Ephesians 1:13
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise”.
When we received Christ we were sealed with the Holy Spirit. This was what Jesus promised When He was resurrected. This was His reason for leaving. He was present one place at a time with His physical body, while the Spirit is omnipresent. He could be with everyone at the same time.
I was going to say, What a comfort this is. That was one of the reasons for His coming, to comfort us. That is one of the names Jesus gave Him, the comforter (John 16:7). We will experience a range of difficult emotions. The Lord is there to help us with those. There is fear, anxiety, anger and so on. He won't erase them, but help us cope with them and minimize them.
He seals us. Sealants have many purposes. With food it keeps them fresh. Exposure to air breaks food down and it become stale or rotten. The Holy Spirit protects us from the elements that make us stale or rotten. This makes me think of the news. I get grieved upon hearing it. I think this is the Spirit telling me to reduce it or to turn it off. It takes away the peace of the Spirit and probably many other fruits of the Spirit.
The Spirit seals or protects us from temptation. He probably keeps things (or us) from things that we aren't even aware of (thank You, God). He also puts warnings within us to resist temptations.
We've seen glimpses of where temptations lead, thank You God for keeping us from them. That's part of the Lord's Prayer, "and keep us from temptation". I've been to Celebrate Recovery services and have seen those who were deep into their vices. They have learned to rely on the Spirit to keep them from those ends.
Another part of the Lord's Prayer is, "and deliver us from evil". We will intersect with evil. It can come from others, from the devil, from the world and our own sin natures. Most of this God weeds out and we never see it. Thank You, God. Unless we ignore the warnings, He does allow us to brush up against some of it. He wants us to rely on Him or to learn to resist it. He wants to teach us. Hebrews 5:14 says, "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to discern good and evil." The food is God's Word, the bible. As we read it, we apply it to our lives. Our discernment grows; we learn to see what's evil and what's good.
There are some gray areas that apply here. Paul addresses those in talking about food and sacrificing. Young believers have trouble with the finer points. As they grow, they can better distinguish good from evil. This is all part of the Spirit's sealing.
Seals within motors are barriers which keep fluids contained in particular places. This allows the motor to run at peak efficiency. The Spirit does that to our lives. Jesus says in John 10:10b, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." That's peak efficiency. Many don't come to Christ because they think that they won't have any fun. Quite the contrary. God is the one who designed and created us as well as all those things that bring us joy. By following Him, we are living according to our design and can live fully. Much that they fear only brings them grief. It's misapplied and out of proportion. We've already addressed how God gives us discernment. He teaches us to keep things balanced.
His sealing will keep us unto the day of His appearing or when we pass and go to heaven. This was one of the reasons I came to Christ. I feared not going to heaven. I didn't know I could be assured of my salvation. I am now comforted that He will keep me and I will be with Him forever in His kingdom with many of my friends and loved ones, (2 Timothy 1:12).
There is probably more that could be addressed with the Spirit sealing us. This was a good parousel. Thank You, Spirit for sealing us. You preserve us from rotting or being spoiled from temptation. You keep or deliver us from evil. You teach us discernment, so we learn to avoid some things and to balance others. You will seal us as we walk through this world and bring us to Your heavenly kingdom. Thank You, God.