THE IMPRESSION OF CHRIST ON US* THE SEAL OF THE SPIRIT * “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption,”/ EPH 4:30. The seal of the Holy Spirit of God is a visible seal (or “token of proof, being the inscription or impression made by a seal.”). /The seal is a witness in the soul that comes only from the Holy Spirit. A seal on a document can be seen and felt. It is a tangible proof of authenticity. When we receive *the seal or token of the proof or earnest of the Spirit, it is the inscription or impression of the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ that is stamped upon us. If you go into a home to visit with a family, you will see the Spirit of Christ in that home; you will hear evidence of it in the words of the mother and father. The attitudes and actions of the children will reflect the Spirit of Christ. The impression of the character of Christ rests upon the whole household. That is the seal of the Spirit. It is visible and a person can recognize it. ROM 8:8-9 says, “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you [if the impression of Christ is on you], the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” How do we recognize the Spirit of Christ? The first thing a person recognizes is a holy awe and reverence for the will of His Father. Jesus humbled Himself unto death, even the death of the cross because it was the Father’s command. He was obedient unto death. The Spirit of Christ is revealed in His humble obedience to the Father. To love God with your heart, your soul, and your mind is the first indication of the Spirit of Christ that is stamped upon those who believe. That is the first table of the law. The second table of the law is like unto it. They love their neighbor as themselves. When that impression of Christ is stamped upon a person’s character, the person becomes a new character, a new person. That is the seal of the Spirit. EPH 4:22-27 says, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.” If the impression of Christ is stamped on the heart and becomes part of the walk of life, then Christ is in you. “And if Christ be in you [if that impression of Christ has been stamped upon your heart and attitudes], the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness,” ROM 8:10. The sign of this circumcised heart, which is the seal of the Spirit, is a right attitude towards our fellowman and the will of God. Watch out! There is a danger that Satan will transpose these truths. We are not saved *on account of good works, but our sanctification through the Lord Jesus Christ is our evidence that we are saved or that we have the impression of Christ sealed unto us by the Spirit. We are not saved by good works; good works are the evidence we are saved. This principle is very important to understand and is most often overlooked. Look at 1CO 1:29-31, “That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” It is the work of grace that we are in Christ; it is of God’s sovereign pleasure. It is that for which He has predestined us, that we should be in Christ in heavenly places. The source of our sanctification is God’s grace. There is nothing we can glory in or boast about before God; there is nothing we can place in our hands and show what we have done. Let us glory in the Lord, not in what we are or what we have done. Our glory is what the Lord has done for us. Our sanctification is our evidence of that which was worked in us by grace. Christ is our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. It is not *because we have the Spirit of Christ that God has chosen us to be sons. Many doctrines get their wires crossed here as though God chose us because we have done this or that. That is not what Scripture says. It is because God the Father has chosen us in the election of grace to be His children, before the foundation of the world, that we received the Spirit of Christ. See what GAL 4:6-7 says; “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” Do you see the evidence of the seal? We received the Spirit of Christ because we are sons; we are not sons because we have it. This is why having that Spirit of Christ is such an undeniable token of the authentication of the seal of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Jul 2013 20:53:21 +0000
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