Ephesians 1:13-14
What is written? (ESV)
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed of the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
What does it say?
When you [Gentiles] heard the word and believed, you were marked and sealed with the Holy Spirit who had been promised – the believer’s down payment to the eventual inheritance and full redemption.
What is its immediate context?
The opening of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus ends with a long list of spiritual blessings they have in Christ. The culmination of his list of blessings “in Christ” applies to both Jews (vs 12) as well as Gentiles (“you also”).
How Ephesians 1:13-14 is applied across Bible answers
Are God’s word and the Holy Spirit the same thing?
When one hears the gospel (and believes or responds) they are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
Is hearing the gospel the only way to know God’s will?
Paul connects their belief directly to hearing the "word of truth." It is the means by which they understood what God required.
What does the Holy Spirit do for the Christian today?
The Holy Spirit is a seal and down payment to the Christian's reward.
What is God’s seal?
All who believe in Christ are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit - a deposit or "earnest money" toward the believer's redemption by God the Father.
What is the promise of the Holy Spirit?
Paul references the same promise of the Holy Spirit for all believers that Peter proclaimed on the day of Pentecost.10
Why does God give the non-miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit? (Acts 2:38-39)
Paul summarizes the Ephesian Christian's salvation experience, which is exactly as those in Jerusalem experienced.1 They heard the word, believed, and obeyed in baptism (i.e. "they were marked and sealed with the promised Holy Spirit"). This "gift of the Holy Spirit"1 for the saved individual is "the believer's down payment" for "full redemption" when He returns.
(A passage that's especially problematic for Holger Neubauer since he must force some kind of interpretation that justifies the preterist's core belief that Jesus already returned. Note that the conclusion is made before the natural reading of the passage and its perfect harmony with the rest of scripture.)
