And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30
The electronic device was not working, and I took it apart to see if I could fix it. Inside the case, I found nothing obviously wrong. But there was a component that was encased in dark brown plastic. A red seal covered the only screw holding the cover on the component, and a sticker bore the warning that if the seal was broken, the warranty on the device was void. So what? The warranty had already expired. So I broke the seal. I’ll give them credit; it was not easy to break. Once inside, I could make the changes I needed to get the device working again. But it made me think of the difference there is between that seal and the seal that God places on His components: you and me!
The seals in this world can be broken, because they are made of the materials of this world and represent the authorities of this world. But the Seal that God has placed on those who have received His salvation can never be broken. The Seal is none other than God Almighty, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, with the full authority of Heaven. I recently read the erroneous writings of someone who claimed that we can, by sinning against God, tamper with the seal that God has placed on us, and can void the warranty, that is, lose our salvation. How foolish! For one thing, the warranty God has placed on us is unconditional and never expires; it is eternal life. We did not save ourselves and we can do nothing to keep ourselves saved. For another thing, the Seal we have been given came at the infinite cost of the precious blood of Christ, and is applied by the infinite power of God. It is pure nonsense to suggest that puny man could ever break the seal of the Holy Spirit. But it is possible to grieve Him.
The Holy Spirit’s highest role is to ascribe glory to the Son, the Lord Jesus. He is surely grieved by the modern charismatic movement that seeks to exalt the Holy Spirit while paying mere lip service to the Son. We need to be careful that we don’t fall into the trap of failing to give the Lord Jesus His rightful place and glory. The Spirit is also grieved when we fail to depend on Him for support and preservation. He has promised to be with us and to comfort and sustain us. How grieved He must be when we try to stand in our own strength! He is also grieved when we fail to heed His guidance and disobey His instruction. We are told in Ezekiel 36:27: ‘I will put My Spirit in you, and cause you to walk in My statues, and ye shall keep My judgments and do them.’ His statutes for us today include gathering in His Name, loving one another, being holy even as He is holy, going into the world with the Gospel, and so on.
The One who promises to never leave us nor forsake us deserves our attention to His words. -Jim MacIntosh
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