When
we consider the teaching of Scripture that the believer in Christ is sealed by
the Spirit, it is well to notice first of all that our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself was thus sealed:“Labor … for that meat which endures unto everlasting
life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for Him has God the Father
sealed” (John 6:27). This is the chapter in which Jesus speaks of Himself as
the “Bread of God,” “the Living Bread,” and “the True Bread from heaven”
(verses 32,33,51). This life-giving Bread came forth and was presented to men,
as sealed by the Father, that they might eat and live forever. The sealing of
the Son of Man was the Father owning Him as His well-beloved One, and declaring
His delight in Him.

      I
heard an illustration recently that is relevant. Often today we find bread
offered for sale with the maker’s name, or some trade name, either put upon it
by a label or literally baked into it. The bread is sealed with the name of the
baker. He practically says, “This bread is good. I put my name upon it, for I
stand back of it in every particular.” So has God the Father sealed the Bread
from heaven. He acknowledged and approved His blessed Son in everything.

      It
is wonderful to learn from Scripture that the same Spirit who sealed the
Saviour seals all who are saved by Him. In Eph. 1:13 the apostle addresses
those who “trusted in Christ … in whom also, after that you believed, you
were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.” In J. N. Darby’s version it is
even clearer:“In whom also, having believed, you have been sealed.” How
soul-assuring is this! Sealing is not a question of experience. It is a
precious fact to be accepted on the authority of the Word of God. When you
believed the gospel, dear saved one, you were sealed by the Spirit. God the
Father put His stamp upon you, so to speak. He did this by giving you the
Spirit to dwell in you—He who dwells in us is the seal.

      In
the same Epistle we read:“Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are
sealed

      (Continued
on page 98)