THE CODE 18 SEPTEMBER 2025 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition Recently the front page of our local newspaper carried the story of a raid on a large counterfeit enterprise that was operating in a local warehouse district. Fake Gucci, Chanel and Louis Vuitton merchandise with a street value of over forty million dollars was confiscated, and the operators of the criminal enterprise were arrested A simple ten-dollar sweatshirt, when labeled with a fake Chanel logo, could have generated a bonanza of well over a thousand dollars on the street. There are a lot of counterfeit operations taking place today. On a recent visit to New York, it seemed impossible to walk a block without seeing people selling fake designer handbags and watches. A stamp of authenticity Sadly, counterfeit Christianity is also a reality. Thus, the question arises, “How can we know that our faith is real or if it is, in fact, fake?" Authentic believers have a seal, a stamp of authority that identifies them to an increasingly wondering and woke world. Paul described this mark of authenticity by saying, In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13—14). Did you know that when you believed in Christ and transferred your trust to Him alone for your salvation, God put His seal, His stamp of approval on you? “You were sealed with the Holy Spirit.” When Paul stated that "you were sealed with the Holy Spirit," he wrote these words in a verb tense that indicates the event occurred at a distinct and definite moment in time past, and that you had nothing to do with it. In the Greek syntax of this verse, the subject doesn't act, It is acted upon by someone outside. Paul was speaking here of something that is more like a snapshot from the past and not a video. It is a done deal. When you came to know Jesus as your personal Savior, God put a seal on you that Paul called the "Holy Spirit of promise " And God keeps His promises. A seal speaks of three things-authenticity, ownership, and security. Interestingly, John the Baptist used the same Greek term for "seal" when, speaking of Jesus of Nazareth, he declared, "He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true" (John 3:33) The "seal" Paul talked about in Ephesians 1 reveals that we are real, authentic believers. When you were saved, God certified you and stamped you with the Holy Spirit-His seal of approval to show that you are the real thing. Most of us have heard of the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval." In 1909, Good Housekeeping magazine introduced its seal of approval. The seal was (and still is) awarded to products that have passed rigorous standards set by Good Housekeeping, allowing the company to confidently suggest dependable products to consumers across all these decades. In the context of the Roman world in which Paul lived, letters were sealed with hot wax and then stamped with a seal from a unique signet ring to show the authenticity of the author. Most of us today have had the experience of going to a notary public to certify an agreement with another party. After signing the document, the notary embosses the contract with a seal to show authenticity. In a similar fashion God has "sealed" you with His own Spirit to authenticate your faith and give you the confidence that the transaction of salvation you made with God the Father through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is real. Think back to the day you came to know Christ in the free pardoning of sin, the day you were, in His words, “born again.” The Holy Spirit was there. At the moment God put His Holy Spirit in you to certify the authenticity of your faith. When we sometimes wonder if it is all really real, if we are authentic believers, we need only look for the seal — “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). A seal speaks of authenticity, that something is really real. Proof of ownership A seal also is the indicator of ownership-proof that we actually belong to someone else. Paul explained in 2 Corinthians 1:22 that God has "sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee The NIV translates this verse as God having «set His seal of ownership on us. When God stamped us with His seal of approval, the Holy Spirit, He was reminding us that we belong to Him. When I was a little boy, my uncle owned a ranch in Texas outside the little mountain hamlet of Camp Wood. I always loved being there when it was time to brand the new calves. While one worker held the calf down, another would take a hot iron branding tool and sear my uncle's initials into the animal's hindquarters. This mark would be there for the rest of the cow's life to indicate who owned it. It was not unusual for cattle to occasionally get through a fence and wander onto someone else's property. The brand was there as indisputable evidence of the ownership of the cows. This is the same principle Paul was speaking of when he said, "You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." God put His brand on you. You belong to Him, now and forever. This is God's way of indicating that when we place our trust in Him, He places the Holy Spirit in our hearts to seal the fact that we belong to Him The Holy Spirit is our seal to authenticate our salvation and to let the world know that we belong to Christ. Sealed for security But there is more. God seals us with the Holy Spirit to let us know that we are secure. Ironically, we find the same Greek word Paul used to indicate our authenticity and ownership as believers also used in Matthew 27:66, in the account of the burial of Christ. Once Jesus was in His burial place, Scripture says the tomb was sealed with a Roman seal, and a guard was set to watch over it. A scaling of string and wax was affixed to the tomb to protect it from a tampering or theft. The seal of the Holy Spirit not only speaks of authenticity and ownership but also gives us confidence that we are secure in Him. What a comforting revelation to know that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and secure in Him from anything that might come our way. If you are "in Christ," God has sealed you with His Holy Spirit. You are for real. He has placed His stamp of ownership and authenticity on you. You are secure against any effort of Satan to break that seal. Let's pause for a moment and meditate on these amazing words. "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 113-14). You are signed and sealed by the Holy Spirit, and one day at His coming you will be delivered to the Father - His own purchased possession. The next time you observe a notary's seal proving a document's authenticity, let it be a reminder of the seal of the Holy Spirit that God has placed on your own heart. Taken from The Spirit Code by O.S. Hawkins. Copyright © 2024 by Dr. O.S. Hawkins. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. O. S. Hawkins is the Legacy Pastor of First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale, chancellor of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and President Emeritus of GuideStone. He has served pastorates, including the First Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, for more than 25 years. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, he has a BBA from Texas Christian University and his MDiv and Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. For almost a quarter of a century, he served as president of GuideStone Financial Resources, with assets under management of $20 billion, serving 250,000 pastors, church staff members, missionaries, doctors, university professors, and other workers in various Christian organizations with their investment, retirement and benefit service needs. He is the author of more than 40 books and regularly speaks to business groups and churches nationwide. All of the author’s royalties and proceeds from the Code series support Mission:Dignity. You can learn more about Mission:Dignity by visiting MissionDignity.org. - Dr. O.S. Hawkins - Chancellor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Signed, Sealed and Delivered
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