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Part 2 of the Series:
“search the scriptures” John 5:39
In our previous article we saw that the Holy Spirit is not a force but a member of the Godhead. We mentioned some of the names given to the Holy Spirit and considered the promise and the coming of the Holy Spirit. In this study we would like to think of what the scriptures teach us regarding the moment we as believers received the Holy Spirit.
‘After that ye believed’- the thought is that of ‘upon believing’, or ‘having also believed’. There is no thought of a gap in time between believing and receiving the Holy Spirit.
‘Ye were sealed’ - a seal is the idea of a private mark or stamp. We see the use of the seal elsewhere in scripture. For example, Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, 1 Kgs. 21. 8. We also have the seal mentioned in Daniel chapter 6 verse 17, where the stone was ‘laid upon the mouth of the den [of lions]; and the king sealed it with his own signet’. In Matthew chapter 27 verse 66 in relation to the Lord, ‘they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch’.
As we think of those things that were sealed in scripture, it points us to concepts of authority, identity, ownership, and possession. Similarly, when a farmer buys cattle or sheep, he will identify them as belonging to him, either with a brand or mark. It is the price he paid for them that makes them his and not the mark or branding. The mark shows who they belong to.
The challenge for us today is that as we live our life is it clear to whom we belong? We have not been marked physically with a seal, but it should be evident to those around us that we are different. Our life is different - our conversation, where we go, and how we live. Also, how we respond to situations in life, the joy within us, and the hope before us, should mark us. We have been bought with a price. The Lord Jesus paid the ultimate price, and we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Paul then mentions ‘the earnest of our inheritance’, Eph. 1. 14. An ‘earnest’ has in view a deposit, a pledge, or a down payment. It declares that there is more to follow. The example of the giving of an engagement ring has often been used. When the engagement ring is given, it is a pledge and a promise that more will follow at the marriage.
What blessings are ours now, that is, what we are a part of and have entered into, and what greater things will be ours in a coming day - the promise of our inheritance.
It is a solemn thing, a warning, when Paul writes and says that it is possible for us to grieve the Holy Spirit. The word ‘grieve’, lypeo, has the thought of making sorrowful, or ‘to cause grief’. We have already seen that the Holy Spirit can be lied to, Acts 5. 3, and resisted, 7. 51. Now, Paul says, ‘grieve not the Holy Spirit’.
What can grieve the Holy Spirit? Through these verses, Paul mentions lying, anger, stealing, corrupt communication, bitterness, and wrath. We should not be marked by conversation which is harmful. To bring that up to date, the email that we send, or message we post onto a chat - is it for the edifying of those that will receive it? Are we building up the Lord’s people, or working as a busybody? Corrupt communication has the thought of being rotten, putrefied, and not fit for use.
Of things that will grieve the Spirit, Paul says they need to be put off or ‘put away’, v. 31. We should be a people who edify and build up the saints. In contrast to those things that would grieve the ‘holy Spirit of God’, is an appeal, ‘Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you’, v. 32.
The word ‘quench’ means ‘extinguish’, ‘stifle’, or ‘hinder’ Scripture teaches that we have each been given a gift, and all should be encouraged to exercise that gift, no matter how young or how old we are, or how long we have been on the Christian pathway. What a privilege to use and exercise the gift that we have been given.
If we were to operate a one-man ministry, the gifts that have been given to the saints would not be used and evident, and that would be to the detriment of the assembly, denying the Lord what is rightfully His. This is an example of quenching the Spirit.
Paul encourages Timothy to ‘stir up [fan into flame] the gift of God, which is in thee’, 2 Tim 1. 6. We all should see our responsibility to use the gift that we have been given, all coming together prepared to offer our worship both audibly and silently. So, at the prayer meeting, and as we come together to serve and work, using the gifts that God has given us, we should ultimately please Him and be for His glory. Let us not be a people that hinder and stifle the Holy Spirit.
What an encouragement to think that we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, but also to think of the challenge that we might not grieve or quench the Spirit.
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