sought to keep the body of Jesus securely sealed in the tomb. Now we know that those enemies of our Lord did not succeed in making the sepulchre sure, for the one reason that the Lord Himself broke their seal, His power being greater than theirs. But since it is God who seals His children, and there is no power as great as His to break His seal, our security can never be imperiled. The Apostle Paul write, “Now he which stablish- eth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (II Cor. 1:21, 22). If language means anything, we are taught here that the believer in Christ is established in Him by means of the indwelling Holy Spirit. That God has taken sinful, weak and defeated men, and saved them and established them forever in Christ is a miracle in human experience. Those who are established in Christ are also “anointed.” The anointing of the Holy Spirit is the common symbol of Divine approval for services. Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, be cause he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, an'd recover ing of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18, 19 cf. Acts 4:27; 10:38). In the Old Testament, prophets, priests and kings were anointed when appointed to their several offices. God was announcing them as qualified men for their re spective offices. In like manner Christians are spoken of as anointed (I John 2:20, 27). Our right to sonship and service is authenticated by God’s sealing us with the Holy Spirit. He who bears the Seal of God upon him is marked as be longing to God and as one called to represent God. The word earnest (Gr. arrabou) was used to describe the deposit or down payment made by a purchaser as a guarantee that the balance would be forthcom ing. In II Corinthians 5:5, Paul uses it of the Spirit as the guarantee of the Christian’s immortality, that one day he shall arrive in Heaven and never be liable to death again. In the last of his writings, Paul uses the word seal. “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (II Tim. 2:19). Hymena- eus and Philetus were false teachers seeking to lead others astray, but God was not deceived. God knows His own by virtue of His Seal upon them, and the sealed ones respond by recognizing their relation to God with its corresponding call to holiness. KB 17
God. As redeemed ones, we stand in the efficacy of the shed and sprinkled blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Indwelt by the Spirit, we have the stamp of fitness as sons and servants of God. We may be sure that God will never put His Seal upon one who is not His. On the other hand, we may be equally sure that all who are His have been sealed. God’s sealing of His children, then, is His gracious communication of the Spirit to them. The seal is the mark of security. Once sealed, the child of God is sealed forever. Paul wrote, “. . . ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). This statement does not refer to the redemption of the soul, for that day is already past for the believer in Christ. But rather does it speak of a redemption still future, “the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8:23). Being subject to death and decay, our bodies have not yet been redeemed. But the day is coming when “we shall be changed” (I Cor. 15:52), and “we shall be like Him” (I John 3:2). At that day the last trace of fallen Adam’s likeness will be removed from us. This is the redemption for which we are still wait ing, and until that day we have been sealed. The seal can never be broken nor the believer's position in Christ altered. This is illustrated for us in the case of Darius the king and Daniel. The presi dents and princes persuaded Darius to establish a decree that all persons asking a petition of any god save the king, should be cast into the den of lions. The king executed and sealed the decree, not know ing that the presidents and princes had plotted against Daniel. But, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, the seal had given finality to the decree so that there was no altering the matter (Dan. 6). It is so with our spiritual sealing. The moment God seals the believing sinner with His Holy Spirit, a relationship is forever established. The seal guaran tees eternal security for the child of God. After our Lord’s crucifixion, the chief priests and Pharisees came together in Pilate’s chamber to dis cuss the prediction Christ had made concerning His resurrection. They were determined that His body would remain in the grave. They said to Pilate, “Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, seajing the stone, and set ting a watch” (Matt. 27:63-66). By sealing the sepul chre, they sought to make it “sure,” that is, they JUNE, 1970
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