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In Him you also<\/strong> trusted<\/em><\/strong><\/span>,<\/em> 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,<\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n God has branded us as His property and His children.<\/p>\n The word \u201ctrusted<\/em><\/span>\u201d does not actually appear here in the Greek text. It is borrowed from the previous verse as a parallel expression.<\/p>\n \u201cHeard<\/span>\u201d is from akou\u014d<\/em><\/span>, 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 \u201chaving heard.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n The word \u201ctruth<\/span>\u201d is translated from the Greek word al\u0113theia<\/em><\/span>, which refers to that which is truth or reality.<\/p>\n The word \u201csalvation<\/span>\u201d is translated from soteria<\/em><\/span>, which is derived from the noun soter<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201cone who rescues or saves.\u201d Thus, soteria<\/em><\/span> refers to \u201cdeliverance from danger or destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHaving believed<\/span>\u201d is from the Greek verb pisteu\u014d<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201cto be firmly persuaded regarding some truth\u201d or \u201cto believe.\u201d<\/p>\n The word \u201csealed<\/span>\u201d is translated from sphragidz\u014d<\/em><\/span>, which means \u201cto stamp or to set a seal or mark upon something as a token of its authenticity or of ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201cwe<\/span>\u201d in the previous verse, since he also was a Jew who had previously had his hope in the Messiah.<\/p>\n In the current verse he uses the pronoun \u201cyou<\/span>\u201d 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\u2019s the thing which makes us Christians. We\u2019re not Christians because we live in a Christian country. We\u2019re not Christians because we belong to a Christian church. We\u2019re not Christians because we obey God\u2019s commandments. We\u2019re Christians because we believed the good news that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins.<\/p>\n Like Abraham in Genesis 15:6<\/strong><\/span>, the moment we believed the gospel message, God declared us to be as righteous as Christ. But, that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t 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\u2019s our God, our owner, and our Father!<\/p>\n In God\u2019s service, for His glory,<\/strong><\/p>\nTruth to Learn<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Behind the Words<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Meaning Explained<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Application<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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