Sealed with the Holy Spirit

The first thing that will occur is that we will 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 do not have a full understanding or realization on. At the exact moment that we accept Jesus as our personal 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!

And not only does the Holy Spirit come to live on the inside of us as a result of accepting Jesus as our personal 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 our 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.

This seal now becomes a very powerful bond between God and us. Though I do believe it is possible for a Christian to lose his salvation per the article I have done on this topic - I believe that it will take quite a bit to break this seal and 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 will tell us that we will "receive" the Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation with Jesus, that our bodies 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 will 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 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 personal Lord and Savior. You cannot truly repent and receive forgiveness and remission for your sins unless you are first willing to accept Jesus as your Savior.

Then notice what the verse says next. After you have repented and have accepted Jesus as your personal Savior - then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit Himself. I believe this verse is telling us that we will receive the Holy Spirit the moment we accept Jesus as our 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 will get saved, and then baptized with water 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 personal 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 our salvation in Jesus. So once we receive Him, where exactly does He go? The next set of verses will tell us that He will literally come to enter in 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 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 actual presence on the inside of us.

Here are 5 very good verses telling us that the Holy Spirit now literally lives on the inside of us and that our physical bodies have now become 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 the first verse tells us to 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 souls and spirits are two separate parts inside of our beings.

When the Holy Spirit initially comes into us, He will literally take up residence in our human spirits. However, I believe 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 our 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" in the Bible Basics section.

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 powerful 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 has 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 )

To think that God the Father would allow the third Person of His Godhead, the Holy Spirit, to come down and literally enter in on the inside of us where our bodies have now become the temple of His Spirit is something that is truly awesome and completely mind-blowing!

Conclusion

Now that we know that we have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us - what exactly 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 the Holy Spirit 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" in the "Bible Basics" page.

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.

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Scripture taken from New King James Version.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005-2008 by Michael Bradley.


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