Three passages in the New Testament describes the sealing of believers by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30). Sealing is a commercial term. Suppose a shipment is accepted and paid fully, then the owner puts a seal on the shipment. This seal guarantees its acceptance when it reaches its destination. In the same manner at salvation, the believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that God will accept him in eternity because Jesus Christ has paid the price on the cross.
1. The Seal in the Sealing of the Holy Spirit
A believer is sealed by God. Ephesians 1:13 and 4:30 describes that a believer is sealed by or in the Holy Spirit. But 2 Corinthians 1:22 says that the seal is the Holy Spirit Himself. God seals all believers at salvation because of His grace and mercy. This seal of the Holy Spirit is given as a token of security of our redemption at the end. Since all believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit at the time of salvation, we are not expected to pray for the sealing of the Holy Spirit.
2. Biblical Teaching on the Sealing of the Holy Spirit
A careful study of the three passages where the sealing of the Holy Spirit is dealt with will enable us to understand the teaching of the Bible on the sealing of the Holy Spirit.
a. The guarantee for sealing is the Holy Spirit and it is for all believers
In 2 Corinthians 1:22, Paul wrote that God ‘has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a deposit.’ From this passage we can infer that
i. All believers in Corinth, including those who were spiritually carnal, were sealed by the Holy Spirit.
ii. Sealing is a past experience for believers; since sealing is described in this verse in the past tense.
iii. The Holy Spirit is given as a guarantee or deposit for all believers.
b. The sealing takes place immediately on believing
Another passage which deals with the sealing of the Holy Spirit is Ephesians 1:13. The American Standard Version says, “in whom; having also believed; yewere sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. The phrase “having also believed in this verse indicates that the person is sealed immediately after he puts his trust in God. The sealing of the Holy Spirit is not based on his spirituality, but on the grace of God.
c. Believers are sealed for the day of redemption
The third passage which deals with sealing is Ephesians 400. It says that believers are sealed for the day of redemption. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. This passage says that all believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit and they should not grieve the Holy Spirit. This verse further says that the sealing is for the day of redemption. When we commit sin we grieve the Holy Spirit but our redemption is secure. The sealing is also a finished transaction for all believers and it is only based on the saving faith of the person. The sealing by the Holy Spirit also shows that a believer is set apart for eternal redemption. This is guaranteed by the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 3. The Basis of Sealing of the Spirit
The sealing of the Spirit is the voluntary act of God at the time of salvation of believers. They need not pray or do anything to get the sealing, because God puts the seal due to His grace as a guarantee of their salvation. It is a one time pact which need not be repeated and is not an experience. All persons who
accept God’s salvation are sealed by the Holy Spirit. 4. The Significance of the Sealing of the Spirit
It is a rare privilege for a Christian to receive the sealing of the Spirit at salvation. He receives the indwelling Holy Spirit at that time. Sealing is very important because of the following reasons.
a. It shows a finished transaction
Sealing shows that our salvation is finished (Phil. 1:6) and God will take care of those who believe in Him.
b. It makes a believer secure
God gives guarantee of future salvation – eternal security for a believer. There is no need to live in fear of losing salvation.
c. It shows the ownership of God
The moment God puts His seal on believers, they belong to God. Sealing is the mark that they are God’s own children.
d. It brings authority
A believer gets the authority of God with all the privileges (Acts 1:8) on sealing.
The knowledge that a believer is sealed by the Holy Spirit strengthens his faith and makes him live with a gratitude for what God had done in his life. “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?… For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:34-36).
5. The Significance of the Holy Spirit as God’s Guaranter
In the passages in the Bible where the Holy Spirit is spoken of as a seal (Eph 1:13, 4:30, 2 Cor. 1:22), the image used is commercial. After a purchased material is accepted for shipment, the owner puts his seal on the material as a sign of ownership and a guarantee of acceptance later.
In the same manner, the Lord puts symbolically His seal by giving us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee at the time of salvation as God’s ownership of the believer and a guarantee of redemption (Eph. 1:13; 2 Cor. 1:22). So the Holy Spirit who abides in believers is a guarantee that God will accept the believers later. God has given us the Holy Spirit as an ‘earnest’ (A.V) or a guarantee (RSV). This is a rare privilege for us.
The guarantee that the Lord has given believers by giving the Holy Spirit shows the care that the Lord has taken to confirm the future possession of believers. In the book The Gospel of the Kingdom, G. L. Ladd describes the guarantee that believers have received in the Holy Spirit,
“An camest is a down-payment. It is far more than a “guarantee,” as R.5.V. translates it; it is partial but actual possession. If you decide to buy a house, you search until you find the house you want. Perhaps it costs twenty thousand dollars, the price is a bit high, but it is the house for which you have been looking. Thereupon you promise the owner that on an appointed day you will deliver the money, and you sign a bill of sale. Does that give you a claim upon the house? It does not. Suppose you say, “Let us go down to the notary public, and I will put myself under cath that on such and such a date, I will pay for the house
