Signed, Sealed, Delivered

If you’re a believer, the Holy Spirit has many ministries in your life. But one in particular keeps you under the shelter of the Almighty’s wings forever.
Most people want a stamp of affirmation when they complete a transaction. All types of affirmation exist. Yet one—and only one—brings relief and confirmation in a way that reflects something of far greater significance. That affirmation comes from God alone. It is His gift to believers, accompanied by words of assurance and (above all) the peace we long for.

After the traumatic event of Jesus’ crucifixion at Calvary, the Lord’s disciples gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem, praying and waiting for what would come next. It was the Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot), which drew great numbers of observant Jews to Jerusalem from around the ancient world.

They came to participate in religious festivities God ordered long ago through Moses: “You shall keep . . . the Feast of the Harvest [Pentecost], the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field” (Ex. 23:15–16).

They were there to celebrate what God ordered in the past. But on this day, God would initiate a new era—one that far transcended anything these pilgrims could have conceived. A new birth was about to engulf them. The Holy Spirit was about to make His entrance.

The Holy Spirit Arrives
The Holy Spirit was no stranger to Old Testament saints. Joshua, Samson, Gideon, and others received power from the Spirit for certain purposes. But these divine interventions did not constitute a permanent indwelling.

Now God would do something beyond anything He had done in the past. He would send the Holy Spirit to indwell believers. The disciples gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem, as Jesus had commanded, and waited for the promise of the Father. “Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire” (Acts 2:2–3). And these men “were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (v. 4), an indwelling never before experienced in the history of humanity.

One Bible commentator compared it to Jesus’ arrival in Bethlehem. In Bethlehem, God sent His Son into the world. In Jerusalem, He sent the Holy Spirit to take up residence permanently within individual believers.

Because of this divine transaction, Jesus’ followers became empowered to minister to the throngs of people at the feast in these people’s own languages. When the apostle Peter stood up to preach, it became wonderfully apparent that something special had taken place. This man could not have generated such a change on his own.

Prior to Pentecost, Simon Peter was a man of many moods, with a mercurial temperament often punctuated by outbursts that likely caused others to back away from the fisherman when he was angry. It was Peter who promised that, while others may deny the Lord, he never would. Yet in a matter of days, as the chief priests interrogated Jesus, Peter cowered outside and disavowed any association with the Lord.

But after the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, another Peter emerged—one whose boldness, ability, and passion shone consistently for the remainder of his life.

The Holy Spirit Seals Believers
The grace gift the Lord gave Peter—and provides for all true believers in Jesus Christ—is like a stamp of affirmation, signifying that we belong to Him:

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Cor. 1:21–22, NIV).

The Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence is a deposit that stays with us always. It guarantees “what is to come,” namely, the completion of our salvation and our eternal life with God. God “set his seal of ownership on us,” and Scripture never says He removes it.

For thousands of Jewish people at Pentecost, that particular Shavuot embodied laying before the Lord not the fruit of their fields alone, but of their hearts. They became what we call saved by submitting to Peter’s gospel message about the Savior they had scorned while He lived among them. The glory of that gospel we now proclaim is, in its simplicity, presented as a grace gift that Christ obtained at immeasurable cost.

To acknowledge our sin, confess it, and cast all our hope and faith on Jesus and His work on the cross on our behalf secures never-to-be-rescinded eternal redemption. In short, we become children of God forever.

At the moment of our salvation, however, another work also takes place—perhaps not as dramatic a work as the passage from eternal death to eternal life but one that transforms us nonetheless: The Holy Spirit enters our lives. As Bible scholar Dr. John MacArthur said,

When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in his life. Life in Jesus Christ is different because the Spirit of God is now within [sealed]. He is there to empower us, equip us for ministry, and function through the gifts He has given us. The Holy Spirit is our Helper and Advocate. He protects and encourages us.¹

Peace in a Troubled World
No one can seriously contend that we are not living in troubled times. The anguished outcry of people the world over is for peace. It is heartening to know a peace that indeed “surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7) is readily available from the one source where it can be found: the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Those who receive Christ as Savior find a state of peace that is the harbinger of a state of life ensuring purpose, contentment, and the absolute knowledge that our lives are in God’s hands. Furthermore, we can communicate to others what Christ has done for us. Never in the history of our beloved United States has there been a time when the need for Jesus was greater.

We often hear speculation on how to avoid the apocalypse striking us. The answer lies in our midst. It rests within the assembly of true believers—people sealed by the Spirit—who exhibit the fruit of true faith and manifest His indwelling for the purpose of glorifying the God who saved them and waiting confidently for His return.

His return is our abiding expectation. We have His promise of it, a promise that crowns every aspect of our lives:

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also (Jn. 14:1–3).

If you have repented of your sin and asked Jesus to forgive you and become your Savior, you are signed, sealed, and delivered. Who could ask for more?

ENDNOTE

1. 1. 1. John MacArthur, “What Does It Mean to Be Sealed With the Holy Spirit?” gracetoyou.org, October 13, 2022, from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Ephesians 1
         (tinyurl.com/sealeddd).

      Photo: Adobe Stock

   

   (1930-2024) Elwood McQuaid was the former executive director of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry and former editor-in-chief of Israel My Glory magazine. He authored multiple books focusing on Israel, prophecy, and biblical teaching.