Are you looking for encouragement?
Christians can be encouraged to know they are sealed with the Spirit of God. As a result of being sealed by the Spirit, we join with the family of God. This unity certainly provides encouragement.
As a Christian, I am sealed with the Holy Spirit.
One way to be encouraged as a Christian is to realize that I am sealed by the Spirit. That is to say, a covenant binds connecting agreeable parties by promise providing commitment in the present and fidelity for the future. An official seal authenticates the completed transaction. The presence of the Holy Spirit within a believer guarantees authenticity—that I truly belong to Christ.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you 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.
Ephesians 1:13–14 NIV
The ESV Study Bible offers these insights regarding the biblical use of the word seal, especially as used in Revelation 7:1–3.
“The seal of the living God” evokes a picture of a royal signet ring by which kings authenticated documents or marked ownership of an item. This seal is the name of the Lamb and of God (Rev. 14:1), a gift promised to all who conquer by faith (3:12). It is antithetical to the mark of the beast (13:16) and symbolizes God’s ownership and protection of his people. Circumcision functioned as such a seal under the old covenant (Rom. 4:11), and God’s Holy Spirit seals God’s people as his property under the new (Eph. 1:13–14).
ESV Study Bible note re: Revelation 7:1-3
Because I am sealed with the Spirit, I belong to Christ.
Further, residing within the sanctuary of my skin, the Holy Spirit consecrates what has been consummated through Christ.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NIV
Jesus provided the wondrous gift as a continual reminder of His covenant.
“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 with you and will be in you.”
John 14:16–17 ESV
The Holy Spirit securely protects His valuable possession offering divine enablement here and hereafter.
But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
Romans 8:9–11 NLT
Only a child of the King is sealed with the Spirit.
Certified with genuine acceptance, as a believer, I am elevated to the status of a child of the King. His Spirit joins with my spirit to testify of the loving associations with Him while providing confidence of my redemption.
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.
Romans 8:15–16 NLT
Unity offers encouragement.
As a result of being sealed with the Spirit, I can enjoy being part of the family of God. Romans chapter one introduces us to one of Paul’s encouraging prayers.
Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world. God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God. . . .
Romans 1:8–12 NLT
One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.
Is this a prayer pattern that we follow? Do we pray that we may unify to be encouraged in our faith?
Unity provides a common focus.
Consequently, we may be encouraged by a common focus in our endeavors to reveal God’s mystery to the ends of the earth and even to the heavenly realms.
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Philippians 2:1–2 NIV
The resulting joy rises as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to the only One worthy of praise.
A beautiful interaction occurs as a result of being sealed with the Spirit. Unity provides an opportunity to exercise gifts and receive the grace God intends for me to obtain through the body. Therefore, living and moving together, the body offers resources that are unavailable to an individual. When we unify, we experience the benefits of mutual giftedness because we are sealed with the Spirit of God.
Insight Journal
- What evidence is there in my life that God’s Spirit resides within?
Excerpts from Marriages that Minister by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis. Available from your favorite book retailers, including Amazon and Redemption Press. (As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)
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