In vv.13-14 of Ephesians 1 we see the salvation ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is our SEAL from God. In Paul's day, an important document might be sent from one individual to another. Before the document was taken on its way, the sender would roll it up, drip hot wax on the closing edge of the document, and then stamp his SEAL into the wax. This seal was to accomplish several things:
- provide a mark of OWNERSHIP
- provide a mark of AUTHENTICITY
- provide SECURITY for the document, so that it would not be tampered with
God the Holy Spirit is God the Father's SEAL in the life of all His redeemed children. The Spirit MARKS us out as God's own. See Romans 8:9. His fruit, gifts, and other ministries identify us as the regenerated of God. The real thing...AUTHENTIC. The Holy Spirit also SECURES us in God the Father's love and power from salvation to Heaven.
Think of this: if you had a very precious item that you wanted to transport to a distant place, you could send it UPS or FedEx and it would probably arrive safely and intact. However, no one values your "precious" like you do and no one would take as good care of it as you. Therefore, an even BETTER way to secure the safety of your precious item would BE TO TAKE IT THERE YOURSELF! This, friend, is what God is doing for us, His precious, blood-bought inheritance. He has come to INDWELL us in the person of God the Holy Spirit so that He HIMSELF can take us from salvation to Heaven! And with omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence overseeing the route...WE ARE SECURE whatever the enemy of our souls, the world, or our own flesh raises up to stop us. We WILL be safely delivered to Heaven. The unchanging God and His Spirit guarantee it.
I WILL see you there.
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