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NASB | 2 Corinthians 1:22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Corinthians 1:22 it is He who has also put His seal on us [that is, He has appropriated us and certified us as His] and has given us the [Holy] Spirit in our hearts as a pledge [like a security deposit to guarantee the fulfillment of His promise of eternal life]. |
Subject: When does one receive the Holy Spirit? |
Bible Note: Dear Doc. As I was replying to a question put to me about the seal of the Spirit that was what I was emphasising. While the fruit of the Spirit is certainly the result of the Spirit's indwelling it is not in my view directly what the seal of the Spirit has in mind. The seal of the Spirit has in mind security and confidence resulting from Christs work within. I could not agree more that this must result in genuine fruit, as in fact I did mention. But I am conscious also that that fruit often takes time to grow. First the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear (Mark 4.28). As I am sure you are fully aware it may take time for a person's conversion to become obvious to others. The 'old man' does not release his hold willingly. And some have problems to battle with of which others are unaware. I am reminded of the poem - Judge not. The workings of His mind and of his heart you cannot see. What seems to your dull eyes a stain In God's pure eyes may only be A scar won on some battle field Where you would only faint and yield. That look, that air, that frets your sight May be a token that below That soul is closed in deadly fight With some infernal, fiery foe Whose look would scorch your smiling grace And send you shuddering on your face. As you would no doubt rightly point out. Jesus said, 'Why do you call Me "Lord, Lord" and do not do the things that I say?' (Luke 6.46). 'Not everyone who says to Me "Lord, Lord" will enter the Kingly Rule of Heaven, but those who do the will of My Father Who is in Heaven' (Matthew 7.21). This too is the RESULT of the seal of the Spirit in the heart. But in my view the seal of the Spirit is first given in the inner heart. 'The firm foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His' although of course it is immediately followed by 'Let every one who names the Name of the Lord depart from iniquity' (2 Timothy 2.19). But even that is initially an awareness of what must be, rather than it immediately having become an actuality in practise (although of course eventually it must be). It is the anointing within that will lead us into truth (1 John 2.20, 27). I am ever aware that the young Christian can begin to feel that he is just not coming up to scratch. He begins to fear that perhaps he has not been 'saved' after all. Thus he needs to be aware of the seal within him that can give him assurance. 'Though I am not what I should be, I thank God that I am not what I was, for I now know that I have Christ within me, and I therefore know what I should be, and that is what I intend to be'. It is God Who will work within him of His good pleasure (Philippians 2.13). I am sure you will have noted my later stress on the fact that it is 'by their fruits that they will be known'. But those fruits are the sign to men, not the divine seal. I am not quite sure how you gathered from my words that I did not think it was possible to discern the effects of salvation. Eventually it inevitably is, and I thought that I had made that quite clear. But what I stressed was that we are not qualified to judge the genuineness of those effects. We are not infallible judges. In the end we must leave that to the One Who judges rightly (Romans 14.10-13). You may add to your quotes the words of George Whitefield, 'I care not a jot for that man's religion whose very dog and cat are not the better for it'. But it may take time for it to be worked out. Best wishes Jon |