The Seal of the Holy Spirit

By Eldon Woodcock

[Eldon Woodcock is Professor of Bible, Nyack College, Nyack, New York.]

What does it mean to be sealed with the Holy Spirit? What are the implications of this doctrine for Christians?

Being sealed with the Holy Spirit is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 1:22 and Ephesians 1:13–14 and 4:30. Second Corinthians 1:22 and Ephesians 1:14 indicate a connection between being sealed (σφραγίζω) with the Holy Spirit and receiving a “pledge” (ἀρραβών) of one’s spiritual inheritance. The ἀρραβών is also mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:5.

A study of these verses reveals that being sealed with the Holy Spirit has significance not only for the initial stage of salvation but also for the eternal preservation of believers.

The Meaning of Σφραγιζω (“to Seal”) and Σφραγις (“Seal”)

These words, which have been attested since the sixth century B.C.,[1] have a variety of meanings. In its most obvious use, σφραγίς refers to physical seals such as signet rings that made impressions,[2] and to the impressions themselves.[3] On some occasions the impression was equivalent to a signature.[4] Sometimes seals were among the decorative attachments to clothing.[5] Physical seals were widely used in ancient times, as documented by Herodotus’ statement that every man possessed a staff and a seal.[6]

The σφραγίς family often designates figuratively the impressions made on the mind. Memory has this powerful effect.[7] The content of these impressions include truths that God is One and is the Creator,[8] vice,[9] virtues,[10] old transgressions,[11] holiness,[12] benevolence,[13] justice,[14] and wisdom.[15]

The smallest physical seal can make impressions of very large things.[16] Even when it is used to make many copies, a seal remains unchanged. Philo used this fact to illustrate “the powers around God who give form to the formless and shape to the indistinct without losing anything of their own eternal essence.”[17]

Inaccessibility

Various objects were sealed in order to prevent others from tampering with their contents without being detected. These include vessels,[18] money bags (Tobit 9:5), a pagan temple (Bel and the Dragon 14, 16), and letters[19] (to be opened only by the intended recipient who would break the seal).

When Darius the Medo-Persian king was manipulated into throwing Daniel into the lion’s den, he sealed it with his signet ring to prevent anyone from having access to Daniel (Dan. 6:17).[20] Figurative or nonphysical seals were no less important in preventing access. These include the beloved bride pictured as a sealed fountain (Song of Sol. 4:12), a sealed mouth that is thereby silenced,[21] those who seal themselves so as not to learn the Law (Isa. 8:16, LXX), God’s sealing transgressions in a bag (parallel to His covering iniquity, Job 14:17), and death as sealed up, preventing any return from it (Wis. of Sol. 2:5).

The chief priests and Pharisees asked Pontius Pilate to secure Jesus’ tomb to prevent His corpse from being stolen so that His followers could say He was resurrected (Matt. 27:62–65). The religious rulers had a seal placed on the stone and posted a guard (v. 66) of several soldiers.[22] The seal was to close the tomb officially by governmental edict. Details such as whose seal was used and how the tomb was sealed are not stated. Later Mary Magdalene and the other Mary found the stone rolled back, an angel sitting on the stone, the guards paralyzed with fear, the tomb empty, and Jesus gone (28:1–7). Nothing was said about the seal, which was then irrelevant, for God had overruled the governmental edict.

The term “abyss,” a rough transliteration of the Greek ἄβυσσος, refers to the abode of the dead. This is where Satan will be forcibly imprisoned for one thousand years to prevent his deceiving the nations during Christ’s millennial reign (Rev. 20:1–3). God’s angel will arrest (κρατέω, “to seize”) Satan and bind (δέω) him, that is, imprison him so that he will be unable to escape. The angel will lock (κλείω) and seal (σφραγίζω) the entrance to the abyss over Satan.

A vision or revelation may be put into written form and then sealed to keep its contents unknown (Isa. 29:11; cf. Dan. 12:4, 9). The apostle John testified that he saw “in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals” (Rev. 5:1, NIV). The purpose of the seals was to keep the scroll closed, making the information on it inaccessible and thus unknown (vv. 3–4). Only the Lamb (who purchased His people with His blood) is worthy and able to break the seals and open the scroll (vv. 2, 5, 9).

John received another revelation, one he was not permitted to share. A voice from heaven said, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down” (10:4, NIV). This revelation was given only in oral form. The command to seal up that communication meant it was not to be put into written form. The reference to the seal was figurative, applying it to speech as if it were written on a scroll.[23] But the effect of the seal was the same as before: It made the revelation inaccessible. As a result, readers of Revelation know that the revelation was given, but they cannot know what it involved.

Toward the end of the Apocalypse, John was told, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book” (22:10). Since the Book of Revelation was not to be sealed up, its contents were revealed and written down and thus are accessible.

Authorization and Certification

The king’s seal extended his royal authority to the one who possessed it.[24] It thereby certified that the person was the king’s official agent.[25] Pharaoh gave Joseph his royal seal, authorizing him to enact his policies (Gen. 41:42–44).[26] Jezebel placed King Ahab’s seal on her letters concerning Naboth (1 Kings 21:8).[27] The Persian king’s signet ring was used by Haman to seal his decrees against the Jews, thus putting royal authority behind the decrees (Esth. 3:10; cf. 8:8, 10).[28]

A pagan priest placed his seal on the papyrus attached to the horns of an animal, certifying that it was ritually clean and suitable for use as a sacrifice.[29] The seal of the Jewish high priest conveyed his priestly authority.[30] The priests and Levites affixed their seals to their covenant with God, thereby putting it into effect (Neh. 9:38–10:1).

On occasion σφραγίς refers figuratively to a confirmation or implicit certification without a physical sealing. Examples include the confirmation of the accuracy of Joseph’s predictions when he interpreted the pharaoh’s dream,[31] and the confirmation of the report by the Hebrew spies concerning Canaan.[32]

Important documents were agreed to and certified by means of a seal. Examples include a marriage contract (Tob. 7:14), a deed of sale (Jer. 32:9–12, 44), and a covenant with God (Neh. 9:38–10:1).

Commentators have struggled to determine the significance of σφραγίζω in Romans 15:28. “Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal [σφραγίς] on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain.”[33] Most writers have concluded that it involves some form of certification. The contribution from Gentile Christians to poor believers in Jerusalem (v. 26) may have been an expression of gratitude to the Jerusalem church, or the result of the ministry of the Jerusalem church to Gentiles, or Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles.[34] The seal may have indicated that the gathering and delivery of the contributions would be done in a trustworthy manner.[35] Morris concludes that “in some way it pointed to official assurance that all was well,” even though the details of its significance are not clear.[36]

When Paul mentioned “the sign of circumcision” (σημε͂ιον. .. περιτομῆς) in Romans 4:11, he used a genitive of apposition,[37] that is, the circumcision was the sign, pointing to the existence of what it signifies.[38] Since Abraham was circumcised as an adult, it thereby functioned as a sign and seal of the righteousness he already had by faith. His justification by faith and resulting acceptance by God preceded his circumcision (Gen. 15:6; 17:10–11; Rom. 4:10). Apart from faith, the covenant, of which circumcision is a sign (Gen. 17:10–11), is meaningless.[39]

Paul described “the sign of circumcision” as “a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised” (Rom. 4:11, NIV). This seal functioned to attest, certify, ratify, and authenticate the righteousness Abraham had received by faith while still uncircumcised.[40] Some commentators suggest that the idea of God’s ownership may also be included.[41]

Circumcision has no value for those who break the law; such action indicates that a person is as if he were uncircumcised (2:25). Physical circumcision is valid as a sign or seal of righteousness by faith only if one also has the reality to which it points, namely, an inward circumcision of the heart (Rom. 2:28–29; cf. Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4).

God described Zerubbabel as His chosen one whom He will make like His signet ring (Hag. 2:23), thereby designating His authority to him. Related benefits of God’s certification of Zerubbabel included His renewed election of the Davidic line represented at that time by Zerubbabel.[42] It also involved God’s guaranteeing the fulfillment of His promises in the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7:12–16),[43] which will be fulfilled in the messianic kingdom. Meanwhile God would protect Zerubbabel from his hostile enemies, enabling him to complete his God-given task of supervising the reconstruction of the temple in Jerusalem.[44]

In 1 Corinthians 9:2–3 Paul defended his apostleship to the Corinthians by saying, “You are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who sit in judgment of me”[45] (NIV). Paul’s spiritual successes in Corinth confirmed his apostolic ministry; the very existence of the Corinthian Christians served to authenticate his apostleship.[46]

God sent His Son to convey His perfect truth. Those who accept Jesus’ message as God’s truth are, in effect, engraving their seal on that message. “He who has received His [Jesus’] witness has set his seal to this, that God is true” (John 3:33). Acceptance of His message authenticates His witness as true.[47] “The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful” (John 3:33, NIV). Martin Luther emphasized the force of this confirmation.

Among men nothing is safer and more certain than that which is given under one’s hand and seal. I feel sure when I have a sealed document.. .. Anyone who really accepts the message of the Gospel resolutely sets his seal to it and says: “This seal and document mean that I can stake life and limb and all I possess on this.” His heart is certain and harbors no doubts.[48]

In another example of figurative sealing imagery, the Lord Jesus Christ mentioned His Father’s certification of Him and His work. “On Him [the Son of Man] God the Father has placed His seal of approval” (John 6:27, NIV). Suggestions on what this seal is include Jesus’ baptism at which His Father stated He was the One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit (John 1:33),[49] the descent of the Spirit on Jesus,[50] the testimony of Scripture about Him,[51] and His power to perform miracles (Acts 10:38).[52] Although any of these suggestions is possible, the immediate context of a specific miracle, the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1–15), indicates that the fourth view may be the most likely. In any case, the point is clear that God provided His seal of approval on His Son as His official authentic representative.

Paul wrote to Timothy, “The firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness’ ” (2 Tim. 2:19). To what does the foundation in 2 Timothy 2:19 refer? Suggestions include God’s election,[53] Christ (1 Cor. 3:10–11; Eph. 2:20–22), the church (1 Tim. 3:15), the apostolic witness (Eph. 2:20), Old Testament Scripture,[54] and the truth in contrast to the teaching by false teachers. These views are all plausible and somewhat interrelated. In view of the immediate context, the last view seems preferable.

The sealing terminology is again figurative. God’s seal authenticates His foundation, the truth. Here the idea of a guarantee is mingled with that of authentication.[55]

Ownership and Protection

Seals were a mark of ownership. Some people placed the imprint of their seal on virtually everything they owned.[56] As a result, the family signet ring was very important.[57]

Some expressed their commitment to and possession by their god by bearing on their bodies the distinctive mark of a seal representing the god.[58] This supposedly brought them under the protection of that god.[59] Worshipers of Dionysius had their god’s sign, an ivy leaf, burned on them, a procedure described by the verb σφραγίζειν.[60] The Law of Moses prohibited any such marks or tattoos, especially if they were related to pagan practices concerning the dead (Lev. 19:28; 21:5; Deut. 14:1–2).[61]

A σημεῖον is a sign, usually visually perceived, by which one recognizes a person or thing.[62] Broader in its range of meaning than σφραγίς, σημεῖον refers to the rainbow (Gen. 9:9–17, esp. vv. 12–13), the observance of the Sabbath (Exod. 31:13, 17), and often to miracles (4:1–9, esp. vv. 8–9; Deut. 34:10–12)[63] as confirmatory signs. Of significance to this study, σημεῖον may also refer to a distinguishing, confirmatory, authenticating mark by which someone or something is categorized correctly.[64] It may designate the signet of a ring.[65] Circumcision was early recognized as a σημεῖον of the Abrahamic Covenant between God and Israel (Gen. 17:11). Paul described circumcision as a σημεῖον, which is the σφραγίς of the righteousness received by faith (Rom. 4:11).

God had one of His servants place a mark on the foreheads of those who protested the abominations done in their midst (Ezek. 9:3–4). Its purpose was to protect them from God’s wrath in His judgment since they were His property (v. 6).[66]

In the Tribulation the 144,000 will be identified by a seal on their foreheads (Rev. 7:3–4). And in the fifth trumpet judgment the locusts will be allowed to harm “only those people who [will] not have the seal of God on their foreheads” (9:4, NIV). Though these verses do not specify what the seal will be, it may be similar to the mark made by a signet ring used by an ancient Oriental king to authenticate and protect official documents.[67] According to Revelation 14:1 the seal on the foreheads of the 144,000 will be the name of the Lamb and of the Father. It will thus be an observable seal.[68]

This seal, described as “the seal of the living God” (Rev. 7:2) and “the seal of God” (9:4), will have the authority of God behind it.[69] Thus God’s commands concerning those bearing His seal will be scrupulously followed.

The purpose of this seal will be to label God’s people as belonging to Him, as His possession.[70] What He owns, He also protects.[71] By means of His seal God will identify the people whom He will protect from the disasters predicted for the Tribulation. His protection will guarantee their survival. This will give them comfort, assurance, and security, even in difficult circumstances.[72] This concept is similar to Paul’s teaching on being sealed with the Holy Spirit.

Sealing in Relation to the Holy Spirit

In three passages Paul referred directly to believers’ being sealed with the Holy Spirit. “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Cor. 1:21–22, NIV). “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:13b–14, NIV). “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30, NIV).

Some commentators say being sealed with the Holy Spirit includes impressing God’s character on those who belong to Him.[73] He did this by the Holy Spirit’s acts of regeneration, enlightenment, and sanctification.[74] This idea is consistent with earlier ideas of σφραγίς that include impressions of moral qualities made on the mind. However, since Paul’s emphasis in these verses is on the foundational aspects of what Christ accomplished for believers in His redemptive work, he included the idea of impressing God’s character on believers as only a secondary element.[75] It is not what these texts stress.

The relationship between being sealed with the Holy Spirit and baptism has been discussed at length by a number of writers.[76] Several commentators hold that this sealing refers either to water baptism or occurs during that baptism.[77] They point out that these verses have been understood in that way by many of the early church fathers.[78]

But baptism is not the topic discussed in these passages; they are concerned primarily with God’s redemptive acts before water baptism. Paul was emphasizing the reality of salvation, one benefit of which is the sealing with the Holy Spirit, not that which symbolizes it.[79] Historically no suggestion of a connection between sealing and baptism was made until the early church fathers, who wrote decades after Paul.[80] Since the sealing with the Holy Spirit occurs at the moment of conversion, it is thus distinct from water baptism.[81]

The Holy Spirit is the means[82] by which Christians are sealed at the moment of salvation. The Holy Spirit is Himself the seal—especially in the sense of His presence in Christian experience.[83] The Trinity is evident in Ephesians 1:13–14. “God is the One who seals, Christ is the sphere in which the seal is done, and the Holy Spirit is the instrument of the seal.”[84]

Sealing with the Holy Spirit certifies[85] God’s ownership[86] and protection[87] of His people. It happens at conversion when the Holy Spirit begins His indwelling. As a result of this action initiated by God, grounded on Christ’s redemptive work, and accomplished by the Holy Spirit, the salvation of believers is secured. Since believers are God’s inviolable property,[88] He will protect them. As a result, believers can enjoy complete security in their relationship with Him.[89] This conclusion is supported by Paul’s statements that connect the sealing with the Holy Spirit to the ἀρραβών, which Paul used in 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; and Ephesians 1:14.

The Meaning of =Αρραβων (“Pledge”)

The word ἀρραβών transliterates the Hebrew noun רָבוֹן, “pledge.”[90] The Phoenicians evidently developed it as a commercial term, especially as an earnest.[91] The Greeks derived their usage from the Phoenicians, with whom they had commercial contact.[92]

An Earnest or Down Payment

Early in Greek use, ἀρραβών designated an earnest or down payment.[93] It signified the initial partial payment that functioned as a guarantee to pay the complete price of something being purchased.[94] Since some people did not always fulfill their contractual obligations, for they lacked integrity, both buyers and sellers wanted to protect themselves. The seller desired a contract that would have the buyer pay the amount owed as if it were a loan, and the buyer wanted a guarantee that the seller would relinquish the object sold when full payment had been made.

The ἀρραβών was a small article or partial payment, perhaps substantial. If the buyer failed to pay in full, he forfeited the ἀρραβών. If the seller did not turn over what he had sold, he had to repay double the amount of the ἀρραβών. When these Greek practices spread to the eastern Mediterranean, the value of the ἀρραβών was usually half the price of the object purchased.[95] Even with these safeguards, human integrity was essential to assure the fulfillment of the obligations. In early Greek this use of ἀρραβών as an earnest occurred more often than its use as a pledge.[96]

A Pledge

Like the earnest, the pledge functions as a guarantee of the completion of a business transaction.[97] Unlike the earnest, however, a pledge consisted of an article or articles unrelated to what was being purchased and the payments for it.[98] The pledge was to be returned when all payments had been made.

In the Septuagint ἀρραβών occurs only three times, all in one passage (Gen. 38:17–18, 20). This passage describes Judah’s financial arrangement with a woman whom he considered a prostitute (v. 15). In exchange for her sexual favors he offered a young goat from his flock (v. 17). Since he did not have the goat immediately available, he gave her his seal, its cord, and his staff as his pledge to fulfill his part of the transaction (v. 18). These items were her security that she would be paid. When he delivered the goat, the objects were to be returned to him (v. 20). Philo also used ἀρραβών in the sense of a pledge when discussing this passage, although he developed an allegorical interpretation of it.[99]

A contract for services

Kerr’s perceptive observations provide important insight into Paul’s use of the ἀρραβών.

As a possible source of the metaphor a contract for services has an important advantage over a contract of sale, a point which seems to have been overlooked by commentators who mention only contracts of sale. In a contract for services the person who gives the ἀρραβών is the one for whom the work is to be done; the person who receives it is the one who will do the work. In a contract of sale the buyer gives the ἀρραβών and the seller receives it. It is easy to envisage God giving an ἀρραβών to those who believe in him and serve him; it is difficult to think of a hypothetical transaction in which Christians sell something to God and receive an ἀρραβών from him as the buyer.[100]

=Αρραβων in relation to the Holy Spirit

Second Corinthians 1:22 and 5:5 have the same construction: τὸν ἀρραβῶνα τοῦ πνεύματος, literally, “the deposit of the Spirit.” This can be understood as a genitive of apposition,[101] and can be better rendered, “the deposit as the Spirit,” or conversely, “the Spirit as the deposit” (as in the NIV). Paul’s thought was that the indwelling Holy Spirit is what functions as the ἀρραβών. He conveyed the same idea in Ephesians 1:14 by means of a relative clause: “the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit” (NIV).

Commentators have often concluded that Paul intended to apply the basic meanings of ἀρραβών in these texts. Some describe it as a pledge, but without distinguishing it from an earnest, noted earlier.[102] Others designate it as an earnest (i.e., a down payment), which indicates God’s commitment to fulfill completely what He had promised in His redemptive plan.[103] The Holy Spirit’s living within believers provides a preview or foretaste of their future salvation.[104]

In describing the indwelling Holy Spirit as the believer’s ἀρραβών Paul did not intend to convey all nuances of that term.[105] For in this context the ἀρραβών was not merely a partial payment as part of a contract obligating the debtor to pay all he owed. Nor was it a pledge that would have to be returned.

Rather, the believer’s ἀρραβών is an unsolicited and gracious gift by the perfectly holy and completely faithful God, who always fulfills His promises. Since His integrity and faithfulness are beyond question, this ἀρραβών was of course unnecessary as a device to discourage God from changing His mind or not taking His obligations seriously. God graciously led Paul to use imagery that would assure believers of the reality of His guarantee.[106] God’s use of an element from human culture to assure believers of His reliability in doing what He promised to do was not limited to the ἀρραβών. He had previously used a blood covenant to assure Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob that He would fulfill His promises (Gen. 15). Neither the covenant nor the ἀρραβών made the fulfillment of God’s promises more intrinsically certain.

Without all the details of such commercial arrangements as pledges and down payments, this ἀρραβών is God’s assurance of His guarantee that He will certainly achieve His redemptive purpose.[107] This will involve Christians’ future hope in Christ, that is, their ultimate future salvation.[108] Based on God’s sovereign power and faithfulness to His Word, along with Christ’s redemptive work, this ἀρραβών of the indwelling Holy Spirit shows that the believers’ future in God’s redemptive program is guaranteed and thus is absolutely and eternally secure.[109]

The Key Pauline Texts

Second Corinthians 1:21-22

In these verses Paul used four participles, all of which are rendered as indicative verbs in the New International Version (“stand firm,” “anointed,” “set his seal of ownership,” and “put”): “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

The participle βεβαιῶν means “to make firm, make sure, be solidly grounded, be attached to a firm foundation.”[110] Like ἀρραβών, its cognate noun βεβαίωσις was a legal and commercial term that designated properly guaranteed security, thereby indicating that a business contract was obligatory.[111] Here it refers to God’s continuous strengthening of believers in their relationship to Christ.[112] Since Christ is the foundation on which the Christian stands and since God is making firm that relationship, the Christian’s position in Christ is assured.[113] As a result, that position is “indubitable and irreversible.”[114]

The participle χρίσας means “to anoint.” In the Septuagint the verb χρίω almost always refers to a physical application of oil or ointment in a ritual with symbolic significance.[115] Hebrew kings and priests were anointed as part of their inauguration into office, thereby giving them authority to perform their official responsibilities.

The most notable exception in the Septuagint is Isaiah’s statement, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted” (Isa. 61:1). This is a metaphorical reference to the prophet’s “endowment with authority.”[116] This is especially significant because Jesus applied this text to Himself (Luke 4:18–21).

In the New Testament χρίω is used consistently in a figurative sense. Four times it refers to the anointing of Jesus, by which He was commissioned and endowed with supernatural power (Luke 4:18; Acts 4:27; 10:38; Heb. 1:9).

Its cognate noun χρῖσμα refers three times to an anointing of Christians (1 John 2:20, 27 [twice]). This anointing results in their having sufficient knowledge of spiritual truth so that they need not be completely dependent on human teachers. This anointing is “the power which works in the believer through the divine authoritative word.”[117] In 2 Corinthians 1:21 the participle χρίσας refers metaphorically to God’s anointing of Christians.[118] This anointing sets apart, commissions, and equips Christians to serve God.[119]

The third participle, σφραγισάμενος (v. 22), has already been discussed. This sealing certifies God’s ownership and guarantees His protection of His people. The extent of the group covered by σφραγισάμενος ἡμᾶς is debated. Some commentators limit it and the anointing to Paul and his apostolic group or to ordained clergy.[120] Such a limitation, however, is unwarranted, for it contradicts the broader application of anointing mentioned in 1 John 2:20, 27. Furthermore the New Testament nowhere recognizes the modern distinction between clergy and laity. It is preferable to view the sealing as applying to all Christians.[121] In 2 Corinthians 1:21 Paul explicitly described all Christians (ἡμᾶς σῦν ὑμίν) as being made to stand firm in Christ. Then he described “us” as anointed (χρίσας ἡμᾶς), and as sealed (σφραγισάμενος ἡμᾶς, v. 22). In view of the context, the anointed and the sealed evidently refer to the same group, that is, to all Christians.[122]

The fourth participle, δοὺς, from δίδωμι, describes God’s putting His Spirit within believers. The Holy Spirit’s living within Christians functions as the divine seal that labels them as belonging to Him. The presence of the Holy Spirit as God’s ἀρραβών provides powerful assurance that their future in God’s redemptive program is guaranteed and thus is eternally secure.[123]

Second Corinthians 5:5

In this verse Paul emphasized that it is God who accomplished the action mentioned.[124] “Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (NIV). The participle κατεργασάμενος, which designates this action, means “to produce, create, accomplish, prepare.” Only here in the New Testament is it used with a personal object.[125] Here it portrays God’s involvement in the entire process of redemption, including believers’ salvation, spiritual renovation, and ultimately being clothed appropriately for heaven.[126]

To assure believers of His intent to accomplish these things, God gave[127] them the Holy Spirit as His ἀρραβών, thereby guaranteeing that He will complete His redemptive program.

This, the crowning experience of God’s work of grace in the believer, is entirely of God. The good work begun in the Christian by God will be carried through to completion by God, until it reaches perfection in the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6). Not only is everything attributed to grace, but it is toward this glorious goal that God’s redemptive activity is all along directed. What confidence and certainty the assurance should give us that this work is altogether of God, and not in any measure of man! As it is God’s work, it will be done. There can be no place for failure or frustration.[128]

This is the basis for Paul’s strongly expressed confidence concerning his future home in heaven with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6, 8).

Ephesians 1:13-14

In praising God for His sovereign initiative and implementation of His redemptive program, Paul wrote, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (NIV).

Some writers state that ὑμεῖς (“you”) refers to Gentile Christians in contrast to early Jewish Christians who were the first to hope in Christ.[129] Nevertheless Paul did not develop this contrast between Jewish and Gentile Christians until in 2:11 and later. Since by ὑμεῖς Paul was specifically addressing the Ephesian Christians (whether of Jewish or Gentile background), his statements here are applicable to all Christians.[130]

Whether the first ᾡ is rendered “whom” or “him,” its antecedent is evidently χριστῷ (“Christ”), the last word in 1:12.[131] Instead of being the subject of an implied verb (“were included”), ὑμεῖς is better understood as the subject of ἐσφραγίσθητε (“were sealed”).[132]

The Ephesian Christians had “heard the word of truth.” Hearing involved listening to the truth being preached and understanding it.[133] Hearing the word of truth was a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for a response of saving faith (cf. Rom. 10:14–15), for hearing that message may evoke a response of either acceptance or rejection. To hear the Word and to reject it is to render the hearing futile.[134] The Ephesian believers had both heard (ἀκούσαντες) and believed (πιστεύσαντες) the word of truth.

What they heard and believed was “the gospel of your salvation,” which is in apposition to “the word of truth,” thereby explaining what it involves. Thus “the word of truth” designates the message of God’s salvation provided through Jesus Christ, the only means of salvation from eternal damnation.[135]

The aorist participle πιστεύσαντες is best rendered “having believed” or “when you believed.” Thus at the specific moment of saving faith, a believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit. Syntactically an aorist participle and the main verb (also aorist) may indicate either identical or simultaneous action.[136] If this is the case here, as seems probable, believing (πιστεύσαντες) and being sealed with the Holy Spirit (ἐσφραγίσθητε τῷ πνεύματι. .. τῷ ἁγιῷ) occur simultaneously.

Throughout his eulogy (Eph. 1:3–14), Paul emphasized God’s sovereign operations in His redemptive program that are activated in the individual at the moment of regeneration. Paul perceived present and future blessings as derived from this initial redemptive event.

Paul described the seal as “the promised Holy Spirit” (NIV) or as “the Holy Spirit of promise” (NASB). The former rendering presents the Holy Spirit as prophesied in the Old Testament (e.g., Isa. 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 36:26–27; 37:14; 39:29; Joel 2:28–29) and by the Lord Jesus Christ (e.g., Luke 24:49; John 14:16; 16:7–15; Acts 1:4–8; Gal. 3:14). The translation “Holy Spirit of promise” leaves open the option that the Spirit’s having been promised is in view; it also leaves open the option that the verse pictures the Holy Spirit as bringing with Him to believers the promise of glory to come.[137] This is more likely for it fits the theme of the passage better.

Although there is no preposition in the Greek text, the words “Holy Spirit” (τῷ πνεύματι. .. τῷ ἁγίῳ) are in the dative case. This is an instrumental dative,[138] indicating that the Holy Spirit is the means of the sealing. Thus as Christ was both the sacrifice and the High Priest, the Holy Spirit is both the seal and the means of sealing.

Anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit living within him does not belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9), and conversely, only those within whom the Holy Spirit dwells belong to Christ. This means, as stated earlier, that the Holy Spirit is received at the moment of saving faith (cf. Rom. 5:5; 1 Cor. 6:19; Gal. 3:2).[139] His sealing certifies God’s ownership and protection of His people, thereby assuring believers that their salvation is secured.

As in 2 Corinthians 1:22 Paul identified the Holy Spirit as the ἀρραβών, which shows believers that their future salvation is guaranteed and thus secure “until the redemption of those who are God’s possession” (Eph. 1:14, NIV). That final redemption has been described as the soteriological inheritance believers will receive[140] or as God’s taking complete possession of His people who belong to Him.[141] These descriptions are similar, but they express different perspectives: that of believers and that of God. The latter fits better the God-centered perspective of the passage as a whole.

God’s completion of His redemptive program and taking possession of His people will inherently bring praise to His glory.[142] This involves His being honored, especially by His completing His redemptive work in its eschatological dimension.[143] This marvelous future has been guaranteed by God. Should this not evoke a response of praise to God by those whom He has redeemed and whose redemption He will complete?[144]

Ephesians 4:30

In Ephesians 4:29 Paul wrote that believers are not to engage in “unwholesome” (σαπρός) talk. They are to avoid talk that is useless,[145] worthless,[146] malicious,[147] obscene or slanderous, thus being harmful to others.[148] For such conversation disrupts relationships, provoking hostility and dissension. Instead Christian talk is to build up (ὀικοδομήν), strengthen, and encourage others.[149] Following these exhortations Paul commanded Christians, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (v. 30). The verb “grieve” (λυπεῖτε) means to cause pain, sorrow, grief, distress.[150]

It is not a question of some offense aimed directly at the Spirit but rather that believers by committing the sort of sins that have been mentioned in the earlier sentences, sins which disrupt communal life, are thereby disrupting and opposing the work of the Spirit in building up the Church (cf. 2:22. . .). When believers act in a way that harms their brothers and sisters, God is hurt.[151]

The connection between the exhortation not to grieve the Holy Spirit and the ethical commands in the immediate context is clear.[152] Some commentators broaden the basis for grieving the Holy Spirit to include any conversation or activity that endangers Christian unity,[153] or even any sinful behavior.[154]

Similar terminology is used in Isaiah 63:10. After extolling God’s redemptive blessings for Israel, the prophet noted, “Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them” (NIV). The Hebrew word for grieved, from עָצַב, refers to the emotional pain suffered by the Holy Spirit.[155] The Septuagint renders עָצַב by παροξυνέω, “to provoke to wrath, to irritate.” This idea fits the context of Isaiah 63:10. But in Ephesians 4:30 the meaning of λυπέω is closer to that of עָצַב than to that of παροξυνέω.[156]

Paul’s language in Ephesians 4:30 probably echoes that of Isaiah 63:10, but his context and the point he made are different. Isaiah was writing in the context of the Mosaic Covenant, which stipulated that God would punish Israel for her sins, even to the point of turning against her (e.g., Lev. 26:14–39). But Paul was writing in the context of the New Covenant, under which God has saved, sealed, and guaranteed the inheritance of the redeemed.

The effect of grieving the Holy Spirit has been debated. Some hold that the Holy Spirit, if persistently grieved, will leave the sinning believer, who as a result will lose his salvation.[157] Others conclude that there is no indication in this verse that the Holy Spirit will depart from the sinning believer, even though He is grieved.[158] Paul’s argument supports the latter conclusion.

The response of believers to the Holy Spirit should be gratitude and appreciation for His presence within them, not fear of His departure or of some other punishment.[159] In view of all that the Holy Spirit has done and is doing for them, believers should earnestly strive to avoid causing Him grief. His purpose in living within believers is to motivate and empower them to live on a higher spiritual and moral level.[160] When believers thwart His purpose for living within them, He is grieved.[161] And when grieved, the Holy Spirit withholds the manifestations of His presence within believers, even though He remains within them.[162]

Believers are sealed with the Spirit “for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). As previously noted, sealing labels them as God’s inviolable property, as having the mark of God’s ownership and protection, and as being guaranteed of their final salvation. The preposition εἰς has been rendered “until”[163] and “for” or “for the purpose of.”[164] Either rendering does justice to the sense of the passage. Although the day of redemption reminds one of the day of the Lord, in this verse it points to the final, completed redemption of believers.[165]

Paul here teaches preservation when he reminds his readers that they “were sealed for the day of redemption.” Paul does not threaten his readers with the forfeiture of eternal life if they grieve the Spirit. Rather, he reminds them that they “were sealed for the day of redemption” by the Spirit as “an incentive to right living and right speaking.”. .. Paul here uses the fact of preservation to strengthen his appeal to godliness.[166]

This conclusion is supported by the continuing ethical exhortations in Ephesians 4:31–32. Paul used five expressions for wrath to emphasize the need of believers to eliminate inappropriate hostilities from their attitudes (v. 31), and in place of these, he advocated a kind, caring, forgiving spirit (v. 32).

Conclusion

The seal of the Holy Spirit certifies God’s ownership and protection of His people from the moment of saving faith, when the Holy Spirit begins His indwelling. As a result of this action initiated by God, grounded on Christ’s redemptive work, and accomplished by the Holy Spirit, the salvation of believers is secured.

Paul referred to the indwelling Holy Spirit as the believer’s ἀρραβών. In commercial settings the ἀρραβών functioned to secure a business transaction. This function was unnecessary to God, whose word is sufficient to guarantee what He has promised. Thus Paul used commercial imagery to assure believers of the reality of God’s guarantee that He will in fact achieve His redemptive purpose. This means that their future in God’s redemptive program is guaranteed and thus they are eternally secure.

In 2 Corinthians 1:21–22 Paul wrote of God’s making firm and strengthening Christians, His anointing them by equipping them for His service, His placing His seal of ownership on them, and His giving them the Holy Spirit as an ἀρραβών to assure them that salvation is guaranteed and thus is secure for eternity.

In 2 Corinthians 5:5 Paul mentioned God’s involvement in the entire process of redemption. Again he referred to the Holy Spirit as an ἀρραβών, as God’s assurance of His guarantee that He will complete His redemptive work.

In Ephesians 1:13–14 Paul described Christians as those who had heard and believed the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation. Again he said they are sealed with the Holy Spirit, which certifies God’s ownership and protection of them. Again he identified the Holy Spirit as an ἀρραβών, providing assurance to believers that God has guaranteed and secured their salvation.

In Ephesians 4:30, in the midst of a series of ethical exhortations, Paul again wrote that believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit. By this he labeled them as the people whom God owns and protects. The apostle used the truth of their preservation by God until the day of redemption as the basis for motivating them to follow his ethical exhortations.

These four passages all present soteriological themes that look to the future. They use the concepts of being sealed with the Holy Spirit and/or the Holy Spirit as an ἀρραβών to assure believers that God has guaranteed their salvation. The inevitable conclusion from these texts is that their preservation is certain and that their salvation is and will continue to be eternally secure.

Notes

1. R. Schippers, “Seal,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Colin Brown (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978), 3:497.
2. Ibid. (e.g., Plato, Lesser Hippias 368.c.2; Aristotle, De Audibilius 801.b.4; Wisdom of Sirach 38:27; and Philo, Special Laws 1.47.3).
3. Schippers, “Seal,” 3:497 (e.g., Aristotle, On Memory and Reminiscence 450.a.32; Chrysippus, Fragmenta logica (ed. J. Von Armin) 55.5; Exodus 28:11, 21; and Philo, On Dreams 1.158.4; 1.202.7.
4. Gottfried Fitzer, “σφραγίς, σφραγίζω, κατασφραγίζω,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971), 7:946.
5. Aristophanes, Fragmenta (ed. J. M. Edwards), 321.13; Aristotle, Meteorologica 387.b.17; Exodus 35:22.
6. Herodotus 1.195, cited by Schippers, “Seal,” 3:497.
7. Plato, Theaetetus 192.a.6.
8. Philo, On the Creation of the World 172.2.
9. Philo, The Sacrifices of Cain and Abel 135.5.
10. Philo, On Drunkenness 137.2.
11. Philo, The Decalogue 11.3.
12. Philo, Special Laws 1.30.5.
13. Ibid., 4.16.6.
14. Ibid., 4.218.9.
15. Philo, The Worse Attacks the Better 38.9.
16. Fitzer, “σφραγίς,” 7:946; Philo, On the Creation of the World 6.2.
17. Fitzer, “σφραγίς,” 7:946; Philo, Special Laws 1.47.
18. History of Alexander the Great, Recension α 1.8.4.1. “No one seals an empty vessel.”
19. Euripides, Hippolytus 864; Philo, The Embassy to Gaius 330.1.
20. Cf. Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews 10.258.3; 10.259.3.
21. Timotheus, Fragmenta (ed. D. L. Page), 001.15., col. 4.148; and Wisdom of Sirach 22–27.
22. That the guard detail involved several soldiers is clear from the plural forms in Matthew 28:4, 11.
23. Fitzer notes that σφραγίζω here has a weaker meaning, “to conceal,” by not putting the information into written form (“σφραγίς,” 7:950).
24. Ibid., 7:942.
25. For example Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War 1.129.1.6.
26. Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews 2.90.2.
27. Her purpose was to signify the king’s authority as the basis for her instructions.
28. Ibid., 11.271.4.
29. Herodotus 2.38; cf. Fitzer, “σφραγίς,” 7:943.
30. Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews 15.408.1.4.6.
31. Philo, On Joseph 98.4. Joseph’s predictions were confirmed when accurately fulfilled.
32. Philo, Moses 1.230.3. Philo said the spies who took the time to put together an accurate report on Canaan received a “seal of reality,” that is, the accuracy of their report was confirmed.
33. C. E. B. Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: Clark, 1979), 2:775–76; and James D. G. Dunn, Romans 9–16, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, TX: Word, 1988), 876–77.
34. These possibilities are mentioned by Cranfield (Romans, 2:775–76).
35. Fitzer, “σφραγίς,” 7:948.
36. Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 522.
37. Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, 1:236; F. Godet, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, trans. A. Cusin, translation rev. and ed. Talbot W. Chambers (1883; reprint, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1956), 173.
38. John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), 1:138; and Cranfield, Romans, 1:236.
39. Murray, The Epistle to the Romans, 1:138.
40. Ibid.; Morris, Romans, 202–3; and Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, 1:236.
41. James D. G. Dunn, Romans 1–8, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, TX: Word, 1988), 232. Dunn understands the seal here to include the ideas of both ratification and ownership. But Fitzer limits the seal here to ratification (“σφράγις,” 7:949).
42. Pieter A. Verhoeff, The Books of Haggai and Malachi, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 147.
43. Theodore Laetsch, The Minor Prophets (St. Louis: Concordia, 1956), 401–2.
44. Joyce Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1972), 54–55; and Eli Cashdan, “Haggai,” in The Twelve Prophets, ed. A. Cohen (New York: Soncino, 1948), 264.
45. Commentators do not agree on whether Paul’s statement about his defense (v. 3) refers to what precedes it or what follows it. Some scholars say it refers to the preceding material (e.g., Godet, Commentary on St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians,2:4–6; and Leon Morris, The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1958], 132). But on the basis of the Greek word order Fee concludes that Paul’s defense refers to what follows (Gordon Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, New International Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987], 397–401). Either way, Paul saw the Corinthian Christians as evidence of his apostleship.
46. Schippers, “Seal,” 3:499; Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, 396–97; and Paul L. Hammer, “Canon and Theological Variety: A Study in the Pauline Tradition,” Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 67 (1976): 86.
47. F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983), 97. Cf. Leon Morris, The Gospel according to John, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971), 245–46.
48. Luther’s Works, quoted by Morris, The Gospel according to John, 245, n. 124.
49. Schippers, “Seal,” 3:499.
50. C. K. Barrett, The Gospel according to St. John (London: S.P.C.K., 1960), 238.
51. Schippers mentions that others prefer this view (“Seal,” 3:499).
52. Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1945), 1:314.
53. Patrick Fairbairn, Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles (1874; reprint, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1956), 349–50.
54. Hammer prefers this view because the two quotations in the verse are taken from the Old Testament (“Canon and Theological Variety,” 88). Guthrie suggests that these texts express the thoughts of Numbers 16:5 and Isaiah 52:11 (Donald Guthrie, The Pastoral Epistles, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957], 150–51).
55. Schippers, “Seal,” 3:500.
56. Euripides, Orestes 1108.
57. Sophocles, Electra 1223.
58. Herodotus 2.113; cf. Schippers, “Seal,” 3:497.
59. Schippers, “Seal,” 3:497.
60. Fitzer cites 3 Maccabees 3:29 as documenting this practice (“σφραγίς,” 7:943). Cf. Philo, Special Laws 1.58.
61. In the Septuagint these verses do not use σφραγίζω, although they describe a practice evidently having a similar significance (G. W. H. Lampe, The Seal of the Spirit: A Study of the Doctrine of Baptism and Confirmation in the New Testament and the Fathers [London: Longmans, Green, 1951], 13).
62. O. Hofius, “σημεῖον,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 2:626.
63. This usage occurs often in the New Testament (e.g., John 2:11; Acts 8:6).
64. Hofius, “σημεῖον,” 2:626; and Fitzer, “σφραγίς,” 7:205.
65. For example Plato, Theaetetus 191. Fitzer also describes σημε͂ιον as any seal or stamp indicating ownership (“σφραγίς,” 7:204). But his supporting evidence is from the second century A.D.
66. Lampe, The Seal of the Spirit, 14–15; and Schippers, “Seal,” 3:498.
67. Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 167.
68. J. A. Seiss, The Apocalypse (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, n.d.), 164. But Ladd says this sealing will be spiritual and thus not visible (George E. Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of St. John [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972], 112).
69. Seiss, The Apocalypse, 165.
70. Fitzer, “σφραγίς,” 7:951.
71. Schippers, “Seal,” 3:500; and Lampe, The Seal of the Spirit, 16.
72. Seiss, The Apocalypse, 167.
73. Philip E. Hughes, Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962), 41; and Andrew T. Lincoln, Ephesians, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas, TX: Word, 1990), 307.
74. George Smeaton, The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (1882; reprint, Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1974), 79.
75. Thomas Goodwin argued that in these texts Paul did not include the idea of impressing God’s holiness upon believers. He stressed certification as the main idea and purpose of sealing, but conceded that the impress of an image was a secondary element (An Exposition of the Epistle to the Ephesians [reprint, Evansville, IN: Sovereign Grace, 1958], 229–34).
76. For example Markus Barth, Ephesians, Anchor Bible (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1974), 1:135–44.
77. For example Richard C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistles to the Galatians, to the Ephesians and to the Philippians (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1961), 383; and Lampe, The Seal of the Spirit, 4–5.
78. For example Fitzer, “σφραγίς,” 7:951–52; and Lincoln, Ephesians, 39–40. Lincoln, however, held that Paul distinguished between baptism and sealing (ibid., 39–40).
79. Barnabas Ahern “identified the sealing with the indwelling Holy Spirit, but also sees an implicit reference to the sacrament of baptism” (“The Indwelling Spirit, Pledge of Our Inheritance (Eph. 1:14),” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 9 (1947): 183-84. Lincoln connected it with the reception of and baptism with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians, 40).
80. Barth, Ephesians, 139; and John Eadie, Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians (1883; reprint, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d.), 66. Lincoln points out that “the explicit identification of circumcision in general with a seal and of baptism with a seal comes from the second century and has to be read back into the N.T.” (Ephesians, 40). The temporal proximity of the early church fathers to the New Testament period might seem advantageous to a more accurate interpretation of the apostolic writings. This possibility, however, seems unlikely in the light of their often faulty hermeneutics, especially their tendency toward allegorization and their growing reliance on church tradition. Geoffrey W. Bromiley discussed both positive and negative aspects of patristic interpretation (“The Church Fathers and Holy Scripture,” in Scripture and Truth, ed. D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983], 214–19). For other examples of patristic allegorization see Roy B. Zuck, Basic Bible Interpretation (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1991), 33–37; and William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., Introduction to Biblical Interpretation (Dallas, TX: Word, 1993), 31–35.
81. Colin Brown connects these texts to “the vivid experience of the Spirit itself” (“Spirit,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 3:701). Eadie considered any reference to baptism as “wholly foreign from the sense and purpose of” Ephesians 4:30 (Ephesians, 357).
82. S. D. F. Salmond understood πνεύματι to be an instrumental dative (“The Epistle to the Ephesians,” in The Expositor’s Greek Testament [London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1903], 3:268). Cf. Robert G. Gromacki, “Ephesians 1:3–14: The Blessings of Salvation,” in New Testament Essays in Honor of Homer A. Kent Jr., ed. Gary T. Meadows (Winona Lake, IN: BMH, 1991), 235.
83. Rudolf Schnackenburg, Ephesians: A Commentary, trans. Helen Heron (Edinburgh: Clark, 1991), 65.
84. Harold W. Hoehner, “Ephesians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1983), 619.
85. James Denney, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, The Expositor’s Bible, ed. W. Robertson Nicoll (1903; reprint, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1943), 51; and Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians (1859; reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), 25.
86. C. K. Barrett, A Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Harper’s New Testament Commentaries (New York: Harper & Row, 1973), 79; David K. Lowery, “2 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 557; and Robert G. Bratcher and Eugene A. Nida, A Translator’s Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (New York: United Bible Societies, 1982), 25.
87. Robert A. Peterson, “ ‘Though all hell should endeavor to shake’: God’s Preservation of His Saints,” Presbyterion 17 (Spring 1991): 56; and Lowery, “2 Corinthians,” 557.
88. Smeaton, The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit, 79.
89. Ernest R. Campbell, Ephesians (Silverton, OR: Canyonview Press, 1986), 182–83; Hughes, Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 41; Peterson, “ ‘Though all hell should endeavor to shake’: God’s Preservation of His Saints,” 56; and Lampe, The Seal of the Spirit, 16.
90. Ronald B. Allen, “ערב,” in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke (Chicago: Moody, 1980), 2:693–94. Allen also says the verb עָרַב means (a) to barter or exchange, (b) to pledge, and (c) to become surety for (a practice vigorously condemned in the Old Testament, e.g., Prov. 6:1–5; 11:15). Also see O. Becker, “ἀρραβών,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 2:39–40.
91. J. B. Lightfoot considered this Phoenician usage probable even though he could find no such usage in then extant Phoenician remains (Notes on the Epistles of Paul [1895; reprint, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1957], 323). Ahern agreed that the noun does not occur in extant Phoenician literature, but noted that the primitive root ‘rb does (“The Indwelling Spirit,” 180).
92. Lightfoot cited Ezekiel 27:13 as documenting this commercial contact (Notes on the Epistles of Paul, 323). Cf. A. J. Kerr, “Notes and Studies: ΑΡΡΑΒΩΝ,” Journal of Theological Studies 39 (1988): 92; and Ahern, “The Indwelling Spirit,” 182.
93. Ahern, “The Indwelling Spirit,” 182–83.
94. Ibid.; and Kurt Erlemann, “Der Geist als ἀρραβών (2 Kor 5, 5) im Kontext der paulinischen Eschatologie,” Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 83 (1992): 202-23.
95. This section is based on the discussion by Kerr, “Notes and Studies: ΑΡΡΑΒΩΝ,” 92–94. Cf. Alfred Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians (Edinburgh: Clark, 1915), 41.
96. Ahern, “The Indwelling Spirit,” 181–82. Early examples of ἀρραβών used as an initial partial payment to guarantee the completion of the purchase include Isaeus, On the Estate of Ciron 7.23.3; 8.23.5; and Aristotle, Politics 1259.a.12.
97. Ahern, “The Indwelling Spirit,” 182–83.
98. Ibid., and William Lillie, “An Approach to II Corinthians 5:1–10, ” Scottish Journal of Theology 30 (1977): 64.
99. Philo, On Flight and Finding 149.5-151.6. He said Judah’s sexual desire pictured piety and the three securities of his pledge symbolized steadfastness and fidelity (his signet ring), connection of word with life (his cord), and discipline on which one should lean (his staff). Developing such noble qualities from a sinful desire and transaction is remarkable misinterpretation.
100. Kerr, “Notes and Studies: ΑΡΡΑΒΩΝ,” 95.
101. Friedrich Blass and Albert Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961), 92; Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, 41; and Johannes Behm, “ἀρραβών,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 1 (1964): 475.
102. Hodge, An Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 25; Denney, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 55–57. But J. A. Robinson did note this distinction, preferring the sense of “earnest” (St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians [London: Macmillan, 1909], 36). Lincoln described it as a down payment (Ephesians, 40). Ahern believed it included both meanings (“The Indwelling Spirit,” 179, 184–85).
103. T. K. Abbott, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles to the Ephesians and the Colossians, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: Clark, 1897), 23; and Lincoln, Ephesians, 40.
104. Hughes, Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 41–42; and Ahern, “The Indwelling Spirit,” 185–86.
105. Murray J. Harris, “2 Corinthians,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), 10:348.
106. Heinrich A. W. Meyer, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistles to the Corinthians, trans. D. Bannerman (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1884), 434–35.
107. In Romans 8:23 Paul used another term, ἀπαρχή (“firstfruits”) to describe this concept of the presence of the Holy Spirit to assure future salvation for believers.
108. F. F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon and to the Ephesians, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984), 266; and A. Skevington Woods, “Ephesians,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 11 (1978): 27.
109. Hughes, Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 43, 173–74; and Hoehner, “Ephesians,” 619.
110. H. Schönweiss, “βέβαιος,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 1:658; and Heinrich Schlier, “βέβαιος, βεβαιόω, βεβαίωσις,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 1 (1964): 600-602.
111. Schlier noted a relationship between βεβαίωσις and ἀρραβών but did not specify what that relationship was (“βέβαιος, βεβαιόω, βεβαίωσις,” 602–3). There is evidently some overlapping of meaning, especially in their legal and commercial usage, and also in indicating a guarantee. Schlier cited Leviticus 25:23 as an example of such usage (ibid., 602). An Israelite’s land could not be sold definitively (permanently, that is) with a legal guarantee.
112. Harris, “2 Corinthians,” 325.
113. Schönweiss, “βέβαιος,” 1:660.
114. Denney, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 49. Plummer described the relationship between Christ and believers as “legally indestructible” (A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, 40).
115. D. Müller, “χρίω,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 1:121–23.
116. Ibid., 122.
117. Ibid.
118. This anointing is clearly a divine work. Whether the Anointer is the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit is not always clear, especially since all are involved. Stephen S. Smalley gives a perceptive discussion on this issue (1, 2, 3 John, Word Biblical Commentary [Waco, TX: Word, 1984], 107–8).
119. Ralph P. Martin, 2 Corinthians, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, TX: Word, 1986), 28.
120. Denney, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 40; and Christian F. Kling, The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, Commentary on the Holy Scriptures Critical, Doctrinal and Homiletical, ed. John P. Lange (1868; reprint, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d.), 22.
121. Furnish, 2 Corinthians, 136–37; R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul’s First and Second Epistles to the Corinthians (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1963), 853–54.
122. Furnish understands σφραγισάμενος ἡμᾶς as “fully inclusive,” thus involving all Christians (2 Corinthians, 137).
123. The NIV rendering at the end of 2 Corinthians 1:22 and 5:5, “guaranteeing what is to come,” is not in the Greek text. Nevertheless, as noted earlier, the concept of God’s protection of His people is part of the meaning of σφραγίζω. His assurance of His guarantee is part of the meaning of ἀρραβών. Since both concepts point to the future, the NIV rendering does represent the apostle’s thought.
124. As Martin observed, this is emphasized by Paul’s placing θεός at the end of the sentence (2 Corinthians, 108).
125. Kling, The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, 83.
126. Ibid.
127. The Greek construction in 2 Corinthians 5:5, ὁ δοὺς. .. τὸν ἀρραβῶνα το͂υ πνεύματος, is virtually the same as in 1:22.
128. Hughes, Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 174 (italics his).
129. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon and to the Ephesians, 264; and Wood, “Ephesians,” 11:26.
130. Lincoln, Ephesians, 38; and William Hendriksen, Exposition of Ephesians, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1967), 89–90, n. 31.
131. Peterson, “ ‘Though all hell should endeavor to shake’: God’s Preservation of His Saints,” 54, n. 65; and Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistles to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, and to the Philippians, 381.
132. Lincoln, Ephesians, 38.
133. Wilhelm Mundle, “Hear, Obey,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 2:175–77.
134. Francis Foulkes, The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963), 55.
135. Gromacki, “Ephesians 1:3–14: The Blessings of Salvation,” 234. Cf. John 14:6; Acts 4:12.
136. Πιστέυσαντες is what James H. Moulton called an “aorist participle of coincident or identical action” (A Grammar of New Testament Greek [Edinburgh: Clark, 1908], 131 [italics his]). Ernest De Witt Burton called this usage an “aorist participle of identical action” (Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in New Testament Greek, 3d ed. [Edinburgh: Clark, 1898], 64–65. Cf. Lincoln, Ephesians, 39).
137. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, 265; and Foulkes, The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, 56.
138. Eadie, Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, 65. Gromacki calls it a “dative of means” (“Ephesians 1:3–14: The Blessings of Salvation,” 235).
139. Peterson, “‘Though all hell should endeavor to shake’: God’s Preservation of His Saints,” 54, n. 68; Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, 265; Lincoln, Ephesians, 39; and James D. G. Dunn, Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1970), 158–59. For the contrary view that the sealing with the Holy Spirit occurs after saving faith, see Eadie, Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, 66; and James Fergusson, An Exposition of the Epistles of Paul to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians (Evansville, IN: Sovereign Grace, n.d.), 132.
140. John Macpherson, Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians (Edinburgh: Clark, 1892), 149–50.
141. Lincoln, Ephesians, 41–42; cf. Hendriksen, Exposition of Ephesians, 92, n. 34.
142. Lincoln, Ephesians, 42.
143. Sverre Aalen mentioned that power and honor are prominent ideas in applying δόξα to God (“Glory, Honour,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 2:46–48). In Ephesians 1:14 honor to God results from His use of His power in completing His redemptive program.
144. Lincoln, Ephesians, 42.
145. Schnackenburg, Ephesians, 208.
146. Herbert G. Miller, Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians (London: Skeffington & Son, 1899), 242.
147. Wood, “Ephesians,” 11:65; and Charles Hodge, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians (New York: Carter and Brothers, 1856), 274.
148. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, 363; and Wood, “Ephesians,” 65.
149. J. Goetzmann, “ὀικοδομέω,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 2:251–53; and Wood, “Ephesians,” 65.
150. Hermann Haarbeck and Hans-Georg Link, “λυπέω,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament, 2:419–21; and Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2d ed., rev. F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 482–83.
151. Lincoln, Ephesians, 307.
152. Eadie observed that the initial καί in Ephesians 4:30 clearly links that verse with the preceding exhortations (Ephesians, 354). So also Wood, “Ephesians,” 65; and Campbell, Ephesians, 182.
153. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, 363.
154. Lewis S. Chafer, Systematic Theology (Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 1948; reprint [8 vols. in 4], Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1993), 6:234–35.
155. Ronald B. Allen observes that in its overall usage עָצַב can refer to both physical and mental pain (“עצב,” in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 2:687–88).
156. Lincoln, Ephesians, 306.
157. Irwin J. Habeck, Ephesians: Amazing Grace (Milwaukee: Northwestern, 1985), 95.
158. Hodge, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, 275; and Chafer, Systematic Theology, 6:234.
159. Miller, Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, 243.
160. Chafer, Systematic Theology, 6:234–35.
161. Eadie, Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, 355.
162. Hodge, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, 275.
163. Eadie, Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, 356.
164. Miller, Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, 244.
165. Schnackenburg also notes that the idea of judgment has faded into the background in this text (Ephesians, 210).
166. Peterson, “‘Though all hell should endeavor to shake:’ God’s Preservation of His Saints,” 56 (italics his). Cf. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, 364.