Sealed

A guest post by: Peg Councill

²⁰ For as many as the promises of God are, in Him they are yes; therefore, through Him also is our Amen to the glory of God through us. ²¹ Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, ²² who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. (2 Corinthians 1:20-22)

I was jolted out of a deep sleep by my husband who was asking,

“What in the world is that noise?”

Somehow, I had slept through my smoke alarm screaming,

“Evacuate! Evacuate! Evacuate!”

Over and over and over! I knew right away what it was because two days before it had gone off in the afternoon with its robotic blast, “Evacuate!” No smoke, No Fire, just the earsplitting scream of that alarm.

Not knowing what else to do, I took a broom handle and pressed it’s “magic spot” and silenced the insanity. But knowing it was probably malfunctioning due to the battery going bad, I tried to find a way to get the battery out. This is when I discovered that the battery is permanently sealed in this contraption. There was no way to change it out myself. I mean seriously, who designed this thing?

Yet the word ‘Sealed’ stayed with me, and in the morning I looked it up in my Bible concordance and found the Scriptures where it is used.

²⁰ For as many as the promises of God are, in Him they are yes; therefore, through Him also is our Amen to the glory of God through us. ²¹ Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, ²² who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.” (2 Corinthians 1:20-22)

¹³ In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, ¹⁴ who is a first installment of our inheritance, regarding the 

redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
(Ephesians 1:13-14)

Both Scriptures point out several things. One, the word sealed is past tense, it is a finished work, it is complete. The word sealed is defined as, “to set a mark upon by the impress of a seal or stamp.” (Strong’s BLB)

This seal is like God’s Signet ring. In the case of our salvation, the Holy Spirit is referred to as, “the first installment of our inheritance,” and ” the Spirit as a pledge.”

God’s love is beyond measure, truly. Not only did He have a plan in place to redeem us before the foundation of the world, (Eph. 1:4-6); but He also put a down payment in us, sealed and untouchable, in the person of the Holy Spirit.

I just paused and sat with that reality a moment, and as I did the words of that old Stevie Wonder song came into my head. “Signed, Sealed, Delivered. I’m yours!”

I love it!

I looked up the live performance of that song with Stevie in concert and had myself a mini-Worship time in my heart as an offering of thanks to God.

 I will never be able to sing the Chorus of that song in any other way now.

Believer, we are sealed in Christ by the Holy Spirit of God. Nothing can separate us from the Love of God (Romans 8:35-5 ), and the Holy Spirit is our Promise.

Jesus Himself said,

“²⁷ My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; ²⁸ and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30.)

In Jesus we are signed, sealed, delivered. All praise to our Mighty Redeemer. All Hail King Jesus. Thank you, dearest Lord.