THE SEAL OF THE LIVING GOD (Part 1)
Written by Kenute Curry
All believers who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and His redemptive work on Calvary have been branded by the Holy Spirit with a mark. God has every believer sealed and protected from the deceptive and uncanny forces of Satan at work in this world. There is not an angel, demon, or principality out there that is not absolutely certain whether you are saved or lost. You are either bearing a seal, or you are not. We begin with Ezekiel 9:3-4:
Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” (Ezekiel 9:3-4)
In this scene, the Shekinah glory cloud, which was the symbol of God’s presence, departs before the destruction of the city and temple. God commands the angelic scribe with the writer’s inkhorn to mark on the foreheads of all the righteous, those who had been faithful to Him. The Hebrew word for mark is “taw,” which is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, made like a “+.” To the Greek Christian this sign would suggest the first letter of the name of Christ (Chi) or his cross. The man with the writer’s inkhorn is none other than Jesus Christ, who is the Angel of the Lord in His preincarnate form. He is superior to the others and clothed in white linen, which indicates high rank (Daniel10:5; 12:6) Linen characterized the High Priest (Leviticus 16:4) and was an emblem of purity. What is noteworthy of this is that salvation belongs to him and he has the authority to seal all the righteous servants of God who opposed the idolatry and abominations that that were taking place in the city. Here we have Jesus Christ sealing the righteous and penitent ones and giving grace to the true believers. God always takes care of His children. Ephesians 1:13-14 states:
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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
The Gospel of Jesus Christ must be heard, according to Romans 10:17, and believed, as stated in John 1:12, to bring salvation. The word “sealed” in this passage is the Greek word “sphragizo” which means to stamp with a signet or private mark. In this passage, Paul refers to an official mark of identification placed on a letter, contract, or other document. That document was officially under the authority of the person whose stamp was on the seal. When we give our life to Christ, the Holy Spirit then comes to indwell the believer and places a seal on him, and marks him as one of God’s children. We are under the authority of Jesus Christ. This is the guarantee of our inheritance and redemption. Four truths are signified by this seal:
1. Security (Daniel 6:17; Matthew 27:62-66).
2. Authenticity (1 Kings 21:6-16).
3. Ownership (Jeremiah 32:10)
4. Authority (Esther 8:8-12)
Christ’s saving work of grace stabilizes believers and places them on a firm foundation in Him (Romans 16:25; 1 Corinthians 15:58; 1 Peter 5:10). In 2 Corinthians 1:21-22: it states:
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
The authenticity of Paul’s life and that of every believer is verified by these four divine works: “establishes us, anointed us, sealed us, given us the Spirit.” We are anointed by Holy Spirit and empowered for service of carrying the truth of the Gospel to others. The same Greek word that is used for “sealed” in Ephesians 1:14 is used here as well. It is the seal or stamp that indicated ownership, authenticity, and protection. The Holy Spirit attaches all of these meanings to His act of spiritually sealing those who know Christ (Haggai 2:23; Ephesians 4:30).
All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Holy Bible, Copyright ©1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc.
©2011 by Kenute Curry. All rights reserved.
Written by Kenute Curry
All believers who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and His redemptive work on Calvary have been branded by the Holy Spirit with a mark. God has every believer sealed and protected from the deceptive and uncanny forces of Satan at work in this world. There is not an angel, demon, or principality out there that is not absolutely certain whether you are saved or lost. You are either bearing a seal, or you are not. We begin with Ezekiel 9:3-4:
Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” (Ezekiel 9:3-4)
In this scene, the Shekinah glory cloud, which was the symbol of God’s presence, departs before the destruction of the city and temple. God commands the angelic scribe with the writer’s inkhorn to mark on the foreheads of all the righteous, those who had been faithful to Him. The Hebrew word for mark is “taw,” which is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, made like a “+.” To the Greek Christian this sign would suggest the first letter of the name of Christ (Chi) or his cross. The man with the writer’s inkhorn is none other than Jesus Christ, who is the Angel of the Lord in His preincarnate form. He is superior to the others and clothed in white linen, which indicates high rank (Daniel10:5; 12:6) Linen characterized the High Priest (Leviticus 16:4) and was an emblem of purity. What is noteworthy of this is that salvation belongs to him and he has the authority to seal all the righteous servants of God who opposed the idolatry and abominations that that were taking place in the city. Here we have Jesus Christ sealing the righteous and penitent ones and giving grace to the true believers. God always takes care of His children. Ephesians 1:13-14 states:
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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
The Gospel of Jesus Christ must be heard, according to Romans 10:17, and believed, as stated in John 1:12, to bring salvation. The word “sealed” in this passage is the Greek word “sphragizo” which means to stamp with a signet or private mark. In this passage, Paul refers to an official mark of identification placed on a letter, contract, or other document. That document was officially under the authority of the person whose stamp was on the seal. When we give our life to Christ, the Holy Spirit then comes to indwell the believer and places a seal on him, and marks him as one of God’s children. We are under the authority of Jesus Christ. This is the guarantee of our inheritance and redemption. Four truths are signified by this seal:
1. Security (Daniel 6:17; Matthew 27:62-66).
2. Authenticity (1 Kings 21:6-16).
3. Ownership (Jeremiah 32:10)
4. Authority (Esther 8:8-12)
Christ’s saving work of grace stabilizes believers and places them on a firm foundation in Him (Romans 16:25; 1 Corinthians 15:58; 1 Peter 5:10). In 2 Corinthians 1:21-22: it states:
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
The authenticity of Paul’s life and that of every believer is verified by these four divine works: “establishes us, anointed us, sealed us, given us the Spirit.” We are anointed by Holy Spirit and empowered for service of carrying the truth of the Gospel to others. The same Greek word that is used for “sealed” in Ephesians 1:14 is used here as well. It is the seal or stamp that indicated ownership, authenticity, and protection. The Holy Spirit attaches all of these meanings to His act of spiritually sealing those who know Christ (Haggai 2:23; Ephesians 4:30).
All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Holy Bible, Copyright ©1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc.
©2011 by Kenute Curry. All rights reserved.
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