On any given morning, any one of us could wake up and find life utterly changed. Of course, most mornings are just about the same as most other mornings: wake, wash and dress, eat, and go to work or school. It's routine. Sometimes it's boring. Sometimes it's exciting--and not necessarily in a good way. There are no guarantees under the sun.
But there is a guarantee for those in Jesus. The Spirit seals those who have heard the truth and trust Christ. As the Seal and Sealer, the Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance. He is the guarantee of our forever-life in the presence of Father, Son, and Spirit. The Spirit is the mark of God's ownership, communicating God's authority over us and care for us.
What does this mean for us? As those sealed by the Spirit, we are utterly safe, but we also have the responsibility to honor him through our actions and thoughts.
How can we honor the Spirit? Choose to speak the truth with one another, ensuring that love is primary. Even when we are angry, let us use our words to build one another up. Choose to be generous with one another, always deciding to be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving. Choose to participate in God’s Kingdom project, proclaiming Jesus as the One who, in his great kindness toward us, gave us life with no seeds of death in it.
Let's be honest with ourselves. Life under the sun can be hard, and it is always uncertain. But we need not fear. We are secure in Jesus, having been sealed by the Spirit. Therefore, let us live bravely and kindly, choosing to carry out what God desires.
Read and Pray. As a first step, spend some time praying through the passages below, asking God how he would have you respond.
“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” (Ephesians 1:13–14 ESV).
“And 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, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:30–32 ESV).
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