Sealed With the Holy Spirit

At the moment of salvation when we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, three most amazing things will happen. The first is that we get automatic forgiveness for all of our sins - all past, present and future sins that we will ever commit. The second thing that will occur is that we will get to go straight to heaven when we die and cross over because we have now become saved and born again.

However, there is a third thing that will occur that some Christians really don't realize or have full knowledge of. At the exact moment that we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and become saved and born again - we also instantaneously "receive" the third person of the Godhead - the Holy Spirit Himself!

The Bible tells us that both God and Jesus live in heaven. However, when we become saved and born again - we literally get to receive the Holy Spirit Himself. He literally, and I mean literally, comes to live on the inside of us. As you will see in the Scripture verses I will list below - our bodies have now become the temple of the Holy Spirit because He is now living on the inside of us! Not only does the Holy Spirit come to live on the inside of us as a result of accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but the Bible also tells us that we have now become "sealed" with the Holy Spirit.

According to Webster's Dictionary, the word seal means "to confirm, authenticate or guarantee - to pledge." In two Scripture verses I will list below, the Bible tells us that we are given the Holy Spirit by God the Father as a "guarantee" and as a "deposit."

When God says that we are sealed by His Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation in Him and Jesus - He is giving us a very powerful revelation on what is actually occurring in the spiritual realm. Not only are we receiving the presence of the Holy Spirit, but we are also being sealed with His presence.

That seal now becomes a very powerful bond between us and God. Though I do believe that it is possible for a Christian to lose his or her salvation per the article I have done on that topic - I believe that it will take quite a bit to break this seal - this bond that we now have established with God and Jesus. This seal is not easily broken.

Here are the specific verses from the Bible that tell us that we will "receive" the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation, that our bodes have now become the temple of the Holy Spirit and that we have now been "sealed" with the presence of the Holy Spirit.

1. Receiving the Holy Spirit at the Moment of Salvation

This first verse will tell us that we receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation with Jesus - not sometime later. Here it is: Then Peter said to them,

"Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:38)

Notice that this verse is talking about those who are actually getting saved. When you "repent" and you are getting "remission" for your sins - you are in the process of getting saved by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You cannot truly repent and get forgiveness and remission for your sins unless you first are willing to accept Jesus as your Savior.

Then notice what the verse says next. After you have repented and have accepted Jesus as your Savior - then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit Himself. I believe that this verse is telling us that we will receive the Holy Spirit the moment we accept Jesus asour personal Lord and Savior. It will happen right then and there - not sometime later.

Some people will get saved and water baptized at the same time. Others get saved, and then baptized at a later date. The Holy Spirit will come into you at the moment you get saved - not at the moment you go through a water baptism. If you go through the water baptism at a later date - the Holy Spirit is not going to wait until you do that. He will enter into you right at the moment that you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior - no matter where that may take place at.

2. Our Bodies Are Now the Temple of the Holy Spirit

The above Scripture verse tells us that we will "receive" the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. So once we receive Him - exactly where does He go? The next set of verses will tell us that He will literally come to enter on the inside of us.

The Bible says that we have three parts to our beings - body, soul and spirit. Our human spirits are referred to our as our "innermost being" by the Bible. The Holy Spirit will enter into and actually live and dwell in your human spirit. As a result of the Holy Spirit now living on the inside of us in our human spirits - the Bible tells us that our bodies have now become the "temple" of the Holy Spirit since we now carry His presence on the inside of us.

Here are 5 good verses telling us that the Holy Spirit now literally lives on the inside of us and that our bodies are now considered the actual temple of the Holy Spirit.

• "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:19)
• "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16)
• "If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." (1 Corinthians 3:17)
• "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." (Romans 8:9)
• "But if the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:11)

Notice that first verse tells us to now glorify God in both our bodies and our spirits. I believe this verse is giving us key insight that the Holy Spirit is now living on the inside of our human spirits and as such, our bodies have now become His temple. Notice this verse does not use the word "soul" - but only "spirit." Our soul and spirits are two separate parts inside of our beings.

When the Holy Spirit initially comes to us - He will literally take up residence in our human spirits. However, I believe that there is a second experience that can occur where the Holy Spirit will release from your human spirit to come up into your soul area. This second experience has been called by many the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit."

Our spirits are baptized with His presence at the moment of salvation, but our souls can also be baptized with His presence. For a detailed explanation on what this second experience is all about and how to go about actually receiving it - go to my article titled "How to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit" under the "Bible Basics" page.

3. Sealed with the Holy Spirit

As a result of having received the presence of the Holy Spirit Himself at the moment of our conversions, the Bible tells us that we have now been "sealed" with His presence. Here are 3 good verses all using the word "seal" in reference to the Holy Spirit now living on the inside of us and a fourth verse that says that the Holy Spirit has been given to us as a "guarantee."

• "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30)
  
• "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a deposit." (2 Corinthians 1:21)
  
• "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)
  
• "Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee." (2 Corinthians 5:5 )

Conclusion

Now that we know that we have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us - what will He do with us? What kind of activity can we expect from Him? I will be doing additional articles in the very near future on some of the incredible things that will start to happen to you once you open yourself up to Him and allow Him to start to become much more active in your life.

But for right now, for those of you who have not received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit where He is now residing up in your soul area, I would highly recommend that you go to my article titled "How to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit."

If you are willing to take this extra step and receive this second gift that is available to all believers - your whole life will take a major turn in the Lord

Article written by Michael Bradley of Bible Knowledge Ministries. Their website is a resource of Bible Knowledge, articles, commentary and teaching. They currently have over 100Bible articles.