Paul Explains God the Father’s purpose for giving us
the Holy Spirit
Ephesians
1:13-14 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were
sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise
of His glory. KJVPaul began his letter by declaring a blessing on our Heavenly Father for all the spiritual blessings He has bestowed on these Ephesian believers and us today (Ephesians 1:3). Now the Apostle declares God the Father’s ultimate spiritual blessing to these Ephesians and to us. As we declared in Volume 1 with these words, “Paul was writing to some people who before his arrival were worshiping a false god or in truth a demon in the temple of Diana (the goddess Diana), but since they heard the Gospel of Christ Paul preached among them, repented of their sins and trusted our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul now declares them saints of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” This fact is significant for us to repeat here in (Volume 5) because Paul now says to them these words “ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13). The English phrase “ye were sealed” is translated by the Greek word sphragizo which means to stamp (with a signet or private mark, as fencing in or protecting from misappropriation); to stamp or seal to attest to its authenticity or genuineness.
In other words, Paul declares these Ephesian believers and us today (including His son Clifford DeWayne Tate, Sr.) to be unquestionably true, real, and sincere sons and daughters of God the Father by virtue of Him privately marking us out distinguishing us from the rest of humanity as Paul put it in this way in writing to Brother Timothy, “But the firm foundation of (laid by) God stands, sure {and} unshaken, bearing this seal (inscription): The Lord knows those who are His, and, Let everyone who names [himself by] the name of the Lord give up all iniquity {and} stand aloof from it.” (2 Timothy 2:19). The seal or private mark that sets these Ephesians and us today apart is the Holy Spirit of promise that the Prophet Joel spoke of would come with these words, “It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28-29). According to the words spoken through the Prophet Joel God the Father was going to make the indwelling of His Spirit for anyone who came to Him through our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ as affirmed by these words from the writer of Hebrews, “Therefore He is able also to save to the uttermost (completely, perfectly, finally, and for all time and eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He is always living to make petition to God {and} intercede with Him {and} intervene for them.” (Hebrews 7:25).
God the Holy Spirit dwelling in these Ephesian believers and us today is our protecting seal keeping us from Satan’s deceptions through principalities and powers and through the false teachers and their false teachings that are spread all about in the world as Paul wrote in this manner to Brother Timothy, “But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:13-17). It is God the Holy Spirit who illuminates His written word to our hearts enabling us, empowering us, and ensuring us that we are walking in the truth (1 John 2:26-27). God the Holy Spirit dwelling in these Ephesian believers and us today is our ratifying seal approving or disapproving of our choices, words, attitudes, and motives every moment of every single day as Paul expressed in this same letter later on with these words, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:30-32).
Paul writes earlier in this letter these words, “that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (Ephesians 1:4) and it is the entrance of God the Holy Spirit into the inner man or inner woman solely, exclusively, and only without any goodness whatsoever from us that makes us holy or hagios. The indwelling of God the Holy Spirit is the Divine want to fixer for sinful humanity, that is, no amount of counseling or therapy or improved living environments or any other man made designs can fix man’s internal desires to do that which is evil except the Holy Spirit of promise as pictured with these words written to Israel by Moses, “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).
God the Holy Spirit dwelling in the heart of the born again believer Paul declares to be these Ephesians and our “earnest” and this English word is translated by the Greek word arrhabon which means a pledge or part of the purchase money or property given as security for the rest; for example when someone buys a home today they give to the seller a down payment to secure the house as theirs. Likewise, God the Father has given to these Ephesians and to us the down payment securing us eternally to Himself binding the Covenant with our Lord Jesus Christ forever as our Lord Jesus declared with these words, “The sheep that are My own hear {and} are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it {or} perish throughout the ages. [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.] And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand. My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater {and} mightier than all [else]; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are One.” (John 10:27-30).
The Holy Spirit is the seal of our adoption as sons and daughters, but what is to come for these Ephesians and for us today is so much greater that we cannot even imagine it as Paul described in this manner in writing to the Corinthian believers, “But just as it is written, ‘Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.’” (1 Corinthians 2:9). The stamp of God is on the consciousness of His children. Giving us this, God gives everything, gives us Himself! In substance or anticipation, this one bestowment contains all good things of God, even the first-fruits of God the Holy Spirit we have received right now cannot compare to what awaits us when we enter into the very presence of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ. The result of God the Father sealing us with His Spirit is “unto the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:14), that is that we would glorify Him by our transformed lives as He declared in this manner through the Prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament, “The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise.” (Isaiah 43:21) and by the writer of Hebrews with these words, “Through Him, therefore, let us constantly {and} at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of our lips that thankfully acknowledge {and} confess {and} glorify His name.” (Hebrews 13:15).
My own Personal Note: As the Apostle Paul teaches in Ephesians, as the body is dead without its spirit, so is the soul of man dead without the quickening power of the Spirit of Christ. Throughout the Bible Christ is called “life.” John 5:26 says, “For even as the Father has life in Himself, so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself.” John 6:33 reiterates this concept of life by comparing Christ to our main source of sustenance: “For the Bread of God is He Who comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.” Christ is bread to our souls as edible bread is to the body. Christ nourishes and supports the new spiritual life, which He gives, just as bread maintains the life of the physical body. No one is excluded from the benefits of this bread and new life except those who exclude themselves. Christ came to put life into the minds of men, principles and purposes that produce godly life and behavior. Excerpt from my Book entitled “Silent Assassins of the Soul: Finding Freedom from Sexual Impurity through the Lord Jesus Christ, A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs”
“The earnest is part of payment, and it secures the full sum: so is the gift of the Holy Ghost; all His influences and operations, both as a sanctifier and a comforter, are heaven begun, glory in the seed and bud. The Spirit’s illumination is an earnest of everlasting light; sanctification is an earnest of perfect holiness; and His comforts are earnests of everlasting joys.” Matthew Henry
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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