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Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30
The two passages we just read are the only places in the whole Bible that mention the Holy Spirit as a seal. Today I am going to talk about the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Christian. There is one item concerning the Holy Spirit which I would ask you to pay special attention to. Many people think that after a man is saved, he still needs to seek the Holy Spirit. I will now prove whether or not this statement is true. Please do not believe something just because I have said it. One must see what the Bible says, for only the word of the Bible is reliable.
Let us consider Ephesians 1:13: "In whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation." What is the word of the truth? It is the gospel of salvation. After we hear the gospel, we believe in Christ. What we believe is a person, Christ, and not a doctrine or a theory. The word of the truth tells us about the Christ who can save us. Its aim is to bring us to have faith in Christ through the hearing of the gospel; its purpose is not to bring us to have faith in some gospel sermons or some doctrines written on pieces of paper. The latter are not the genuine thing and will not save us. What we hear is the word of the truth, the gospel of our salvation. What we believe is Christ. Therefore, the first step is that we hear the word of the truth, the gospel of our salvation, and the second step is that we believe in Christ.
After a person has heard the word of the truth and believed in Christ, he is "sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise." The words "you were sealed" are very important. It means at that moment when one believes, he receives the Holy Spirit of promise. It does not mean that one has to wait for a while; it does not mean that one has to wait for three days, five days, or for some time before he can receive the Holy Spirit. When the Bible tells us that "you were sealed," it means "you were sealed." Brothers and sisters, while you are sitting here, I would like to ask if you have heard the word of the truth and believed in Christ. If your answer is yes, do you not think that you have the Holy Spirit? The Bible tells us that "you were sealed"; the Holy Spirit dwells in the believers like the sealing of a seal. Do we have the Holy Spirit? Let me say this. Even if you are a backsliding or very bad Christian, the Holy Spirit is still dwelling in you in the same way that he is dwelling in other believers. In a minute I will show you the difference between a sanctified believer's feeling and an unsanctified believer's feeling towards the Holy Spirit; I will show you the difference between an obedient believer's feeling and a disobedient believer's feeling toward the Holy Spirit. However, whether it is the sanctified believer or unsanctified believer, the obedient one or disobedient one, the Holy Spirit dwells in them all; there is no difference, and there is no distinction whatsoever. Even though there may be differences in other matters, there is no difference as far as the Holy Spirit dwelling in them as a seal. If you have heard the gospel and have believed in Christ, the Holy Spirit will dwell in you in the same way He dwells in other believers. But if you have not believed in Christ, there will surely be a difference. It does not matter what kind of a person one is, whether he lives a good life or a bad one, whether he is advancing or backsliding, obedient or disobedient to God; there is no difference between them. If you think that you have the Holy Spirit because you obey God, love Him, have a joyful feeling, see some visions or some tongues of fire, etc., and that, unless you have these things, you do not have the Holy Spirit, you are in a heresy. Whoever believes in the Lord has the Holy Spirit. At the time we believe, the Holy Spirit dwells in us.
Here it says that one receives "the Holy Spirit of the promise" (v. 13). What is a "promise"? The whole book of Galatians tells us that a "promise" is something received freely. A "promise" is of grace; it is not a wage. It is given to us freely by God. Most people do not understand why every Christian, that is, every saved person, has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. They think that their spiritual condition must reach a certain level before the Holy Spirit will dwell in them. Yet the Bible reveals that the Holy Spirit dwells in us because of the work of the Lord Jesus' redemption and not because of our own work. We can understand this by looking at one of the types in the Old Testament. Leviticus 14:25 says, "Then he shall slaughter the lamb of the trespass offering; and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot." What happened after this? Following this, verse 28 says, "Then the priest shall put some of the oil which is in his palm on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot — upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering." Those who received the application of the blood received the anointing of the oil. Where there is no blood, there is no oil. The oil is put upon a person after the blood is first put upon him. The Holy Spirit comes down because the blood is there already. God pours down the Holy Spirit of promise not because of our good behavior, but because of the blood. Therefore, all those who have heard the word of the truth and believed in Christ have received the Holy Spirit.
What does the last part of verse 13 tell us about the Holy Spirit? It is like a "seal." Thank God that the Holy Spirit is like a "seal." Brothers and sisters, do you know why the sealing is needed and what "the seal" means? Second Timothy 2:19 says, "Having this seal, [1] The Lord knows those who are His, and, [2] Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness." Therefore, there are two meanings to the sealing. First, once something is sealed, it signifies that the thing belongs to the man who sealed it. Second, what is being sealed bears the resemblance of the seal. "The Lord knows those who are His," indicates that all those who are sealed by the Lord belong to Him. "And, Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness," indicates that all those sealed by the Lord should bear His image. The first meaning of the sealing is that we belong to the Lord. The second meaning is that we are the same as the Lord and bear His image. For instance, when I put a seal on an envelope with sealing wax, the seal on the envelope is just like my seal. Sometimes we see sons that look like their fathers and daughters that look like their mothers. We say that they must have come out of the same mold. This is the second meaning of the Holy Spirit as a seal. Therefore, the Holy Spirit as a seal tells us two things. First, I belong to Him; second, I should bear His image, for He is holy.
The Ephesians understood the Holy Spirit as a seal much better than we do, for their city was engaged in lumber business. Ephesus was close to a harbor, and the trees were cut on the mountain and floated downstream to the harbor. Once I read a book about Ephesus. It said that many merchants went there to buy lumber. Each of them brought with him a different seal of iron, like a hammer. When they completed negotiation on a load of lumber, each of them would seal the lumber he bought with his own hammer-seal before he went home. It did not matter if they did not come back after three or five months; some did not have need for the lumber right away. Whenever they wanted their lumber, they would send their men to get it, bringing along the hammer-seal used previously. They only needed to compare the seals on the wood with their own seal. All the pieces that had their seal belonged to them, and they could take them away. No mistake could be made this way. This is the way the lumber merchants in Foochow conducted business also. They would buy the lumber in the upper part of the Ming River and seal it with their hammer-seals. Then the wood would be floated down the Ming River to Foochow. There the buyers would come and check their purchase by comparing it with their seal.
God has not only sealed us with the Holy Spirit as a seal, indicating that we belong to Him now, but has also told us that we are sealed unto the day of redemption. Hence, Ephesians 4:30 says, "You were sealed unto the day of redemption." It does not say "for a while" but "unto the day of redemption." What does "the day of redemption" refer to? It refers to the day our body is redeemed and raptured. When the Lord comes to reap and rapture the believers, there will be some in Shanghai, some in Southeast Asia, some in China, some in England, some in Africa, and some elsewhere. How can the Lord recognize His people? It is by the seal. The seal is just for the day of redemption. Where there is the seal, there will be no confusion and no mistake. God is like the lumber merchant. He only accepts those who belong to Him according to His seal. Those without the Holy Spirit are not His, and He will not accept them. Those with the Holy Spirit are His, and He will reap, raise them up, and take them home at the proper time. (Here, we will not cover the matter of the times and the order of rapture, for it is beyond the scope of this subject.) Our Christian life begins with salvation and ends with our redemption. From the beginning to the end, the Holy Spirit is always like a seal. The Holy Spirit is the seal of God. The Holy Spirit is not the sealer but the seal. It is God who puts the Holy Spirit into us as a seal. If you have not believed in the Lord Jesus, your position is very dangerous. If you have believed in the Lord Jesus as Savior and as Lord, no matter if you are a new believer or have been a believer for a long time, you are safe and sound, for the Holy Spirit is dwelling in you. How long will this indwelling last? It will last unto the day of redemption. Some may think that if they are not good, if they stumble, or if they commit sins, the Holy Spirit will cease to dwell in them. But the Bible says, "Unto the day of redemption." There is something called "the chart of the heart" printed by some churches. It contains some excellent truths. But its teaching concerning the Holy Spirit is completely wrong. It shows the Holy Spirit as a dove which flies away when a believer commits a serious sin, and man's heart is left without the Holy Spirit but with the devil and all kinds of lust. This is a great mistake. The Bible tells us very clearly that in the New Testament age, the Holy Spirit dwells in us unto the day of redemption; He never leaves us halfway through. Once God seals us with the Holy Spirit, it indicates that we belong to Him; it means that we will belong to Him forever, and this fact can never be changed.
But this is not all. There is another very glorious gift, which is that we can have the power to be like Him. When God seals us, not only does it indicate that we belong to Him, but that we, the sealed ones, bear the image of His seal. We know that if we put a seal on soft wax, it will naturally bear the image of the seal. When we are sealed within by God with the Holy Spirit, we will have God's nature and life. Such a nature and life are God-like. If we live according to them, we will have a living on earth that is God-like.
Many people are misled to think that they should try to improve and cultivate themselves and work hard before they can be like God, but this is not true. At the time we are saved, God has already made us like Him and given us something of Himself in our inner being. God has never commanded us to be like Him, because it is impossible for us to do it by ourselves. Yet we do have our responsibility, which is to express this image and not allow it to be covered by anything of the world. What a glorious truth that God's seal is in us! By this seal, that is, the Holy Spirit, we can live out God's life. With such a provision, nothing is impossible! Now we must realize that in us there is a treasure out of which we can bring forth many precious things.
As those who have the seal of God, our only responsibilities are, on the one hand, to reckon ourselves as being dead to sin and believe that everything that is against such an image has been dealt with by the Lord's cross. On the other hand, we have to consecrate ourselves to God and let the Holy Spirit live out God's life. When we fail and stumble, we still have not lost the image given by God's seal; we have only covered up this image and not lived out a life that is of God.
Now let us look at verse 14: "Who is the pledge of our inheritance unto the redemption of the acquired possession, to the praise of His glory." Paul told us in verse 13 that the Holy Spirit has sealed us. First, this indicates that we belong to God and, second, it makes us like God. He told us in verse 14 that the Holy Spirit is like a pledge (or what we commonly know as a deposit). What does this mean? Paul told us not only that the Holy Spirit has sealed us, but also that the Holy Spirit was given as a pledge, a deposit. In the original language, deposit means an actual deposit and a sample.
What is a "deposit"? Suppose I am buying a piece of land for two thousand dollars. I pay one hundred dollars in advance as a deposit. This means that the seller receives one hundred dollars first, and I give him the balance later. I only pay him a portion at first, while I must pay the balance later. If I am faithful, I will pay him the balance of one thousand nine hundred dollars. God does likewise. He gives us the Holy Spirit as a pledge. This means that He gives to us part of the heavenly blessing first as a guarantee that He will give us all the heavenly inheritance later. God puts Himself in a legally unchangeable position. He has paid the deposit and must therefore pay the whole later. God's Holy Spirit is the guarantee of His promise. The Bible says that we, the believers, will receive much in abundance. Yet, how do we know He will carry out His word? We know it through the Holy Spirit. God makes the Holy Spirit a deposit and proves to us that none of His promise will fail. Since God has given us the Holy Spirit as a "deposit," He is saying to us through the Holy Spirit that all of His will be ours. Once He does this, it becomes impossible for Him to change. Is there anyone in the world who has paid a deposit and will not pay the rest unless he is dishonest? God is faithful and righteous. Once He pays the deposit, He will surely pay the balance.
Mr. Philip Mauro said, "What is the deposit like? It is just like an engagement ring." It means that now your fiancé gives you a small part, and that he will give you all that he has on the wedding day. Therefore, God gives us the Holy Spirit as a "deposit" indicating that all the riches in the heavens will be ours.
People in ancient times had another custom. At the time of the sale of a piece of land, not only did the buyer pay some money as a deposit to the seller, but the seller also gave some of the soil as a sample to the buyer. This meant that the soil one received on that day would be the same as the soil he would receive in the future. God has given us the Holy Spirit not only as a deposit but also as a sample so that we can enjoy a foretaste of the heavenly things. By this, we know that what is given to us by God today will be the same in nature as what He will give to us in the future. If silver is given today, silver will be given in the future. If gold is given today, gold will be given in the future. God gives us the Holy Spirit today in order that we can have a foretaste of the heavenly things on earth today.
Brothers and sisters, have you ever tasted the heavenly things? The Bible tells us that Paul heard unspeakable words and tasted heavenly things. We fellowship with God, and we also fellowship with one another in the Lord. The Holy Spirit is the means through which we fellowship with God and by which we receive the heavenly joy and the bestowing of the Lord's love. When we come to the Lord, worship Him, or fellowship with one another, do we not feel the Lord's love and joy? This is the foretaste of the heavenly things! Once a brother talked about the Lord's love with me. He said, "When the Lord's love comes upon me, I cannot sit still. I want to go out and run for a while." What we taste today is good and rich. Yet in the future it will be better and richer. Sometimes we feel the Lord's love and joy burning within us like a fire. Yet what we taste today is still only a little. There will be much more in the future! What we taste today is just a little — a little today, a little tomorrow, and a little the day after. What we will taste in the future is not just this little. We cannot imagine how good it will be. It will be so good that we will say, "Even eternity is too short!"
We must remember that there are two meanings to the Holy Spirit being a deposit from God to us today. The first is that God gives us a part today and that He will give us the whole in the future. The other is that what God gives us today, He will give us in the future. When the spies of Israel cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes from the brook of Eshcol, and two carried it, they told Moses, "We came to the land to which you sent us; and surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit" (Num. 13:27). This cluster of grapes indicated the nature of the land of Canaan. Surely it flowed with milk and honey! The Holy Spirit dwelling in us is also like this cluster of grapes. The taste today is just like what the heavenly taste will be in the future. We thank and praise God that He has given us the Holy Spirit, not only as our deposit, guaranteeing that He will give us the whole, but as a foretaste of the heavenly things.
What we have covered thus far is the grace of God that has been given to us. Now we will consider the responsibility that we should bear. Let us read Ephesians 4:30: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption." Paul exhorted us with the fact that the Holy Spirit is a seal. He meant that since we have the Holy Spirit as a seal, we should not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
What does "grieve" mean? Does it say here, "Let not the Holy Spirit of God be angry"? No, it does not say this. The Bible clearly says, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God." It is not "being angry with," but "grieve." This is a matter of love! Where there is hatred, there is anger. One cannot make the Holy Spirit of God angry, but one can grieve the Holy Spirit of God. We thank and praise God for the Holy Spirit of God within us only grieves; He never becomes angry through hatred. No matter how bad we are, the Holy Spirit only "grieves"; He does not become angry. I have heard someone say, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit to the point that He runs away." This is impossible. When Paul said, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God," he continued immediately with, "In whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption." No Christians can pray as David did: "Do not take the Spirit of Your holiness away from me" (Psa. 51:11). This is a prayer of the Old Testament age. No one in the New Testament can ever pray this prayer. No Christian, rightly taught, would pray like this. If a Christian knows the gospel, he would never pray such a prayer. Since the Holy Spirit can never run away, Paul entreated the believers in Ephesus, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit." When a person is not good, others will either become angry with him or run away from him. Man may become angry or run away, but the Holy Spirit will never run away. The Holy Spirit can only grieve. If He could run away, He would not have to grieve. The Holy Spirit cannot become angry because He loves you! Neither can the Holy Spirit run away because He loves you! Therefore, you should not grieve Him.
What does "grieve" mean? It is the same word as "sorrowful" in Matthew 26:37. Brothers and sisters, what kind of sorrow is this sorrow? It is the sorrow of our Lord Jesus at Gethsemane when God put upon Him all sins; He was exceedingly sorrowful even unto death. If a Christian becomes weak and commits sins, the indwelling Holy Spirit will be sorrowful as the Lord was sorrowful even unto death. He will continually grieve within us. We should know that this is not a small thing. The Holy Spirit within us can be in either of two states: He can either be happy or sorrowful. Therefore, we should ask ourselves whether the indwelling Holy Spirit is happy or sorrowful. If He is not happy, He must be sorrowful. We can make Him either happy or sorrowful. May God enlighten us to know ourselves and see how rebellious, sinful, and evil we are. Yet the Holy Spirit never becomes angry within us, and He never runs away from us. He loves us and would only grieve within us.
When the Lord was at Gethsemane, He said to the disciples, "So were you not able to watch with Me for one hour?" (Matt. 26:40b). The Lord's sorrow was just for a while or for one hour. But the Holy Spirit dwells within us unto the day of redemption. As such, His sorrow is an enduring one. The sorrow of our Lord Jesus was over after a while, but the Holy Spirit is under the pressure of our sins moment by moment and day after day. If we disobey Him and refuse to listen to His voice all the time, do we realize how much He grieves within us? I do not know whether the Holy Spirit is happy or sorrowful in you. But you should know that either you are making Him happy, or you are making Him sorrowful.
What makes the Holy Spirit sorrowful? It is sins! Offenses against others, filthiness, fondness in criticisms, stealing of others' secrets and gossiping about them, finding fault with others, not forgiving others, not being faithful to the work of the Lord, to ones' own family, or to all things, inability to love others, or hunting for opportunity to profit oneself — these sins will grieve the Holy Spirit within us! Not only do sins grieve Him, even our disobedience to God's will, the choosing of our own way, or taking the wrong way, also grieves Him! This is not all. Young Christians who love the world, who are reluctant to give up the world, to suffer, to testify for the Lord, or who do not care for the souls of sinners but have a cold heart, not caring if others are saved or perishing, also grieve the Holy Spirit!
You can grieve the Holy Spirit, but He will never leave, and He never becomes angry. He loves you. This is why He is sorrowful in you! Sometimes you may say, "Why am I not happy?" Let me tell you: if the Holy Spirit is not happy, you cannot be happy. If the Holy Spirit is happy, you can be happy. If the Holy Spirit grieves, how can you be happy? Even if you have worldly happiness, you cannot make the Holy Spirit within you happy. If you know what you must do, yet you do not do it according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, you will grieve the Holy Spirit within you, and you cannot be genuinely happy. You can only have "joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17). If the Holy Spirit does not rejoice in you, you cannot rejoice in Him either.
May God enlighten us today to truly know that the Holy Spirit is like a seal and a deposit. Our responsibility on earth today is not to grieve the Holy Spirit. This is what we should be watchful to do everyday. May God bless us!
