Ephesians 1:13 – Seal of Approval
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,
Truth to Learn
God has branded us as His property and His children.
Behind the Words
The word “trusted” does not actually appear here in the Greek text. It is borrowed from the previous verse as a parallel expression.
“Heard” is from akouō, which refers to hearing in general. It is also used to refer to listening with attention. It is expressed as a participle, so it could be expressed as “having heard.”
The word “truth” is translated from the Greek word alētheia, which refers to that which is truth or reality.
The word “salvation” is translated from soteria, which is derived from the noun soter, meaning “one who rescues or saves.” Thus, soteria refers to “deliverance from danger or destruction.”
“Having believed” is from the Greek verb pisteuō, meaning “to be firmly persuaded regarding some truth” or “to believe.”
The word “sealed” is translated from sphragidzō, which means “to stamp or to set a seal or mark upon something as a token of its authenticity or of ownership.”
Meaning Explained
In the previous verse Paul talked about how the Jews had previously had their hope in the Messiah, the Christ, as the one who was to come and redeem them from their bondage. Notice that Paul used the pronoun “we” in the previous verse, since he also was a Jew who had previously had his hope in the Messiah.
In the current verse he uses the pronoun “you” to refer to the readers of his letter. In other words, Paul is now talking about Christians. He is telling us that we also hope in the same Redeemer, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Also remember that the word hope refers to more than just a fanciful desire; it refers to something that we fully expect to come to pass. Paul tells us that we have this hope because we listened attentively to the gospel (good news) about salvation. But, Paul says that we did more than just listen attentively to the gospel, we believed it as the word of truth. That’s the thing which makes us Christians. We’re not Christians because we live in a Christian country. We’re not Christians because we belong to a Christian church. We’re not Christians because we obey God’s commandments. We’re Christians because we believed the good news that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins.
Like Abraham in Genesis 15:6, the moment we believed the gospel message, God declared us to be as righteous as Christ. But, that’s not the best part of what Paul is telling us now. Once we believed and were declared righteous, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit. This seal is very much like a brand on a head of cattle. It identifies who the owner is. In our case, the seal of the Holy Spirit identifies us as belonging to God; we now belong to Him because He has purchased us.
Application
We don’t know how God sealed us with the Holy Spirit, but we do know that He indelibly and undeniably identifies us as His property. Not only do we belong to God, He has adopted us as His children! He’s our God, our owner, and our Father!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, send an e-mail to: