2 Corinthians 1:18-22; 5:1-10
Paul addresses the subject of being secure in salvation with the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 and 5:1-10. He tells the Corinthians that all the promises of God find their Yes in Jesus (vs. 20) and then goes on to say they have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and that the Holy Spirit is their guarantee from God. Now the two words Paul uses here--"sealed" and "guaranteed"--caught my attention, particularly the word "sealed." We hear the word "guarantee" a lot, but not so much "sealed" as Paul uses it here.
So I took a couple of minutes to think about a common day example of something that's sealed to help me get a better picture of being sealed by the Spirit. The first thing that came to my mind was a freezer bag with a zipper seal. Remember those commercials where a bag full of bright red juice is held upside down over a person wearing white clothes and not one drop of juice came out of that bag? There was no doubt the bag was sealed, it was airtight, and not one drop was getting out.
So what does the Holy Spirit's sealing and guarantee mean for you? Tami W.
Thanks Wood & Tami for this series. My friends and I were just having a debate on 'being sure' of our salvation. This is a great reminder
of the security we have in Jesus Christ - our covenant partner - "all the promises of God find their yes in him". It's a SURE THING :)!
"So we are always confident" (v6a)Paul gives us a powerful reminder to live in confidence...that "in Him all God's promises are a yes." (1:20). As a counseling pastor I have a practice of asking clients if they are assured of their salvation with 100% certainty. Unfortunately I rarely get a yes. Most often it is a, "I hope so" or "I think so." Your message today is so important to have "sealed" in our minds and hearts. We can be as confident as that person in the white suit in the commercial, that we are so sealed that nothing shall leak out and stain that white robe that He has given us. Amen
The sealing of the Spirit is such an important doctrine of the Bible. Since I can't "do anything" to earn my salvation then it follows that I can't "do anything" to lose that salvation either. Once I am adopted into the family of God I am sealed. My inheritance is guaranteed. There is nothing I can do to become "unadopted". The pressure to perform is off and the freedom to live in love and obedience to Christ is there.
Salvation is our guarantee of our entrance into heaven. The Holy Spirit which comes in at the same time makes us sealed for that entrance forever. We must first accept this choice and then the Holy Spirit will enable us to live for God. We can have the Holy Spirit in our being but be not filled for hHis use. This also is a choice we each must make to live for God and not ourselves.
It's interesting that you thought about the freezer bag doing the work of "sealing".... the first thought that came to me is the wax seal on a document, which has an imprint from a metal stamp...it physically locks up the document, and it also provides authenticity to the promises within. I am sealed by God's promise of salvation, forever! Amen!
Sorry if some of my comments are not exactly on topic, but your blogs are such excellent thought starters. They lead to all sorts of rabbit trails, and when it comes to the Bible, I think rabbit trails can be a joy and a good thing.
Just as we are not saved by our works,Eph 2:8-9) neither do I believe, once sealed by the Holy Spirit, can we lose our salvation because of our works (or lack of them). Indeed, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. (Rom 8:37-39)
That is not to say that our works count for nothing. If we have been truly born-again by the Holy Spirit of God, our works will still be tested and judged. And if they do not measure up, we will still be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Cor 3:12-15)