by Mike Elliott
 
This is the second of two columns on the ministries of the Holy Spirit, and will address the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 4:30 says, “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” We don’t use seals very much in our everyday life, but “seals” are still used. They can be found if you look for them. On my electric meter, there is a metal seal to keep people from tampering with the meter. Liquor bottles have a government seal on them. Letters formerly used a wax seal on them. Official government documents often have a seal on them. These are all forms of guarantees that keep you from tampering with something.

Our former pastor in California used a story about himself to illustrate the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit. John was a teenager during World War II. He and his friends were playing in the rail yards when they came upon a boxcar that was on a siding. This boxcar was not locked with a conventional lock but rather had a wire with a lead seal. The easiest way to get the wire out of the door lock was to break the lead seal. Inside the boxcar they found cases of beer. They helped themselves to as much as they could carry and left. A few weeks later, there was a knock on the door. When John’s mother opened the door, she was surprised to see two FBI Agents. The agents wanted to see John. That wire and lead seal were placed on that boxcar after it was loaded at the brewery. The beer in that boxcar was meant for the troops overseas. The boxcar was not to be opened by anyone but an official representative of the United States Government. That seal was the United States Government’s guarantee that the contents of that boxcar would arrive at its destination without having been tampered with.

If you are a Christian, you are sealed with the Spirit and He is your guarantee that you will arrive in heaven. Another principle that confirms this idea is that the Spirit is our earnest. Earnest can be defined as a down payment, or a guarantee of delivery. II Corinthians 1:21-22 says, “Now he which establisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” II Corinthians 5:5 says, “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.” Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “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, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

Have you ever given earnest money for a home? It is your guarantee that you will purchase the home. With us, a guarantee isn’t much, and I have seen deals fall through and earnest money given back. We are given the Spirit as our guarantee and God never goes back on a promise.

The Baptism and our sealing occur at our salvation. Both took place and we were unaware of their happening. Both of them were accomplished in us and we did nothing to receive them. Both of them are important to our salvation. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit placed us into the body of Christ and made us part of the family of God with all the rights and responsibilities that it includes. The sealing by the Holy Spirit guarantees our salvation and delivery to heaven. We can’t lose it. We have God’s double guarantee.
 
 
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