Lesson for August 16, 2026 — Our Spiritual Assets, Lesson 23

Sealing of the Holy Spirit

The sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit is our assurance from God of a secure future. The word in Greek for sealing is “sphragizo,” and means to secure, to signify ownership, or to authenticate. We must always interpret Scripture in the time in which it was written. In Biblical times, a seal or signet was used to authenticate a transaction or to show ownership of property.

A perfect illustration of this is found in the Book of Esther in the Old Testament. In this story, the king sends his ring with his servant, which is to be used as the seal of authority. Even though it was used by a servant (who has no authority himself), it carried the authority of the king. It is the person behind the seal that has authority, the seal being authentication that the king has authorized the transaction.

In the same manner, God seals believers at salvation with His seal. God’s seal is not a ring, but rather the Holy Spirit Himself. Romans 8:16, “The Spirit of God testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God.” At the moment of salvation, God the Father places His seal on believers by sending the Holy Spirit to indwell them.

The reason God the Holy Spirit is our seal is that He is the One Who is able to search and know the “heart” of man, according to Romans 8:26-27. The Greek word for heart is “kardia,” and refers to the mentality of the soul. The reason the word for heart is used to designate the soul is that the physical heart circulates blood to the entire body. In like manner, the soul circulates doctrinal information that the Holy Spirit uses to teach and guide us.

We know from Ephesians 4:30 that every believer is “sealed,” not just a select few. The Apostle Paul was writing to all believers in Ephesus, not just certain ones. In this verse, he told them not to grieve the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we all have the potential of grieving the Holy Spirit. This means that all believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit, regardless of their spiritual health.

All the truth of our position in Christ will be a reality when Christ returns for us at the Rapture. There is going to be a change. Each of us is going to receive a glorified body fashioned after Christ’s body. This will be an instantaneous change as we are being “caught up” to meet Christ in the air. We reside in this body while here on earth, but our true home is Heaven. We are just passing though this life, but our real citizenship is in Heaven.

Ultimate sanctification will be a reality for all believers, regardless of their spiritual status. Spiritually mature and spiritually immature believers will receive a glorified body and will spend all of eternity in perfect happiness. There will, however, be a loss of magnificent rewards and blessings for those who fail to accurately execute the Christian Way of Life. (Philippians 3:20-21)

The sealing of the Holy Spirit provides security for believers. Since the sealing is permanent, no believer can become “insecure.” At the moment of the Rapture, all believers of this age are “caught up” to meet Christ in the air and will fully realize their ultimate redemption. In other words, we will realize the fulfillment of the fact that we have been redeemed, forever.

The definition of the word “redeemed,” is to be purchased from the slave market of sin. There are three Greek words for redemption: 1) “agorazo” meaning “to buy,” 2) “exagorazo” meaning “to buy out of or remove from sale,” and 3) “lutroo” meaning “to release on receipt of ransom or payment.”

Christ redeemed us from all sin. There are several definitions for sin in the Word of God: “falling short of God’s righteousness” (Romans 3:23), “transgression,” which is overstepping God’s law (Psalm 51:1-4), “trespasses,” which is deviation from God’s righteousness (Ephesians 2:1), “disobedience,” which is rebellion against God’s law (I Timothy 1:9-10), and unbelief in Christ as Savior, which is the only unpardonable sin. (John 8:24)

Christ, Our Kinsman Redeemer

The Old Testament book of Ruth is a story about the practice of the “kinsman redeemer,” which is a perfect example of how Christ redeems us from the Law and from sin. Certain requirements had to be met in order for a person to redeem someone from slavery. The redeemer had to be a relative, he had to be able to redeem by meeting the purchase price, and he had to be willing to redeem the person in slavery.

By His taking on humanity, Jesus Christ became a “kinsman” to all mankind. (John 1:1-3,14) In order to meet the purchase price for sin, which is spiritual death, Christ had to be perfect (no sin of His own to pay for). He was born of a virgin, without a sin nature, without Adam’s original sin, and lived a sinless life, which qualified Him to meet the purchase price for our sin. (Matthew 1:23, I Timothy 3:16, Romans 5:8, II Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 2:9-11, 4:15, I Peter 1:18) Christ was also willing to redeem us. He was obedient to the Father’s plan for salvation and gave His life freely. Christ even “set aside” the power of His deity (doctrine of Kenosis) and used the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish all of this for us. (Philippians 2:5-8, Romans 5:19, Luke 22:42, 23:46)

The results of redemption are that believers are:

1. Redeemed from the curse of Mosaic Law
   1. Its penalty — Galatians 3:13
   2. Its obligation — Galatians 3:24-25, Romans 6:14, Colossians 2:14-17
2. Adopted into God’s family — Galatians 4:4-6
3. Redeemed from the power of sin — Titus 2:14
4. Redeemed from the presence of sin in the eternal state — Romans 8:23, Ephesians 1:14, 4:30
5. Forgiven for all sin — Colossians 1:14
6. Given an eternal inheritance — Hebrews 9:11-15
7. Justified (declared righteous) — Romans 3:24
8. Sanctified (set apart to God) — Ephesians 5:25-27
9. Victorious over Satan — Colossians 2:14-15, Hebrews 2:14-15
10. Given a mediator with God, Jesus Christ — I Timothy 2:5-6

We have been “bought with a price”—the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross. We have been made eternally secure by the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we have no reason to “doubt our salvation” or to feel insecure in our relationship with God.