Ephesians chapter 1. Today we'll be looking at verses
13 and 14. 13 and 14. And the name of the message
is Sealed Marked. Sealed Marked. In Ephesians chapter 1, verse
13 and 14, Scripture declares in whom ye also trusted after
that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
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." So last week, we briefly touched upon predestination
as we looked at it more in depth when we studied verse 5. And
we also looked at how the elect will be all gathered together
in Christ. And we also looked at how we've
obtained an inheritance. We've obtained an inheritance,
and it's in Christ Jesus our Lord. It's all in what He's done. And it's all according to the
praise of the glory of His grace. And today we'll continue looking
at these next two verses. And it says, In whom also ye
trusted after that ye heard the word of the truth of the gospel
of your salvation? In whom also, after that ye believed,
ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise? Now as we
look at this verse right off the bat, we see the importance
of preaching the gospel. The importance of preaching the
gospel. In whom also ye trusted after ye heard the word of truth?
After you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. This week I was asked by some
fellows if I ever talk about politics from the pulpit. And
my reply was no. I have one commission from my
king, one commission from my general, and that's to preach
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not to talk about
politics. It's not to talk about social
issues. It's to preach Christ and Him
crucified. Nothing else. Nothing else. Now, we talk about issues on
our own, but this pulpit is to preach and proclaim the Lord
Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world Now, looking at our text, let's
ask a couple questions. How can one trust and believe
in someone they've never heard of? How can one trust and believe
in someone they've never heard of? How can someone hear about
Christ unless he's preached? How can someone hear about Christ
unless he's preached? We talk about Him in our everyday
conversations with people. We tell people about Him when
the Lord opens the door. We don't force the door open. But how can one hear about Christ?
How can one know Christ? Unless he's preached. And here
in our verse it says, the Ephesians believers trusted Christ. When?
After they heard the word of the truth in the gospel. The
gospel must be preached. Must be preached. And what did
God do? God gave them hearing ears. And
he gave them seeing eyes. And they saw Christ. 1 Thessalonians says this, for
this cause also we thank God without ceasing because when
you receive the Word of God, which you heard of us, they preached
it, they preached to the Thessalonians, you received it not as the Word
of man, not just man speaking, but as in truth, the Word of
God. which effectually worketh also
in you that believe." 1 Thessalonians 2.13. The Word of God effectually
worketh in you that believe. And this is what happens. Salvation
is of the Lord. It's not of our doing. It's not
of what we do. And even in our verse here, "...and
whom also ye trust after ye have heard the word of truth." And
we know that God mustn't stop the ears. We're just hearing
words. Oh, when He gives us hearing
ears and seeing eyes to see Christ, we believe. We believe. We're made willing in the day
of His power. Heard the Gospel. We heard the
Gospel. Look in our text again. "...in
whom also ye trusted after that ye heard the word of truth."
Paul deals in these verses with the means of salvation as they
are applied to the elect. by the Holy Spirit of God. They
heard. We heard. We who believe heard.
There was a time when we didn't hear. But praise God, now we
hear. And now that's all we want to
hear. We don't want to hear anything else. Preach to us Christ. We would see Jesus is our cry. God gives us hearing ears and
the Holy Spirit quickens and regenerates us, born again and
gives us spiritual life. And they don't just hear words.
Turn, if you would, to Romans 10. But they hear truth. The good news of salvation. Think of this too. When we heard,
we believed, didn't we? Those of us who are in Christ,
we believed. Look at Romans 10, verses 13-15. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved." And I love those little
shall be's, those little words. Shall be saved. There's no doubt.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they call on Him in whom they've not believed?
Now you hear folks all the time, they say, well, I believe in
Christ. And then you ask them who Christ is and they don't
have a clue. They don't have a clue. And how
shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? Do you see why it's vital to proclaim the Gospel?
We must. We must. Some folks say, well,
I can just find God by being out in nature. No. You can know
that there's a God. You can see that someone created
that. But God must reveal Himself through the preaching of the
Word, through the Gospel. How shall they preach except
they be sent, right? God's preachers are sent men.
They are sent to preach the gospel. God equips them, and God sends
them wherever He pleases. It's amazing. And we as preachers
are in awe when the Lord moves us from one place to another.
We're in awe that He would use us. Sinners. Claypot sinners. But yet He does. He does. And how shall they preach except
they be sent? And remember this, a preacher has to know. We preach
what we know. Why do some folks not preach
the Gospel in pulpits all around America? Because they don't know
Christ. They don't know the Savior. How beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings
of good things. So we believe the gospel. And
faith is a gift of God. It's the work of God the Holy
Spirit on the soul. And then it says we're sealed
with the Holy Spirit, which is the stamp of eternal covenant.
Look at this. Look at it in our text. after you believed, you were
sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." Sealed with the Holy
Spirit. Stamped. Of the eternal covenant, which
is not circumcision or baptism, but the Holy Spirit of God sets
His seal upon us. He sets His seal upon us. And
we'll look later on at an illustration of the sealing. Now remember
this too. These Ephesian saints, Ephesus
was a hotbed for pagan worship. They were idolaters. But God
had some of His people there. Turn, if you would, to Acts 18,
and we'll see the same thing in Corinth. God had a people
there. God had a people in Ephesus.
They were His people by His providence, by His purpose, by His choice.
And He had a church spring up there in Ephesus. And think of
this. It's a rich display of God's
purposes of grace to have a church for us to go to. The only reason
we're here, God has a people here. I was told by a preacher
before I came here, you're being sent there because God has people
there. He's got sheep. They must be fed. And he may
have other sheep that he's going to gather in. Oh, it's a display of God's grace. And think of this, Paul himself
was a bloodthirsty persecutor, wasn't he, at one time? He made
havoc of the church. And the blind adulterers of Ephesus
were once dead in trespasses and sins, just like we were. But they were chosen in Christ,
and they were granted faith, trust, and hope in Christ, just
like we were, we who believe. Look at Acts 18, verses 9-11. Then speak the Lord to Paul at
night by a vision. Be not afraid, but speak and
hold not thy peace." Preach! Preach the Gospel. "'For I am
with thee.'" Well, that alone right there, hey, the Lord says,
I'm with thee. "'And no man shall sit on thee
to hurt thee, for I have much people in this city.'" Paul hadn't
even preached. Oh, but God's got some sheep
there. Not just a few, much. And he continued there a year
and six months, teaching the Word of God among them. They
heard Christ preached. Look at that. They heard Christ preached, right?
And he continued there six months, teaching the Word of God among
them. So they heard Christ preached, and they believed, and they trusted
the Lord Jesus Christ to the saving of their eternal souls.
Just like we do. As I said, the reason God puts
His preachers in places is because He has sheep there. And again, though, this is why
we must preach the Gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation. It's the power of God unto salvation.
Look at our text again. "...in whom also ye trusted after
ye heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, in
whom after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy
Spirit of promise." Now the Holy Spirit must regenerate us. We
must be born again. We must be. We must be. There's no salvation unless we're
born again. We're born again by the Spirit
of God. And we flee to Christ. We flee
to Christ. Let's go back and read this verse
in context of what we looked at last week as well. Look up
to verse 11. In whom also we have obtained
an inheritance, Being Christ, we've obtained this in the in
whom. Being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will. See, there's
one will in this world, isn't there? Man always boasts about
their free will. There's only really one free will in this
whole universe. It's God's. He has free will
to do whatever He pleases. That we should be to the praise
of His glory who first trusted in Christ. And then our text,
in whom 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 the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the
earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession unto the praise of His glory. Now it says here the
believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit. You were sealed with
the Holy Spirit of promise. Think of this, in legal documents,
the writing always precedes the sealing, right? After one signs legal documents,
they are often noted by a notary. And they're often sealed with
a seal. And this falls even the signing,
putting a testing stamp on the whole document. from the first word to the last
signature. It's so in grace. The Holy Spirit
begins the work of grace, showing us Christ, and draws us lovingly
to Him. He writes the first lines of
divine truth upon our souls. He makes the first impression
on the heart of stone, and under His operation, the heart of stone
becomes the heart of flesh. And he writes his truth upon
a regenerated heart. He gives us faith and hope and then seals us. God puts his seal or his mark
upon the believer. Now think of this for the Ephesians.
They would have understood it in this way. They would have
understood this practice really well. Back then, everything was
shipped from various places. Various places. Brother John say you were a merchant.
Brother Newell, you were a merchant and I was a merchant. And we all have our stuff. And
we bring it to a dock. And it's loaded upon the ship.
and it's sent to wherever it's supposed to go, and it gets there,
how would they tell which item belonged to you, Brother Newell,
or to you, Brother John, or to me? By the stamps that are upon
those boxes. By the markings that are upon
those boxes. Seals upon those boxes. Sealed
with a distinct mark or seal. Whichever box belonged to John
didn't belong to me. Whichever boxes belonged to Brother
Noah wouldn't belong to me. But all the boxes with my seal
on it would belong to me. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah
chapter 43. In our text there, it says we're
sealed with the Holy Spirit, with that Holy Spirit of promise.
So everything that belongs to the Lord, He can say, that's
mine. That's mine. Look in Isaiah 43
and think of that, of what we just looked at. Now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, verse 1, He that formed thee, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed
thee. I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine." Sealed. Marked. He owns them. They're his. When thou passest through the
waters, I'll be with thee. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the fire kindle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. Thy Savior. God's people are
sealed, and He's our Savior, isn't He? He's our Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Sebia for thee, since thou wast precious in my
sight. Thou hast been honorable, and
I have loved thee. Therewith will I give men for
thee, and people for thy life. Thou art mine." God's people are His. They're His. And they've been
His since eternity. We just didn't know it. And it fills us with great joy,
doesn't it? To know that. It's incredible. So cargo belonging to specific
merchants would be marked or stamped or sealed. Oh, our great king. All believers
in the Lord Jesus Christ have been sealed. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians
4.30. And this speaks of the day of redemption,
which is the full and final salvation at the resurrection. Ephesians
4.30. And grieve not the Holy Spirit
of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Turn, if you would, to Luke. The day of redemption is spoken
of here. And also turn, if you would,
to Romans 8. Sorry, I have you bouncing around
a little bit. Luke 21 and Romans 8. The day
of redemption. Each day we're getting closer.
We don't know the hour of the day, but each day we're getting
closer. Either to the day when we will die and be with the Lord,
or when He comes back. We don't know when that is, but
He does. Look at Luke 21, 27, and 28. And then shall they see the Son
of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when
these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up
your heads for your redemption draweth nigh. And then turn to
Romans 8. Verses 18-23. For I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time, and I know we all go through things during
this journey on earth, don't we? Heartaches, For I reckon that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation
of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of
God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly,
but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. because
the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage
of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain
together until now. And not only they, but ourselves
also, which have the first fruit of the Spirit, even we ourselves
groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit, the
redemption of our body." Oh my, what a day that will be. Let's
look at verse 14 in our text in Ephesians now. And let's look
at this verse 14 keeping in mind the sealing of God's elect by
God the Holy Spirit. Verse 14 says, Which is the earnest
of our inheritance unto the redemption of the purchased possession,
unto the praise of His glory. which is the earnest of our inheritance. Now the Greek word for earnest
is in earnest money, which in purchases is given as a pledge
or down payment that the full amount will be paid. The Spirit of God is the pledge
in earnest. And in earnest is what confirms
an agreement and assures the right to the thing agreed to. So the Spirit of God certifies
the right to heavenly inheritance as well as qualifies us for it. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee,
the guarantor of our inheritance. He is the first fruits, the pledge,
the foretaste, the down payment on our inheritance. And then
our text continues, until the redemption of the purchased possession.
The purchased possession. God's people are a purchased
possession. They've been purchased by the
precious blood of Christ. Turn, if you would, to 1 Peter
2, verses 9 and 10. Purchased. Our salvation came
at a cost. The shedding of the blood of
Christ. 1 Peter 2, verses 9 and 10. But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a particular people,
that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called
you out of darkness..." Oh, what darkness we were in. "...into
His marvelous lights, which in times past were not a people." We're not born Christians. which in times were not a people,
but now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy." But
look at this, but now have obtained mercy. If you're here and you're
a believer, you've obtained mercy. Mercy undeserved. Mercy I received
is absolutely undeserved. I don't deserve mercy. Yet God has mercy upon His people
in Christ. This is what makes the Gospel
so wonderful, too. Because we know what we are. We know we don't deserve this
mercy, but yet He has mercy upon us. Remember, Paul says, I have
obtained mercy. That's what every believer says.
I obtain mercy. And this purchased possession
then is the church, which the Lord purchased with His own blood.
In our verse it says, until the redemption of the purchased possession.
It's the church. She is His possession, sealed,
marked. His acquisition, His inheritance,
bought with a price. He's purchased it. He's purchased
the church with His precious blood. For ye are bought with a price,
therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which
are God's. The church of Christ viewed in its entirety, the body
of which he is the glorious head, the wife of whom he is the husband,
the inheritance of which he is Lord of, is the purchased possession. of which the Apostle here speaks.
And then it says, our verse closes with, unto the praise of His
glory. And we're close here. We have the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit of God in anticipation of the full possession of our
inheritance in God's time. When it's God's time, we're going
to be with Him. Brother Matt was telling me that
he noticed in the ER that they try to do sometimes all they
can to save a person. And everything they do to try
to They're gone. And then sometimes, when it's
not their time, they live. Oh, when it's His time, He calls
us home. And here by God's providence, our Ephesian brethren had heard
the good news of redemption in Christ Jesus. Heard the good
news of salvation by His shed blood. And they believed. They believed. And they came
out of idol worship and paganism. They were translated from darkness
to light, just like we who believe. This is why we seek to give Him
all the glory. Give Him all the honor. We see the fallacy of how we
used to be, those of us who came out of religion, and how we used
to steal the glory from the Lord. No, He gets all the glory. He
gets all the honor. It's not about anything I do.
It's all about what He's done. And this is again why it's absolutely
vital, in whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word
of the truth of the gospel of your salvation. The gospel of
Jesus Christ must be preached. It must be. And God uses that. the words of clay pots, and he
empowers them by his Holy Spirit to bring life, to bring light out of darkness.
And what do we say? Praise his mighty name. He gets
all the glory.