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Sealed with a
Promise
Ephesians 1:12-14
How do we know we are not only saved but safe?
Not only saved but secure?
Because we're not only saved, but sealed!
1.
Salvation is of the Lord (by grace, thru faith…a gift)
We cannot be saved by grace and kept by works.
“Not you holding out, but God holding on!”
2.
God’s vocabulary (definite, specific words He used)
3.
Sealed w/ the Holy
Spirit of promise
Eph. 1:13
It’s very important when we study the Bible to interpret words in their
Biblical context. (thru the years, word meanings change somewhat)
The word “seal” meant something very significant to the believers in
What do you think of when you hear the word seal?
Kids—black animal that can balance a beach ball on its nose
Canners/gardeners—seal jars
Car guy—neoprene gasket
Some men would never think of the seal on a jar, some ladies…and probably
some men, too, would not think of the seals on a car engine
Joke—lady called husband/said car won’t start, prob. has water in the gas/he
says, how would you know that?/ She replied, It’s at the bottom of the lake!
Here’s the 3 primary
meanings of the Biblical word “seal”:
1.
Finished
transaction
Ever had something notarized?
Then you know what it means to have something sealed (notary
embosses/imprints seal)
It’s a done deal, it’s official!
And when you got saved, God sealed the transaction! “’Tis done, ‘Tis done,
the great transaction’s done”
Think of it like a business transaction…God took all of your sins on your
account: all the
lust/greed/lies/impure thoughts/gossiping words/habits/evil deeds…God took
it all, and placed it on Christ’s account.
And Jesus Christ then paid for those sins when He died on the
cross…and when He paid, He paid in full!
Your sin debt has been paid…paid in full!
But it’s not done…it’s a 2 part transaction…God
not only takes your
sins and places them on Christ’s account, but then He does
something even more wonderful…He
takes the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and He places that on YOUR
account!!
Question: What does it take to
get into heaven? Give me 1 word
which describes the entrance requirement… “Perfection”.
The Bible says that no sin shall enter those gates.
You say, well, God will let me in…He’s a God of love!
Yes, He is, but He’s a holy God who even turned His back on His own
Son, when He took our sins upon Himself on the cross.
And so, the only way to get into heaven w/out Christ is to live a perfect
life…I didn’t say a good life, but a perfect life!
Anyone here perfect? Anyone know a perfect person?
Joke—pastor asked that/a timid man in back raised his hand/Pastor said,
really?/well, I don’t know him, but I’ve heard a lot about him…he’s my
wife’s first husband!
It’s takes perfection to get into heaven…and if you don’t have perfection,
you’re gonna need to find it somewhere.
And since you
can’t achieve perfection…you’re gonna have to
receive perfection…as a gift!
Only one Person can give it to you…only He can afford to purchase it for
you.
Hebrews 7:28
...the Son, who is consecrated [perfect]
for evermore.
How did Jesus purchase perfection for you?
You may say, “He died for me”…Wrong!
When He died, it was because of your sins…it wasn’t His
death that purchased perfection for you, it was His life!
He lived the perfect life you couldn’t live, and God places that
perfect righteousness on your account when you receive the gift of
salvation by faith.
Jesus lived a perfect life, never sinning even once in thought, word, or
deed…and when He died, he was paying a debt He did not owe, and then He gave
to you a perfection you do not have, and that you don’t deserve!
In and of yourself, you can’t enter into heaven, you’re not allowed, you
can’t afford the cover charge, but oh, you have a guest pass!
Ok! You come on in,
you’ve already been paid for, as a matter of fact, you’re a special guest of
our host, Jesus!
Our salvation is so simple a child can easily believe and receive it, and
yet so deep, we can never fully grasp just how far-reaching it truly is.
(The thought that you can lose your salvation is shallow thinking,
compared to the depth of what salvation is!)
If you’ve been saved, you need to understand that God doesn’t see you as a
wicked, filthy sinner that’s been forgiven…He sees you clothed in the very
righteousness of Jesus Christ…He sees you thru the blood of Christ, and sees
you justified: “Just as if I’d never sinned!”
He sees you as perfect…come on in!
You say, "I don’t feel perfect."
That’s because you’re not! When
we say a Christian is viewed as perfect, we’re talking about your judicial
standing w/ God/legal standing.
That’s imputed
righteousness you received at salvation.
There’s another righteousness called
imparted
righteousness, and that’s the righteousness that’s
lived out in our daily
lives, and God is still working on us on that matter…we’ve all still
got a very long way to go, and we’ll never fully arrive!
But legally, judicially, when you stand before God, you have received the
perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, it’s a legal transaction that takes
place, like money changing hands:
your sins are traded for Christ’s righteousness…and then to complete
the transaction…BOOM! He seals
it w/ the Holy Spirit! A
finished transaction!
The second meaning
of “seal”...
2.
Ownership
We had horses in NM, and we branded them w/ our brand, 'J slash lazy S', so
they could be told apart from others…even if they got away!!
And my Bible says I’m
sealed/branded
w/ God’s signature (property of God), and even if I get away from
Him, I’m still one of His sheep, I know His voice, and He comes after me,
calling me, bringing me back into the fold.
Remember the story of Job, look at this verse:
Job 1
8And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered
my servant Job, that there is none
like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God,
and escheweth evil? 9Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth
Job fear God for nought? 10Hast not thou made an hedge about
him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou
hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the
land. 11But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath,
and he will curse thee to thy face. 12And the LORD said unto
Satan, Behold, all that he hath is
in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.
Satan had to ask God’s permission to touch Job, there was a hedge around him that said, private property, no trespassing!
I’m sealed…it’s a finished transaction; I’m His property…thirdly...
3.
Security (is indicated by a “seal”)
Much like you seal a letter, but more.
For instance, in Mt. 27:66, the Romans put Jesus in the grave, rolled the
rock over the entrance, and then sealed it.
History says they would take a string on either side held by hot wax,
and then the seal was pressed into the wax as it dried and hardened.
Some might say, yeah, but that seal was broken, it didn’t last.
That’s right. “So,
how long will the seal
of the Holy Spirit last?”
Look at Eph. 4:30
“until the day of redemption”
Consider one more
thing:
Rev. 7
4And I heard the number of them which were sealed:
and there were sealed an hundred
and forty
and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of
During the
tribulation, God will turn loose 144,000 Jewish evangelists, who will
attempt to spread the gospel during the tribulation, warning people of the
wrath to come, and not to take the mark of the beast.
The tribulation will be the most dangerous time the earth
has ever known, as those on earth will come up against everything hell has
to offer. It will be a deadly
time for many people, esp. anyone who trusts in Christ.
How will these evangelists remain safe?
Rev. 14
1And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the
The seal that gets all
of them thru the tribulation period, is the same seal that secures you
now/makes you safe now!
It’s a finished
transaction/you’re His property/you’re secure!
So we see the seal,
and now here's' the
promise:
Earnest money means
“there’s more to come”
How much earnest you put down indicates how serious you are.
(house: $5! No, you’re not
serious!)
God put the earnest of the Holy Spirit into our hearts…a down payment He
would have to forfeit if He reneged on the deal…and in so doing He was
promising us several things in the future:
1.
new home in heaven
(exciting)
joke—man dies, St. Peter interviews/man disappears/few minutes later…appears
again/happened twice more/Peter says, what in the world is going on?/
“Sorry, they’re trying to resuscitate me!”
joke—used car salesman died/went to heaven/balloon parade, confetti, people
shouting and screaming/ “all this for me?”/ “of course!”/then Jerry Falwell
died/went to heaven…nothing happened…everyone just said hi/ Billy Graham
(same)/car salesman says, “I don’t understand:
shouldn’t there be celebration for these men instead of me?”/no, we
get preachers up here all the time…we’ve never had a used car salesman!
2.
new body
(some of us should be very excited!)
3.
4.
glad reunions
w/ friends and loved ones
5.
eternal
joy (rev.
21… “the no mores of heaven”…heaven is best described not by what is there,
but what is not there: no more
tears/sorrow/crying/dying/sighing/funerals/nursing
homes/hospitals/pain/bills!)
6.
eternal fellowship w/ Christ
If the walls were particle board instead of Jasper,/streets gravel instead
of gold/gates chain link instead of pearl/shack instead of a mansion…I’d
still want to go to heaven, because Jesus is there, and Jesus will be what
makes it heaven for me!
All the above is promised, and God says, just to make it real to you, just
so you can know that I AM going to give it to you…you can look forward to
it…I’m going to go ahead right now and drop into your heart the down
payment! The Holy Spirit at that
moment became the earnest of your inheritance.
It’s not presumptuous to say you know you’re going to
heaven, because you already have the earnest.
1 John 5:13
13
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the
Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may
believe on the name of the Son of God.
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