Signed, Sealed and Delivered!

Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV) 
Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory. 

Ephesians 1:13 (MSG)
It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. 

This idea of being marked, or sealed, goes back to the days when something was sealed indicating an official mark of identification, like a letter, contract or other important document. In the ancient world, a seal indicated ownership and protection. The notion of sealing in this context is related to the Day of Judgment: Sealed believers will be kept for their ultimate inheritance—redemption at the end of the age.

Daniel 6:17 (NIV)
 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed.

The gift of the Holy Spirit not only empowers believers to live holy lives (Eph 3:16), but also serves as a guarantee and reminder that God will one day fully complete His work in believers. When the Holy Spirit seals believers, He marks them as God’s divine possessions, who from that moment on entirely and eternally belong to Him, The Spirit’s seal declares the transaction of salvation as divinely official and final.

I particularly like the Message Bible version of verse 13. To think, after all the struggles and battles of life, once we finally recognize and embrace Jesus as our Savior - The Salvation of the world, we are signed, sealed, and delivered. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?


 Ephesians 1:11-14