Dale Sutherland on The Blessing of the Seal

When I was a policeman, we would seal evidence prior to giving it to the evidence clerk to hold for court hearings by taking it to something called the heat sealer.

The Blessing of the Seal

The heat sealer would melt the plastic envelope, with the evidence inside, so it was totally tamperproof. The only chance someone would get inside was by ripping open the entire package. It was sealed until the day of court.

The Bible uses the term “sealed” as well. Twice, in the book of Ephesians, Paul the Apostle tells the church that they are sealed in God. This meant that they were protected by God’s name. Once they had committed themselves to God, God had sealed them for the day of His return.

The two verses in Ephesians about this are:

Ephesians 1:13 – And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit… Ephesians 4:30 – And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Both of these were played strategically by Paul to give an illustration that everyone could understand. In those days, they didn’t have heat sealing machines. What they did have was the idea that when a contract was agreed upon and a decision was made, it would be sealed by the one who is committed to the transaction. The ones committed to the purchase they’ve made had to brand or seal it with a ring or with another insignia saying that it is theirs.

Paul the Apostle is encouraging us in these passages. He is telling us that not only does God love us, not only does God care about us, not only does he forgive our sins, but God

Almighty seals our relationship by assuring us that we live under God‘s spiritual protection.

If you are a believer in Jesus and you have repented of your sins, you can also receive the seal of God Almighty. This assures you that you are under God’s protection and that it will last until the day of redemption. What a blessing the seal is to believers!