Salvation By the Spirit

Transcript

GR 139
06/15/1975
Salvation By the Spirit
Ephesians 1:13-14
Gil Rugh


We’re going to be in Ephesians Chapter 1 this morning. It’s Father’s Day, and following my usual pattern I have a Father’s Day message based up on Ephesians 1, 13 and 14. So if you are a father this is especially for you and if you are not it’s especially for you too. We are though the book of Ephesians. We have made our way down to these two verses. The portion we read for our scripture reading is one complete sentence as Paul originally wrote it.

In our New American Standard Bible it has been broken up into several sentences. The one continuous sentence and one continuous flow of the idea of our redemption as accomplished in Jesus Christ and each person of the God head is brought to our attention. In verses 3 to 6 we have the father stressed as the one who blessed us and chose us and predestined us. Then in verses 7 to 12 we had the stress on the son who redeemed us and made us a heritage.

Now this morning we’ll look at verses 13 and 14 which lay stress on the Holy Spirit as the one who has sealed us and is our pledge. He is our seal and our pledge. Versus 13 and 14 lay stress on the security of the believer. We get nothing else this morning, you ought to get settled in your mind that the believer has what we call eternal security and what this section does is build to a point, where I realize that the work that God has done for me in blessing me, in choosing me, in predestining me, the work that Christ has done in redeeming me and making me a heritage is of eternal significance.

It will never lose its value for me as his child because I am secure in that relationship in which I have entered through faith in Jesus Christ. So the work of the spirit and his part in our redemption really stresses the fact that the redemption that I have makes me totally secure or eternally secure if we might use that term. So the work of the spirit in our salvation, he is our seal, he is our pledge, and thus the guarantee of our security.

As we noted this is one continuous sentence verse 13 begins in him in the New American Standard Bible but literally as you have it in the margin in whom, as Paul begins or continues the development here in whom. And I encouraged you earlier to go through this section and just mark out all the emphasis on the in Christ or in whom or in him that Paul mentions to stress the fact that all he is talking about occurs in Jesus Christ, and being in him opens up all the blessings that God has for those who are in his son. In whom 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.

Verse 13, stressing then the seal; the sealing work of the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit has our seal. There are two other passages in the New Testament that lay stress on the Holy Spirit as the seal of the believer. 2 Corinthians Chapter 1 verse 22 and Ephesians Chapter 4 verse 30. So Second Corinthians 1, 22, Ephesians 1, 13 and Ephesians 4, 30 the three key passages on the sealing of the believer by the Holy Spirit is laid out in the New Testament.

We are told that it’s in him or in whom referring back to Christ to the end that we were the first to hope in Christ, in whom you also so again by virtue of our being in Christ and our relationship to him and our identification with him and in him is foundational for the sealing work of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who is not in Christ has not been sealed with the spirit of God and the opposite of that is true as we’ll see in a moment that everyone who is in Christ has been sealed with a Holy Spirit. There is no such thing as an unsealed believer. All believers have been sealed by the spirit.

All right, look at the basis first if you would of this sealing. After listening to the message of truth the gospel of salvation having also believed two participles here and the King James has translated it in such a way that some have gotten the idea that you are sealed after you believe sometime later in time. After that you believed you were sealed. I believe this is the way that is translated in the King James Bible. That stress is not quite accurate because it is a simultaneous work of the spirit that upon believing you were sealed would be a better way to translate it, a more accurate translation, upon believing you were sealed. But preceding the believing we have the hearing.

Note, after listening to the message of truth or having heard the message of truth the fist essential in connection with the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit is our hearing of the world of truth. Translated, the message of truth, the word of truth. You must first hear the word of truth that is foundational to it all. Anyone who has yet to hear the word of truth has not yet been sealed by the spirit and the word of truth is further identified as the gospel of your salvation they are in apposition they refer to the same thing. The word of truth is the gospel of your salvation. I translated the word of truth which is the gospel of your salvation. The gospel is the word of truth. God’s word which is truth Jesus said in John 17, thy word is truth and we’re talking about the truth, we’re talking about the gospel and it is the gospel that unveils salvation to man.

The gospel concisely summarized in First Corinthians 15 the opening verses regarding the suffering, the death, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is the good news the gospel that provides and makes available salvation to mankind that Jesus Christ has died, that he was buried, that he rose from the dead and by faith in him we can have forgiveness of sins and new life. That is the gospel. That was the first thing that the Ephesians had to hear if they were to be sealed by the spirit.

Now, having heard they also believed as Paul said, having also believed they responded in faith to the message that they heard and the order is the same as Paul develops in Romans Chapter 10 verses 17, faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. So it’s the presentation of the word of God which when heard and responded to in faith results in salvation and the sealing of the Holy Spirit. A person cannot be saved who does not hear the word of truth, the gospel. That speaks to the issue of the vastness of the heaven as we would title them. Those who have never heard cannot be saved until they do hear because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God and so until this word is presented it is not possible for a man to be saved. It is a response of faith to the word.

So you know your faith is connected to the presentation of the word. It is fait directed toward the revelation that God has given and we’ve stressed this before, we stress it again that faith is of no value if on itself. Faith has value only in relationship and to the object into which it is directed or placed. It does mean no good to have faith in a worthless object or subject. It does mean no good to believe that I can fly. All the faith in the world does not change the fact that I cannot fly. I am not a bird. I may have said that I am bird but I am not a bird. All the faith in the world doesn’t change it. It is the same in relation to your salvation. You cannot experience salvation by faith. You can experience salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. But faith is an intangible and you don’t know the value of a person’s faith until you ask him what he is believing in.

So I have faith, my faith will see me through. I believe, fine, but what do you believe in, upon what is your faith based. Unless it is based on the revelation that God has given the word of truth it has no relationship at all to salvation. So Paul makes a stress here that the Ephesians first heard Paul brought that message and then they believed.

Okay, now following that he deals with the fact of their being sealed. In whom you also, you note the you also must tie back to someone else. You in addition to who also in relationship to who. Well I take it, it goes back to verse 12 to the end that we who were the first to have hope in Christ. The stress here seems to upon the Jews as those who were the first to respond in faith. They rejected him but then in Chapter 2 they are the first to respond and the first believers come from Israel. Paul makes stress then in verse 13 that is not limited to Israel. You also over here all encompassing everyone now, us, the Jews, you the gentiles everyone would be included then. You also, you were sealed in his with the Holy Spirit of promise. You were sealed. There is tense, the past tense at a point of time in the past you were sealed. The work of sealing was done by God, it’s passive. Something was done to us. You did not seal yourself. God sealed you when you believed. Now that is important because the argument often comes and we used it, you know, no man can pluck them out of my hand yes, but you can jump out. That may sound cute but it’s terrible theology because I didn’t seal myself God sealed me. That’s like me sealing an envelope and then I am told well the envelope opened itself and got out. The letter opened itself and got out. It doesn’t happen. It is sealed for the purpose of being opened by the intended recipient. I was sealed by the father. It is we’re going to see I was destined then for the father. So he sealed me and he is one who is going to receive me so I can’t get out. I am permanently sealed, no one else has the authority or the privilege of opening that sealed. I am sealed for him. Maybe to a registered letter, which is only allowed to be opened by the authorized recipient or the sender if it is returned. So to talk about me getting out is an impossibility in life. The word God sealed me I didn’t seal myself, it’s important that you get that early here. You were sealed.

Now the significance of a seal I take it as clear, designates ownership and security among other things. The basic thrust of the seal of the spirit is the security of the believer. Something is sealed to make it secure. Same word that used you remember when Pilate had the tomb of Christ sealed. What was it sealed for, to guarantee its security. Why am I sealed as a believer? It is a guarantee of my security. Now of course we can look at human seals and say well they can be broken. But when you look at God’s seal there is no one of sufficient power and ability to break his seal. When God says I have made this secure he has made it secure. Not man, not the devil, not anything can insecure that which God has made secure and Paul says you were sealed. You were made secure.

As well as an identifying mark belonging to God, it denoted ownership. When something was marked with a seal in biblical times it denoted ownership, possession, it belonged to the person who had sealed it. And as we’ll see a little bit later when God talks about us as his position that what is involved as well. You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. The order is going be relationships within the God head you are sealed by the father with the Holy Spirit in the sun. You are sealed by the father with the spirit in the sun. We started on in verse 13, in whom referring to Christ. You were sealed in the sun by the father and with the Holy Spirit of promise. Now the spirit himself is the seal.

We’ll over on Ephesians 4, 30. Ephesians 4, 30 we’ll be talking about the meaning of the first part of this verse when we get to Ephesians 4. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom or in whom or with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. You were sealed with the Holy Spirit or in the Holy Spirit and either it be possible we have by whom, by if you have it the idea of in, not by as the agent, father is the agent, he is the one who does the sealing as we saw in Ephesians 1 and also we’ll see in Second Corinthians 1 but the idea of in, in other words like when a seal was made in wax well we are sealed in the spirit is the substance of our sealing. In what are you sealed noting the substance in which we are sealed. Now perhaps better we translate it with here which would be just as accurate a translation with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Backup toe Romans Chapter 8 if you would, back toward the front of your bible a little bit and you can leave a marker in Romans 8 we’ll be back here later again this morning as well. In Romans Chapter 8 verse 9, however, you are not in the flesh but in the spirit if indeed the spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ he does not belong to him. So you note ownership and security and if you have not been sealed in the spirit you do not have the spirit of God who himself is the seal you don’t belong to God, it’s that simple.

If anyone does not have the spirit he does not have the seal of God upon him. If you are not sealed by God you are not his possession so it’s that simple. You are either sealed and belong to God or you are not. You either have the spirit of God and belong to God or do not have the spirit of God therefore you do not belong to God. There is no in-between position. There is no possibility of being saved but not having the spirit because if you don’t have the spirit you don’t belong to God because the spirit is the seal. The identifying mark of ownership and the security of the possession that is owned.

Now the Spirit is further identified for us as the Holy Spirit. Now we read that expression as we read it in Ephesians 1. You are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. There is stress laid on it as Paul wrote it in Greek because he says you are sealed with the spirit of promise, the holy and the Greeks could put stress by leaving off the holy and putting it at the end. You are sealed with the spirit of promise, the holy one laying stress that this is the spirit of holiness, the holy spirit himself, the sanctifying spirit basic idea in holiness to set apart and here is the Spirit of God the Holy Spirit, the one who is himself totally set apart from all sin and un-righteousness who is setting us apart by marking us as belonging to God. Now he has called the Holy Spirit of promise.

I think there is two ideas that can be involved here when we talk about the Holy Spirit of promise. First the Holy Spirit is the one who was promised. He was promised by the father, he was promised by Christ and Chapter 1 in verse 4, Chapter 1 verse 4 Jesus addressing the disciples just preceding his assenting to the father and gathering them together he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the father had promised which he said you heard of from me and it refers to baptism with the Holy Spirit as verse 5 make clear. So the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit of promise and that he is one who had been promised by the father or believers and naturally he is the Holy Spirit of promise so we have been sealed with this in fulfillment of the promise of God.

Now you note that Chapter 1 versus 4 and 5 it was connected with the baptism of the spirit. Now here we are told that the Holy Spirit of promise is the one who is sealing and you remember the four things accomplished by the spirit at the moment of faith in Christ, regeneration, indwelling, baptism and sealing, you remember it by ribs, regeneration, indwelling, baptism and sealing. Four works of the Holy Spirit accomplished at the moment of faith in Jesus Christ. You are regenerated made a new person, a new creature, a new creation in Christ. You are indwelled. The spirit takes up residence in your life. You are baptized with a spirit. Is that work of the spirit that identify you with Jesus Christ in his death, burial and resurrection according to Roman 6 and you are sealed by the spirit. Those four things happen to every person the moment they place their faith in Jesus Christ, what we call non-experiential works in that it does not matter whether you had a certain feeling or not when it happen. They happen as a matter of fact they are accomplished by God. There’s nothing to do with your feeling or lack of it at the moment. The moment of faith the spirit accomplishes these areas which are in his realm to perform.

All right that’s the first area, he is the spirit of promise also can be connected with the fact that he is the one who will bring about what has been promised to us. Back in Ephesians Chapter 1 this is what is developed in verse 14. The Holy Spirit of promise is not only one who had been promised but he is the one who will see that we get to the point that has been promised to us. Well the promise could have both ideas, he the one who was promised and as the one who will accomplish what has been promised to us. And verse 14 develops the second idea as accomplishing what has been promised to us as believers. The verse 13 the spirit is our seal. We were sealed and we’ll see in a moment we’re going to look at 1 Corinthians 122 or 2 Corinthians 1, 22 I mean. The Corinthians were sealed as well. Sealing has nothing to do with the holiness of life. Now ever believer ought to be living a holy life, a godly life who ought to be manifesting the character of God but you are sealed with the spirit when you believe. The Cornell fleshly Corinthians were going to find had been sealed with a spirit in spite of all their problems, in spite of the fact that Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3 you are fleshly Christian, Cornell Christian he says you were sealed with the spirit because the seal of the spirit is a result of faith in Jesus Christ and that alone.

But the second thing that the spirit is to us is he is our pledge in verse 14 who is given as a pledge. So the Spirit is given to us, the Holy Spirit of promise that’s the connection of the Who, the Holy Spirit of promise who is given as a pledge. Now the Spirit has been provided to every believer as a seal and secondly as a pledge. Now pledge we’re familiar with, where it means earnest or a down payment. We’ve been talking about buying land we’ve used the expressions earnest money, money that is given as a down payment and a guarantee that the remainder will be paid. You give a down payment what are you saying. This is what I am giving as a guarantee that I will pay the balance. We put down earnest money, what are we saying. This is our guarantee we’re going to pay the rest. Well the Holy Spirit has given us a down payment, as a pledge, as an earnest for the believer.

Second Corinthians Chapter 1 verse 21. Now he who establishes us with you in Christ and reminded us is God who also sealed us and gave us the spirit in our hearts as a pledge. You note, it’s God who sealed us and God who gave us the spirit in our hearts as a pledge the very fact that every believer has the spirit because anyone who does not have the spirit does not belong to him, we read in Romans 8 and 9. Every believer has the spirit and as having the spirit that is a pledge or a down payment from God a guarantee of our inheritance, back in Ephesians 1 he has given as a pledge of our inheritance so that is the area that the down payment is given. It is connection with our inheritance, the inheritance which is to be mine as God’s child.

What is the guarantee there is any such thing. How do I know that this isn’t all a fluke? You know that I’ll drop dead and find out that I am not real at all. There is no inheritance, it was all a put on and there is nothing waiting for me after all. Here I thought I was laying up treasure in heaven and I get there and there is nothing there. Well the guarantee that that will not happen is the spirit who is within me. That is God’s down payment, God’s guarantee to me that I shall receive my inheritance.

So the unbeliever looks and says Christians they live in a dream world but a Christian knows he doesn’t, why, because we have the down payment within us. We know the reality of it. It’s just like a man who has a bank book with a million dollars in the bank and his next door neighbor says he lives too poorly, he couldn’t be worth anything. Well we’ve seen sometimes when people died who for all intents and purposes looked like they didn’t have anything they turned out to be quite well off. Well that’s the way we are. It may look like we don’t anything but we’re fealty rich, imagine that. A guy driving an orange Volkswagen, an heir of the kingdoms of everything that just blows my mind. I keep telling the lord that I had to live a little more like my inheritance but he says wait, but that’s true. How do I know, I have the guarantee, the down payment. You may think I live in a dream world. I have the down payment, the guarantee has been given that I shall receive my inheritance.

Okay note the purpose of this as it is developed here, with a view or for the purpose of the redemption of God’s own possession. We noted seal then noted that ownership as well as security and the spirit is given as a guarantee that we shall receive our inheritance looking toward the redemption of God’s possession. Now you note here, we’re dealing with what belongs to God because when God sealed us that indicated that we were his and we were his forever and the spirit is given with a view toward our redemption, the redemption of God’s own possession.

Let’s tie back to verse 7, we are told in Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses. Now we see that there is a further aspect to redemption not just the forgiveness of sins but the ultimate establishing of God’s possession in the position of the redeemed. So I have been redeemed that’s true. I have been totally forgiven verse 7 told me that. But ultimate redemption has yet to be accomplished in my life because I am still in this body of flesh. This body of sin that will be cared for, the spirit has given us a down payment. That redemption will be a completed process in every area and that includes the redemption of the body.

Look in Ephesians 4, 30 again. You were sealed for the day of redemption. You have to keep in mind the balance of redemptions. You are sealed for the day of redemption. You are given the spirit as a pledge with a view to the redemption of God’s possession. Yet he has already told us in verse 7 that we have already experienced redemption. You don’t want to slate one at the expense at the expense of the other. Some would think well you are not secure because you don’t have redemption yet. You do have redemption according to verse 7. That redemption has not been ultimately finalized for me experientially. Positionally in Christ yes. Practically I am here in this physical body with all of its problems and all of its shortcomings. That will be cared for as well. We’ll look at that in a moment but let’s get the rest of this.

Look at verse 5 in Ephesians 1. I take it this is involved here as well. Our adoption in verse 5, he predestined us to adoption as sons. That ties to the redemption of God’s own possession, our adoption as God’s son.

Now we need to go over to Romans 8 again. And you note if you’ve been following along that God’s purposes are never shortsighted. It did not seal us to see if would last. He did not give us the spirit as a pledge that might be carried through. He did not predestine us on the basis of our faithfulness. All God’s purposes begin in eternity past and carry on into eternity future we might say and it is all in his control. In Romans 8 talking about the spirit and his work. In verse 11, but if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you and he does if you are a believer, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead that will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who indwells you.

Verse 16 and verse 15. We have received the spirit of slavery leading to fear again but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons whereby we cry out Abba Father. The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God there is our pledge the spirit bearing witness with my spirit in light of God’s word that I am God’s child. If children heirs also, heirs of God and followers with Christ. Now remember that we were given the spirit as a pledge of our inheritance, redemption of God’s possession. Now here we are the heirs of God followers with Christ where I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us where the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God where the creation was subjected to futility not of his own will because of him who subjected it in hope. That’s the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. What we’re saying is the curse came on creation because of the sin of man. Adam’s sin the creation was subjected to the curse.

Now on verse 22 for we know that the whole creation grooms and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. Not only this but we also ourselves having the first roots to the spirit same thing as the pledge, the first roots were given as a guarantee of a coming harvest, the pledge is given as the guarantee of a coming harvest or redemption. Ever we ourselves are growing with ourselves waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. The adoption as sons, we are the sons of God, but the full placing as sons unveiling for all creation is yet a future detail to be carried out. Now all the earth beholds us in all our splendor as God’s children as heirs of God and joiners with Jesus Christ they will come day.

When the curse is lifted from the creation you and I are manifested as God’s children, as God’s heirs. This body is redeemed, transformed, glorified, suited for God’s presence for all eternity. That is the ultimate redemption, the redemption of this body. That is the placing of every believer as God’s son. Not that we are not already his sons, we are. All root to the # and says we are the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ but we have not been displayed in our position as yet. No one has stood back in awe and amazement as they looked at you walk down the sidewalk and say there is an heir of God and a joiner with Jesus Christ but there is a coming day when you and I will be manifested in all this splendor and glory. The spirit himself if the guarantee that that process will be accomplished, that redemption will be brought to completion with the ultimate glorification of this body.

So in Ephesians Chapter 1 the work of the Spirit He seals the believer until the day of redemption. We saw that in Chapter 4 verse 30 Ephesians as well. He is also the pledge that I shall enter into my inheritance. So you note the Spirit is the seal on to the day of redemption, He is the pledge that I shall receive my inheritance so there is no possibility at all in any way that I shall not be redeemed, that I shall not get my inheritance. It does not say anything about the fact that He is the seal unless I break it. He does not say anything about the fact that He is the pledge unless I abscond. There is nothing to do with it. God gave the seal, God gave the pledge and He said he had sealed me to the day of redemption, he has given the pledge as the guarantee that I shall get my inheritance. You what it means, it means if you are not eternally secured as a believer, if I am not eternally secured as a believer the pledge that God gave is no good. That’s what it would mean that God’s down payment was no good because I didn’t get my inheritance.

You say well, that’s God’s fault, no, it would be God’s fault. You say well, let’s put the fault on the believer, he is not faithful, had nothing to do with it. I put down payment money has nothing to do with the faithfulness of the other person. I am giving the guarantee that I will pay. God has given us the pledge the guarantee for us that we will arise. That’s comforting. I don’t have to get down on my knees today and asked to be saved again, all taken care of. I didn’t lose it today. I am just as sealed today as I was yesterday, as I was 20 years ago when I trusted Christ. The pledge is just as good and I am assured that I shall spend eternity in his presence because of his faithfulness not because of mine because he sealed not because of what I did because he gave a pledge not because of what I gave or what I did. All his work from beginning to end all for what purpose, the end of verse 14, to the praise of our glory, why, because we didn’t do it together did we. He sealed us, he gave the down payment so what glory do I get, nothing, nothing at all.

To the praise of his glory and as we have mentioned before when we talked about the work of the father verse 6 said it was to the praise of the glory of his grace. We talked about the work of the son that build to the place of verse 12 to the praise of his glory. Verse 14 we talk about the work of the spirit why. To the praise of this glory and father son and Holy Spirit all work together with one united will and purpose to the praise of the glory of God and that’s what ought to happen when we examine the salvation he has provided, praise God. I am secure in Christ because of the work of the spirit in my life. I can’t believe that. It’s too wonderful, it is. Unfaithful stumbling old me is secure for eternity. God had guaranteed it. That takes the pressure off. That does not mean I live a life of sin. That will be laid out for us as we move through the book of Ephesians that possibility is not contemplated. Children of God will manifest his character but my security does not depend upon what I do, it depends upon what he has already done.

So there are two groups of people here this morning again. There are those who have been sealed and those who have not been sealed. There are those who have God’s down payment and there are those who do not. There is no security outside of Jesus Christ. Now the order follows for you it did for the Ephesians. You have heard the word of truth. The gospel that unveil salvation that Jesus Christ died for you a sinner was buried in rose again if you will place your faith in him you will be forgiven, you will be redeemed, you will be sealed by the spirit of God and the spirit of God will take up residence in your life as God’s guarantee to you that a day in the future he will ultimately redeem and glorify your body. Now have you believed? The Ephesians having heard believed. Now you have heard and you believe. If not you can do that right now. You don’t have to get out of your seat, you don’t have to cry, you don’t have to do anything but believe and the moment you believe the spirit will seal you, take up residence in your life as God’s guarantee that he will see that you enter into the inheritance that he has prepared for you and for all those that love him.

Let’s pray together. Father again we thank you for your great love for us. For your total adequacy and sufficiency or for dealing with us according to our weakness, or according to our frailty, not only have you proved salvation but you’ve made us secure in that salvation. We are thankful that it is not dependent all upon us but totally upon you, I pray that it might be all for your praise and glory that we may rejoice in the privilege of exalting you because of the completed work that you’ve done for us in Jesus Christ.

Each of us as believers might be rejoicing in the security that we have in Christ exalting in the fact that we belong to you for all eternity and nothing but nothing can change that fact and that relationship. I would ask for who are here this morning who have heard the word of truth, who have heard the gospel that prove salvation for them where that even now the spirit would work in their life that they might place their faith in Christ as savior or do that they might know the joy of security in Jesus Christ being sealed by you with the Holy Spirit of promise of having the Holy Spirit take up residence in their life as your guarantee to them that they will enter into the inheritance that you’ve prepared for them. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.