We Are The Sealed
Ephesians 1:1-14
SEALED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
We live in a world where people try their best to stop others from tampering with certain materials. The milk containers that we buy have the tamper-proof rings around the cap. Pickles come vacuum-packed. There is a little knob on the pickle lid. All of these items are used as a protective measure. They are there to stop people from harming the product and the consumers.
If the ring on a jug of milk has become separated from the lid, would you buy that milk? No! It would cause my hair to stand on end thinking about what might be in the milk that could harm my family.
In the case of the pickles, there is a specific warning telling the consumers not to buy them if the button has popped up. The food could be spoiled, or someone may have opened that jar of pickles.
These items have been sealed. When we see intact rings as depressed jar lids, we feel secure in purchasing these products. We believe that no one has tampered with the milk or pickles since they left the factory because they have been sealed. We place our faith in the seal.
The practice of sealing things for security purposes has been going on for centuries. The use of seals, in wax (sealing wax), in lacquer or embossed on paper, to authenticate documents, is a practice as old as writing itself. Seals of this nature were applied directly to the face of the document or attached to the document by cords in the owner’s, or to a narrow strip of the document sliced and folded down as a tail but not detached from the document. This helped maintain authenticity by not allowing the reuse of the seal. If a forger tried to remove the seal in the first case, it would break.
In our conclusion of the “We are” series, today I want to look at the believers once more. Only the believers, the Christians, the Redeemed, are the ones with a “seal” on their lives. Unsaved people do not have it, but it is available.
Just like a medieval letter, God, through the Holy Spirit, has placed a seal on our lives. It is as if He placed His insignia on our lives and said, “Do not mess with! This one is mine!” My question for us today is this: How do we know that we are sealed?
1. You Believed the Gospel
“…having believed…”
What does verse 13 say about the gospel of salvation? And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. (Ephesians 1:13) It says that the “word of truth,” which Paul equates as the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, as the means to these peoples salvation. These people heard the Good News about Jesus Christ, and because they listened to the Gospel Message, they were saved! And everyone said...???
Salvation is simple, but it is not THAT simple. Hearing alone will not change a person’s life. Hearing about Jesus dying on the cross for your life does not make you a Christian. I’ll even go as far as to say just because you know He rose again and feel that He is God does not make you a “new creation.”
No, there is another step to the equation. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed... Before you can accept Him as your Saviour from your sins and yourself, you need to BELIEVE.
Paul commended these people because they BELIEVED what they had heard. Paul is not talking about a head knowledge. There are many so called “experts” in the world that believe that Jesus was a real person. They believe that he lived on this earth and lived when He lived. They believe that He died on the cross. Many Muslims even believe, according to the Qu’ran that God “raised Jesus up.” But that head knowledge belief doesn’t quite stand up.
The “believing” that Paul is talking about here is more than just a head knowledge. This belief changes a person’s life. This belief reaches down into the heart of the sinner that hears about what Jesus did for them and cried out like Peter “Lord, Save Me!”
C. H. Spurgeon, a Baptist minister in the mid-eighteen hundreds, claimed that 98 percent of the people he met-- including the criminals he visited in England’s prisons--told him that they believed the Bible to be true. But the vast majority had never made a personal, life-changing commitment to Jesus Christ. For them, "believe" was not an active verb.
The people in Ephesus, and many here today, believed the Gospel to be so true that it changed their entire lives. Many of you today have believed with all your hearts that Christ is the Messiah. You knelt and repented of you sins, and left KNOWING that He forgave you. That’s HEART belief. That’s life changing belief! As a result, our second point is...
2. You Joined the Body of Christ
“…you also were included in Christ…”
When you invite Jesus into your heart to save you from sin and to rule as Lord, He makes His dwelling in you. But you also are invited to be a part of Him, in the Body of Christ—the church.
At a meeting of the American Psychological Association, Jack Lipton, a psychologist at Union College, and R. Scott Builione, a graduate student at Columbia University, presented their findings on how members of the various sections of 11 major symphony orchestra perceived each other. The percussionists were viewed as insensitive, unintelligent, and hard-of-hearing, yet fun-loving. String players were seen as arrogant, stuffy, and un-athletic. The orchestra members overwhelmingly chose "loud" as the primary adjective to describe the brass players. Woodwind players seemed to be held in the highest esteem, described as quiet and meticulous, though a bit egotistical. Interesting findings, to say the least! With such widely divergent personalities and perceptions, how could an orchestra ever come together to make such wonderful music? The answer is simple: regardless of how those musicians view each other, they subordinate their feelings and biases to the leadership of the conductor. Under his guidance, they play beautiful music.
Romans Chapter 8 says that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus our Lord. Not even death can tear us away from God or take from us the eternal life we have in Jesus.
3. You were Marked with a Seal
“…you were marked in him with a seal…”
What is the seal with which we are marked?
When do we receive the Holy Spirit?
What does this seal guarantee for us? What is our inheritance?
Close
It is awesome to know that because we believe the gospel, we are children of God! As children of God, we are co-heirs of the kingdom with Jesus, receiving all the spiritual blessings promised through Him. We are cleansed and forgiven, made holy and blameless, and sealed with the Holy Spirit, which guarantees our inheritance as God’s children.
God’s purpose is “to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” Jesus will reign over all the earth, as He has crushed the power of Satan! He wants us to be a part of Jesus’ kingdom!
