THE HOLY SPIRIT
How are we
“sealed” with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13)? How do we “grieve”
the Spirit (Eph. 4:30)?
“You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit” Eph. 1:13
One purpose of a seal was to indicate ownership. These Ephesians had been “sealed”
or marked as God’s own “with the Holy Spirit of promise.”
What did the Ephesians do that resulted in their being sealed? 1:13.
What role did the Holy Spirit play in this result? Let the writer explain, 3:1-11
(note esp. v5).
The “pledge” (“earnest,” KJV; “guarantee,”
NKJV), v14, is like a down payment (“deposit,” NIV) of our inheritance.
The “Holy Spirit of promise” (on “of promise,” see 3:4-6)—His
work in the revelation and confirmation of the gospel—assures us we will
indeed receive the inheritance!
Compare Col. 1:5; 1Pt. 1:4-5; 1Co. 2:4-5.
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit” Eph 4:30
How could the Ephesian Christians “grieve the Holy Spirit”?
Interpret on the basis of (1) the context (begin in v17), and (2) what attitude
and conduct was in view when this phrase was used in the Old Testament, Isa.
63:10. The following serve as Divine comment on Isa. 63:10: Jer. 7:25,26; Ac
7:51,52; Ac. 7:51,52; Psa. 78:40,56; Ex. 16:4,8,16,20,23,24, 28, 32; Dt. 9:7,22-24;
Neh. 9:26; etc. Make appropriate notes as you read the verses.
The incongruity of these Ephesian Christians grieving the Holy Spirit is manifested
by the fact that He “sealed them for the day of redemption,“ Eph.
4:30; 1:13,14. By being “sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise”
these Gentiles had, equally with the Jews, a “pledge” of their inheritance.
The Holy Spirit assured their redemption! It would indeed “grieve”
Him if they so conducted themselves so as to lose that inheritance. See also
Heb. 10:23-29.
Unity of the Spirit
Christians are to be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit,”
Eph. 4:3. The unity the Holy Spirit leads Christians to will bring them closer
to God and to one another. It will equip them for service in the kingdom and
stabilize them against apostasy, vv12b,14-16.
What are Christ’ provisions so that this unity “of the Spirit”
will be achieved, vv11-13?
We need the work of the Holy Spirit if we are to attain divine unity!
Quick Quiz
Choose all correct answers in the following.
1. Christians can
a. Grieve the Holy Spirit
b. Insult the Holy Spirit
c. Resist the Holy Spirit
d. None of the above
2. Christians grieve the Spirit
a. When they do not have enough faith to speak in tongues
b. Deny His miraculous working in Christians today
c. Do not listen to His revelation and live their life in accord with His teaching,
admonition, and purpose for them
d. If they are not openly emotional when they worship
3. Christians can know they are sealed with the Holy Spirit
a. Through the gospel of salvation He revealed and confirmed
b. By the feeling they have in their heart
c. Through the church’s confirmation of their salvation
d. We cannot know if we are truly saved and have an inheritance
4. The unity of the Spirit
a. Is achieved by recognizing the elders as the authority in a church
b. Can be attained by trusting in the preacher and what he says is true
c. Is a goal that can only be realized by having a universal authority in the
church today that determines doctrine and practice
d. Is based on the “oneness” of the Spirit’s revelation
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