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Earlier this year, one of my daughters found a kaleidoscope in my parent’s old toy-box. She couldn’t put it down!
If you’re unfamiliar, a kaleidoscope is just “a tube containing mirrors and pieces of coloured glass or paper, and its reflections produce changing patterns when the tube is rotated”.1 At every rotation, there would be a constant display of ever-changing patterns (hexagons, triangles, stars) and an array of vibrant colours (deep blues to fiery reds and bright greens). It’s kind of dreamlike; it’s endlessly fascinating.
Here in Ephesians 1:1-14, the Apostle Paul erupts in praise, in worship, in doxology. This doxology, his praise to God, displays the splendour of salvation in and through our Triune God. As one person said, these verses are like “a kaleidoscope of dazzling lights and shifting colours”.2 Every turn of the passage reveals a new, dazzling facet of God’s glorious grace to us in Christ.
Since his opening words, the Apostle Paul has been giving us a glimpse of our salvation in the Triune God. He showcases the work of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit in saving sinners. In verses 3-6, we see the splendour of the Father’s election-how he chooses us to be part of the divine family. In verses 7-12, we see the Splendour of the Son’s sacrifice-how through union with the crucified and risen Son we experience freedom from the power and penalty of sin.
But this morning, as we focus on just verses 13-14, the Apostle Paul shows us the Splendour of the Spirit’s seal. That, upon believing in the gospel, God the Father seals us in Christ by the Holy Spirit, firmly securing our downpayment of what is to come.
As we’ll discover, this part of Ephesians 1 is really important.
It’s important because in the Christian life it’s all too easy to lose confidence. However long you’ve been following Jesus for, I’m sure you’d agree that there are moments where our faith struggles. In some moments, our faith will be strong, unwavering, resolved, and abundantly fruitful. But in other moments, our faith will be weak, unsteady, thin, and barely showing signs of life. There are/will be plenty of occasions for our faith to be attacked and weakened, to take a battering from sin, the schemes of Satan, or from the seduction of the world. There are plenty of moments for each one of us to lose confidence about whether or not we truly belong to God.
But here in Ephesians 1:13-14, the Apostle Paul’s words should give us “a joyful confidence”.3 These words should cause us to erupt in doxology-in praise, honour, glory to God.4 For we are people who have been sealed by the Spirit-securing our standing before God and guaranteeing what is yet to come.
So, this morning/evening, as we look at the Splendour of the Spirit’s seal in Ephesians 1:13-14-we’ll consider three things: (1) the reality; (2) the prerequisites; and then (3) the benefits.
1.1. The Reality: Sealed by the Spirit
First, the reality.
In verse 13, the Apostle Paul reminds the Ephesians that they’ve been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit in Christ. In short, it’s a beautiful reminder that we belong to God.
“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,” (Ephesians 1:13)
By using the word ‘seal’, the Apostle Paul uses a Roman concept to speak about our salvation. In first century Roman culture, seals were often used as an important part of daily life. Such as wax seal on a legal declaration; or a seal used by merchants to prevent the tampering of their products; or a stone-seal with a unique engraving to mark ownership of property. In short, seals were used for identification, ownership, authentication, and protection.5
Therefore, when the Apostle Paul declares that “we were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit”-this is no small thing. In our union with Christ, God the Father has ‘sealed us’ ‘branded us’ as his followers by his Spirit.6 In Christ, by the Spirit, we belong to God. The Spirit’s seal means that we are the people of God; the possession of God, and the property of God. What is God’s is God’s! And what is God’s is safe and secure-it will never be cast away.
At the moment, the Hemming car radio has a new DJ. Her name is ‘Ava’. Often, whenever Ava gets in the car, she requests the song “Sad Jessie”. “Sad Jessie” is Sarah McLachlan’s song from Toy Story 2 entitled “When She Loved Me”. It’s a really sad song which plays when Emily (her owner) out grows Jessie, a cow-girl figurine, and leaves Jessie behind at a donation bin. Jessie is forgotten, abandoned, replaced, and lost. “Sad Jessie”
But to be God’s own possession means that we will never be lost, never be cast away, never be stolen, abandoned, destroyed, misplaced, or left behind. If you’re in Christ, ‘Sad Jessie’ will never be the soundtrack of your life because the Spirit is our seal.
The seal is not your ‘church attendance’; ‘bible reading’; ‘prayer’; ‘holiness’; ‘evangelistic effectiveness’, or ‘service’. The seal is not even ‘following Jesus’. No, the seal is the person of the Holy Spirit whom God graciously lavishes upon us in Christ. I mean, let’s be honest! We can’t even look after our cowboy figurines, let alone our faith and salvation. So whilst there will be many moments when we “don’t feel saved”, many moments when we sin; when we fall short; when we doubt; when we suffer, when our faith is small, weak, and barely alive-the Spirit, and the Spirit alone, is still our seal.7 He is the one who ensures that we belong to God. And what is God’s is God’s, and what is God’s is safe and secure-it will never be cast away.
1.2. The Prerequisites: Hearing and Believing
Second, the prerequisites.
When it comes to the Spirit’s work, we need to realise that there are some pre-requisites. The Apostle Paul lays it all out for the Ephesians. In verse 13, the Apostle Paul tells them:
13 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… (Ephesians 1:13)
Did you notice the prerequisites?
The Apostle Paul says that “hearing and believing are the prerequisites for the seal of the Spirit”.8 When the word of the gospel is proclaimed, heard, and believed-the Spirit is at his work.
Now, this doesn’t mean that hearing and believing is our bit and the sealing is the Spirit’s bit. No, all of these things are the work and grace of the Spirit in us. The Spirit works in the messenger, the Spirit opens our ears to hear the message, and the Spirit activates the heart, mind, and will to believe the message. The Spirit seals us in Christ.
The Spirit is working in us “inwardly, personally, individually, and secretly” but “through the external, public, and corporate” proclamation of the word.9 In other words, the Spirit works in and through the gospel.
You know, this is really important for us to understand. Sometimes I think we can tend to get the pre-requisites confused.
The prerequisites of being sealed with the Spirit are not a formula, a number of steps, or a set of procedures. The Spirit’s sealing work doesn’t come about through a certain structured gospel presentation; it doesn’t come through a certain style of worship experience; it doesn’t come about through an altar call; a sinners prayer; a set number of candles; a spiritual input program; joining a growth group; or a church membership class. No-the Spirit seals sinners into Christ through hearing and believing the Word by the Spirit.
In the 1600s, John Owen a Puritan theologian, pastor, and academic-who was known for his deep, spiritual, and intellectual writings-penned this about the Holy Spirit.
“The work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration doth not consist in enthusiastic raptures, ecstasies, voices, or anything of the like kind… but by and according to his work, both of the law and the gospel”.10
Owen’s point is that people are sealed in Christ, not through heightened spiritual experiences or through human activity, but through the simple/plain but mysterious/divine activity of the Word. You see, when will God, through his Spirit, be sealing sinners into Christ? Well, it’s through the church service; the Bible reading; the preaching; the Lord’s Supper; Baptism. The parts of church that can seem the most mundane; the most boring; the most ineffective; the easiest moments to tune out-these moments are the mysterious and divine moments where God saves.
When anyone hears and believes the word of the gospel, the Holy Spirit seals them in Christ.
1.3. The Benefits: Future Inheritance
Thirdly, and finally, the benefits.
When it comes to the Spirit’s seal, the Apostle Paul reminds the Ephesians that there are benefits, a deep security and assurance of what is to come. In verse 14, Paul reminds us of these benefits:
13 … When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession… (Ephesians 1:13-14)
In the Old Testament, the concept of “inheritance” was used of property, land and people. Inheritance primarily referred to the land God gave to the Israelites (e.g., Canaan cf. Genesis 12; Exodus 32:13; Leviticus 20:24). But, Israel’s inheritance wasn’t just land-it was also their relationship with God (Psalm 16:5-6, Deuteronomy 32:9). As the story shifts to the New Testament, the concept of inheritance moves beyond just physical but to spiritual. Inheritance becomes both physical and spiritual-eternal life, the Kingdom of God, a new creation (cf. Romans 8:17, 1 Peter 1:3-4). Through Christ’s death and resurrection, all believers can become heirs of this inheritance. Through faith in Christ, all believers (not just Jews) become “co-heirs” with Christ (cf. Galatians 3:29, Ephesians 1:11-14).
Here, in verse 14, the Apostle Paul reminds the Ephesians that the first instalment of their inheritance, the full and glorious reality of salvation, has been deposited. The Apostle Paul speaks of the Spirit as a “a deposit”. He is a kind of first instalment, deposit, down payment, pledge of our inheritance that is still yet to come in the future.11 As one person said, “we have a little bit of heaven in us already… the Holy Spirit’s presence… but the whole inheritance is yet to come”.12
Imagine a father who owns a large estate. One day, the father promises his son that the whole estate will be his in the future. But, as time goes by, as financial pressures come the father begins to portion off land and sell it to the highest bidder to cover the losses. Until eventually, when the son comes to inherit the estate, there is nothing left. Could you imagine the heartache for the son? The pain? The sense of betrayal? Promise broken.
Well, for those in Christ, we will never experience this. God the Father has not merely promised us an inheritance, but he has already given us a portion of it in the Holy Spirit. He has made a down payment for us. This inheritance will never be sold off, never lost, never given to someone else.
The Westminster Confession of Faith (1656) which summarizes the Bible’s teaching on various parts of Christianity. This is what it says about our adoption, inheritance, and the work of the Holy Spirit:
“12.1. All those that are justified, God vouchsafes, in and for His only Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption,1 by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children of God,2 have His name put upon them,3 receive the spirit of adoption,4 have access to the throne of grace with boldness,5 are enabled to cry, Abba, Father,6 are pitied,7 protected,8 provided for,9 and chastened by Him as by a Father:10 yet never cast off,11 but sealed [by the Spirit] to the day of redemption;12 and inherit the promises,13 as heirs of everlasting salvation.”13
There are pre-requisites, and there is immense benefit. Not only are we safe in Christ through the seal of the Spirit, but what is to come is also safe and secure. We have a foretaste of it, but more is still coming.
The ministry of the Spirit is so vast.14
The Spirit indwells us, bringing us into union with Christ (cf. Romans 8:9). The Spirit also unites us with Christ’s body, making us members of one holy and universal church (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:13). The Spirit also fills us, reordering our affections, desires, and wills so that we live holy lives (cf. Ephesians 5:18). But, as we’ve seen this morning/evening, the work of the Spirit also seals us-and it is a work of grace and splendour.
When our faith trembles, no matter how long we’ve walked with Christ, this is the reality: we are sealed by the Spirit. When faith falters-is fragile, flickering, thin as mist, barely alive because of the shame of sin: we are still sealed by the Spirit.
When our faith is wavering, the temptations of the world beating in, our inheritance is still sure, guaranteed by the Spirit. When everyone around us is enjoying this life, receiving their inheritance now, ours is still coming-and will come, the first-installment has been paid by the Spirit.
And in those quiet, aching spaces, as each of us wonders if we truly belong to God-if we are still His-the Word stills speaks: “sealed by the Spirit of God”.
This is the Splendour of the Spirit’s seal: The reality (1) sealed as God’s very own; the prerequisites (2) hearing and believing; and the benefits (3) future inheritance guaranteed.
Here in Ephesians 1:1-14, the Apostle Paul erupts in praise, in worship, in doxology. This doxology, his praise to God, displays the splendour of salvation in and through our Triune God. These verses are like “a kaleidoscope of dazzling lights and shifting colours”.15 Every turn of the passage reveals a new, dazzling facet of God’s glorious grace to us in Christ. The Father purposes our salvation, the Son achieves our salvation, and the Spirit applies and seals salvation in us.
These words should cause us to erupt in doxology-in praise, honour, glory to God.16 They should give us “a joyful confidence” in our lives.17 A life of adoration to God for everything he has done.
Throughout Ephesians 1:1-14, the Apostle Paul continually offers praise to God. When Paul showcases the Splendour of the Father’s election, he concludes in verse 6 “to the praise of his glorious grace” (cf. Ephesians 1:6). Praise the Father! Then, when Paul turns to the Splendour of the Son’s sacrifice, he concludes in the same way: “for the praise of his glory” (cf. Ephesians 1:12). Praise the Son! Finally, when Paul speaks of the Splendour of the Spirit’s seal, he concludes with more doxology: “to the praise of his glory” (cf. Ephesians 1:14). Praise the Spirit!
When the Apostle Paul is confronted by the Splendour of Salvation in the triune God-all he can possibly do is worship. Nothing is of Paul or you and I- but everything, everything is of God. Therefore, if there is any posture, any attitude, any outlook on life that we should have in us; and live our lives with today, tomorrow, and into the future-it’s this! A deep delight in the God who graciously saves.
So, to bring all this to a close-let’s hear and receive this beautiful doxology written in 1674, by Thomas Ken-an English bishop and hymnwriter.
“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen.”18
Endnotes
1 Dictionary, Kaleidoscope.
2 Robinson, St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, 19.
3 Cohick, Ephesians, 112.
4 Cohick, Ephesians, 112.
5 Campbell, The Letter to the Ephesians, 60.
6 Campbell, The Letter to the Ephesians, 60.
7 Horton, Rediscovering the Holy Spirit, 200; Hoehner, Ephesians, 149.
8 Campbell, The Letter to the Ephesians, 61.
9 Horton, Rediscovering the Holy Spirit, 260.
10 Owen, A Discourse concerning the Holy Spirit-in The Works of John Owen, 213.
11 BDAG, 134.
12 Hoehener, Ephesians, 150.
13 WCF, Chapter 12.
14 Hoehener, Ephesians, 150.
15 Robinson, St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, 19.
16 Cohick, Ephesians, 112.
17 Cohick, Ephesians, 112.
18 Ken, The Doxology, Written in 1674.
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