Sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise
God's plan of salvation is perfect. It is very complete. God thought of everything when He made the plan. All we have to do is to respond in faith to the gospel of our salvation. God does the rest. Paul lays it out so well for us, that anyone can see this essential truth and come to salvation in Christ. (Ephesians 1:13, 14) Let's look at it closely.
It all starts when we hear the message of the truth and listen to it. Some people hear it, but they do not really listen to the Lord as it is revealed to them. However, for those who listen, they hear the gospel, or Good News. The gospel is simply that Jesus Christ came to be born into this world as the God/Man, so He could live a sinless life, die for our sins, and rise again to show all that He was the Lord and had defeated Satan, death, and the grave. Now, whoever believes in Him as Lord and Savior is given the gift of forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Therefore, once we believe, God seals us in Him by the Holy Spirit of promise. He plants the Spirit in us as the seal of His ownership of us. He bought us by the price of the blood of Christ, and we belong to Him for eternity. The Spirit is also the down payment from God to us to promise that He will take us to be with Him one day, when He will redeem even our bodies and give us our inheritance in heaven. All of this is done to the praise of His glory. He is the Only One who is wise enough, powerful enough, and loving enough to do this for sinners like us. Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ephesians 2-5.
It all starts when we hear the message of the truth and listen to it. Some people hear it, but they do not really listen to the Lord as it is revealed to them. However, for those who listen, they hear the gospel, or Good News. The gospel is simply that Jesus Christ came to be born into this world as the God/Man, so He could live a sinless life, die for our sins, and rise again to show all that He was the Lord and had defeated Satan, death, and the grave. Now, whoever believes in Him as Lord and Savior is given the gift of forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Therefore, once we believe, God seals us in Him by the Holy Spirit of promise. He plants the Spirit in us as the seal of His ownership of us. He bought us by the price of the blood of Christ, and we belong to Him for eternity. The Spirit is also the down payment from God to us to promise that He will take us to be with Him one day, when He will redeem even our bodies and give us our inheritance in heaven. All of this is done to the praise of His glory. He is the Only One who is wise enough, powerful enough, and loving enough to do this for sinners like us. Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ephesians 2-5.