As Paul the apostle
continued his exhortations to the Ephesian church members, he
included “putting away lying” and “speaking every man
truth with his neighbor”, being “angry” and not
“sinning”, not allowing the “sun” to “go down
upon” their “wrath”, nor “giving place to the
devil”. He told them to “steal no more, but rather”
“labor”, and he instructed them to not allow “corrupt
communication” to “proceed out” of their mouths. In
chapter four and verse thirty of his letter, Paul continued his
discourse as he told them not to “grieve” “the Holy Spirit
of God” where we read:
And grieve not the holy
Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption.
The
verse begins, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God,...”
Paul began with the words, “And
grieve not” which means “in
addition, also, even and indeed do not make sorrowful, affect with
sadness, cause grief, offend, make one uneasy and cause a scruple to”
“the Holy Spirit” which
refers to “the most sacred, awful, pure, morally blameless and
ceremonially consecrated third person of the triune God,
coequal and coeternal with the Father and the Son”
“of God” who is
“the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the
Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. The Ephesian church
members were not to “cause grief to, offend and make sorrowful”
God's “Holy Spirit”.
The
verse goes on to say, “...whereby you are sealed unto the
day of redemption.” Paul
continued, “whereby”
which means “in, by, with and about which” “you are
sealed” or “marked with
security, kept secret in order to prove, confirm, authenticate, place
beyond doubt or attest a thing” “unto the day”
which refers to “into, to, towards for and among the last
day of this present age, the day Christ will return from heaven,
raise the dead, hold the final judgment and perfect his kingdom”
“of redemption” or
“the releasing effected by payment of ransom, deliverance and
liberation procured by the payment of ransom”. The “Holy
Spirit” “seals” believers
in Jesus Christ unto the day when their “release effected by
payment of ransom” is completed.
When we
meditate upon these words of Paul, we enjoy the thought that Jesus
Christ “seals” Christians with His “Holy Spirit” to
show “ownership” of them. Like a “deposit” that is given to
secure and hold a product that will be purchased at a future time,
God Almighty has “sealed” or “made His deposit” upon
all who “rely upon, trust in and cling to” His Son Jesus Christ.
This is an statement of “earnest” whereby those who are “sealed”
can have confidence in the purchase of their “redemption” and
“liberation”. Though we do not know the day when our “purchase”
shall be completely fulfilled and our “ransom” carried out, we
may know this, we are “claimed” by God, and our “redemption
day” will soon be revealed.
Next
time Paul instructs the Ephesian church members to “grieve
not the Holy Spirit”, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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