Covenant Reformed News – December 2008 • Volume XII, Issue 8
This article from Covenant Reformed News examines the biblical doctrine of the sealing of the Holy Spirit as presented in Ephesians 1:13, explaining the three traditional uses of seals (authenticity, witness, and security) and applying them to the believer's spiritual experience. The author emphasizes that the Spirit's seal primarily signifies God's ownership of the redeemed and their eternal security in Christ, grounding the doctrine in Reformed understanding of grace and redemption.
The Sealing of the Spirit (1) Ephesians 1:13 proclaims that believers are “sealed” with the Holy Spirit. But what is a seal? Typically, a seal comes in the form of a piece of wax or lead or paper, etc., with a stamped design. It has three main uses. First, a seal is a mark of authenticity and/or authority. For example, Pharaoh gave his signet ring (a seal) to Joseph as his number two in the kingdom (Gen. 41:42). Thus Joseph exercised the royal authority of Pharaoh as his official...