The Holy Spirit, Part 10: The Holy Spirit as the Seal of Our Salvation

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Written by David Lawrence

Monday, July 19 2010 00:00

In the ancient world rulers had a signet ring which, when pressed into wax, would produce a seal that indicated ownership of a document. It granted authentication to the document and made it an official communication or proclamation. Symbolically, the Holy Spirit as our seal indicates that God owns us, that He marks us as His saved children, that He approves of us, and that our eternal destiny is assured. The seal, once given by any ruler, could not be broken, denied, or rescinded.

Four times Paul mentions the Holy Spirit as the seal of our eternal inheritance:

2 Cor. 1:21-22, “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
Eph. 1:13-14, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.”
Eph. 4:30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (The context points to grievous sinful behavior on the part of the Christian. Sinful behavior grieves the Spirit and should make us ashamed, but it does not separate us from God and our final salvation.)
2 Cor. 5:5, “Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose [eternal life] and given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” The Greek word here is different and thus translated deposit. The idea is always the same, a seal of authentication, a down-payment, or earnest money, all pointing to God’s guarantee that He will complete the work He has begun in us.

The Holy Spirit thus fulfills Jesus’ promise that he has come down from heaven to do the Father’s will, and that is not to lose any of those the Father has given Him, but raise them up at the last day (John 6:38-39, also verse 44). Again we can see why the presence of the Spirit in the lives of Jesus’ disciples is so valuable, why we are then not left as orphans and are in an even better situation than if we had Jesus in bodily presence. The Spirit guarantees our eventual salvation in glory! All who receive the gift of the Spirit, evidenced by His testimony in our hearts and His fruit in our lives, can rest assured that heaven will be their home when they leave this earthly life.

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