The Seal

Ephesians 1   In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory.

To be honest the book of Ephesians is my favorite.  This book, for me, more than any other speaks volumes of truth in almost every sentence.  Here, in this verse, lies the hope of my life in one sentence.

As we go along in life someone comes along and shares with us the gospel, the good news, the truth of Jesus Christ and we choose to believe.  At that very moment we are given the gift of the presence, the indwelling, of the Holy Spirit.  Our Helper.  He is our assurance, our guarantee, that what we have believed in and have placed our faith in is indeed real and true.  He is the promise of our inheritance until we die and actually take possession of it.

For unbelievers it is hard to accept this concept of being indwelt by the Spirit of God.  It must sound strange.  I might be able to help demystify Him somewhat.

He is most similar, I guess, to what we know as our conscience.  That thought or urging that guides us.  Our moral compass.  It is the reason that the lie detector test works.  When we lie our body betrays us and reacts to that part of us that feels guilty for lying.  Our heart rate increases, our pupils dilate and our body temperature rises.   Why?  Even if we do not want our guilt to show we are condemned by our own conscience.

The Holy Spirit is vaguely similar but far superior.  He is a person.  He speaks truth to the heart.  Not our own version of truth which can differ from person to person.  He speaks God's unchanging and perfect truth.  He is not only a guide He is a friend.  A comforter.  Our helper.  He is the very Spirit of God and probably one of the most misunderstood entities on our plant by believer and unbelievers alike.  In Him is the power that raised Jesus from the dead.  He is the one who convinces us of truth and convicts us of sin.

Have you ever heard the story of the life and death of Jesus Christ or about the great love that God has for us and felt this odd stirring of emotion in your chest?  That is the work of the Holy Spirit urging you to believe.  To trust.

If you hear Him or feel His presence and take a step into faith and give your life to the One who gave it to you what you will find is an ever growing, ever deepening friendship with the Spirit of the living almighty God.  It is not magic or insanity.  It is the truth.  It is a miracle.  It is possible.

He is the promised Holy Spirit who is our guarantee of an inheritance in Christ until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory.

John 14   And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.  You know Him, for He dwells in you and will be with you.  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

My Helper.  My friend.  Thank You for walking this life with me.  For Your guidance and Your friendship I can never thank You enough.  You are truth and power and integrity and wisdom.  You are Holy and righteous and I adore You.