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The Ephesian Connection
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.
We have been purchased by the blood of Jesus; we are His possession. Furthermore, He has declared His ownership by imprinting His seal into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. While a seal indicates ownership, it also testifies to authenticity.
He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He bears witness; and no man receives His witness. He who has received His witness has set his seal to this, that God is true.
In the midst of all that is counterfeit, all that falsely offers hope and fulfillment to mankind, there is one authentic Savior – the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Scripture calls us to believe His word, to receive Him into our hearts, and to thus set our seal to the fact that God is true.
Today many reject God, and their lives and actions declare His word to be false. In effect, they call Him a liar. But there are others who have set their seal on what God has done. This act puts their lives and reputations on the line as they become permanently identified with His purpose. When one says that something is authentic, his certification puts his name on the line. He runs the risk of being in trouble if later it proves to be counterfeit.
God calls us to put our lives on the line if we have indeed found Him to be trustworthy and His word to be true. Satan would have us believe that God will fail us, that He is not committed to us, that His character is untrustworthy. If he can cause us to doubt God’s integrity, then what can we have faith in? His word? What good is someone’s word if they cannot be trusted? So, the thought comes – “God will desert you. He will walk away from you even though He said that He never would. He cannot be trusted!” Satan always attacks God’s character. But if God is trustworthy then His word is also true, even if every man is found to be a liar. Our foundation then is solid if we are built upon Him. This is the ultimate question everyone who hears the gospel must face. Can God be trusted? Can I lay my whole life on the line for Him and what He has promised? Or will I be swayed when the enemy calls me a fool for putting my trust in Him? “He will let you down and leave you holding the bag. He will get you to put your seal to His kingdom, to identify with it and say that it is authentic, and it will turn out to be a sham. And you will be a laughingstock.”
If we believe Satan’s lies, we will hold back from total commitment to God and His purpose. Here is the enemy’s strategy. But he will fail because our God is true; He is worthy to be trusted. And He has proven it over and over again. We can place our lives into His hands. In the end, it will not be those who believed in God who will look foolish but those who decided that He could not be trusted.
One significant foundation stone in any successful life is the belief that God can be trusted. Life is to be the adventure of faith. As He leads us into unfamiliar circumstances, we can watch for His hand of intervention enabling us to succeed in His purpose. Christianity is not a dull regimen of rules and regulations; it is the revelation of Christ – not only in the Scriptures, but also in real life Christian experience. God may assign us tasks that are beyond our ability. And if our focus is our own weakness, we will hold ourselves back from His calling. But if we are persuaded that He can be trusted, and that He will empower us to do His will, then we can step forth confidently in faith.
As God places His seal upon us thus authenticating us as His people, we are to set our seal to the fact that He is true. And He wants His possession to be clearly seen on earth. But Satan acts to confuse the issue. The proliferation of all that is counterfeit (cults, false religions, the occult, secular humanism, etc.) is simply his attempt to obscure what is genuine. If one places a hundred plastic flowers around a real one, it can be difficult to locate the one that is authentic. How then do we identify the genuine? What is Heaven’s seal?
...you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.
He Himself, His presence, is what marks us as unique among all the people of the earth. God intends to reveal what is authentic with an unmistakable clarity for all to see before He returns.
Until the final day there will be many voices of mixture sounding forth even in the Church of Jesus Christ. There will also be many “plastic flowers” surrounding her true testimony as well. Although the authentic people of God today fall short of fully revealing God’s kingdom, we should not be discouraged. Heaven’s plan is unfolding. Jesus told a parable about wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24 - 30, 37 - 43). The wheat typified God’s people, the tares spoke of the wicked, and the field was the world. Jesus said that when the wheat bore grain, then the tares would be exposed for the weeds that they are (Matthew 13:26).
The distinction today between wheat and tares is not always obvious. Tares keep promising to produce “the grain”. Many unbelievers say that with enough money, education, political activism, and social programs, man will be able to produce peace, prosperity, and fulfill his destiny on earth. Some believe that science holds the ultimate hope for mankind. For others, the answers lie in psychology, religion, socialism, or capitalism. But hidden among all the tares of the world, there is a people marked with the seal of heaven. And at the end of the age they will bear abundant grain and be manifested visibly as God’s sons. That which creation has longed for since the time of Adam will be found springing up with distinctive clarity. There will be justice, true righteousness, peace, and joy. And this company of people will stand in marked contrast to the tares who will be exposed as unable to produce “the grain” in the time of harvest.
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
God will reveal His authentic sons. We are already witnessing this gradual phenomenon; wheat does not bear its grain instantly, all in one day. Rather, it grows over a period of time. Many Christians are expecting God to accomplish in them in one day what He desires to do in them over their lifetimes. While it is true that at Christ’s second coming, our bodies will be instantly transformed and glorified, He wants to develop His character in us now. He wants the fruit in us that testifies of His life to be increasingly made manifest in our lives.
And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.
Notice that the day of the Lord dawns in conjunction with the Morning Star arising in our hearts. And in our day, He is arising in His people, preparing us as He comes for His people. The increase of His life, presence, and character in us will mark us as His sealed possession at the end of the age.
It is good that we are looking forward eagerly to His appearing. But are we also looking with anticipation for Him to increasingly arise in His people? Is our prayer only that He would come quickly? While this is a good desire, let me suggest that this prayer also be on our lips.
Lord Jesus, may Your wheat increasingly bear grain in these days. Cause that which marks us as unique from the world’s tares to grow in us. Lord, arise in Zion. You have sealed us with Your Holy Spirit and it is obvious to You who the heavenly people are. But Oh Lord, make the distinction ever more obvious here among the nations. May the manifestation of Your presence intensify in our midst. May the authenticating feature that characterizes Your unique possession on earth be more clearly seen. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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