“[Having] believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13).

Of all the wonderful Scripture passages on the eternal security of the believer in Christ, this is perhaps the most blessed of all.

“[Having] heard the Word of truth you believed,” says the Apostle, and “[having] believed, you were sealed.” Now a seal speaks of finality and permanency, whether it be the official seal on an important document, the seal on an electric transformer or the seal on a jar of preserves. But the most blessed fact of all is that the believer in Christ is “sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.” Mark well, he is sealed not by the Spirit but with the Spirit; the Spirit Himself is the seal.

Here, let us say, is a woman sealing jars of preserves with wax. The jars are sealed by the woman, but with the wax. Thus the humblest believer is sealed with the Spirit. It is He Himself who keeps us safe in Christ through all eternity.

And this is but the “earnest,” the first installment, “of our inheritance” (Ver. 14), for the Spirit keeps us secure in “this present evil age” so that “in the ages to come” God might show “the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (2:7).

Little wonder the Apostle closes this passage on our security with those appropriate words: “To the praise of His glory” (1:14).

What some theologians have called “the perseverance of saints” is not our perseverance at all, but God’s faithfulness. We have not persevered; He has preserved us by His grace for His glory.

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.