What does it mean that believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13)?

As a Seal. This truth is set before us in several passages. "Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us" (2 Cor. 1: 21, 22). Again, "In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise" (Eph. 1: 13); and in the same epistle we are exhorted to "grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30). The Holy Spirit given to dwell in believers is Himself the seal; i.e., God thereby marks them out, takes possession of them as His own, and declares them by the Spirit being within them to be His property. If one may use the illustration, just as the broad- arrow declares the thing on which it is marked to belong to the Queen, so the Spirit of God sets us apart, marks us out as belonging to God. But the figure is that of a seal. Now the seal not only indicated ownership by the impress upon it, but it was put also for protection. Hence believers are said to be sealed until the day of redemption. They are secured by the seal until the Lord shall return to receive them unto Himself. And hence only believers are sealed; and they are not sealed until they are the Lord's, until they are brought out of the house of their bondage (as before seen), through the death and resurrection of Christ, until they not only are safe, but are also saved.

As an Earnest. Two of the passages already cited speak of the Spirit as the earnest. "Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (2 Cor.1:22); "In whom 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" (Eph. 1: 13, 14). It is the latter passage which defines most exactly the character of the earnest. The Holy Spirit as now given is regarded as "the earnest of our inheritance"; that is, He is the first-fruits of that which we shall inherit in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. As indeed when a sale is effected of a property, a portion of the purchase-money is paid down as earnest-money for the completion of the bargain, so God graciously gives us the indwelling Spirit as the earnest of our inheritance, thereby assuring us that we shall possess all that He has promised, and binding Himself (if we may so speak) to accomplish His own faithful word; for the earnest-money is both a promise and a pledge. But the Holy Spirit is even more, because, as we have seen, He is also the seal, thereby securing us for the inheritance, as well as certifying us that God will put us into possession of it to the praise of His glory.

Having believed the Gospel of their salvation, the message of the death and resurrection of Christ, the Ephesian believers were claimed by God for Himself, and He put His seal, the Holy Spirit, upon them (Eph. 1:13). A seal is the claim to ownership, and everyone who truly believes in the Lord Jesus, as having died for his sins, and having come out of death, is marked by God as His own possession through His Spirit. The believer is wholly claimed for God, body, soul and spirit; and the body that enters into death will be claimed and changed at the coming of the Lord Jesus.

Since the gospel was to the Jew first, Jews are spoken of as first trusting Christ. In verse 13 the "you" distinguishes Gentiles, who also, having heard the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation, have trusted in Christ. Notice the importance of the words "in whom," twice found in this verse. Their trust was not simply in the gospel, but in the person of Christ, of whom the gospel speaks. This trust in Christ is emphasized the second time in reference to their being sealed with the Spirit. "Having believed," they were sealed. It is not a matter of having entered more into the truth of the work of Christ in redemption, but simply of believing in Him personally. The simplest believer therefore shares in the sealing of the Spirit. As the seal, the Spirit of God is the mark of God's ownership upon the believer. Therefore that ownership is absolute and eternal.

The expression in verse 13, "the Holy Spirit of promise," reminds us of John 7:37-39 where the Lord Jesus, when on earth, promised the Holy Spirit to those who believed on Him. This promise was fulfilled after He was glorified, as is recorded in Acts 2. Notice again that verse 13 twice emphasizes that the Ephesians believed in Christ personally. It is not a matter here of what He has accomplished nor is it dependent on our understanding of what He has accomplished. It is for every believer in Him. As well as being the seal, the Spirit of God is also "the earnest of our inheritance." That is, His presence within us is the pledge and foretaste of what is yet to come, the inheritance which, though purchased for us, has not yet been redeemed (v.14). Though all believers are now redeemed (v.7) and our blessings are rightly in heavenly places, Satan still has access there (ch.6:6-12). Therefore, our proper possession will not be redeemed, or liberated from Satan's cruel influence until he is cast down from heaven (Rev.12:7-9). One may have paid the full purchase price for some property and yet be hindered from taking possession because of the determination of a former occupant to remain there, of course illegally. Thus, while every believer has been redeemed, his purchased possession has not yet been redeemed, that is, liberated from the presence of the enemy.

First, it is the Spirit Himself indwelling who is the seal to the individual believer, and secondly, He is called "the Spirit of Promise," probably, because He is "the promise of the Father, which," saith Christ, "ye have heard of me." (See Luke 24, John 14, John 16, Acts 1.) Thirdly, He is the pledge of the coming inheritance, not a part of it, which would be derogatory to His glory. He is the earnest of that inheritance; not a future outpouring of the Spirit, which is reserved for millennial Jews and Gentiles, when the Church will be reigning in heavenly glory.

Attention has to be called specially to the force of the passage (ver. 11), as through misunderstanding the bearing of the truth the Revised Version has made us the inheritance. No, we are the heirs, heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ; and there is no possibility of confounding the heirs and the inheritance. And there is nothing that would more confirm this, and at the same time bring out the wonderful character of the inheritance, than what comes out in verses 13, 14. That in Christ — having heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, and believed in Him — we "were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession." The moment we believed in Christ according to the glad tidings of His accomplished work, we received the Holy Ghost to dwell within us — the seal of God that we were His, and the earnest for us of all that is before us in the glory of the inheritance. The earnest is not for the inheritance, but for the heirs, as anyone can see. We have received nothing of the inheritance yet. Christ has not received it. Though He has purchased it with His blood, redemption has yet to be applied in power to the purchased possession. It is in Him we pass into the inheritance. But until and in view of that moment, nothing short of the Spirit of God dwelling in us is the earnest of it. What must be the glory of the inheritance of which the Holy Ghost is the earnest! The same blessed Spirit that descended and abode upon Christ, as we have seen in Matthew 3, and by whom He was sealed as the perfect object of the Father's delight, is now the seal of God upon us in Him, completing the whole wonderful position in which Christ was manifested there, only that then He was absolutely alone in that position in His personal perfection. But now, as the result of the precious corn of wheat having fallen into the ground and died, all is made ours in resurrection in Him; to be known and enjoyed by the power of the Holy Ghost.

As we pass from verse 12 to verse 13 we notice a change in the pronouns, from "we" to "ye." In writing, "we … who first trusted in Christ," the Apostle's mind was dwelling on saints gathered out of Israel including himself, whereas the "ye" referred to saints gathered out from the Gentiles. The Jewish believers were a kind of firstfruits of their nation. By and by a redeemed and restored Israel will be for Jehovah's praise on earth. But those who trusted in Christ beforehand during this gospel age will have part in the heavenly calling and be to His praise in the heavenly places.

In all this however, the Gentile believers fully shared. They too, had heard the Gospel which brought them salvation, and having believed it they had been sealed with the Spirit, who is the earnest of the inheritance. In His character as the seal, the Spirit marked them out as belonging to God. As the earnest He is the pledge of the inheritance which lies before us, and also He gives the foretaste of the blessings attached to it.

Ephesians 1:13 gives us the answer in a very definite way. We read, “In whom [the Lord Jesus] 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.” Here we find after they believed they were sealed. The important point to grasp is what they believed. We are told, “The word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” What is meant by “The gospel of your salvation?” The answer is the good news that enabled them to know in trusting Christ that they were definitely saved. When a man or woman can say as the outcome of believing on Christ and receiving the testimony of His Word, “I am saved,” that person is sealed by God’s Holy Spirit. How many there are through bearing a defective gospel are brought to trust Christ as Saviour but are not clear as to their soul’s salvation.

Thus, beside regeneration, which is the first operation of the Spirit of God, there is the further gift of the Holy Ghost. "In whom ye also … after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation." They were born of water and of the Spirit. They heard the word of truth, which we find in this very epistle set forth under the figure of water — "that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." (Eph. 5:26.) It is not only that the Church is washed by the word, but the poor sinner is born of the word when he believes the gospel — born of water and of the Spirit. But was it merely that they were born of water and of the Spirit? "In whom also, after that ye believed (or having believed), ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." It is very startling to many to find that, after they have been born of the Spirit, there is such a thing as being sealed by the Spirit. Others, again, seeing both facts, invented confirmation. They felt from the Scripture that there is something over and above being born of water. Therefore a religion of forms first made baptism to regenerate every one, and then confirmation to crown it. But forms are no better than idolatry: it is putting something in the place of Christ. After the apostles left, this grew apace. Ceremonies, done by the hand of men, were substituted for the power of the Holy Ghost acting on the souls of men. Finding from the word of God that there were these two things, regeneration first and then the subsequent gift of the Holy Ghost, they adopted two different ceremonies — in one sense very properly, if there must be a religion of forms at all. But it is a total mistake as to the very nature of Christianity.

Yet the truth remains that there were two different operations of the Holy Ghost. The first is, when a man is brought to a sense of sin. What makes a man abhor himself? He is born of God. He has no happiness at all perhaps, but a real sense of ruin; yet his heart cleaves to God. That man is born of God — truly converted: no comfort as yet perhaps in his soul, but his heart is open to listen further to the word of the truth, the gospel of salvation. He believes it. What then? He is sealed of the Holy Ghost, as a believer, not only in Christ, but in the gospel of our salvation — the work that Christ has done. For I do not think that you can have a soul sealed with the Holy Ghost, unless he enters into the work as well as the person of Christ. This accounts for the fact that there were persons born of the Holy Ghost who never were sealed. For instance, the Old Testament saints were believers in Christ; they all looked for Christ. All were born of God, but not one was sealed with the Holy Ghost. To be born of the Spirit and sealed with the Spirit are very different things, which may or may not be united in the same person. All must be born of the Spirit, but it is never said that all must be sealed with the Spirit in order to enter into the kingdom of God. Wherever the Holy Ghost speaks of the sealing of the Spirit, it proves the clean contrary. Who was the first person said to be sealed with the Spirit? Our blessed Lord Himself. He had it in a way peculiar to Himself. When was He sealed? When redemption was accomplished and He went up to heaven? No; but when He walked upon earth. "Him hath God the Father sealed." It was as Son of man He was sealed, and as Son of man on earth before redemption — without bloodshedding, because He knew no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. He was absolutely sinless: He could have the Holy Ghost abiding on Him entirely apart from blood, because He was the Holy One — the Saviour. He needed no work — no blood — no redemption; but yet He died, and there was blood shed and redemption effected. Why so? That we might be sealed — that we, who had no natural title to be brought nigh, that we, in whom the Holy Ghost could never take up His abode, might have that same Holy Ghost who dwelt in Him abiding in us.

Following faith in the gospel is the Spirit's seal: "ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." It is important to see the difference between the Spirit's early work in the soul in convincing it of sin and producing faith in Christ, and sealing. The Spirit of promise is God's gift to all who have accepted Christ's work: the blood first, then the oil (Lev. 8). But He is not only the "seal," He is also the "earnest of the inheritance." The inheritance is not yet possessed by us (indeed the Heir has not yet received His rights), but all is blessedly sure, and the Divine Spirit is the pledge. "The redemption of the purchased possession" looks forward to the time when Christ will take possession of everything He purchased. Then creation shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, the changing of our bodies into His image at His coming being the first stage.

Verses 13, 14. Verse 13 is spoken to us; it is not only both Jews and Gentiles who will partake of this inheritance; but the church is given to know the will of God, by the gift of the Holy Spirit. This it is which distinguishes Christians who, having believed, are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. The Holy Spirit becomes a seal. We cannot receive the inheritance before Christ; the Spirit is given to us as earnest, whilst waiting for it. God sets His seal upon us, and this is a proof that a Gentile has part in the promises made to Abraham (for instance, Cornelius).