Sermon Series: The Believer's Bank 

The Guarantee of Our Inheritance 

Ephesians 1:13-14 

PSBC–3/12/00PM

In a nutshell: The seal of the Holy Spirit in our salvation secures four distinct blessings that we can draw upon: security; authenticity; ownership; and authority.

I. Introduction

A. Joke

Someone told me this the other day, "Middle age is when the products you bought with a lifetime guarantee begin to wear out."

But the fact is, guarantees are important to us. Most of us purchase major goods and services based on the guarantees that go along with them. When we bought our house in Cathedral City, we purchased a home owner's warranty. Some people purchase extended warranties when they buy a new or used car.

Did you ever wonder why we want guarantees? It's perfectly logical. It's because over the years of human existence, human beings and the goods they produce have proved to be on many occasions, unreliable. So, based on a track record of human unreliability, most people want to have assurances that things they buy are going to work like they're supposed to work, and the people they trust are going to do what they say

So, we ask for oaths or sworn affidavits in court. We want surety bonds from vendors. And we want guarantees, warranties or something that says the manufacturer stands behind his or her products, when we make purchases.

Well, it's this idea of guarantees that we're going to be looking at in our passage tonight in Ephesians 1. So, if you have your Bibles, please turn to Ephesians 1:13-14.

B. Recap

While you're turning to that passage, let me briefly review what we've studied so far in the first major section in this letter to the Ephesians. Starting in verse 3 and going to verse 14, we've had a curtain of sorts, pulled back. And the work of the Trinity–God the Father; God the Son; and God the Holy Spirit–in the process of salvation, has been shown to us.

And in our study, as we've looked at the Father's involvement and the Son's involvement, we've seen that some specific things have been given to us–or as I've been saying, deposited into our Spiritual Bank Accounts–because of each one's part in the salvation plan.

We've seen that as people who are "in Christ", our Spiritual Bank Accounts are already filled with things like... --the blessing of being chosen by God, --being made holy, --loved by God, --being made blameless for our past, --being adopted into the family of God with all it's benefits, --we've been given grace for the hard and difficult times, --we're pardoned and set free from the consequences of our sin, --we're forgiven and our sins are removed, --we have a clear prism through which to view life and make sense out of everything that is happening to us, --and we don't have to make up a purpose for living. God will bring glory to Himself by the very fact that you are acting according to His will.

C. Transition

Now, the fact that God said these things should be enough for us to believe that they're true..

But in verses 13 and 14, God gives us an additional warranty beyond His Word, that unconditionally guarantees that all these things, and more, are in our Spiritual Bank Accounts–for us to draw upon right now. That extended warranty is the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 13...

Ephesians 1:13 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

II. Seal of the Holy Spirit

Before we get into what this seal or guarantee means, I want you to notice the first part of verse 13. Because it tells you something very important.

The first part of this verse tells us that a person comes to know Jesus Christ as Savior because he or she hears the word of truth or the gospel–and believes it. Friends, this is not a complicated idea. Understanding salvation is a very simple thing. You don't have to have a Bible College or seminary degree to articulate it. It is basically these things...

1. we are all sinners, 2. the consequences of sin is death–eternal punishment and separation from God, 3.but Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave to pay the price for our sin. 4. So, you believe. What do you believe?... ...You believe that by placing your faith in Jesus' death and resurrection you will receive pardon from the consequences of your sins and eternal life with God in heaven.

That's what is meant by the term "salvation". That's the beginning point for the blessings that God wants to add to your life, to start coming into your life. But how do we know this will really take place? Is there a guarantee beyond just what the Bible says?

Yes there is. And verse 13 tells us what that guarantee is... you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

Explanation: The seal that Paul is talking about was placed on a legal document, or a contract. The seal was usually made from hot wax, which was placed on the document and then impressed with a signet ring. This officially sealed the document, and that document was recognized as belonging to and under the authority of the one to whom the signet ring belonged.

Now, when you became a Christian–that is, when you chose to believe in Jesus Christ to be the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life–a seal was placed on you. It's not a wax seal. Verse 13 says that it's a Holy Spirit seal. And that seal signifies four things which all become blessings that are added to your Spiritual Bank Account.

A. The first one is SECURITY

In ancient times, when a king or a prince or a nobleman sealed something, it represented security. That seal couldn't be challenged. And that is the first thing the Holy Spirit provides–security.

Bible Illustration: When Daniel, the Old Testament Bible character, was thrown into the lion's den, King Darius, along with his nobles, placed their seals on the stone that was placed over the entrance to the den...

Daniel 6:17b 17 ...so that Daniel's situation might not be changed.

Any person, other than the king, who broke or disturbed that seal would forfeit his or her life–no questions asked.

In a similar way, the tomb where Jesus' body was laid after the crucifixion was sealed. The Jewish leaders were afraid that someone might come and steal the body of Jesus and make a false claim about His resurrection. So they got Pilate to put the seal of the Roman Government on the stone that covered the mouth of the tomb, and Roman guards were placed next to the stone to challenge anyone who might try to break it.

Well, in a much greater way, the Holy Spirit secures each person who believes in Jesus Christ as the forgiver of their sins and the leader of their life.

We are marked by God, so that no one can challenge to whom we belong. That also means that no one can remove us from our position of pardon, or from being a member of God's family. We know we are secure in our salvation because we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit of God!

B. The second blessing is AUTHENTICITY

The second blessing we have from being sealed by the Holy Spirit is the fact that we have authenticity.

Bible Illustration: When King Ahab tried to acquire a vineyard that a man by the name of Naboth owned, he tried to buy it, he tried to barter for it, and he tried to trade for it. But Naboth wouldn't sell or trade, or part with the land for anything.

So, Ahab's wife Jezebel volunteered to get it for him, her way. In 1 Kings 21 we read that she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his "seal" and sent the letters to the different noblemen who lived in Naboth's city. In the letter, she demanded that these nobles make public and false accusations of blasphemy and treason against poor Naboth.

The nobles did as they were asked and Naboth was taken out of the city and stoned to death because of the false charges. The king then simply confiscated the vineyard that he had coveted.

Now, despite the fact that the letters that Queen Jezebel sent were full of deceptions and lies, the letters themselves were considered authentically from the king, because they were sent with his seal–signifying his approval of the contents. That seal on each of those letters was his signature that those documents were from him.

Well, when God gives us His Holy Spirit, that seal reads, "This person belongs to Me and is an authentic citizen of My Kingdom and an unquestionable member of my royal family."

Friends, that means that you have the real thing. A personal relationship with God provides real, honest to goodness peace and fulfillment now and complete and total forgiveness when we must stand before God on Judgment Day.

You don't need anything else. The Mormons say you need an additional book–the Book of Mormon–to be authentic. Jehovah Witnesses say you need an additional study in one of their books to be authentic. The Catholic Church says you need Confessional and a prayers to Mary and the saints to be authentic. Certain charismatic churches in the area say you need to speak in tongues or have a prayer language to be authentic.

But just read verse 13. Did you hear the Word of God concerning salvation? Did you respond by believing it's message? If you did, you're sealed–you're authentic. You have the Holy Spirit's stamp on your life–it says, THIS IS THE REAL THING.

C. The third blessing is OWNERSHIP

Bible Illustration: I've already used Daniel as an example–that example came when he was a grown man. But when Daniel was just a boy, his home town of Jerusalem was under siege by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

Inside the city, there was a prophet by the name of Jeremiah. God spoke to this prophet one day and asked him to buy some land. God was going to use this land purchase to show the King of Judah, King Zedekiah, an object lesson about the future.

Well, Jeremiah bought some land from a man by the name of Anathoth. The purchase price was agreed upon, and a contract was drawn up, and the agreed upon price was paid. All this took place in the court of the palace guard and it was done before the required number of witnesses. In the presence of those witnesses, the deed to the land was signed and sealed, and that seal established Jeremiah as the new owner of the land.

Jeremiah 32:10 10 I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales.

I won't tell you the rest of the story, you can read it for yourself later. But the point I want you to see from this transaction is what happened when Jeremiah sealed the deed–his mark on the deed made that piece of land his. And he could do with it whatever he wanted. It was a done deal and the deal could not be revoked.

When the Holy Spirit seals believers, He marks us with God's mark. We become God's divine possessions. From the moment we first believe, we entirely and eternally belong to Him.

The seal of the Holy Spirit declares the transaction of salvation–your belief in Jesus Christ as the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life–as divinely official and final. Your salvation is a done deal. You never have to worry about if it really "took".

You don't have to keep raising your hand when an invitation is given. You don't have to keep walking to the altar or pray to accept Jesus, over and over. You don't have to go through penance or confessional or some kind of holy ritual. It is a done deal the first time you make the decision to believe in Jesus Christ as your forgiver and leader.

D. The fourth blessing is AUTHORITY

Bible Illustration: The book of Esther in the Old Testament is a fascinating story to read. There are four main characters in the book. There is Queen Esther, a Jewish girl who won the Miss Persia contest and became queen. There is Mordecai, a relative of Esther's who over-hears a plot against all the Jews. There is King Artexerxes, the ruler of the land. And there is Haman, the wicked nobleman who tricks the king into giving orders to kill all the Jews.

At the end of the story, Haman's wicked deeds are found out, and he is hanged on his own gallows which he had built to execute Mordecai. But the story doesn't end there.

Queen Esther is still distressed about the decree that Haman had persuaded King Artexerxes to make that permitted anyone in his kingdom to attack and destroy Jews on a certain day. Esther was worried because the king had marked that order with his own seal, and even he couldn't rescind an order that was made with his seal on it. So, Queen Esther came up with an alternative plan. She got the king to issue and seal another decree that permitted and even encouraged the Jews to arm and defend themselves.

Now, in both cases the absolute authority of each of those decrees was represented by the seal of the king. Anyone who possessed the sealed decree of the king had the king's delegated authority to do what that decree said to do.

Let's shift gears to our situation. When we are sealed with the Holy Spirit–when we become followers of Jesus Christ–we have God's direct authority to do what He says to do. We have the authority to proclaim, defend, teach, minister and educate people with what God's Word says–we have been given God's authority to speak for Him based on the Bible.

Why do Christians speak against homosexuality? Because God does! Why do Christians speak against abortion? Because God does! Why do Christians defend the weak and champion the poor? Because God does! Why are Christians angry over a leader who commits adultery and lies about it. Because God is!

And we can go on and on. Whatever God's word says, we can say it with His authority. That's our fourth blessing because of the Holy Spirit.

III. The Pledge and Goal

Finally Paul wraps up this insight into the salvation process by telling us two last things...

Ephesians 1:14 14 (the Holy spirit) is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession– to the praise of his glory. A. First of all the Holy Spirit is a Deposit

Not only is the Holy Spirit a seal. He's also a deposit.

That word for deposit is the Greek word arra-bone.

Illustration: 28 years ago, I sat in the front seat of my 62 Chevy Impala with Diane Garfield, whom I had been dating for almost a year, in the exact location where my dad had proposed to my mom about 23 years before. I asked her to open up the glove compartment and take out what she found. She took out a box and opened it up and in it was a gold ring with a Marquis cut diamond mounted in the center of it. I then asked this beautiful young woman if she would consent to be my wife. And when she said yes, I put the ring on her finger as an arra-bone for everyone to see. It was a pledge or a token of earnest that I was going to follow through with my proposal, and marry her.

Well, that's the picture we have between our bridegroom, Christ; and us, His bride. The Holy Spirit is God's guarantee or pledge that we are going to be married to each other someday.

Paul says in...

2 Corinthians 1:22 22 (God will) set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

So, what is to come?

Acts 1:11 11 The angels said to the disciples, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

Jesus is coming back for us–His bride–at the fulfillment of time. And whether we are alive or dead, we will meet Him and be part of His Kingdom forever. That's the marriage. Our engagement ring is the Holy Spirit.

B. The Goal

The Goal for all this work of the Holy Spirit in the Salvation Process, is the same as it has been for God the Father's involvement in the Salvation Process; and God the Son's involvement in the Salvation Process...

It is to bring praise to God.

We are not saved from the consequences of our sin for our own glory. It is for God's glory.

I like what Dr. John MacArthur says in his commentary on Ephesians: We are saved from the consequences of our sin to be restored to the intended divine purpose of creation–to bear the image of God and bring Him the greater glory. (John MacArthur Jr., Commentary on Ephesians).

My friends, because God the Holy Spirit loved you enough to get involved in your salvation, you have some very specific blessings deposited into your Spiritual Bank account... –Security, –Authenticity, –Ownership and –Authority

Take charge of the relationships you are in right now with people who don't know Jesus yet. By that I mean... --start living like you have security. --Start acting like you have authenticity. --Start taking a little more pride in your self, because of who owns you–not pride in who you are, but in whose you are. --Then, start talking with authority, based on the Word of God.

You can do all these things, because you have all these things already, stockpiled in your life because of the Holy Spirit's seal on you. Are you drawing on them on a regular basis?

Amen.