2 Corinthians 5:5
And God has prepared us for this very purpose and given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 728
Pledge: installment, down-payment
From the Greek word 'arrabón' (pronounced
ar-hrab-ohn'): a large part of the payment, given in advance as a security that the whole will be paid afterwards.
SEALED WITH HIS PROMISE
A life lived on purpose in Christ is a life worth living. 2 Corinthians 1:22-23 "Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us, placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come."
Ephesians 1:11-14, specifically verse 13 as relates here: "And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit."
Abraham believe God before God gave him the sign of circumcision (Romans 4:10), which was an outward sign of what God was doing on the inside, on Abraham's spiritual heart.
Romans 4:11 "And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them."
Why is this important to know and understand? An uncircumcised heart is a heart that does belong to God. But when a person believes God for his or her salvation, then God circumcises the believing heart from the body of sin and death. Circumcision is a cutting away from, a removing from. It separates the clean from the unclean. Just as Christ in the mercy of God separates the believers, His sheep, from the unbelievers, the goats, when we come to Him for our salvation (Ezekiel 34:16,17; Matthew 25:32,33).
As David wrote in Psalm 23:1, "The LORD is MY Shepherd, I shall not want (lack)." He was able to say this because He believed God, and like Abraham, David's faith was counted to him as righteousness, though the Righteousness of Christ had yet to be revealed.
We who live now live in the Age of Grace, a time when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God is prevalent and fills all believers that we might walk in the power of God and accomplish His purpose in us and for us. It is now that the Spirit of God prepares us for what is to come.
And what is to come? Life, an eternal life which has no end. Life in Christ is lived in Christ. And as I stated in the beginning of this discourse, A life lived on purpose in Christ is a life worth living.
Let us live that life with God's Seal upon us.
SEALED LIFE
Welcome Holy Spirit
Let The Weight of Your Glory Fall
Holy Spirit
Come Holy Spirit Fall On Me Now
O Lord Send The Power Just Now
Holy Spirit Rain Down
