THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GODS MARK OF OWNERSHIP ON US

 TEXT: EPHESIANS 1vs 13-14

increasing severity are unleashed on the world, and all sinners on earth will experience famines, plagues, wars, and horrible disasters. They will be far worse than the coronavirus epidemic.

 But thankfully God has provided us with hope of divine help and deliverance when these judgments come. And that hope is found in Christ alone. I would urge you therefore to come and trust in Christ now without any more delay, before the Seal Judgments descend on the world. Then, no matter what happens, you will have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you as God’s precious seal of ownership, making you His dear child forever. So how do you trust in Christ for salvation?

First, you must accept everything that the Bible says about Christ and about yourself as true – that He is the Son of God who came down from heaven to be made a sacrifice for sin, and that you are a sinner who deserves nothing but the wrath of God.

Then, you need to confess to Him personally that you are a sinner in need of His salvation. Put your trust in the completed work of Jesus Christ alone, and stop trusting in your own good works to save you.

And third, to trust in Christ is also to commit your life to Him once and for all, with no thought of turning back. Let Him be your Lord and master from now on. Only then, will you be in Christ and be “sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.” (vv.13-14)

Through this morning’s sermon we have learnt: (1) What seals were used for, (2) What it means to be sealed with the Spirit, (3) How this sealing benefits us, and (4) When this sealing takes place in us. I trust that you now have a better understanding of this sealing ministry of the Spirit, as there is tremendous value in knowing this.

This provides a wonderful source of assurance to us, which is valuable especially at moments when our hearts are gripped with fear, and our faith grows weak and we even begin to doubt our salvation. It is then that we need to read passages of Scripture like Ephesians 1:13,14 where God assures us that we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit who is the earnest or down payment of our inheritance.

And we can add on to that God’s assurance from all that we have learned from the book of Ephesians in our previous sermons: We have learned that we have been specially chosen and adopted by God as His dear children. We have also learned that we have been fully redeemed with the priceless blood of Christ. What greater assurance can we ask for? I trust the Holy Spirit Himself will take these sermons you have heard from Ephesians thus far, and testify in your heart that they are true of you personally, and that you truly belong to God.

This assurance that you truly belong to God will make a huge difference in the way you live your life, and in the way you serve the Lord. And in the uncertain times that we are living in now, this assurance will give you all the peace and hope that you need to cope with any trial or calamity you may have to face.

Three weeks ago a Chinese missionary pastor serving a local church in the city of Wuhan wrote about this wonderful peace in a letter. Please listen now, as I read an English translation of a portion of his letter: “During these past days the Wuhan pneumonia has been at the center of my thoughts and life, always seeking the latest news, always thinking of how our family and the church should face this. The situation is so critical, yet we trust in the Lord’s promises, that His thoughts toward us are of peace, and not evil (Jer. 29:11), and He allows a time of testing, not to destroy us, but to establish us. Therefore, Christians are not only to suffer with the people of this city, but we have a responsibility to pray for the fearful people of this city, and to bring the peace of Christ to them.

Firstly, we are to seek the peace of Christ to reign in their hearts (Heb. 3:15). Christ has already given us His peace, but His peace is not to remove us from disaster and death, but rather to have peace in the midst of disaster and death, because Christ has already overcome these things (John 14:27, 16:33). Otherwise we have not believed in the gospel of peace (Phil. 6:15), and with the world we would be terrified of pestilence, and lose hope in the face of death.

Why do only Christians have this peace? Because of sin, humans deserve the trials and tribulations that come upon them. “There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked” (Is. 48:22). We were all sinners. But Christ, because of faith, took our penalty, and gave us His peace. Therefore Paul says, who can bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. (Rom. 8:33). Christians may face the same tribulations with the world, but such tribulations are no longer punishment, but a new opportunity to grow nearer to the Almighty, to purify our souls, an opportunity to proclaim the gospel.

In other words, when disaster strikes us, it is but a form of God’s love, and as Paul firmly believed, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger or sword?... Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:35-39).

In today’s words, Wuhan’s pestilence cannot separate us from the love of Christ, this love is in our Lord Jesus Christ. These words are so comforting for us: that we have already become one with Christ. We have a part in His sufferings, and we have a part in His glory. All that is Christ’s is ours, and all that is ours is Christ’s. Therefore, since Christ is with us as we face the pestilence in this city, the pestilence cannot harm us. If we die in the pestilence, it is an opportunity to witness to Christ, and even more to enter into His glory.

Thus, my brothers and sisters, I encourage you to be strong in Christ’s love. If we have to experience death more deeply in this pestilence, by understanding the gospel we may more deeply experience Christ’s love, and grow ever nearer to God.” Unquote.

I trust that each of us will draw nearer to God as we understand all the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ. And may the Lord grant us all the blessed peace and assurance that comes from being in Christ and belonging to Him.