Eph. 1:13 ... "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise."
The letter to the Ephesians was addressed to "the saints ... who are faithful in Christ Jesus" (v.1). In Acts 19 we read the account of the conversion of the Ephesians and the beginning of the church in that foremost city of Asia. In the second chapter of the letter the apostle looks back upon that wonderful time when those who had been "separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise" (v.12) had put their faith in Christ and obeyed the gospel. Then those who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (v.13). Before Paul came to them and preached Christ, they had been sinners "having no hope and without God in the world" (v.12), but afterward they were "fellow citizens with the saints" and were "of God's household" (v.19).
When the Ephesians were converted, they received a wonderful gift from God in addition to the remission of their sins. It is the same gift He bestows upon anyone at any time who likewise obeys the gospel. It is the gift promised in Acts 2:38, where the apostle Peter, who was binding upon earth what had already been bound in heaven (Mat. 16:19), commanded, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." When anyone responds in faith to obey this command, God sends the Holy Spirit to dwell within the temple of that person's body (II Cor. 6:16) to help him with his weaknesses (Rom. 8:26). The struggle to live for Christ is so challenging that we need the help of the Spirit to enable us to persevere in faith and obedience to the end.
But more is involved in the Spirit's ministry in the Christian's life than perseverance, as the lead text above reveals. The verse says that the convert to Christ is "sealed with the Holy Spirit." The knowledge of what this means should bring joy, encouragement, and consolation of the highest degree to every Christian. In ancient times a seal had three purposes: to show possession, to preserve, and to certify purity. To some extent seals are still put to these uses every day. The idea is that God sends the Spirit to dwell within each Christian to perform these three functions in a spiritual sense. First, the Spirit seals the person in order to show that he is now the possession of God. It is proclaimed in Rom. 14:8 that "if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's." Second, the Spirit seals the person to preserve him from the corrosive influence of evil about him. The disciple is promised in Gal. 5:16, "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." And third, the Spirit seals the person to certify his purity as a child of God. This is the idea expressed in I Jno. 4:13, "By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit." That is, God sends the Holy Spirit to dwell within the Christian to manifest that God claims him as His true disciple and allows him to "dwell" in His presence.
The Lord loves and cares for His own. After drawing an individual unto Him through the appeal of His gospel, He does not leave him helpless and alone in a frightfully dangerous world of evil. To the contrary! By commissioning His Spirit to him, God puts His seal of ownership upon that person's life. Then He seals that person against the attacks of evil so long as he is careful to "walk by the Spirit." And finally, through the work of the Spirit God authenticates the person as one of His children.
