- Ephesians 1:13-14

Thomas S. Myers

 THE 3 STEPS TO SALVATION

Ephesians 1:13-14

A number of years ago a young man was seeking a job as a Morse Code operator.  He found an ad in the paper and went to the office address that was listed.  When he got there it was a large busy office and there was a lot of hustle and bustle and noise, including the chatter of a telegraph key in the background.  He saw a sign that instructed applicants to take a seat and wait until they were summoned to come into the inner office.  And there was quite a number of applicants sitting there waiting ahead of him.  This was discouraging, but he figured he had nothing to lose so he sat down along with the others to wait.  The clatter of the telegraph could be heard.  After about two or three minutes the young man stood up, walked over to the door where the sign was hanging and walked right on through.  All of the other applicants perked up and started looking at each other and muttering how did he get an interview?  We were here first.  Within about three minutes the young man came back out the door and the employer said, "You gentlemen may go now.  The position has been filled."  At this, several of them grumbled and one spoke up and said, "I don't understand.  He was the last one to come in, we were her before him, and we never even got a got interview and yet he got the job.  That's not fair."  The employer said, "I'm sorry, but all the time you've been sitting here the telegraph key has been ticking out the message in Morse Code saying, 'If you understand this message in Morse Code, come right in for an interview.'  None of you heard it.  He did.  The job is his."  That's a marvelous paradigm of what's going on in this world.  There are a lot of people who are so deafened by all the messages of this world they are not hearing the message of God.

FIRST STEP -- YOU MUST HEAR THE PLAN OF SALVATION.

Ephesians 1:13
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Notice in verse 13 the word "LISTENING or heard."  That is a very technical Greek word.  The Greek word is akouo from which we get our word acoustics.  The word can mean to hear with a very clear understanding or to hear but not understand. 

Let’s illustrate it.  Look at Acts 22:9.

Acts 22:9
“And those who were with me saw the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.       

That tells me there are different levels for hearing spiritual truth. 

As a matter of fact, there are 4 different levels of hearing God's Word.  Did you know that?  Right now as I'm speaking there are 4 different levels in which some of you are hearing me.      

Jesus talked about that in Matthew 13:19.  Jesus said that when a farmer sows seed, the seed falls in 4 different kinds of soil.   

First Level - Are Those Who Are Hard of Hearing

That does not means you need a hearing aid.  What it does mean that when spiritual truth is shared they don't hear it.     

Matthew 13:19
“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road

1 Corinthians 2:14
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

2 Corinthians 4:4
in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

An African missionary was translating the book of Ephesians into Songhai.  When the missionary couldn't find a word to translate "listen or hear," he asked a national African how to translate it.  The African thought momentarily and said, "I think 'to hear' should be translated 'to hear with the heart'."  We could hardly improve upon that translation.  God doesn't speak to us with a physical voice.  He speaks to us with a spiritual voice.  He speaks to us not with physical words that the ear can hear but with spiritual words that only a loving heart can hear.

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

It is entirely possible for a person to says, "I tried Jesus Christ and He didn't work for me."  I'll tell you why Jesus Christ didn't work for you.  The God of this world has blinded your mind.

Another Level -- The Fruitful Hearing.   

Matthew 13:23
 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

If you are a Christian you heard "heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation."  That's the first step to salvation.  But there is also a second step. 

FIRST STEP -- YOU MUST HEAR THE PLAN OF SALVATION.

SECOND STEP – YOU MUST BELIEVE THE PLAN OF SLAVATION.  

Ephesians 1:13
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Do you know what the word “BELIEVED” means?  There was a time that I thought belief simply meant to agree with intellectually.  But in 1970, as I laid on my bunk at Multnomah Bible Collage and Seminary I was looking at John 3:16 in my Scofield Bible.  I read the footnote to John 3:16 which said, "belief is more than intellectual assent to a fact.  Belief means to adherence to, committal to, faith in, reliance upon, trust in a person."        

You see our English word belief is not quite strong enough.  When we use the word believe, we think of believing a bunch of information.  But that's not what the word believe means.  Believe means to entrust. 

Let me illustrate it.  I believe that George Washington lived.  But I'm not entrusting my life to George Washington.  

A man might believe that an airplane can fly.  But if he doesn't entrust himself to it and get into that plane, the airplane isn't going to take him anywhere. 

Before I married Velva, I believed all kinds of things about her.  I believed I knew her name, her address, her parents, her favorite color, her favorite ice cream.  But just because I believed all that information, that didn't make me married to her.  I wasn't married to her until I said, "I do."  

What I'm saying is this:  Just because you know some information about Jesus Christ, that doesn't make you born again.  You are born again by entrusting your life to Jesus Christ.  You are born again by entrust yourself to the fact that the God man Jesus Christ died on the cross for yours sins and that He rose from the dead. 

Someone says, "Pastor, I understand that we need to entrust ourselves to Jesus Christ.  But the thing that bothers me is that I don't feel that my faith is strong enough."  Has the devil ever hit you with that?  You agree with all the facts of the Gospel.  You believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins.  You believe that you are saved by grace alone.  But the devil says to you, "Your faith is not strong enough."  Has the devil ever said that to you?  Do you know what the devil is trying to get you to do?  He is trying to get you to put your faith in your feelings. 

The Bible says in ISAIAH 45:22

Isaiah 45:22
“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.

You are born again by putting your faith in Jesus Christ, not by placing your faith in your feeling. 

Is not great faith in God that your need.  It is faith in a great God. 

FIRST STEP -- YOU MUST HEAR THE PLAN OF SALVATION.

SECOND STEP – YOU MUST BELIEVE THE PLAN OF SLAVATION.  

THIRD STEP -- IS BEING SEALED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Ephesians 1:13
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Hearing the gospel is done by you.  Believing the gospel is done by you.  But being sealed by the Holy Spirit is done by God.  Being sealed by the Holy Spirit is passive voice.

Look at the word "SEALED or MARKED."  What do you think of when you hear the word sealed? 

If your a little boy or girl, you may think of an animal called a seal.  If you are a housewife, you may think of that rubber gasket that you see when you can fruit.  If you are an automobile transmission expert, you may think of a gasket that keeps the transmission fluid from leaking.  If you are a lawyer, you may think of something that is put onto a document that certifies a document. 

What does the word seal mean? 

A.  It is a Sign of Ownership. 

The Greek word means an emblem of ownership.  The Holy Spirit within us indentifies us a a genuine member of God’s kingdom.  Today ranchers still brand cattle.  Why?  So that they will know which cattle belongs to which ranch.  We are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. 

2 Timothy 2:19
Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.”

God has us marked out so that the demonic world know who we belong to. 

A few years back, a young man about age 20 was invited to take part in a witchcraft ritual.  Now he was a backslidden Christian.  He really had virtually nothing to do with God.  He agreed to go to the witchcraft service.  And they went to a home where the ritual was to take place.  The ritual was started but the person in charge could not summons his familiar spirit.  When he inquired why, an demonic spirit told him that someone in the room was a Christian.  And that the ritual could not begin until the Christian was gone.  The young man had no idea that he was the one holding back the demonic service until a demon pointed him out.  He was forced out of the house.  Here was a young man that once heard the Gospel, and he believed it, and he was sealed with the Holy Sprit of promise.  And the demonic world knew that he belonged to God. 

Ephesians 1:14
who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory

Wedding ring or down payment

B.  A Seal is a Sign of Security.

A seal is as strong as the person who makes that seal.  The Spirit’s seal is an indication that we are the prized possession of God .  When you became a Christian, God put His Holy Spirit in you.  No one can take the Holy Spirit from you.  The Bible says in Ephesians 4:30. 

Ephesians 4:30
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

You are sealed for the day of redemption.  The day of redemption is the rapture or when God takes you home.  The seal shows that God owns you.  God is not about to let you go.  You are His property.  The seal also is a sign of security.  Nothing can break that seal.            

When a piece of registered mail is sent from a post office, it is sealed until delivered.  Actually, only two people can open registered mail the sender, (if it is returned to him) and the designated recipient.  To draw a parallel for believers, God is the One who sends us on our way to heaven, and God in heaven is the recipient on our arrival.  As with registered mail, only God can break the seal of our redemption. However, he has promised not to do so and the guarantee of that promise is the presence of the Holy Spirit, who is the One in whom we have been sealed by God.         

It also means security and protection. The Roman seal on the tomb of Jesus carried this meaning (Matt. 27:62–66). So, the believer belongs to God, and is safe and protected because he is a part of a finished transaction. According to John 14:16–17, the Holy Spirit abides with the believer forever. It is possible for us to grieve the Spirit and thereby lose the blessings of His ministry (Eph. 4:30). But He doesn’t leave us.

C.  A Seal Shows a Finished Transaction. 

In the time of Jesus, you would write up a contract and then seal the contract with a signet ring in wax or clay.  Jeremiah 32:9-10 

We are not in the process of getting saved.  When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, God gave us the Holy Spirit and said, "This is a finished transaction."

D.  The Seal is a Sign of Protection.

Rev 9:4

Who is Sealed?

Those who know Jesus Christ as Savior.

Ephesians 1:13
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Paul is perfectly clear here, he says, "…having also believed, you were sealed..."

Paul doesn't say, "having believed, some of you were sealed," or "having believed and having had some additional experience, you were sealed." He simply says, "…having also believed, you were sealed..." Paul is saying that every person who believes in the word of truth is sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

Who does the Sealing?

The verb is passive voice; the person doing the acting is not named in this verse. But the context makes clear that it is God the Father who seals us. This entire 12-verse sentence consists of God the Father's blessings given to us, and sealing is one of those.

FIRST STEP -- YOU MUST HEAR THE PLAN OF SALVATION.

SECOND STEP – YOU MUST BELIEVE THE PLAN OF SLAVATION.  

THIRD STEP -- IS BEING SEALED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.

FOURTH – THE GOAL

Ephesians 1:14
who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory

To What End? What is the Purpose of our Being Sealed?

Ephesians 1:14
…to the praise of His glory

God wants to be glorified through you.

Paul tells us in verse 7 that we have redemption through Christ's blood.  We are already redeemed.  Christ has died once and for all for our sins; Christ is glorified and sits at the Father's right hand; we are in Christ.

From your perspective, it may not appear that your sins are forgiven and that you have received the Holy Spirit.

The New Testament is clear on this in other places: now we see "but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12);" "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is (1 John 3:2

So, from our perspective, our complete redemption and inheritance are yet future, even though God has already accomplished all the work necessary for those to come about. God, then, seals us with the Holy Spirit as a down payment, a pledge, a deposit, guaranteeing that the final, complete redemption will take place.

• I was chosen by God in Christ before the foundation of the world
• My sins are forgiven  
• God gave me His Spirit as a down payment

Praise God for his indescribable gift!