Sealed with the Ruach
1: 13b-14
Sealed with the Ruach DIG: What activities and descriptive words relate to the Father, Yeshua, and the Ruach Ha’Kodesh? How does the sealing of the Spirit of God give you confidence to fulfill God’s purposes in your life? What four ways does ADONAI mark us?
REFLECT: In what way is the Ruach Ha’Kodesh’s mark of ownership on you? How does it affect you to know that you are valued and chosen by God? How does the Gospel of grace build assurance into your life? Why does a works-based religion always lead to uncertainty?
The seal of the Ruach is a down payment on our future inheritance of eternal glory.
People have always wanted assurances. Because the promises of the world are so often unreliable, we demand oaths, sworn affidavits, surety bonds, guarantees, warranties, and many other such means of trying to assure that what is promised is received. As believers, God’s simple Word should be sufficient for us, but in His graciousness, He makes His promises even more certain – if that were possible – by giving us His own guarantees. Here, the Lord guarantees His promises with His seal and with His pledge. This is reminiscent of Hebrews 6:13-18, in which ADONAI gives His promise to all who hope in Messiah and then confirms it with an oath to take hold so that we may be greatly encouraged (Hebrews 6:18b).
Because we do not directly and immediately receive the fullness of all God’s promises when we first believe, since it is reserved in heaven for us (First Peter 1:3-4), some may be tempted to doubt their salvation and wonder about the ultimate blessings that are supposed to accompany it. While we are still in this life our redemption is not complete, because we still await the redemption of our body (Romans 8:23). Because we have not yet received the full possession of our inheritance, some question its reality, or at least its greatness. As one means of guaranteeing the promises of ADONAI to those who have received Yeshua Messiah as their personal Lord and Savior, the Ephesians were sealed in Messiah with the promised Ruach Ha’Kodesh (1:13b).75
The word sealed originally referred to a seal placed on a document (see above), typically a signet ring or stamp into a soft material like wax or clay, as a way to prove authenticity. It was a mark of ownership as well. Believers are marked by the Spirit of God. His presence is both an inward and outward sign of the true profession of faith. Yeshua promised His apostles that He would not leave them alone but would send another comforting Counselor like Himself, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever (see The Life of Christ, to see link click Kr – The Holy Spirit Will Teach You All Things). The gift of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh came to the Ephesians when they heard the Gospel, the Word of Truth, and when they responded in faith. The grammar in this verse indicates that the hearing and believing preceded the sealing. Another function of a seal was to ensure that the item sealed, such as a letter, was delivered and unopened. Believers are sealed in the sense that no power of evil will thwart their ultimate arrival into eternal glory with God in heaven.
Who is a down payment (Greek: arrabon, an earnest, or part payment in advance for security) . . . The term down payment demonstrates that though the Spirit is given at the moment of faith (1:14a), His complete work of transformation in us is not completed until later (see the commentary on Second Corinthians Bb – Going Home). We receive the Ruach at salvation (see The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith) and He begins to work in us to make us like Messiah. In other words, the receiving of the Ruach is a down payment guaranteeing that God will finish what He has started (Philippians 1:6).76 The seal of God’s Spirit in the life of the believer signifies: security, authenticity, ownership, and authority.
Security: In ancient times the seal of a king, prince, or noble represented security and purity. When Dani’el was thrown into the lion’s den, King Darius, along with his nobles, placed their seals on the stone placed over the entrance to the den so that nothing might be changed in regard to Dani’el (Dani’el 6:17). Any person but the king who broke or disturbed the seal would have forfeited their life. In a similar way, the tomb where Yeshua was buried was sealed. Fearing that Yeshua’s apostles might steal His body and falsely claim His resurrection, the Jewish leaders obtained Pilate’s permission to place a seal on the stone and to guard it with soldiers (see The Life of Christ Ly – The Guard at the Tomb of Jesus). In an infinitely greater way, the Ruach secures each believer (see The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer), marking us with His own Seal.
Authenticity: When King Ahab tried unsuccessfully to get Naboth to sell or trade for his vineyard, Queen Jezebel volunteered to get the vineyard her way. So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters to various nobles who lived in Naboth’s city, demanding that they arrange false accusations of blasphemy and treason against him (First Kings 21:6-16). Despite the deceptions contained in the letters Jezebel sent, the letters themselves were authentically from the king, because they were sent with his approval and marked with his seal. The seal was his signature. When God gives us His Spirit, it is as if He stamps us with a seal that reads, “This person belongs to Me and is an authentic citizen of My divine Kingdom and member of My divine family.”
Ownership: While Jerusalem was under siege by Nebuchadnezzar and Jeremiah was under arrest by King Zedekiah for prophesying against the king and nation, the LORD gave special instructions to His prophet. Jeremiah was told to buy some land in Anathoth for which he had redemption rights. The contract was agreed on, and the stipulated payment was made in the court of the palace guard before the required number of witnesses. In the presence of those witnesses the deed was signed and sealed, establishing Jeremiah as the new legal owner of the property (see the commentary on Jeremiah Fs – Jeremiah Buys a Field). When the Spirit of God seals believers, He marks us as God’s divine possessions, and from that moment on we entirely and eternally belong to Him. The Ruach’s seal declares the transaction of salvation as divinely official and final.
Authority: Even after Haman had been impaled for his wicked plot to defame and execute Mordacai, Queen Esther was distressed about the decree that Haman had tricked King Ahasuerus to make, that permitted anyone in his kingdom to attack and destroy the Jews. Because the king could not revoke the decree himself that was marked with his own seal, he issued and sealed another decree that permitted (and even encouraged) the Jews to arm and defend themselves (see the commentary on Esther Bi – Now Write a Counter-Decree in the King’s Name on Behalf of the Jews). In both cases, the absolute authority of the decrees was represented by the king’s seal. Those who possessed the seal of the king had the king’s delegated authority set forth in the decree. When believers are sealed with the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, we are delegated to proclaim, teach, minister, and defend God’s Word and His Gospel with the Lord’s own authority.77
. . . of our inheritance, with the view to the redemption of God’s own possession (1:14b). The gift of the Spirit, then, is the guarantee of our coming immortality. This is Paul’s distinctive contribution to the B’rit Chadashah doctrine of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh. Another term which he uses to express the same thought is first fruits in Romans 8:23 the Spirit is the firstfruits of the eagerly awaited transformation, the redemption of our bodies, where the resurrection of the people of God at His Second Coming is meant. The same word for redemption is used there as it is used here, and the same future hope is in view. The word translated possession occurs in the same sense in First Peter 2:9, where believers are called a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for God’s possession. Language is there deliberately applied to Gentile believers which in the TaNaKh is used of God’s people Isra’el, notably in Exodus 19:5, were YHVH calls Isra’el My own possession.78
For His glorious praise (1:14c). As Paul has already stated twice in 1:6 and 12, ADONAI’s ultimate goal in our redemption is for His glorious praise. We are not saved and blessed for our own glory but for God’s. Isaiah declares: The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; because I put water in the desert, rivers in the wasteland, for My chosen people to drink, the people I formed for myself, so that they would proclaim my praise (Isaiah 43:20-21). When we glorify ourselves we rob the LORD of that which is exclusively His. He saved us to serve Him and to praise Him. We are saved to be restored to the intended divine purpose of creation – to bear the image of God and bring Him greater glory. This will be fully accomplished at the believer’s glorification, when we receive full glory and redemption and are made the perfect possession of YHVH.79
Dear Heavenly Father, You are so Awesome! Praise You for Your glorious sealing of all who love You by Your gift of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh to those who hear and trust in You as their Savior. To think that You don’t just put the name on a list, or jot down a note to check in on the person when You have a moment – No way! Instead You graciously promise to live within each of Your children — always being right there to help and to guide! Wow! Receiving any gift calls for a thank you, but receiving this gift that is so incredibly wonderful calls for an incredibly great praise and thank You! I do not want to just say thanks with words, but I desire to live out my thanks in all we do, say and think. We, as your children, desire to give you glory so that even in our hard times, we lift up our love to you by keeping Your Word. Yeshua answered and said to him: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him (John 14:23). Our trials will be over soon, but thanks to Your sealing by the promised Ruach Ha’Kodesh, Your children can look forward to being with you and praising You for all eternity in heaven. We love You! In Messiah Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen
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