Ephesians 1:13-14

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

trusted (v.13) — The word “trusted” is in italics and is therefor not in the Greek text. It is not needed. We have in the Greek what is called an interrupted construction. The translation reads, “in whom also as for you, having heard the word of the truth, the good news of your salvation, in whom having believed, you were sealed with the Spirit of the promise, the Holy (Spirit).” — Wuest, pages 48-49

sealed (v.13) — In Scripture, a seal symbolizes:

Holy Spirit (v.13) — He, Himself, is the seal.

guarantee (v.14) = earnest, money deposited by a purchased in pledge of full payment

Thus, God places the Holy Spirit in us permanently, indicating that the great transaction in which God the Son paid for sin, thus satisfying the just demand of God’s holy law, is finished; that we saints belong to Him as His heritage, and that we are eternally secure. The Holy Spirit is described as the Spirit of the promise, namely, the Spirit who was announced by promise; see Acts 2:16, Joel 2:28; Zechariah 12:10; Isaiah 32:15; Isaiah 44:3; John 7:39; Acts 1:4-8; Galatians 3:14. — Wuest, page 49

__________

To place earnest money down in Paul’s day, as well as in our day, meant three things:

  1. It was a down payment which made a contract binding.

  2. It represented an obligation to purchase.

  3. It was a foretaste of what was to come.

When purchasing property, it is a common practice to place a certain amount of earnest money down. This makes the deal binding and obligates the buyer to purchase the piece of land according to the terms of the contract. So it is with God. He has given us the earnest of the Spirit (the indwelling Spirit) as a down payment, which means He now has the obligation to honor His Word to complete the transaction. Thus, when the trump sounds God will claim His purchased possessions, ushering us home to be forever with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:17) — Sadler, pages 60-61.

purchased possession (v14) = preserving, acquiring, gaining for one’s self

In verse 6, God the Father is praised for selecting us by His mercies; in verse 12, the Son of God is praised for securing us by His mediation; and in verse 14, the Holy Spirit is praised for sealing us by His ministry.

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