Sealed by the Holy Spirit

Paul says, do not grieve the Holy Spirit by whom you were sealed. It is a wonderful biblical idea. You find it in many places in Scripture. It means three things. It means ownership: the Holy Spirit is God’s mark of ownership. The Holy Spirit is God saying this person belongs to me. The Holy Spirit within you is saying: you belong to God. In the days of the Wild West and maybe still, the ranchers used to brand their cattle and each ranch had a particular brand. The Lazy Wire or the Barbie or whatever it was—that brand was put on the cow. That animal belonged to that particular rancher. The seal was the mark of ownership. God says by his Spirit in your heart, you belong to me.

Secondly, a seal was also and still is a mark of authority. If you have a college diploma, there will be a seal at the bottom of it. The seal of the university, college or institution is saying this is official. This person has passed the exams, obtained the degree, and has got the particular requirement necessary. It is official. And God’s Spirit is his mark of authority on you and me. It means that when we use our gifts, we are doing it in his name, as his representatives, on his behalf. You are not on your own. You are acting in God’s name and by God’s authority.

And thirdly, the seal was not only ownership and authority but protection. If people wanted to protect a document, they sealed it. When they wanted to keep Jesus in the tomb, they sealed the tomb. If you are buying medicine in a chemist, you want to make sure that the seal is unbroken. If you find that you have got a jar of tablets and the seal was broken, you will take it back. The seal is a mark of protection. So, the Holy Spirit is not only God’s ownership, God’s authority, but also God’s protection. He is going to watch over you; he is going to keep you from all that would harm you.

If you are a Christian and you think about using your gifts, God is saying, You have my Spirit. You belong to me. I am authorising you to use these gifts, and I will keep you as you use them. So, we are called to grasp this by faith, and then to act boldly and joyfully in response to the truth we know.¹

Edward Donnelly