In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye
believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise [Eph. 1:13].
This section, I believe, is one of the most wonderful in
Scripture. “Well,” somebody says, “he doesn’t mention regeneration here.”
Actually he does, and in a marvelous way, because now we’re passing from
God’s work for us
to the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
The work of God in planning the church and the work of the Lord Jesus in
redeeming the church and paying for it were objective. The work of the Holy
Spirit in protecting the church is different because it is subjective; it is
in us.
In this work of regeneration and renewing, the Holy
Spirit causes a sinner to hear and believe in his heart, and that makes him
a child of God. The Lord Jesus said, “… Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).
How are we to be born again? John explains, “But as many as received him, to
them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on
his name” (John 1:12). We need simply to believe on His name.
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of
truth” Hearing means to hear not just the sound of words but to hear with
understanding. Paul wrote, “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a
stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of
God” (1 Cor. 1:23–24). Who are the called? Are they the ones who just heard
the sound of words? No, it means those who heard with understanding. God
called them. It was not just a call of hearing words, but a call where the
Holy Spirit made those words real. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by
the Word of God, according to Romans 10:17. Those who are called hear the
Word of God and they respond to it. Then what happens? Peter puts it this
way: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by
the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Pet. 1:23). The Word
of God goes out as it is going out even through this printed page. We are
saying that the Son of God died for you and if you trust Him, you will be
saved. “Well,” someone may say, “I read these words, but they mean nothing
to me.” Someone else, however, will read or hear this message, and the
Spirit of God will apply it to his heart so that he believes—he trusts—and
the moment he trusts in Christ, he is regenerated. Believing is the logical
step after hearing. It may not be the next chronological step, but it is the
logical step. “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of
truth.” This is the best explanation of what it means to be born again that
I know of in the Word of God. You hear the word of truth—the gospel of your
salvation, the good news of your deliverance—and you put your trust in
Christ.
“In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with
that holy Spirit of promise.” I would like to remove the word
after from this verse
because these are not time clauses. They are what is known in the Greek as
genitive absolutes, and they are all the same tense as the main verb. It
means that when you heard and you believed, you were also sealed: it all
took place at the same time. A truer translation would be, “In whom also
you, upon hearing [aorist tense] the word of truth, the good news of your
salvation, in whom also on believing [aorist tense] you were sealed with the
Holy Spirit of promise.” This is, by the way, when the baptism of the Holy
Spirit occurs. You are baptized the moment that you trust Christ. You are
also sealed the moment that you trust Christ. The Holy Spirit first opens
the ear to hear, and then He implants faith. His next logical step, you see,
is to seal the believer.
There are people today who argue whether God the Father
or God the Son seals with the Holy Spirit, or whether the Holy Spirit
Himself does the sealing. That type of argument wearies me. They tried to
split hairs in that way in the Middle Ages and would argue how many angels
could dance on the point of a needle. You toss that around for a little
while, and it will get you nowhere. I understand this verse to mean that the
Holy Spirit is the seal. God the Father gave the Son to die on the cross,
but the Son offered up Himself willingly. So both the Father and the Son
gave. God the Father and God the Son both sent the Holy Spirit to perform a
definite work, but it is the Spirit who does the work. He regenerates the
sinner and He seals the sinner at the same time, and I think that the Spirit
Himself is that seal.
There is a twofold purpose in the sealing work of the
Holy Spirit. He implants the image of God upon the heart to give reality to
the believer. You know that a seal is put down on a document and that seal
has an image on it. I think that is exactly what the Spirit of God does to
the believer. “He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that
God is true” (John 3:33). Apparently, this is the thought here—God has put
His implant upon the believer.
The second purpose of the sealing is to denote rightful
ownership. “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this
seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the
name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Tim. 2:19). The fact that He makes
you secure does not mean that you can live in sin. If you name the name of
Christ, you are going to depart from iniquity. If there is not this
evidence, then you were not regenerated or sealed.
The Holy Spirit is the seal, and that guarantees that God
is going to deliver us. We are sealed until the day of redemption. The day
will come when the Holy Spirit will deliver us to Christ. It’s nice to be
sealed like that—we are just like a letter that is insured. In the old days
they would put a seal on it. Today they just stamp it with a special stamp,
but it still means that the post office guarantees to deliver that letter...
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible
Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997,
c1981, S. 5:224-226