What a glorious and blessed truth it is that the Holy Spirit seals us! One of the most significant challenges in the Christian walk is to stay in communion with the Holy Spirit and not grieve it by actions that are contrary to God’s Word. We all face the struggle to walk worthy of our calling in a world so determined to undermine our faith and destroy our testimony. Thankfully, we have a Savior that enables us, and we are more than conquerors in Christ!
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. - Ephesians 4:30
If anyone is guilty of grieving the Holy Spirit of God, it is I. My entire Christian life has been filled with stumbling and failures that clearly show how precious
the gift of grace truly is. When we consider that Paul admonished us not to grieve the Holy Spirit, it implies that the Holy Spirit cannot leave us. If it could, it would
not stay to be grieved!
That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. - Ephesians 1:12-14
The reason the Holy Spirit can be grieved is because it seals us. When this passage is broken down into its components, it becomes one of the most blessed verses in the Bible. When we examine the order of events, we get:
1) We hear the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation. The Spirit is in the very words of the gospel;
2) We believe on Him unto salvation as a result of the conviction of the Holy Spirit;
3) We trust in Christ as our Lord and Savior;
4) God immediately seals us with His Spirit;
5) The Holy Spirit seal is the earnest, or guarantee, of our inheritance in the heavenly city;
6) This seal remains until the redemption of the purchased possession;
7) Once redeemed bodily (the rapture,) we will forever be to the praise of God’s glory.
There are seven blessed truths in this verse alone, and seven is the number of completion. Notice that twice in Ephesians, Paul mentions the seal of the Spirit until our day of redemption. This is an unbreakable promise from God that we are His children, and He cannot and will not disown us. The Holy Spirit’s seal is the earnest or deposit on the purchased possession which Jesus bought with His own blood:
For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us,
is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. - 2 Corinthians 1:20-22
This promise is so complete that it is literally an adoption contract between us and the Father. The Spirit itself is the seal of the King, and it is the witness that we are now children of God and joint heirs with Christ:
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. - Romans 8:15-17
Why, then, do so many of us struggle in the flesh to walk worthy of the vocation in which we are called? With these promises alone, never mind the countless other spiritual blessings we have in Christ, we should be compelled to literally addict ourselves to the ministry like the house of Stephanas did:
I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,) That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth. - 1 Corinthians 16:15-16
That kind of zeal and desire to serve the Lord should be in each of us! However, this is easier said than done. In fact, the author of the Hebrew Epistle points out how easily sin takes over in our flesh:
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrews 12:1-2
Sin does, indeed, easily beset us. Yes, we are in a race. If only we could keep our eyes on Jesus and what He demonstrated through His life and sacrifice, we could stay focused on the prize before us. Yet the lures of this world are the literal weapons of the enemy to distract us and render us ineffective. Satan knows he cannot “unsave” you because salvation can never be lost. But if he can neutralize you by destroying your witness, he has one less saint to worry about.
Paul also verifies that we are in a race:
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Notice that Paul’s aim was not sinless perfection. We can’t have that because we still live in sinful flesh. We will have perfection one day when our bodies are changed and fashioned like Christ’s glorious body. Until then, we must adopt the attitude of an athlete running in a contest. We must train, exercise, eat healthy, and focus on the event. This takes discipline, determination, and willpower. The enemy knows this.
I wish I knew the magic formula to motivate myself to keep my eyes focused on my Savior. I sometimes feel like a dog who easily gets distracted when a squirrel appears. At every turn, when we know we should pray, study the Scriptures, or abstain from all appearances of evil, our adversary sends his minions to entice, distract, and interfere.
Have you ever gotten up determined to read God's Word and spend meaningful time in prayer and study? You wake up enthused, have your coffee, and approach the task, ready to go. And within ten minutes, your eyes start to glaze over, you begin to yawn, and before you know it, you can barely keep your eyes open! This is a tactic of the Serpent. He knows how willing the spirit is, but the flesh is weak.
Not that it’s any consolation, but we are in good company. Even when Christ prayed and sweated great drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His arrest, the 12 Disciples faced the same challenge:
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
- Matthew 26:40-41
From the words of our Lord here, the solution was to watch and pray. We must be in a constant state of prayer and awareness of the battle we fight. It is so easy to lose sight of this fact; we are in a spiritual battle. Over and over again, Paul admonished us about this:
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. - 2 Timothy 2:3-4
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. - Ephesians 6:10-13
I constantly remind our listeners on the Bible Mysteries Podcast about the battle we fight against principalities and powers. Paul also admonishes us to put on the armor of God. If this is not proof that we are in a spiritual battle, what will it take for us to believe it? Of course, walking worthy is hard; we are in a fight against
principalities and powers. Of course, sin does so easily beset us; Satan has been dealing with human beings for 6,000 years. He knows our every weakness! Of course, we grieve the Holy Spirit; the Serpent has been attacking saints since the Church was formed, and one of the greatest weapons he wields is comfort.
Yes, we hate to be uncomfortable. We hate to leave our comfort zone. Serving the Lord takes effort. Paul said to endure hardness as a good soldier. Soldiers don’t lie on the couch watching TV during battle; they fight. They train. They practice combat maneuvers. Their very lives and the lives of the platoon depend on their training. This begs the question, “What kind of a soldier are you?” I must ask the same of myself. If we are honest, the answer would be a pretty poor one.
So, how do I become a better soldier for Christ? Perhaps this will help:
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:31-39
Let’s begin with the assurance that, though we can and do grieve the Holy Spirit, it will never leave us. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. We have this blessed assurance and are already more than conquerors through Him, so the enemy is already defeated. That is our foundation.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. - 2 Corinthians 5:20-21
Next, let’s recognize that we are ambassadors for Christ. Our only reason for remaining on this earth is to represent the Lord Jesus Christ by demonstrating His love through the gospel to save humanity. Why would our loving Father keep us in a sin-cursed world and not take us up to be with Him the moment we believe? Because there is a job to do, and He chose the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. He gave us His righteousness through Christ. We should act like it and be good ambassadors.
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: - Colossians 1:12-13
Thirdly, we must let a solid fact sink into our hearts: we are now part of a royal family. Not just any family, The Royal Family. We are children of the
Creator of the Universe. We are joint heirs with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I’m not sure we often understand the significance of this! We have been translated into the kingdom of Christ, and we belong to Him. When we get out of the way, His power operates through us to accomplish His will. He can work through us mightily if we will let Him.
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. - Romans 7:21-25
Finally, we need to realize that we are not alone. You aren’t the only one who sometimes feels like God’s failure. Paul experienced the same frustration that we do when trying to serve the Lord. He stated that when he tried to do good, evil was present. In fact, he even had a messenger sent from Satan to buffethim. He prayed to God three times to remove this demonic oppressor, but God said, No:
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Are you feeling too weak to serve the Lord? Good. That’s precisely how God wants us. It keeps us depending on the Lord. I am confident that the afflictions in my flesh are there to keep my eyes focused on Christ and not my own ability. When I feel strong in myself, the Lord knows He will have a problem with me. But when I’m abased, then He can use me. If so, I will also glory in my infirmities, like Paul, knowing that when I am weak, He is strong.
Let us lift each other up in prayer, seeking the Lord’s strength to endure hardness, convicting our hearts to serve Him, and dedicating ourselves to the ministry in these last days. Since there is little time left, few will be willing to do this. Will you join me? Let’s see if, rather than grieving the Holy Spirit, we can give the Spirit a reason to rejoice!
Comments