"The Holy Spirit"

The Seal

The Holy Spirit is a seal put over you by Jesus himself. This can have many meanings, it means that you now belong to God and he has given you His own Spirit as a guarantee till he comes back and claims you as his own. It also means you are eligible to receive your inheritance in Christ and all the promises of God in the Bible can be claimed by you.

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

The Apostle Paul was saying to the Christians, "God has great things in store for you. He has taken you out of this sinful world. He has claimed you for Himself. You are His forever. Life's journey is not yet over. But, even in this life, God wants you to know that he will never give you up. Even if you appear at times to be submerged under the mud and the filth of this wicked world, remember that God has identified you as His own. He has sealed you with His Holy Spirit. He has marked you out as one of His. That also is His pledge that He has committed Himself to preserve you and care for you until He takes you to your final destiny, glory with Christ in heaven.
The presence of the Holy Spirit within you now is the present proof of what God is going to do in the future. He has left nothing in doubt".God has promised eternal life to all who believe in Christ, and as a guarantee that He will keep His promise, He has sent the Holy Spirit to indwell the believer until the day of redemption.
Similar to making a down payment on a car or a house, God has made a down payment on you, and your future relationship with Him by sending the Holy Spirit to indwell you.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.-Romans 8:9

Many people do not realise this but unless you are sealed with the Holy Spirit the Bible says you are not a Christian or a Child of God yet.

BIBLICAL INSPIRATION

The Holy Spirit is referred to as a seal in the letters of the Apostle Paul to the Christians at Corinth and Ephesus. Both were major sea ports in the New Testament times, Ephesus enjoyed a thriving trade in timber. This timber was filled from lush forests far off from the coast. Then began a long journey down river to the port of Ephesus.
The only way to be certain about to which merchant each tree trunk belonged was by using a seal. Each owner laid claim to his own timber by putting on each individual log his personal seal. This seal fulfilled several purposes. It claimed ownership for each log bearing that particular seal. Also the merchant was telling everyone else that if anyone tried to harm or steal this log they will be taken to task by the owner himself. At times these logs may get trapped, or stuck in mud and need a nudge in the right direction. With help, gradually, each log progresses downstream till it arrives at the sea port.The seal on each log identifies whose timber it is and marks it for it its ultimate destination across the seas. Lying there in the mud and sediment of the river bed, it may not look like it is worth much, but it is the seal which claims ownership and responsibility of the log that give it value.
We are like the logs of wood whom God has handpicked for himself. We may be stuck and covered in mud now but the seal guarantees that we have a great future.

LIFE APPLICATION

*Remember that you were sealed at a great price, the Blood of Jesus was spilled so that you may be saved
*Appreciate the love that God has showered on you and be thankful that you are counted among the small fraction of those who receive the seal.