During Fall 2017, I taught Calvary Monterey the book of Ephesians. During the series, I also wrote about Ephesians in sixty-plus short, devotionally styled posts. Each Thursday, through 2018, I will release a post. I hope you enjoy. For the entire series, please visit nateholdridge.com/united-for-unity-posts.
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13–14).
Each of the blessings Paul lists in Ephesians 1:3-14 can only be understood from a spiritual vantage point, for they are spiritual blessings.
Fortunately, one of the greatest blessings God gives is His Spirit. God Himself dwells in the believer, searching his or her heart, helping them come to know the deep blessings and position God has given them (1 Corinthians 2:12). Jesus’s incarnation causes us to celebrate God’s desire to give Himself to us. We should celebrate the same when thinking of the indwelling presence of God’s Spirit. Believers have been born of the Spirit. He makes His home with us.
The gift of the Spirit means He has come to live within believers.
Paul refers to this as a seal. In ancient times a seal was used in various ways. At the tomb of Christ and Daniel’s lions’ den, it was a security measure, proof that the contents within had not been tampered with in any way. A seal would also prove the genuine nature of an article; the seal’s presence would indicate an object had originated from a particular maker or kingdom. Additionally, seals would be a sign of the authority of a sovereign, a king. The seal of the Spirit on believers has produced all these effects; we are secure in Christ, authentically His, and possessed by the King.
The gift of the Spirit also means believers have a guarantee — we belong to God (and He belongs to us).
The Spirit acts as a down payment guaranteeing our future inheritance in Christ. But this is not only a confidence regarding eternal security but the focus of our future inheritance, God Himself. The Spirit helps believers know they belong wholly to God. It is by the Spirit believers cry, “Abba, Father!” He is the one who must teach us of the blessings Paul launched Ephesians with. We are now in a position to celebrate the fact of God’s Spirit within us, drawing on His power and presence in our daily lives.
We must not forget the great gift of the Holy Spirit.
He is our “anointing,” the one who will teach us “about everything” in God’s word (1 John 2:27). He teaches us to abide in friendship with Jesus. He teaches us the truth of God’s word. He opens our hearts and minds to realities we would not naturally know. He gives us the power to testify of Christ, but first gives us the power to know Christ. He has become ours, for we have become His. Never forget, you are the temple of the Spirit, for He indwells all of God’s children (1 Corinthians 6:19).