January 25, 2012

 

Transliteration: sphragizó
Phonetic Spelling: (sfrag-id’-zo)
Short Definition: I set a seal upon
Definition:  Signifies ownership and the full security carried by the backing or full authority of the owner, authorizing or validating what is sealed. “Sealing” in the ancient world served as a “legal signature” which guaranteed the promise (contents) of what was sealed.  To stamp with a signet or private mark for security or preservation by implication, to keep secret.

 

In this “Tupperware” age we know the importance of a good ‘seal’.  When things are sealed properly they don’t ‘spoil’.  And with technology there have been many forms and types of seals developed.

 

But in the time of Christ, there was a seal that was formed by dropping wax or softened clay on the opening of a document or other container and then taking your personal signet, probably a stone carved with your personal emblem and plunging it down into the hot wax or soft clay.  This pressed the wax or clay down and solidly imprinted your unique emblem onto the wax.  It marked ownership.

 

The emblems were readily recognizable.  When a person saw an emblem they knew who owned the item.  In later years, around the 1700’s signets began to be worn as rings and ladies wore pendants.

 

Sealing was also a way of keeping something secret.  If a letter was written or an article placed in a box and then sealed, a person had to break the seal to reveal the contents.  If you received a parchment and the seal had been broken then you knew that someone else had seen the contents.

 

It was a legally binding ‘signature’.  When legal documents were created the parties would affix their seal as a sign of its legality.  We often still use seals in this way.  If you have had to go to a notary and get something notarized then you’ve seen that they usually take their seal and imprint it into the paper. 

 

I also have two seals for the businesses that I operate.  When formal documents are entered into their records, I take the seal and imprint it on the paper after signing and before placing it in the book.

 

On Monday our meditation verse was:

 

Ephesians 4:30

30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

 

We discussed the first part of this scripture and that the duty of the Holy Spirit is to guide us and comfort us here on this earth.  When we pull against the yoke and go another way it causes the Holy Spirit great sorrow, not because He demands His own way, but because the path He desires to guide you on is a good path that is beneficial for you.  When you leave that good path, it brings Him sorrow.

 

The Holy Spirit is the very intimate part of the triune God.  He was sent to us when Jesus went back to heaven after His crucifixion.  Jesus could have stayed had He chosen to do so.  But He knew that it was much more beneficial for us if He went back to the Father and become our advocate, and in return sent the Holy Spirit to us.

 

Had Jesus stayed, only those there with Him would have benefited.  But by sending the Holy Spirit, everyone who chooses Christ as their savior will have God with them, and within them should they desire, in an intimate way.

 

By sending the Holy Spirit each person can have God with them always at all times, and the security and confidence that carries with it.

 

It was this kind of intimacy that God has longed for and the reason He was willing to sacrifice Jesus to obtain it.  We are just that important and dear to Him.

 

When He sent the Holy Spirit here to be ours, He gave instruction to place a ‘seal’, His seal, on each of the hearts of those who chose Him in return.  This seal is His stamp.  His unique emblem that is unmistakable.  It marks His ownership and the contents are secret.

 

When we soften our hearts toward Him and receive Him as our savior with a complete genuineness of heart and mind, the Holy Spirit then rolls that stamp across our softened hearts to declare us as His own.

 

If you read my blog some time back where I discussed that there is still a day to come when God will reveal His children, then you know that they are being kept secret until that day.

 

That sounds contradictory doesn’t it?  He marks a seal on our hearts to show the world that we are His, yet the day of revealing is yet to come.

 

Well remember now that the seal was to keep secret that which was within while publicly declaring who owns the contents.  The Holy Spirit may have stamped a sincerely softened heart with the seal of God, but there will come a day when what truly lies within that heart will be revealed, the day of redemtion.

 

I’ve been talking so much about inner transformation.  I sometimes feel like I am beating a dead horse, but I sense in my spirit that it is such a vital principle and that God is not finished teaching us on its importance.

 

We can have our eyes opened to the need of Christ in our lives.  We can genuinely accept Him as our spiritual savior at which time the Holy Spirit will roll His seal across the softness of your heart.  But we cannot stop there!  We must continue to submit our hearts to the Holy Spirit each and every day so that He can continue to transform our hearts, our innermost being.

 

John 1:12

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

 

When we receive Christ, the Holy Spirit seals our hearts and we are then given the right to become children of God.  Inner transformation takes us from that initial ownership stage (see definition) to children.

 

On that day when the sons of God are revealed He will open our hearts for the world to see and those who are transformed, those who have submitted themselves willingly to the Holy Spirit to transform, will be shown to be the children of God.

 

No matter what your beliefs are, I want to thank you for visiting my Christian blog!