace has truly made us one of His family, like
them we have been "chosen in the furnace of affliction," and with them in the
furnace we are brought into the possession of some of the most costly blessings
of our lives.
Real grace, then, is tried grace. And note how, in the process of its trial, the
blessed and eternal Spirit more deeply seals the believer. The hour of
affliction is the hour of softening. Job bore this testimony: "He makes my
heart soft." The hardness of the heart yields, the callousness of the spirit gives
way, the affections become tender, conscience is more susceptible. It is the
season of holy abstraction, meditation and prayer, of withdrawal from the
world and from creature delights, while the soul is more closely shut in with
God. The heart, now emptied, humbled and softened, is prepared for the seal
of the Spirit; and what an impression is then made, what discoveries of God's
love to the soul, what enlarged views of the personal glory of Christ, of the
infinite perfection of His work, of the preciousness of the atoning sacrifice, of
the hatefulness of sin, and of the beauty of holiness! His own personal interest
in this great work of Christ is made more clear and certain to his soul. The
Spirit bears fresh witness to his acceptance, and seals him anew with the
adopting love of God. It was the psalmist's wisdom to acknowledge, "It is good
for me that I have been afflicted." Let it not then be forgotten that an
afflicting time is often a sealing time.
We would remark in this connection that the sealing of the Spirit does not
always imply a rejoicing state. It is not necessarily accompanied by great
spiritual joy. While we cannot forget that it is the believer's privilege to be
"always rejoicing," "rejoicing evermore," and that a state of spiritual joy is as
much a holy as it is a happy state, yet we cannot suppose that the "sealed "
are always in possession of this "fruit of the Spirit." It is perhaps more a state
of rest in God, a state of holy quietude and peace, which, in many cases,
seldom rises to that of joy. There is an unclouded hope, a firm and unshaken
resting on the finished work, a humble reliance on the stability of the covenant
and on the immutability of God's love, which is never moved even when there
is no sensible enjoyment and when comfort seems to die. It is a state
corresponding to that which David thus expresses, "Although my house do
not be so with God; yet he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although
he make it not to grow." Perhaps it is more akin to job's frame of soul when

he exclaimed, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." A sense of comfort
may be withdrawn, joy may be absent, the Sun of righteousness casting but a
faint twilight over the soul, and yet, such is the power of faith grasping the
cross of Christ, such is the firm resting of the soul upon the stability of the
covenant, upon what God is, and upon what He has promised, that, without
one note of joy, or one ray of light, the believer can yet say, "I know whom I
have believed." And why, we ask, this strong and vigorous reliance? Why this
buoying up of the soul in the absence of sensible comfort? We reply that it is
because that soul has attained unto the sealing of the Spirit. This forms the
great secret.
This conducts us to another reflection. The believer will never lose the sealing
of the Spirit. The impression of God's pardoning love made upon the heart by
the Holy Spirit is never entirely effaced. We do not say that there are no
moments when the "consolations of God are small" with the believer, when he
shall have no severe "fightings within and fears without," when the
experience of the church shall be his, "I opened to my beloved: but my
beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spoke:
I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no
answer"- all this he may experience, and still not lose the sealing of the Spirit.
In the midst of it all, even in the lowest depth, there shall be the abiding
conviction of an interest in God's love which sustains, animates and comforts.
It will be seen, by reverting to the state of the church alluded to above, that
although there was the consciousness of her Beloved's withdrawal- though He
was gone, and she sought Him but could not find Him, called Him but He gave
her no answer- yet not for one moment did she lose the impression that He
still was her Beloved. Here was the glorious triumph of faith in the hour when
all was loneliness, desolation and joylessness. Here was the sealing of the
Spirit which never left her, even
though her "Beloved had gone." And while not a beam of His beauty glanced
upon her soul, nor a note of His voice fell upon her ear, she still could look up
and exclaim, "I am
my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine." O mighty power of faith that can
anchor the soul firm on Jesus in the darkest
and wildest tempest! And this, reader, is indeed the sealing
of the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit so deeply impressing on the heart a sense of
pardoning love, so firmly establishing it in the faithfulness of God, in the
finished work of Christ, in the stability of the covenant, and in the soul's
adoption into the one family, that in the gloomiest hour, and under the most
trying dispensation, there is that which keeps the soul steady to its center-
Jehovah Jesus. And even should his sun go down behind a mist, he has the

sustaining assurance that it will rise upon another world, in peerless, cloudless
splendor. O yes! the sealing of the Spirit is a permanent, abiding impression.
It is "unto the day of redemption"- the day when there shall be no more
conflict, no more darkness, no more sin. It is not to the day of pardon, for he
cannot be more entirely pardoned than he is; it is not to the day of acceptance,
for he cannot be more fully accepted than now. No, it is to the glorious "day of
redemption," the day of complete emancipation longed for by the sons of God,
and even sighed for by the "whole creation": "and not only they, but
ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves
groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our
body." O shout for joy, you who are sealed of the Lord! Tried and afflicted,
tossed with tempest, and not comforted, you who find the world to be but a
wilderness, a valley of tears- the path rougher and rougher, narrower and
narrower- lift up your heads with joy; the hour of "your redemption draws
near," and the "days of your mourning shall be ended." And this is your
security: a faithful covenant-keeping God, "who has also sealed us, and given
the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts."
In closing this chapter, we would remark in the first place that it is the duty
and the privilege of every believer diligently and prayerfully to seek the
sealing of the Spirit. He rests short of his great privilege if he slights or
undervalues this blessing. Do not be satisfied with the impression which you
received in conversion. In other words, do not rest content with a past
experience. Many are satisfied with a mere hope that they once passed from
death unto life, and with this feeble and (in many cases) doubtful evidence,
they are content to pass all their days and to go down to the grave. Ah, reader,
if you are really converted, and your soul is in a healthy, growing, spiritual
state, you will want more than this. And especially, too, if you are led into
deeper self-knowledge, into a more intimate acquaintance with the roughness
of the rough way and the straitness of the strait path, you will want a present
Christ to lean upon and to live upon. Past experience will not do for you, but
only as it confirms your soul in the faithfulness of God. "Forgetting those
things that are behind," you will seek a present pardon, a present sense of
acceptance; and the daily question, as you near your eternal home, will be,
"How do I now stand with God? Is Jesus precious to my soul now? Is He my
daily food? What do I experience of daily visits from and to Him? Do I more
and more see my own vileness, emptiness and poverty, and His righteousness,
grace and fulness? And should the summons come now, am I ready to depart
and to be with Christ?" As you value a happy and a holy walk, as you would
be jealous for the honor and glory of the Lord, as you wish to be the "salt of
the earth," the "light of the world," and to be a savor of Christ in every place-

O seek the sealing of the Spirit. Do not rest short of it, reach after it, press
towards it- it is your duty. O that the duty may be your privilege: then shall
you exclaim with an unfaltering tongue, "Abba, Father;" "my Lord and my
God!"
Again, I remark, this blessing is only found in the way of God's appointment.
He has ordained that prayer should be the great channel through which His
covenant blessings should flow into the soul. If it is your anxious desire to
attain to this blessing, I would quote for your direction a remark of that
eminent servant of Christ, Dr. Thomas Goodwin: "Be sure of this," says he,
"that, before God ever communicates any good to a soul, He puts that soul in
a state of holiness to
receive it." To confirm and illustrate this thought, let me ask- what was the
state of the apostles when the Holy Spirit descended upon them in His
witnessing, anointing and sealing influences? It is described in these words-
"these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the
women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." Acts 1. 14.
What is the important lesson thus taught us? That God would have His child
in a waiting, seeking, supplicating posture; and in this holy state prepared to
receive the high attainment we plead for. Do you earnestly desire the sealing
of the Spirit? "Ask, and you shall receive; seek, and you shall find." As surely
as you petition for it- sincerely, humbly, believingly, seeking it in the name of
Jesus- through the Cross of Christ, you shall have it. The Lord the Spirit is
ready to impart it to you. It is the fresh gift of His love, without respect to any
worth or worthiness on the part of the soul that receives it. It is a gift of grace
for the poor, the dependent, the unworthy, those who are little in their own
eyes, and little in the eyes of others; and if this is your conscious state, then is
it for you. And O, the blessed results! Who can describe them? Sealed! How
will all your legal fears and unbelieving doubts in a moment vanish away;
your soul, so long fettered and imprisoned, shall now go free; the cross you
have so long looked at, not daring to bow your shoulder to it, shall now be
taken up with a cheerful mind; Christ's yoke, so long resisted, will now be
easy, and His burden, so long refused, will now be light; and, with a heart
enlarged with the love of Jesus, you will "run the way of His commandments,"
esteeming His precepts better than life. Prayer, importunate prayer, will bring
the blessing we plead for into your soul. Seek it with your whole heart, seek it
diligently, perseveringly. Seek it by day and by night, seek it in all the means
of grace, in every way of God's appointment; especially seek it in the name of
Jesus, as the purchased blessing of His atoning blood. "Ask what you will in
My name," are His own encouraging words, "and it shall be granted unto
you." Then ask for the sealing of the Spirit. Ask nothing less; more you do not

need. Feel that you have not "attained" until you possess it, that you have not
"apprehended that for which also you are apprehended of Christ Jesus" until
you have "received the Holy Spirit" as a Sealer.
It is, and has long been, the solemn conviction of the writer, that much of the
spiritual darkness- the lack of spiritual consolation, the stunted piety, the
harassing doubts and fears, the imperfect apprehensions of Jesus, the feeble
faith, the sickly drooping state of the soul, the uncertainty of their full
acceptance in Christ which mark so many of the professing people of God in
this our day- may be traced to the absence of a deep sealing of the Spirit.
Resting satisfied with the faint impression in conversion, with the dim views
they then had of Christ, and the feeble apprehension of their acceptance and
adoption, is it any marvel that all their life-time they should be in bondage,
through slavish doubts and fears? Fears that they should never attain to the
"stature of perfect men in Christ Jesus," that they should never rise to the
humble boldness, the unwavering confidence, the blest assurance and the holy
dignity of the sons of God? O no! They rest short of this blessing. They stay at
the door of the ark; they remain upon the border of the goodly land, and not
entering fully in, they experience the effects which we have described. But the
richest ore lies buried the deepest; the sweetest fruit is on the higher branches,
the strongest light is near the sun. In other words, if we desire more
knowledge of Christ, of our full pardon and complete acceptance, if we desire
the earnest of our inheritance, and even now would taste the "grapes of
Eshcol," we must be "reaching forth unto those things that are before." We
must "press toward the mark," and not rest until our rest is found in a clear,
unclouded, immovable and holy assurance of our being in Christ; and this is
only experienced in the sealing of the Spirit. Again, we say, with all the
earnestness which a growing sense of the vastness of the blessing inspires, seek
to be sealed of the Spirit. Seek the "earnest of the Spirit "; seek to be "filled
with the Spirit"; seek the "anointing of the Spirit"; seek the "Spirit of
adoption." Do not say that it is too immense a blessing, too high an attainment
for one so small, so feeble, so obscure, so unworthy as you. O do not thus
malign the grace of God. All His blessings are the bestowments of grace; and
grace means free favor to the most unworthy. Anyone who reads this page
may, under the blessed sealing of the Spirit, look up through Jesus to God as a
Father. Low views of self, deep consciousness of vileness, poverty of state or of
spirit, are no objections with God, but rather strong arguments that prevail
with Him to give you the blessing. Only ask, only believe, only persevere, and
you shall obtain it. It is in the heart of the Spirit to seal "unto the day of
redemption all who believe in Jesus. May it be in the heart of the reader to
desire the blessing, seeing that it is so freely and richly offered.

Reader, whose superscription do you bear? It may be your reply is- "I want
Christ; I secretly long for Him; I desire Him above all beside." Is it so? Then
take courage, and go to Jesus. Go to Him simply, go to Him unhesitatingly, go
to Him immediately. That desire is from Him, let it lead you to Him. That
secret longing is the work of the Spirit; and having begotten it there, do you
think that He will not honor it and welcome you when you come? Try Him.
Bring Him to the touch-stone of His own truth. "Prove me now herewith" is
His gracious invitation. Take His promise, "Him that comes unto Me I will in
no wise cast out"; plead it in wrestlings at the mercy-seat, and see if He will
not "open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall
not be room enough to receive it." Go to Him just as you are. If you cannot
take to Him a pure heart, take an impure one; if you cannot take to Him a
broken heart, take a whole one; if you cannot take to Him a soft heart, take a
hard one; only go to Him. The very act of going will be blessed to you. And oh,
such is the strength of His love, such is His yearning compassion and melting
tenderness of heart for poor sinners, such is His ability and willingness to
save, that He will no more cast you out than deny His own existence.
"Precious Lord Jesus! set us as a seal upon Your heart, and by Your Spirit,
seal Yourself upon our hearts; and give us, unworthy though we are, a place
among "those who are sealed."
The Spirit – The Seal, The Deposit And The
Guarantee
Ephesians 1:13&14 “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy
Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are
God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.”
Some Christian men and women have had breathtaking religious experiences. I have been
reading the life of the American preacher Jonathan Edwards, and there were times when a new
delight in God was given to him. He had such experiences when he was a student, and again at a
few other times in his life. He describes some of them in these ways:
“I had then, and at other times, the greatest delight in the Holy Scripture, of any book
whatsoever. Oftentimes in reading it, every word seemed to touch my heart. I felt an harmony
between something in my heart, and those sweet and powerful words. I seemed often to see so
much light, exhibited in every sentence, and such refreshing ravishing food communicated, that I

could not get along in reading. I used often to dwell on one sentence, to see the wonders
contained in it; and yet almost every sentence seemed to be full of wonders. Sometimes only
mentioning a single word, caused my heart to burn within me; or only seeing the name of Christ,
or the name of some attribute of God.”
This experience was directly related to God’s special revelation in his word. It was a response to
that. It was no new revelation. Then Edwards speaks of the fruit of meditation on the Word:
“Heaven appeared to me exceeding delightful as a world of love. It appeared to me that all
happiness consisted in living in pure, humble, heavenly, divine love. . . I have loved the doctrines
of the gospel: they have been to my soul like green pastures. The gospel has seemed to me to be
the richest treasure; the treasure that I have most desired, and longed that it might dwell richly in
me. The way of salvation by Christ, has appeared in a general way, glorious and excellent, and
most pleasant and beautiful.”
Edwards’ experiences are all the fruit of deep reflection on the Bible. There was an occasion
when he was reading these words in I Timothy 1:17, “Now unto the king eternal, invisible, the
only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever, Amen.” He had heard these words
countless times. They were a proof text for the first answer of the Westminster Shorter
Catechism, but here the implications of the incomprehensible greatness of the Lord of the
universe, the truly eternal One and all wise One leaped out at him. As Edwards read these words,
he recalled, “there came into my soul, and was as it were diffused through it, a sense of the glory
of the divine being; a new sense, quite different from anything I ever experienced before.” He
was so much enraptured that, as he put it, “I thought with myself how excellent a Being that was;
and how happy I should be, if I might enjoy that God, and be wrapped up to God in heaven, and
be as it were swallowed up in him.” He kept repeating the verse, “Now unto the king eternal,
invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever, Amen.” He says that he was
as it were singing over these words of Scripture to himself . . . “and I prayed in a manner quite
different from what I used to do; with a new sort of affection.”
Edwards wandered in the fields, woods, and hills near his home for his meditations and he saw in
a new way the glory and beauty of God’s love in Christ. He experienced an “inward sweet sense”
of Christ’s love expressed in “the work of redemption, and the glorious way of salvation by
him.” He spent much time reading the Song of Songs. In the fields he would often contemplate
the words “I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valley” (Cant. 2:1). He said, “The words
seemed to me, sweetly to represent the loveliness and beauty of Jesus Christ.” Such
contemplations would carry him away “from all the concerns of the world” into “a kind of
vision… of being alone in the mountains, or some solitary wilderness, far from all mankind,
sweetly conversing with Christ, and wrapped and swallowed up in God.” This new sense of
divine things “would often, all of a sudden as it were, kindle up a sweet burning in my heart; an
ardour of my soul, that I know not how to express.”
One day in the spring he came home from college and he’d been talking to his father about what
had happened to him. Jonathan recalled that he was “pretty much affected” by this conversation,
and when it ended he walked alone into the fields for contemplation. “And as I was walking
there,” he reported, “and looked up on the sky and clouds; there came into my mind, a sense of
the glorious majesty and grace of God, that I know not how to express.” What overwhelmed him
were two seemingly opposite attributes of the triune God in conjunction, “majesty and meekness
joined together: it was a sweet and gentle, holy majesty; and also a majestic meekness; an awful
sweetness; a high, and great, and holy gentleness.”

So there is Edwards trying to describe this deeply personal religious experience without falling
into cliches, and he does so wonderfully well. They are all his response to what God has said to
us in the Bible. The danger of these stories is to suggest that they are common, and are the proof
of the Spirit in a ordinary believer. If that is suggested then they can depress Christians. The fact
is that such experiences are abnormal. They were unusual even for Jonathan and Sarah Edwards.
I quote them to emphasise that in times of unusual blessing God works in unusual ways, and to
plead with you to find a place for them in your theological universe. I quote them to emphasise
the deeply experiential nature of the indwelling Spirit. His presence is not like having the English
language inside you, or the flu injection, or like being a British citizen, – that is, something non-
experiential of which we are rarely conscious. God the Holy Spirit leads us and enlightens and
energises us every hour of the day, and there are these rare times when he will make his presence
known in our lives in such ways as those beautiful experiences of the divine. We also must do
our part, not grieving his Spirit and in the law of the Lord meditating day and night. There is no
other way to such heights of blessedness.
We are celebrating the centenary of the 1904 revival in Wales, and though there were some sad
aspects to that flawed work of God yet many Christians then began a closer walk with God.
Their hearts were filled with the Holy Spirit. My grandmother’s brother was transformed at that
time and he had an impact on the life of my mother a decade later. There were many like him. I
would speak at the Bodlondeb home for the elderly here in Aberystwyth and pint-sized Mrs.
Harris would regularly get up and thank me and turn to the other old people there and tell them
to listen to what they had heard, because she had come to know the Lord in 1904 and he had
been a faithful Saviour to her ever since. There were thousands of people like that. When Dr
Gresham Machen came to Porth on his only visit to South Wales in the 1920s he was struck how
the people he talked to dated things before or after the revival. It was a life-changing time.
Before the revival the creation didn’t impress them with a supernatural splendour. The stars were
just distant balls of burning gas, while clouds simply brought rain, and thunder was something
that rattles windows and gives you a shock. But then God poured out his Spirit and everything
changed: “Heaven above was softer blue: earth around was sweeter green. Something glowed in
every hue Christless eyes had never seen.”. If, like Jonathan Edwards, you possess the Holy
Spirit then there may come times of love, joy and peace in believing, but they can never be the
definitive evidence that you are a Christian. That must always reside in the huge moral emphasis
of the Christian faith, that you are seeking to live the life of the Sermon on the Mount and what
is described in the closing chapters of a number of the Pauline epistles. Then also that you
believe the doctrines of Christianity, that teaching found so comprehensively in the letter to the
Romans. The ethical and the doctrinal tests are always the foundational marks of the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit, not the ecstatic, and not the presence of gifts. Both those tests come together
in Jesus Christ. You want to live like him and you want to believe what he teaches because you
love him for being your Lord and Saviour. That is the great mark that a person has the indwelling
Spirit.
Let’s step back and go to the beginning of the Christian life. It all starts with the Spirit; our
conception itself is spiritual It is not that after years with Christ in nursery school we advance to
graduate school and then begin to deal with the Spirit. We are actually born into the family of
God by the Spirit. Our first breath and first movement in Christ is by the Spirit. If any man has
not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his. There cannot be a Spirit-absent Christian. Yet there
cannot be a Christian whose life does not revolve around the Lord Jesus. Paul writes in our text
that “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a

deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to
the praise of his glory” (vv. 13&14).
1. THE MERE CHRISTIAN HAS THE HOLY SPIRIT.
What is the mark of your having the Holy Spirit? You speak in tongues? No. You prophesy? No.
You have experiences like Jonathan Edwards and his wife? No. You live in revival days? No.
None of those things are the mark of having the Holy Spirit. Two things are in our text – first,
‘having believed’ (v.13) in Christ. He was all your hope and plea. You put your trust in the Lord
Jesus Christ. It was not perfect faith, nor infallible trust, but you believed right into the Lord
Jesus Christ and you were saved. We receive the promise of the Spirit by faith, Paul tells the
Galatians.
Again there is another way we know we have the Spirit; see those words “in him” in verse 13:
“you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (v.13). How many people have
the Holy Spirit? Everyone who is in Christ. It is impossible to be in Christ and not be in the
Spirit also. If you know that there is no condemnation for you because you are in Christ Jesus
then just as certainly you are in the Spirit, maybe not the most spiritually mature of Christians
but a real Christian nonetheless.
So who is this Spirit who is active in the lives of his people?
i] He is the promised Holy Spirit (v.13). He is ‘the Spirit of the Promise.’ When I was a boy of 9
I longed to have a bicycle, but it was a tradition in the mining valleys of South Wales that you
would have a bicycle when you passed to the Grammar School, that is, when you were 11 years
of age. So I waited those two years for my own bike. When I got it, it was second hand and made
up of spare parts, but it was my bicycle and I went everywhere on it. It was worth waiting for.
My parents had promised me one and I received it. So God made promises through the Old
Testament prophets that he would give all his new covenant people the Holy Spirit. He said
through Jeremiah, “I will put my Spirit in you” (Jer.36:27); and he said through Joel, “I will pour
out my Spirit on all people” (Joel 2:28). It is impossible for God to tell a lie. So on the day of
Pentecost every single Christian in the world was filled with the Spirit of God, and since that
time every single Christian who has ever lived has been given the Spirit as they believed. God
has kept his promise. Repent and be baptized and you too shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,
God promises you.
ii] The Holy Spirit is the seal (v.13). When Iola and I were given the trust deeds of our house by
the bank some months ago the assistant said how fortunate we were to have a document for a
hundred year old house because they are much more interesting than modern house deeds which
are one typed sheet of A4. “Your deeds have copperplate writing, and an architect’s drawing, and
there is a seal of ownership,” she said to us. A seal is marked in molten wax. It is a sign of
authenticity. “This is a true document'” it is saying. In Paul’s day a king would authenticate a
decree by taking his signet ring and stamping it into warm wax. That seal represented that what
had been promised would certainly take place. But a seal is multifaceted: a seal is a mark of
ownership: “This house is your house,” the seal on our title deeds is saying. A branded cow or a
certain colour dye on a sheep announces that that animal belongs to a specific person. You can
buy special felt-tipped pens which write with invisible ink, and you write your initials or make a
special mark on your computer or camera or laptop. Then when you shine a special light on them
the invisible becomes visible and it announces that this object belongs to you. But there is also a

The holy spirit seal

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