Module 3: The Spirit Within
9 min read
One of the most comforting truths in the Bible is that the Holy Spirit is God's guarantee in your life. When you believed, God did not merely forgive you and leave you wondering whether you would make it to the end. He gave you the Spirit as a seal and a down payment.
In the ancient world, a seal was a mark of ownership and protection. A king might seal a document with wax and his signet ring. Once sealed, the document was secure and identified as belonging to the king. Paul says that "when you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit" Ephesians 1:13.
The Spirit is God's mark upon you. You belong to Him. Your salvation is not fragile. It is sealed by the Spirit of the living God.
The seal also means protection. The Spirit guards what God has begun. Paul writes, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" Ephesians 4:30. The sealing looks forward to the day when your salvation will be complete — the day of redemption. Until then, the Spirit preserves you.
This does not mean you cannot sin or wander. It means that if you are truly in Christ, the Spirit will not let you go. He will bring you back. He will convict you. He will keep you.
Paul also calls the Spirit a "deposit guaranteeing our inheritance" Ephesians 1:14. The Greek word for deposit — arrabōn — refers to a partial payment that guarantees the full amount will be paid. The Spirit is the first installment of your future inheritance.
What is that inheritance? It is the resurrection body, the new heavens and new earth, eternal fellowship with God, and the fullness of joy in His presence. The Spirit is the down payment; the resurrection world is the full inheritance.
Many Christians live with nagging insecurity. "Am I really saved? Will God keep me? What if I fail too badly?" The sealing of the Spirit answers those fears. God has put His own Spirit in you as a guarantee. He will finish what He started Philippians 1:6.
Your confidence is not in your hold on God. It is in God's hold on you. And His hold is the Holy Spirit.