“…you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance….” Ephesians 1:13
The Holy Spirit does two basic things for you. He seals you! My Grandmother used to seal mason jars so that the flavor stayed in and the bad stuff stayed out. It really was an important process in canning.
Secondly, it is the “down payment” on the whole thing. When you purchase a house you put down a “down payment.” That is a pledge, a security deposit that you are coming back for the house. In some circles it is referred to as the “guarantee.”
I believe that you and I have a guarantee of His daily provision and protection. He is daily present to us and for us through the presence of His Spirit in our lives.
I also believe that the Holy Spirit is the first installment of a future reward. Jesus is present in our lives by the person of the Holy Spirit. There is a moment when not only will we be with Him in Spirit but we will stand face to face with the risen Lord Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is the one that conveys all the goodness of God to us now and forever. To be filled with and under the control of the Spirit is to live in the reality of God’s goodness right now with the hope of that same unlimited Goodness in eternity.
Notice that Paul says “were” as in past tense. I really think that the Holy Spirit is present we sometimes are simply unconscious to Him.
Maybe we simply need to “wake up” to His Presence!
