Well, let's turn to that portion,
I'm sure it's one that many of us are very familiar with, in
Ephesians chapter 1, and I want tonight to direct your attention
for a while to words that we have here in verse 13, Ephesians
1.13, in whom ye also trust it, 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." I want to speak in particular of what's
spoken of at the end of the verse, the sealing of the Spirit. The construction of this first
part of chapter 1 is interesting, if we follow the punctuation
as we have it in our authorized version after the normal words
of greetings that we see in Paul's epistles found here in verses
1 and 2 we then have a series of three sentences and the first
two quite long sentences in verses 3, 4, 5 and 6 We have a sentence which really
centers on the subject matter of the doctrine of election,
that God has made choice of his people from all eternity. And then from verse 7 right through
to verse 12, we have another sentence that speaks in particular
of the great work of the Lord Jesus Christ, that great work
of redemption, the shedding of his precious blood in order to
pay the ransom price for his people. And then a shorter sentence
in verses 13 and 14, which speaks in particular of this sealing
of the Spirit. And if we think of those three
sentences, we see how in the first place, we have that that
is eternal, God's choice of his people from eternity. Then we
have that that is historical, the great work that the Lord
Jesus accomplished here upon earth in the fullness of the
time, and then we have that that is experimental, the work of
the Holy Spirit in the soul of the sinner as that sinner is
brought to saving faith. But as I said, it's really what
we have here at the end of verse 13 that I want to concentrate
on, in whom also after that she believed she were sealed with
that Holy Spirit of promise. To say something of the believing
and of the sealing. And first of all, the believing. All those sublime truths, all
those great blessings that have been spoken of in the previous
verses are of course nothing at all if we have not faith. What is any doctrine if we have
not faith to believe the things that God has declared to us? Luther did say the doctrine is
heaven, but it is only heaven when God is pleased to bring
that heaven into our souls. And so here, we see that the
Apostle is addressing himself quite specifically to the saints,
whom he also refers to as the faithful in Christ Jesus, there
at the end of verse 1. The faithful, that is those who
are believers, those of faith, and that faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And it is that faith that makes
all that follows such a blessed reality. He speaks there in verse
3 of all the spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,
and that that is as its source in heaven. All the blessings
of God must come into the soul of the sinner. He speaks then
of these great doctrines in verse 4. We have the doctrine of election
according as He has chosen us. in him, that is in Christ, before
the foundation of the world. In verse 5 we have adoption,
he has predestinated us, he says, onto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ. In verse 6 he speaks of the believer's
acceptance, wherein he has made us accepted, he says, in the
Beloved. Then in verse 7 we read of that
great redemption and the forgiveness of sins in whom? It's always
in Christ in whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of his grace. In verse 11 he
goes on to speak of the believers inheritance in whom also we have
obtained an inheritance All of these blessings, every one of
them, can only be known where is that faith, that true faith,
that saving faith. So, how important it is that
we ask the question, what is faith? We need to distinguish
between that faith that is a true faith and that faith that is
false. He says in verse 13, in whom
also after that she believed, He was filled with that Holy
Spirit of promise. There is a certain emphasis then
here upon the importance of that faith. Now what are the various
marks of saving faith? And how can we distinguish it
from that that is only a false faith? Well, where there is spiritual
faith there will be that proper reverence for God that desire
to worship God remember what the Apostle says in Hebrews chapter
11 without faith it is impossible to please him for he that cometh
to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of
all that diligently seek Him. Are we those who are diligent
seekers who desire to come to Him, and that our coming might
really be an act of true worship? God is a Spirit, says the Lord
Jesus in John chapter 4. And the true worshippers worship
the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to
worship Him. Who are we those who desire to
be the worshippers of God? When we come together, this is
our great business, that we might show forth the prizes of God,
acknowledging Him, as our Creator God, acknowledging Him as that
One who preserves us as His creatures, but more than that, that God
who is the God of our salvation. I say one of the marks, then,
of saving faith is this desire to worship God, to stand in awe
in His holy presence. But what of hypocritical faith?
Well, the hypocrite is one who only draws nigh with the mouth,
and honors God with his lips. His worship is nothing more than
a formality. It's nothing more than a piece
of pretense. It's an outward show. Those words of Isaiah 29
and verse 13 are taken up by the Lord Jesus in the New Testament
and Christ applies them quite specifically to those hypocrites
the scribes and the Pharisees, they were the ones drawing nigh
with the lip, honoring God with the mouth, but their hearts were
far from Him. And we should be those whose
heart is truly in the worship of God. It must be so, if ours
is that true saving faith. But then also, where there is
that true faith, Well, we read in Acts 15 verse 9 of that that
purifies the heart, purifying their hearts by faith, it says. How is the heart purified by
faith? It's the object of faith. It's that looking to the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus that our consciences might be purged
from all dead works that we might serve the living God. Or do we
come before God and plead that precious blood to cleanse us
from all the filth of our sin, as well as all the guilt of our
sin? We were hearing only last Lord's
Day of the importance of that great doctrine of sanctification. How the Lord Jesus, remember
there in John 17, prays for His Church, asking the Father to
sanctify them through the truth, thy word is truth how important
it is with those who know what it is to have our hearts purified
by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ but what of that natural faith?
well Peter speaks of a sort of faith that appears to cleanse
just for a moment there's nothing real about that faith, it is
false. There in 2nd Peter, in chapter
2 at verse 20. Turn over to 2nd Peter, chapter 2,
verse 20. He says, 40. After they have
escaped the pollutions of the world, Through the knowledge
of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ they are again entangled
therein and overcome. The latter end is worse with
them than the beginning. For it had been better for them
not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they
have known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto
them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb,
the dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that
was washed to her wallowing in the mire." These are they, you
see, who appeared to be the followers of Christ. It seemed that they
had escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ, but they knew nothing of Christ.
They never had their consciences truly purged from all those dead
works, and they returned to what they ever were. That faith was
not a real faith. There is that other mark, of
course, of saving faith. It is a faith that endures. The
Lord Jesus says, He that shall endure unto the end, the same
shall be saved. Yes, we must have a beginning.
but we need more than a beginning there must be a beginning and
an ending there must be a continuing there must be a persevering and
how important it is neither shall endure to the end it says shall
be saved with those who will know if we know faith something
of the trying of that faith and again Peter speaks of that the
trial of your faith he says being much more precious than of gold
that perishes that would be tried with fire to be found unto praise
and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ all that faith
that is found after all those trials all the testings of faith
all those things that come in the life of faith there is a
good fight of faith there is that constant laying hold upon
eternal life and there we need to be those who are kept Kept
by the power of God, says Peter, through faith onto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last time. But then, we read of some
having put away concerning faith they made shipwreck. They had
not that faith that endures. And this is the faith that we
must have, an enduring faith. and an enduring faith will also
be a fruitful faith. The Lord says, Wherefore by their
fruits ye shall know them. And what is that fruit? Well, Paul tells us, we remember
there, at the end of Galatians 5, he speaks of the fruit of
the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against
such there is no law. And they that are Christ have
crucified the flesh with the affections and lust. If we live
in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be
desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
or to know that blessed fruit of the Spirit. It's all in the
Lord Jesus. He says to the Philippians, being
filled with the fruits of righteousness, the fruits of righteousness by
Jesus Christ unto the glory and honor of God. False faith is
that that is so different. Where there is false faith, There
is no bringing forth that fruit unto perfection. Doesn't the
Lord Jesus himself tell that parable of the sower and the
seed? And he speaks of the different
types of ground upon which that seed falls. There is a broad
casting of the seed, and it falls on various types of ground. The Lord tells the parable, then
he interprets the parable. And what does he say, verse 14
in Luke 8? That which fell among thorns
are they which when they have heard go forth and are choked
with cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit
to perfection. All that sanctification involves
separation. We're to be separated from the
ways of the world the cares, the riches, the pleasures of
this life. God's children are not to be as the worldlings.
We are to be those who desire to be fruitful, so different
to that that is choked. Jude speaks of those whose fruit
withereth, without fruit. There are those who make a profession.
But remember this, by their fruits ye shall know them. How important
then it is that we We recognize that there are certain differences
and distinctions to be made when it comes to the matter of faith.
All who say they have faith are not necessarily those who are
the faithful, those who are the true believers. There is to be
that separating the precious from the vile. and there in Jeremiah
15, 19 God as he speaks to his servant
the prophet is making it plain that it is by the ministry, it's
by the word of God that that separating of the precious and
the vile takes place God's word should come to us and search
us out and sift us why we're exhorted to examine ourselves
and to prove ourselves and to know ourselves that Jesus Christ
is in us, except we be reprobate. And how is the Lord Jesus Christ
in us? It is by faith. It's by faith. In whom also after that ye believed. Oh, are we those who have truly
believed. After that ye believed ye were
sealed, he says, with that Holy Spirit of promise. Now the sealing
is important. And the sealing is not to be
separated from the believing. And so, let's turn in the second
place to say something with regards to this sealing. What are we to understand? What
is the seal? Well, the Holy Spirit himself is the seal. Here, he is referred to as the
Holy Spirit of promise, or the promised Holy Spirit. and we have the words of the
Lord Jesus at the end of Luke's gospel as he ascends after his
resurrection from the dead he was there with his disciples
he showed himself to them over 40 days by those many infallible
proofs and then as he was to be taken from them ascending
again to heaven He says, Behold, I send the promise of my Father
unto you, but tarry ye at Jerusalem, till ye be endued with power
from on high. And it's repeated. Luke repeats
the words that we have at the end of his Gospel when we come
to the beginning of the Acts, that the Lord had said to them
there in Acts 1-4, Depart not from Jerusalem, but wait for
the promise of the Father. And here we have the promise
of the Father, the Holy Spirit Himself. It is the Spirit who is the seal. You were sealed, it says, with
that Holy Spirit of promise. And again, later here in Ephesians,
in chapter 4 at verse 30, it says, Grieve not the Holy Spirit
of God whereby ye are sealed. onto the day of redemption. All the importance of the ministry
of the Spirit. As I said, that's the experimental
aspect. We have that that is eternal
election, we have that that is historical, the redeeming work
of the Son, but here in verses 13 and 14 we have that that is
experimental, the blessed work of the Holy Spirit. If any man
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Oh, we must
be those who know that ministry then. When John writes, all these
apostles, be it Paul or Peter and John, they are all speaking
really the same gospel. John there in his first general
epistle in chapter 2 and verse 20 says you have an unction from
the Holy One. and ye know all things, all these
blessed truths, all these great doctrines, so conspicuous here
in the opening chapter of Ephesians. How do we know them? We know
them by the unction, that is, the Spirit. He uses the same
word later there, in 1 John 2.27, but it's rendered anointing.
the unction, the anointing, it's one and the same thing. It's
the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit, I say, is
the seal. Now, I want to say something
with regards to the significance of the seal as we read of sealing
in various parts of Scripture. First of all, do we not see how
a seal is that that authenticates? Now, we have that back in the
book of Esther. That remarkable little book of
Esther. And you remember how Haman was
the great enemy of the Jews seeking their destruction. Mordecai is
the great champion of the Jews and it's his niece Esther who
is the queen. And eventually, it's a remarkable
book that all the machinations, all the schemings of Haman are
overturned, and the Jews are not destroyed, but the Jews are
delivered. And in Esther chapter 8 and verse 8 we read this, Write
ye also for the Jews, as it like a few in the king's name, This
is the King Asuerus speaking to his Queen Esther, who was
a Jew herself. Write ye also for the Jews, as
it liketh you in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring. For the writing which is written
in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no
man reverse. What is the significance of the
seal? It authenticates this writing. that's proclaiming liberty for
the Jews, it is sealed with the King's ring. It's authentic. It cannot be overturned. And every believer is sealed.
Every believer has the seal of the Spirit. Every Christian has
that imprint of the Holy Spirit. Is he not born again by the Spirit
of God? Does he not possess that faith
that is of the operation of God, that work of the Spirit of God
in the soul of the sinner? There is the seal. It authenticates
this person's conversion. It's a real one. But not only
does the seal authenticate in Scripture, we see how the seal
also indicates possession and ownership. Now this time we see
it in what is said to the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter
32 and there at verses 14 and 15 Here is the Prophet speaking
to Baruch. Verse 13, I charge Baruch before
them, saying, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel,
Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is
sealed, and this evidence which is open, and put them in an earthen
vessel that they may continue many days. For thus saith the
Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, houses and fields and vineyards
shall be possessed again in this land." Now, you can read the
chapter, but the context is one you see in which what the Prophet
is told to do is to purchase a field. Now the Prophet is constantly
telling the children of Israel that they're not going to be
there in the Promised Land, they're going to be taken into exile.
They're going to be removed into captivity, they're going to languish
there in Babylon for 70 years. Why then was he commanded to
buy a field? Well, because God is saying they
will not be forever there, they will come again and they will
return to the land and houses and fields and vineyards shall
again be possessed by the Jews in that land of promise. But
what is he to do? He is to purchase this field,
and then there are these evidences of the purchase. There's that
which is sealed, and that which is open. Now, if you want, there's,
I believe, quite a remarkable sermon on that text in Mr. Philpott's gospel pulpit. It's
Sermon 134. evidence is sealed and open,
and he really brings out the significance of the seal, and
he applies it spiritually to the experiences of the people
of God. The seal indicates possession. We're going to sing just now
that hymn of Isaac, What dost thou not dwell in all thy saints?
and sealed them heirs of heaven." Every believer has the Holy Spirit. Every believer is a temple of
the Holy Spirit. He is the possession of the Holy
Spirit. And that is the significance
of the seal. He was sealed with the Holy Spirit
of promise. And then again the seal also
indicates the completion of a transaction. The completion of a transaction
is indicated, the document is written, and then it's sealed.
It's complete. And we see it at the end of Nehemiah,
chapter 9. In that chapter, the people are
reminded, they're rebuked, they're reminded of all God's goodness
to the nation, and yet all their many sins And then when we come
to the end of that ninth chapter in Nehemiah, it says, And because
of all this we make a sure covenant and write it, and our princes,
Levites, and priests seal unto it. All the covenant, you see,
they've been reminded of God's goodness and all the nation's
many sinful backslidings. But now they're entering into
covenant and they seal it. and the sinner that by precious
faith has felt his sins forgiven is manifestly passed from death
and sealed an heir of heaven. Does he not go on here in verse
14 to say that? This seal, the Holy Spirit of
promise is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption,
that is the full redemption of the purchased possession. under
the praise of His glory." Or the seal, how it indicates that
that has been completed. And then one more, we've spoken
of a seal that is something that authenticates, it indicates possession,
ownership, furthermore it indicates completion of the transaction,
And also, the seal is a sign of security and safety. When the Lord Jesus Christ was
crucified, Joseph of Arimathea has begged the body of the Lord
and taken it to his new tomb and laid it there and rolled
a great stone. Remember, the Jewish authorities
were not satisfied. They go and they appeal to Pontius
Pilate to make the tomb secure. They say, lest his disciples
come and steal him by night, and say he's risen from the dead,
and Pilate just dismisses them. But he tells them to do the work
themselves, and they go to secure the sepulcher. And what do they do? They seal
it. They place a guard there, But
they seal it. If the seal is broken, well,
that would be evidence that someone had been there to tamper. The
seal, you see, is there for security and safety. And though the believer
is one who is sealed, he is safe. He is secure for time and eternity. And though we must be those who
would not therefore grieve that Holy Spirit of God whereby we
are sealed onto the day of redemption. Again, in 2nd Corinthians chapter
1 and verse 22 the Apostle says He hath also sealed us and given
us the earnest of our salvation. The sealing then, the sealing
is important just as the believing is so vital. And I say that the
two stand together. But then, you might say to me,
ah, but look, what does it actually say in the text? Isn't there a separation between
the sealing and the believing? It says, in whom also after that
ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Isn't it saying that you can
have faith and yet know nothing of the sealing of the Spirit?
And some are probably aware that there are those amongst charismatics
who speak of a second blessing. You might have the faith of God's
elect but have you had the sealing of the Spirit of God? Well now
we have to look carefully at the Word of God. It's interesting
here to observe this fact that the whole expression, after that
ye believed, that's four words, after that ye believed, is the
translation of just one word in the original. And that one word, for those
who are interested in the grammar, is an Aries participle. Now,
we could render the passage somewhat like this, believing ye were
sealed. Believing ye were sealed. In
fact, that grammatical construction is used many times in the Gospels. And we have it in that familiar
phrase, Jesus answering said. Now, clearly it wasn't that Jesus
After Jesus answered he said, that would not make sense. The
answering and the saying are concomitant there. They take
place at the same time. And so too this believing and
this sealing are really concurrent. The believing and the sealing
come together. I said that the sealing is the
Holy Spirit. and remember no man can say that
Jesus Christ is Lord but by the Holy Ghost we must have the Holy
Ghost in us if we're ever going to truly be those who acknowledge
the Lord Jesus if we're ever in possession of true saving
fire however we also recognize that a believer might in the
course of his experience need further assurance of the reality
of his faith. And that's why such a great Puritan
as Thomas Goodwin understands this ceiling more particularly
in terms of the full assurance of faith. He says a believer
might be a genuine child of God, he has real faith. but he doesn't
have that full assurance of faith and that might come later and
that's a truth we don't deny that truth we recognize that
the believer might feel to need further assurance from his God
how often do we feel that we need those fresh anointings of
the Holy Spirit to know that we really have that blessed unction
of the Spirit There are those times in the
believer's experience when the devil comes and takes advantage
and seems to sow in his mind every manner of doubt,
many fears. And does he not then need that
the spirit should come again? A man who has purchased a property
may subsequently on occasions want to see the deed and that
official seal he wants to be assured that the property really
is legally his own and so to the believer and God does grant
to his children those gracious confirmations we don't deny any
of that but we say again that here If the Spirit Himself is
the seal, then every believer, every believer must know that
ministry of the Spirit, that sealing of the Spirit. Though
the Lord might come again, and we should desire that He would
come again, that His visits might more frequent be, or let them
longer last, in the words of the hymn writer. but ought to
know that we are those who have that faith that is of God's operation,
that faith that is the fruit of the Spirit's work in our souls,
that's true faith, that's real faith, that's saving faith associated
with that blessed work of the Holy Spirit, 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 that Holy Spirit of promise." Well, the Lord bless
His Word to us. Amen. Now, let us sing that hymn
number 24. The tune is Bishop Thorpe, 104. Why should the children of a
king go mourning all their days? Great Comforter,
descend and bring some tokens of Thy grace. The hymn number
24.