Ephesians 1:13-14 | In Christ: Sealed with the Spirit

Imagine a man named John who just bought his dream car—a brand-new, top-of-the-line SUV. It’s the latest model with heated seats, remote start, and all-wheel drive—perfect for those harsh Minnesota winters. He’s been saving for years and is thrilled to finally have a vehicle that can handle the icy roads and deep snow.

The first snowstorm of the season hits, and John can’t wait to test it out. He bundles up, grabs his coffee, and heads outside to find his new car covered in a fresh layer of sparkling snow. After brushing it off, he gets in, hits the start button, and... nothing happens. No lights. No heat. No movement.

Frustrated, John tries everything. He checks the owner's manual, cycles through the dashboard settings, and even Googles troubleshooting tips. Still, the car sits silently in his driveway. Meanwhile, the temperature outside is dropping, and he’s starting to wonder if he made a huge mistake buying this car.

Finally, he calls roadside assistance. When the technician arrives, they pop open the hood and immediately spot the problem: the power cables connecting the car to the battery had been chewed by a squirrel! Without that connection, John’s dream car is nothing more than an expensive, snow-covered decoration. Once the cables are repaired, the car roars to life, and John breathes a sigh of relief.

Transition…

Isn’t that how life feels sometimes? Like we’ve been given this amazing gift of salvation, but it seems like we’re stuck in the driveway, unable to move forward or fulfill our purpose.

We are told that IN CHRIST

I am a saint (holy) Ephesians 1:1

I am faithful (steadfast) Ephesians 1:1

I am blessed with every spiritual blessing Ephesians 1:3

I am chosen Ephesians 1:4

I am predestined for adoption Ephesians 1:5

I am blessed with God’s glorious grace Ephesians 1:6

I am redeemed (Ephesians 1:7)

I am forgiven (Ephesians 1:7)

I am an ambassador of the gospel (Ephesians 1:9-10)

I am God’s special inheritance (Ephesians 1:11)

I am hope-filled (Ephesians 1:12)

And yet it seems like we’re stuck in the driveway, unable to move forward or fulfill our purpose.

Just like John’s car needed a secure connection to its power source, our salvation needs the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. This morning, I want to talk about how, in Christ, we are sealed with the Spirit, and how the Spirit guarantees us an eternal inheritance. These realities is what makes our identity in Christ alive and what fuels our purpose in Christ forward.

Our salvation is the work of the Trinity:

Salvation is purposed by the Father (Ephesians 1:3-6)

Salvation is accomplished by the Son (Ephesians 1:7-12)

Salvation is applied by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14)

Before we explore how the Holy Spirit applies the work of salvation, we must first understand that the Spirit is a promise fulfilled by God.

In Ephesians 1:13, The Apostle Paul refers to the Spirit as the “promised Holy Spirit.”

This promise was spoken by Jesus on the night He was betrayed, as he comforted his disciples saying in John 14:18: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

Later that same evening, in John 16:7, Jesus reassures them, “it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”

After his death and resurrection, right before his ascension, Jesus reiterated this promise in Acts 1:4–5, instructing his disciples to “not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

And on the day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2, 120 disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues. What was happening? This was the fulfillment of God's promise, declared centuries earlier by the prophet Joel:“And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.” (Acts 2:17). Peter made it clear that this outpouring of the Spirit was the promised Holy Spirit—the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan (Acts 2:33).

How does the Holy Spirit apply the work of salvation. Particularly, how does the Holy Spirit make our identity in Christ alive and how he fuels our purpose in Christ forward?

(1) In Christ, I am sealed with the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 1:13 “13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,”

The Holy Spirit is the Seal. In Scripture, a seal has four functions: SEAL

Security

Exclusivity

Authenticity

Legitimacy

Security (protection):

Seals were used for security purposes.

Matthew 27:66 “So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.”

Revelation 20:2–3 “2 And [the angel] seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.”

Revelation 7:3 “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

Revelation 9:4 “They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.”

It is as though we have all been marked with a spiritual UV marker pen, visible in the heavenly realms, marking us out as those belonging to God, completely safe from all frightening powers. Richard Coekin

The city of Ephesus practiced witchcraft a way to deal with their fear of the spirit world. Now, they are told that they have the seal of the Holy Spirit. They have security, they have protection because now the Holy Spirit lives in them.

“No power of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand: Till He returns or calls me home, Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.”

Exclusivity (ownership):

In the ancient world, a seal would be used to mark their possessions, including cattle and slaves.

In Jeremiah 32, While Jerusalem was under siege by Nebuchadnezzar and Jeremiah was under arrest by King Zedekiah for prophesying against the king and the nation, the Lord gave special instructions to His prophet. Jeremiah was told to buy some land in the Jerusalem area (Anathoth). The contract was agreed on, and the stipulated payment was made in the court of the palace guard before the required number of witnesses. In the presence of the witnesses the deed was signed and sealed, establishing Jeremiah as the new legal owner of the property (Jeremiah 32:10).

The promised Holy Spirit identifies God’s people as his inheritance. When the Holy Spirit seals believers, He marks them as God’s divine possessions, who from that moment on entirely and eternally belong to Him, The Spirit’s seal declares the transaction of salvation as divinely official and final.

Application: You are god’s special possession. You and I must reject the lies that say that we are worthless or we can live however we want. We are God’s special possession.

What areas of your life are you tempted to claim as your own rather than surrendering to God’s ownership?

Authenticity

The Holy Spirit’s seal on a believer signifies that their faith and identity in Christ are genuine and approved by God. It confirms their standing as true members of God’s family and His divine kingdom.

A seal then provides authenticity or evidence.

In John 6:27 Jesus declares that the Father has set his seal, thus affirming his identity and mission.

In Romans 4:11 Paul uses circumcision as a sign and a seal of the righteousness Abraham had by faith. In a similar way, the Holy Spirit is God’s mark on believers, testifying to the authenticity of their righteousness—not by works, but by faith in Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 9:2, Paul refers to the Corinthians as the authenticity or “seal” of his apostleship. They are the proof that he is an authentic apostle. This idea extends to believers today: the presence of the Holy Spirit is the proof of our authentic relationship with God and our calling as His children. The seal declares, “you are an authentic, valid member of my family and my kingdom.”

A person who understands this reality will begin to live out this reality by walking a life of holiness in the fear of the Lord. They don’t need the world to tell them who they are or how to live their life when they know they are a secure child of God.

Authority

When a king seals a document with his seal, that document bears the authority of the king and it cannot be revoked (Esther 8:8). Those who possess the sealed decree of the king had the king’s delegated authority set forth in the decree.

When Christians are sealed with the Holy Spirit they are delegated to make disciples of all nations. Go in the authority of the King.

to proclaim, teach, minister, and defend God’s Word and His gospel with the Lord’s own authority (Matthew 28:18-20).

Application: You have the Holy Spirit, you have God’s authority. You can draw near to the Father with complete freedom (Hebrews 4:16).

SUMMARY:

To be sealed is to rest in safety and security. The Holy Spirit makes a relationship with God the Father a reality.

The Holy Spirit provides the inward assurance that they belong to God as children

Romans 8:15–16 “15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” (c.f. Galatians 4:6)

We have become certain of God as Father, we know Him as Father. We no longer believe in God as Father theoretically, it is the cry of the heart, an elemental, instinctive cry that comes welling up from the depths. That is the result of the sealing of the Spirit. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

In Christ, I am a guaranteed heir to an eternal inheritance.

Ephesians 1:14 “who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance. The Greek word translated guarantee was commonly used in the business world for a “down payment”, “earnest money”, or “deposit” (NIV)

Arrabon appears only 3 times in the New Testament, each time referring to the Holy Spirit as a pledge to believers. In 2 Corinthians 1:22, 2 Corinthians 5:5, and Ephesians 1:14.

In modern Greek arrabona is an “engagement ring.” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words)

When it comes to God, he gave us the Holy Spirit, he gave us himself, as a guarantee that we will receive an inheritance.

Keneth Wuest says, “The bestowal of the Holy Spirit is God’s part payment in the salvation He gives the believing sinner, that part payment guaranteeing the full delivery of all parts of the salvation given: justification, sanctification, and glorification. The believer has the first two now. The Holy Spirit, indwelling the believer, is God’s earnest money, guaranteeing to him the future glorification of his body.”

The message that Paul is communicating here is that God so values his people that he has put down a deposit and will complete the transaction in the future.

I want this! How do I become sealed with the Holy Spirit?

Hear and believe!

Ephesians 1:13 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,”

When you hear the word of truth.

This truth is the gospel of your salvation.

Gospel in one word: done!

Gospel in one sentence. Jesus died for my sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day.

Gospel in one paragraph: I was in bondage to sin and Satan. My future was hopeless. I only deserved God’s holy wrath, but God who is rich in mercy gave me new life through Jesus.

Repent of your sins and put your trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins.

Conclusion: Gospel hope: Ephesians 1:13–14 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

Illustration: Doing demo all day. One person is told, “you will be paid $100 at the end of the day.” Another person is told, “You will be paid $1,000,000 at the end of the day.

Same circumstances, different outlook.