SEALED AND SECURED by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC

Introduction: I’m sure many of you have struggled with trying to open a jar of jelly or pickles or salsa. It’s a struggle until you hear the pop. What does that pop mean? It was sealed, whatever you bought was fresh. Same thing with medicines, there’s a protective seal under the cap. Whatever you bought has not been tampered with. Or how about government documents like passports and licenses, even money, they all have the government seal. Even buildings like federal and state offices, embassies, military establishments, they have the seal. What does it signify? It signifies the backing of the government behind that document and that structure. So also, our salvation comes with a seal, it is the seal of the Holy Spirit. But what if that seal can be broken or has been broken in the past? Our message is titled – “Sealed and Secured.” The Holy Spirit has always been the Seal and the Guarantor of our salvation in Jesus Christ. This was true in the Old Testament; it was true in the New Testament; and it’s true now and forever.

Ephesians 1:13 (page #1795) “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”

Context: As you may know, we are in a miniseries of messages on how the Triune God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. We’ve seen the blessings of God the Father. We’ve seen the blessings of God the Son. Today, we will see the blessings of God the Holy Spirit. Keep in mind that you cannot bypass the Son to get to the Father. Neither can you bypass the Son to get to the Holy Spirit. Listen again to Ephesians 1:13 “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” The believing happens after hearing, and the sealing happens after believing.

Application: Have you ever come to the Son and received salvation through his death on the cross?

With that said, let’s read the last line again – “you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” The Greek word for “sealed” is “sphragizo.” It comes from the Greek word “sphragis” = seal, signet, stone set in the signet ring. The most well-known mention is the one in the gospels when a Roman seal was put on Jesus’s grave. What Paul is saying here is not some ordinary statement – “When you and I are saved, the Holy Spirit puts the seal of God on our hearts. No one and nothing can break that seal.” You may come from a background where people believed that you could lose your salvation. For you to lose your salvation would be for you to break the seal of God on your heart. It’s not possible. In fact, the Holy Spirit stands as the Guarantor on your account (we’ll cover that next week). Here’s the problem – if the Holy Spirit can allow one seal to be broken, then your salvation is no longer secure. 

Some of you are wondering what I am talking about. There are people who believe that the way the Holy Spirit works in the New Testament is not the way that he worked in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, he indwells us, seals us, and keeps us eternally secure, but that’s not how he worked in the Old Testament. In fact, he never indwelt them as he does us now. He would come upon them temporarily but leave them when they sinned or disobeyed. They point to Samson, King Saul, and even to David’s prayer in Psalm 51:11 “Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” If David, a man after God’s own heart, was afraid that he might lose the Holy Spirit, how about us! Listen carefully – “If the Holy Spirit has ever broken the seal of salvation on anyone before, then he’s no longer a reliable sealer of my salvation and yours.” People have tried to resolve this conundrum in different ways:

• Some take the easy way out and claim that the church was Israel and Israel was the church. So, the Holy Spirit indwelt believers in the Old as in the New. There are a lot of problems with that statement. We will address one later in the message.
• Some say that Israel and church are distinct, but the Holy Spirit did not indwell believers as he does now. There are a lot of problems with that as well. By the way, this does not mean that they believe that people could lose their salvation. They would say that the Old Testament people were secure through the imputation of God’s righteousness…whatever that means.

How do we resolve this? To begin with, we have the same Holy Spirit as those in the Old Testament. 2 Corinthians 4:13 (page #1777) And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak.” Here, Paul is quoting from Psalm 116:10. He is saying in 2 Corinthians 4:13 that we have the same Holy Spirit as the writer of Psalm 116.Never forget that God does not change his ways or his plan of salvation.

To better understand this, we need to understand how the Holy Spirit operated in the Old Testament (Walter Kaiser’s works have been very helpful for this message). The Hebrew word for “spirit” is “ruach” – wind, breath, spirit. It is found about 389 times in the Old Testament, and, according to some scholars (Lee Roy Martin and Wilf Hildebrandt), it refers 107 times to the Holy Spirit. There’s also the word “neshmah” found 24 times that can also refer to the Holy Spirit. Here are some of the key things that the Holy Spirit did in the Old Testament:

1. In Creation:

• Genesis 1 (page #1) 1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
• Isaiah 32:15 “Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.”

2. In Maintaining, Upholding, and Sustaining Creation:

• Psalm 104:30 “You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.”
• Job 34         14 “…If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, 15 All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust.”

3. In the Lives of People:

A. Inspiration of the OT

• Ezekiel 2 (page #1287) 1 And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” 2 Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. 3 And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me…”
• Micah 3:8 “But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, And of justice and might, To declare to Jacob his transgression And to Israel his sin.”
• Zechariah 4:6 So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.

B. Regeneration of the unsaved

A great place to start to understand how people got saved in the Old Testament is actually in the New Testament – Nicodemus. John 3 (page #1639) 1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?

Maybe Jesus was referring to Ezekiel 36.     25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Later in Luke 24 (page #1633-34) 25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Both passages tell us that Jesus expected the people in his time to understand how to be saved and what it means to be saved.

How about some of the passages in the New Testament that appear to contradict this truth?

1. They are regarding remembering the words of Jesus.

• John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
• John 15:26   “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
• John 16.      13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

2. They are regarding the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

• Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
• John 1:33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
• Acts 1:5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
• Acts 11.      15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, “John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
• Acts 15:8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,
• 1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

This baptism of the Spirit represents the birth of the church – the coming of the Jewish people and Gentiles in one body in this age. God will once day work again with his people Israel in the end times.

3. They are regarding the special anointing of the Holy Spirit – just like Moses, Samson, Deborah, and David.

• John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
• John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
• John 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

If you sin and disobey God, he will remove his anointing from your life.

Big Question – What was so special about Pentecost? Just as the cross was the visible validation of all that the saved people of the past were waiting for in their redemption, Pentecost was also the visible validation of the past work of the Holy Spirit and the promise of more to come in the future. John 7:37   On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Along with the Jewish Pentecost, there were the Samaritan (Acts 8) and Gentile Pentecosts (Acts 10).

Are you saved? Are you sealed by the Spirit? Are you seeking his special anointing in your life?