Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, (14) who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
There is one other aspect to the baptism with the Holy Spirit that I need to discuss. The above scripture plainly states that the Holy Spirit has been given to the saints for two specific purposes. Firstly, we learn that we are “sealed” by the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption. And secondly, we learn that the Holy Spirit has been given to us as a “guarantee” of our inheritance. Being sealed with the Holy Spirit and being given the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our inheritance are different terms for the same event, for both occur simultaneously, for the scripture teaches us that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit who is given to us as our guarantee. And so, the question arises as to just when are we sealed with the Holy Spirit? Is it when we are born again, or is it when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit? The apostle Paul, points us to the answer to this question, when he says in the above passage, that we are sealed with “the Holy Spirit of promise”.
Michael E.B. Maher
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