The Seal of the Spirit

In the ancient world, letter writing was the primary form of long-distance communication.  In order for a person in Rome to communicate with someone in Palestine, they had to write a letter and have it delivered by a confidant.  Military communications were handled by professional couriers, but there were very few if any privatized mail couriers, just friends of friends delivering private letters.

Because the risk of forgery was so great, a method for ensuring the authenticity of authorship was needed.  The method that was used involved sealing the messages with official seals, like signet rings and familial seals, pressed into wax.  In this way, authorship of letters was authenticated and the message therein was guaranteed.

In Ephesians 1:13-14 as well as 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Paul applies this method of securing long-distance communications to the spiritual life.  Paul says that God has put His seal on believers; the seal is the Holy Spirit.  Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit seals believers, as a guarantee of the Promise given by and through Christ, which is salvation.  This is remarkable.

Believers are in the world but not of the world.  We are given a taste of the heavenly realm through confession and belief, but we are not wholly removed from the earthly realm.  We are promised total salvation, but while living in the world, we only get a part of that salvation.  The Holy Spirit seals, guaranteeing that we will receive the whole of salvation promised.

Additionally, seals pronounce that the one who seals is the owner of that which is sealed.  Therefore, because we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, we belong to God.  This is a beautiful thing and a theological landmark: we belong to Him.  This is confirmed throughout the Scripture, that we are to be slaves to His righteousness (Rom. 6:14-19).  This means that the seal itself (the Holy Spirit) not only guarantees the future perfect fulfillment of salvation, He also guides us in how we are to live.

Ultimately, the presence of the Holy Spirit is the true indication of faith as He is the seal of our salvation.  Christians who do not exhibit the Holy Spirit or struggle to ascertain His presence in their lives should examine themselves; it could be the mark of a deeper issue.  In truth, believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, the Holy Spirit will be present in the lives of believers.  All this glorifies the Lord.  Praise be to God, for He is steadfast and faithful to keep those that cling to Him!

The Patience of God

The Lord is exceedingly patient.  He desires above all else for His children, the elect, to repent and turn to Him in faith (2 Pet. 3:9).  The Lord is a God of justice but He is not swift to dish out justice.  Instead, He is patient, giving man every possible chance to turn in faith to Him.  This is one of the most remarkable characteristics of God: that even though we are disobedient and obstinate to Him, He is faithful and patient with us.

There is incredible risk to the patience of God: delayed consequences of sin.  Because God is not swift to mete out justice, it can cause man to believe that justice won't come and they will grow more apostate as a result (Ecc. 8:11).  But God's patience is a test.  He is patient so that we would have every opportunity to repent and be obedient to His will.

When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they believed, rightly so, that they were the chosen people of God.  Because of this truth, after Solomon's death, when the nation split and turned to apostasy and unbelief, they believed that God would never judge and forsake His people.  Because He didn't judge them immediately, the people grew more and more apostate believing that God wouldn't judge them.  For centuries, He was patient with His people.  Eventually though, time ran out and judgment fell upon the people, razing the country through pagan empires and sending the people into exile; only the remnant survived.

As all of the Scripture speaks to Christ, the history of Israel does so as well.  What we, as Christians, can glean from the Old Testament is that, although judgment may be delayed, it is sure to come.  God is abounding in steadfast love and more than anything desires that we would turn to Him in confession and belief.  We should not take advantage of His patience but should recognize His patience as it is: worthy of praise.

Additionally, God's patience is to be an example for us.  We, as living sacraments of His nature, are to be patient as He is patient.  This is beyond difficult and only possible with the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us.  Patience means that we will be quick to overlook faults and even quicker to forgive.  The Lord desires for us to forgive and be patient.  Ultimately, we cannot know how our acts of patience can propel others towards repentance and faith, and this is a beautiful thing.

Required Repentance

Repentance is one of the requirements of belief.  Without repentance, true belief is impossible.  In many ways, repentance is the first step in belief.  Repentance is best defined as turning away from something and towards something else.  In spiritual terms, repentance means turning from sin to holiness, from flesh to spirit, and ultimately, from self to God.  Simply put, repentance is about truly facing God at the downplay of self.  It is a two-part process: turning from our self and turning towards Him.

God rejoices at repentance.  At the end of the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus reminds us that God takes great joy at the sincere repentance of sinners (Luke 15:7).  When repentance happens, the repentant see themselves in light of God's holiness.  The focus is not on the repentant person but on the holiness of the Lord.  This is a joyous experience.

Although repentance can happen in one bursting moment, there are stages to repentance.  First is realization; the person recognizes their own shortfalls and missteps.  This is analysis done in reaction to the revelation of God's holiness.  When we truly see our sin in light of God' perfection, the value of who we are is weighed against the value of Christ.  Without fail, we cannot compare to the worth of Christ so when we honestly see the uselessness of our righteousness it prompts us to the next step: facing God.

In facing God, we come before the Lord acknowledging that we are sinners and incapable of any righteousness apart from Him.  Thus, we turn to Him as the source of our righteousness.  This is repentance.  To add to this, when we turn to God, we expect Him to cleanse and save us from ourselves. This is the most profound stage and purpose of repentance, belief.  Repentance is useless if the One who we repent towards is not able and faithful.  Yet God in His infinite mercy and desire for us to draw near Him is always faithful.

Both Isaiah and Ezekiel touch on this, that God will provide and care for those who repent from their wickedness (Isa. 55:7; Eze. 18:21).  There is a promise built into repentance that is only fulfilled upon repentance's follow through.  It is not enough to merely assess and confirm one's wickedness.  True repentance requires that the repentant turn in faith to God.

Repentance is the impetus for belief and salvation but it is also not a one-time use action.  Instead, repentance is intimately tied in the lifelong, ongoing process of sanctification.  If we are not in a near constant state of repentance that propels us to greater levels of devotion and relationship, then we are not being sanctified, or at least not being sanctified enough.

Instead, the Christian should never feel comfortable with their state of sanctification but should rather be always striving for greater, more, and deeper levels of devotion to God.  We should be focused and energized to continually repent of that which inhibits our fidelity to the Lord.  In this, we will be serving and praising the Lord with our very lives.

Blasphemy

The Lord's name is sacred.  His name is not just a moniker but is an indication of His nature and character.  When we speak God's names we are in fact asserting its meaning.  God, Elohim, speaks to His role as creator and sustainer of the universe.  Lord, Yahweh, reveals His covenant keeping faithfulness.  Adonai pronounces His supreme and sovereign rank as the divine master.  The Holy Spirit defines His spiritual and holy nature.

The names of the Lord should not be taken or spoken lightly.  Flippant, glib, or obscene uses of the names of God are blasphemous.  Blasphemy is serious.  However, in our secular society where sin and the sacred have become diminished and personally assessed, blasphemy is not only glossed over, it is considered acceptable.  

When we speak the name of God without fear we are in fact asserting that He is not worthy of reverence.   Thus, blasphemy in every form is sin.  The Lord is to be exalted and praised with every breath and every thought.  Christians are to live lives that are examples of the Lord on the earth.  Therefore, when Christians blaspheme they are affirming what the world believes, that God is not worthy of the utmost reverence.

The name of Jesus means "God (Yahweh) saves."  There is meaning and theological import to the name of Christ.  Moreover, He is the Messiah, the holy and spotless lamb of God who, by His work, saves all of mankind.  Therefore, when we sing of Jesus' name(s), we are truly recognizing in reverence of who He is and what He has done.  This should be the only way that His named should be spoken or uttered.

God is God, the Lord of all creation.  He, and His name, should always and only be praised.  The challenge to this is the world, which stands in opposition to reverence of God.  When we blaspheme and speak the name of God in an unworthy manner, we are in fact acquiescing to the in-deference and irreverence of the world.  This should not be so.  Believers need to be disciplined and focused in their speech and thought as to always deal with the name of God in the manner that He deserves.  The Lord, Yahweh, God, Elohim, Jesus, we should speak these names as often as possible but always in reverent reference to the divine reality that the names refer to.

Sacraments

We, believers, are to be living sacraments.  A Sacrament is an instrument that points to the sacred, a symbol of the divine reality.  In the Catholic church, the 7 sacraments are human devices meant to serve as sort of holy determinants.  Because of this, the concept of sacraments can seem somewhat divisive if not even tendentious.  The purpose of this dialogue is not to discuss the merits of the Catholic Holy Sacraments, rather, the content of this discourse is to understand the reality of sacraments.

Sacraments are symbols that point to the sacred.  They are not holy in and of themselves.  Instead, the sacrament’s holiness is determined by its aim, which is God.  In this sense, we, our very lives, are the ultimate of sacraments.  We are sacraments.

Paul exhorts believers to live lives that are examples of Christ (Rom 6; 12:1-2).  Any and everything we do is to point to Him, to His holiness and grace, but also His justice and faithfulness.  Our lives, the very way we live is to be a sacrament that acts as a testament to Him.

Under the Mosaic covenant, everything was a sacrament.  The tabernacle, the ark, the altar, the priestly garb, all of it was made in such a way as to direct the hearts of the people to a holy and faithful God.  The end of Exodus and all of Leviticus speak to God’s holiness.  He, God, wants us to know Him.  Even under the Mosaic covenant, He revealed His character.  In this sense, Sacraments serve to reveal who God is.  

Under the new covenant, which is delivered and sealed in Christ, believers perform all of the sacramental functions of the tabernacle, the ark, the veils, the altar, the priest, etc.  This is how sacraments should be understood, not separated from the original sacraments which were described in great detail in the Pentateuch.

This should shed light into how believers should live.  We are holy because He is holy.  We are faithful because He is faithful.  We are wise because He is wise.  We are righteous because He is righteous.  All of these things, divine character traits, we are not able to hold to or exhibit outside of His Holy Word and Spirit working in us.  

We are Jesus’ agents on the earth.  We are to be living sacraments that point to His nature and to His character.  This is an incredible responsibility that should prompt us to sincere devotion to Him and His Word.  But praise be to God that He would use imperfect vessels to transmit His perfect nature to the world!

No Neutral Ground

There is no DMZ in the war of salvation.  There is no neutral ground where the unsure can sit and observe before making an informed decision.  God wants and requires a decision.  Either we believe in Him or we do not.  This is not ambiguous or unclear, it is absolute and straightforward.  There is a pervasive zeitgeist that posits agnosticism in a safe light; like, if you don't explicitly rule out God, then you could be safe.  This is wholly and dangerously incorrect.

The world and its ruler, Satan, wants more than anything to devour the souls of humans.  Satan has tried every tactic imaginable to trap and snare people.  His greatest and most effective strategy has always been deceit.  One of his greatest and most effective lies is the fallacy of neutral ground.  There is no neutral ground.  There are no spiritual bystanders.

Those that claim that they are not making a choice have already made a choice.  It is either belief or unbelief.  But there is more.  God is not concerned with whether or not we believe in Him.  Even the demons believe in God.  Believing in God is not enough.  No, we are called to believe God.  There is a significant difference between these two assertions.  Either we believe God, or we don't.  Pretending that we are considering believing God is worth the same as not believing.  There is no "almost" believing God.

A word picture is in order.  Think of a car that stalls on the railroad tracks.  The driver fights with the failing ignition to get the car started and off the tracks as he notices the train barreling towards the car, horns blaring.  The train will hit the car, it is a foreseeable reality.  There are two positions, only two possible choices in this situation: either the driver is on the tracks or off the tracks when the train arrives.  Only two choices.  However, while the reluctant car owner struggles to get their car started, he is already in one of the potential choices.

Similarly, while people are indecisive in belief, they are already in one of the two possible camps.  There is either belief or unbelief, there is no half-belief.  Condemnation or salvation, there is no partial-salvation.  The camp of agnosticism is firmly fixed within in the harbor of unbelief.  While people wait to make up their mind, they are already in one of the decisions.  Indecision is not a safe place.  To God, indecision is not safe; it is unbelief and considered as such.

God wants us to seek after Him and to devote ourselves to Him wholeheartedly.  There is one basic and foundational truth that all life should be based upon: God is God.  This seems circular but it is far from it.  God is both the Lord's name and His rank.  He is the faithful creator and sustainer of all creation.  He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and holy.  He is both just and merciful.  This is truth.  It is irreducible and basic.  Either we believe it or not.  No neutral ground.

The Work

Work and working is a part of life.  It is inescapable.  Work is defined as any effort, physical, mental, or otherwise, that is exerted in order to achieve a specific purpose or end.  Often we define work as a means to an end.  For example, in contemporary terms, we work at jobs as a means for payment in the form of a check, etc.  Although true, this view of work could be short-sighted and sparse, for work is more than merely a means to an intended end.

The biblical notion of work is broader and considers the effort and activity of work as valuable as its future result.  Practically speaking, this means that the paycheck is not and should not be the sole function and purpose of work.  Solomon, the author and main character of Ecclesiastes, says that man should strive to find satisfaction and joy in the toilsome labor that is life's lot (Ecc. 2:24; 5:18).  In a real sense, we are called to enjoy our work; the work itself not just work's end.

Additionally, Christians are called to work hard, with diligence and zeal (Rom. 12:11; Tit. 3:14; Col. 1:9-10).  There is a reason that we should work hard: because the source of our strength is not of the strength of this world.  No matter how strong or stubborn a person may be, inevitably, their strength will fail and endurance will betray him/her.

However, a Christian's strength is rooted in the omnipotent God.  Ergo, we work as an example of God's power.  In a very real sense then Christians should work harder and longer than unbelievers, not for themselves or for their own gain but because the ethic of their work, the very cause of their vigor is the Lord.  The source of strength and endurance for believers is the Lord.  Thus, when we work by the strength of God, we are an earthen example of the Lord.

This should not seem radical.   It is quite logical.  We are a testament to Him in everything, not just His grace, mercy, and love.  His power and His strength, these are also important parts of His character that we, His children, are to point to with our lives as well.  Therefore, we should always strive to overcome the sloth and pride of our natural selves.  These sinful traits compel us either not to work or for us to work beyond hard but for our own glory.

Instead, work itself, the manner in which it is done, should be an example of God's character.  This is why we take joy in our work, because our work is a way that we give glory and praise to the Lord.  What a beautiful gift that work is!  God created us to praise Him.  He also created us to work.  The fact that He created our work to be praise points all the more to the majesty of His divine creativity.  What a wonderful Lord we serve!