We are Sealed as God’s Possession
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Series Review
Series Review
This has been a thanksgiving sermon series. This has been a challenge to stop thanking God for non-essentials. Define necessity! This has been a challenge to thank God for unseen blessings. What has God given that we are not unlocking with a house key or eating at the dinner table, or putting on before we go to work in the morning. This has been a challenge to thank God for spiritual blessings. This has also been a challenge to hold off thinking of Christmas shopping, hold off on the holiday plans and just be grateful to God for the wealth he has given us.
I’m going to read the passage in its entirety, and instead of getting a shopping list, you get a “thank you” list:
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Sermon Introduction
Sermon Introduction
How many of you get excited about these things? You are chosen! You are adopted! You are redeemed! You are forgiven! You have an inheritance! And this morning, for the final sermon of our series: You are sealed! Does that get you out of your seats? Does that get an “amen” from the choir / praise team? Let all the people say....amen!
“Guess what, you’ve been sealed!”
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
...you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession….
If that doesn’t sound like good news, if it doesn’t get you out of your seat, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are unspiritual. It might just mean you’re not sure what that means. Often when we hear certain words, we can’t really feel a certain way about it until we know what is means. Last week on the day before we left for the confirmation retreat, I was diagnosed with scapular dyskenesis. I made an emergency trip to the orthopedist because my shoulder made some loud, unnatural and painful pops, and I was a bit worried. Have I torn something? Have a dislocated something?
When the doctor gave me the news, I wasn’t sure if it was good or bad news until those words were defined. Once he defined the terms, I experienced relief because I knew this was not as serious given the other possibilities.
It’s hard to celebrate something without knowing what it is. You are forgiven. That’s a familiar word. Redeemed. Maybe not as much, but we know the word, sing about it, and if you’ve been in a church long enough, you likely have a good idea about the word. Chosen. A familiar word. Inheritance. We know the word.
If someone were to ask you, what does it mean to be a Christian? How many of us would use the word “sealed?” to describe what it means to believe in Jesus? What does it mean?
What does it mean?
We think of sealing in functional terms. Seal the envelope before mailing. Ziplock bags. Tupperware containers. Air tight. Closed. But how does that apply to our being a Christian? Ever reminded of Jesus when canning tomatoes? First of all, being sealed by the Holy Spirit means
We are God’s prized possession.
We are God’s prized possession.
He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us… 2 Corinthians 2:21-22
who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
What is a seal? We see this word in the Old and New Testament.
A seal was used to guarantee security and demonstrate ownership. They were usually made of wax, embedded with the personalized imprint of someone with power and authority.
So one meaning is locking something up, closing it in.
In , the tomb of Jesus was sealed. But there’s a lot more going on in these 2 verses than simply locking something up, or closing it in. Pontius Pilate’s seal on Jesus’ tomb was easily broken, but it was an authoritative “do not open” sign. Do not open this tomb, because I have placed my authority over this. I for all practical purposes now own this. It’s mine.
We also read in the Old Testament
We have a guarantee from God.
We have a guarantee from God.
Because we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and we are God’s prized possession...
We now have a guarantee from God.
We now have a guarantee from God.
…who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Paul drives this home using the word "guarantee" in verse 14
who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
(read verse)
When I was 17 years old I ran out of gas - my parent would never have given me a credit card - it was cash only arrangement, and cash would go towards keeping my car on the road. But somehow I ran out of gas, so I ran up the street to buy a few dollars' worth of gas. The problem was that they guy at the cash register insisted that I buy a gas can and then buy the gas. I didn’t have enough money for both, but he eventually agreed to loan me his gas can, on one condition: I had to leave my driver's license. Why? Because it was a guarantee I would come back and return his precious gas can. They knew that driver's license was valuable enough to me to give them a sense of security that I would come back with his gas can.
When God seals us with Holy Spirit, God is saying, “You are mine. You are precious to me. I am guaranteeing you of these spiritual blessings (the things we’ve been talking about in this series: I have chosen you. I have adopted you. I have redeemed you. I have forgiven you. I have an eternal inheritance waiting for you. When I filled you with my Holy Spirit, that was my seal, my guarantee that you have these things and you will continue to get them.
Okay, theologically I now know I a sealed with the Holy Spirit. I am God’s precious possession. I am guaranteed all of the spiritual blessings we’ve been talking about - now, in the future and in the life to come. How is this practical? What difference should it make?
First of all let me say that it is hard to be thankful for something that you have not experienced. If you have not experienced the transforming grace of God in your life, then it is hard to be excited about this. I grew up in the church, and was headed out the door when I graduated from high school - it was if God closed that door and said, “Where do you think you’re going?” I encountered God, salvation became real to me. Jesus became personal knowledge, not just head knowledge. It’s easier to be grateful for something when you’ve experienced it. If Jesus is not personal to you, if Jesus is just a good person and not a transforming presence in your life, then...
But how is this practical?
2 things and the key word is “security.”
Being sealed means we can feel secure. (because we are secure)
Being sealed means we can feel secure. (because we are secure)
…to the praise of his glory.
Sealing is God’s way of saying, “Because you are so precious to me, I want you to feel secure in this relationship.
A pastor and teacher was delivering a message about this subject in 2010. He said, “Sometimes pastors call me up and ask me to be afraid with them when they hear that one of their own is going to a "terrible" country.” He tell them, "I did missionary work in Iraq (they worked among the Kurdish refugees) with my wife. There were times when I was afraid, but my greatest fear was not trusting in the Lord."
Imagine you are out on a ledge forty stories up; you feel a powerful gust of unpredictable wind. You feel yourself losing balance and falling, and every brick you grab pulls out of its mortar.
Life can feel that way. We can cling to
Parents bought insurance - I had no experience of it. I was not properly introduced to the concepts of deductibles and copayments and eligible expenses. But I had it and received the blessings of it.
Being sealed means we will feel threatened.
Being sealed means we will feel threatened.
He shared another story: He lost his sister Patricia while he was living in Iraq. She was murdered by a gang in Charlotte, NC while she was on a business trip. His father and her husband went to identify the body. In the presence of all who could hear, the husband said, through his anger and grief, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they have done." Imagine the presence of mind and security in God that it took for my brother-in-law to say that.
Now that I’m older, I do experience it - I listen to the person at the front desk say “Your insurance covers this.” “Here is your (small) copayment.” Or sometimes, “Your insurance doesn’t cover this.”
Being sealed by the Holy Spirit is not just an abstract truth. It is something we can experience. It is something we can testify to:
The Holy Spirit indwells us at our conversion. Our accepting Christ. The theological term is “regeneration.” The evangelical term is “born again.” I don’t like the term “born again Christian,” because to me that’s like saying “Christian Christian.” The Bible teaches salvation as a new birth.
Feeling secure in God is a comforting promise. But there’s another side to security that is not comforting.
I also don’t like it when church leaders, pastors focus too much on the experiential…some Christians are troubled when they don’t feel something, or have a dramatic experience.
This is a comforting promise. But there’s another promise that is not comforting.
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
Being sealed means we will feel threatened.
Being sealed means we will feel threatened.
Hard to thank God for something you aren’t experiencing.
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
God's great desire for his people is that we feel secure in his love and in his power. There is no such thing as a life lived in constant stability. Living in security is not the same as living in stability.
Parents bought insurance - I had no experience of it. I was not properly introduced to the concepts of deductibles and copayments and eligible expenses. But I had it and received the blessings of it.
Now that I’m older, I do experience it - I listen to the person at the front desk say “Your insurance covers this.” “Here is your (small) copayment.” Or sometimes, “Your insurance doesn’t cover this.”
I also don’t like it when church leaders, pastors focus too much on the experiential...
God's great desire for his people is that we feel secure in his love and in his power. Everything else in life will become unstable—our health, our family, our job security, our education, our society, our world. There is no such thing as a life lived in absolute stability. Living in security is not the same as living in stability.
Imagine you are out on a ledge forty stories up; you feel a powerful gust of unpredictable wind. You feel yourself losing balance and falling, and every brick you grab pulls out of its mortar.
A guarantee - If on Christmas morning you are write coupons, would that excite you? Not something tangible
If you find your security in health, then God is a threat to you. If you find your security in your family or job or money or education, the God is a threat to you. Whenever you find yourself falling, and the bricks - money, education, your job, human relationships - become unstable, these are painful, even tragic, opportunities to experience the security only God can offer.
When all of these utterly inadequate foundations of security are threatened, go back to the only unshakable foundation for security—God. Or to put it negatively and honestly: sin is an effort to feel secure in anything other than God.
You are sealed by the Holy Spirit. You are God’s possession. You have security. You can experience that, if you place your security in God.
5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?