| Suppose Cowboy Sam were to brand his cattle with this mark: |
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| Suppose Cowboy Hank were to brand his cattle with this mark: |
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| If you were riding on your horse and you came across a stray steer with |
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The sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit is a wonderful and encouraging truth. Many passages in the New Testament help us to understand this vital ministry:
Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 and answer these questions: Paul describes the believer’s body as ___________________________________________ Did Paul expect the Corinthian believers to know this truth? _______ Where is the Holy Spirit (verse 19)? ___________ Now that we are saved, are we our own? _____ Who do we now belong to? ______ Are we free to live for ourselves (2 Cor. 5:15)? _____ Why are we not our own (1 Cor. 6:20)? _______________________________________ Who paid this incredible price (1 Peter 1:18-19)? ___________________ Salvation is free, but it is certainly not cheap! Circle the one sentence that is false:
Romans 8:9 teaches us that if any man does not have the _____________ of Christ he is ____________________________. This means that if a person does not have the Holy ____________ then he does not belong to ________________. Therefore, everyone who truly belongs to Christ has the _________ _______________ dwelling within.
________ Every person who belongs to Christ has the Holy Spirit.
________ Every true believer has the Holy Spirit.
________ It is possible that a true Christian may not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within.
________ If a person does not have the Holy Spirit, then He is not a true Christian.
In Ephesians 1:13 we learn three things that have happened to every person who is truly saved: "In whom ye also trusted, (1) after ye heard the ____________ of ____________, the __________________ of your salvation; in whom also (2) after ye _____________________, (3) ye were _________________________ with that __________ _______________ of promise." We shall now study these three ingredients of salvation:
| Suppose Cowboy Sam were to brand his cattle with this mark: |
|
| Suppose Cowboy Hank were to brand his cattle with this mark: |
|
| If you were riding on your horse and you came across a stray steer with |
|
branded on its hide, then you would know that the steer belongs to whom?
___________________________
A little further down the trail you come across another steer and as you examine this
animal you discover that it is branded with, and therefore it must belong to Cowboy Hank.
Every steer that is branded with
must belong to _____________________. If you were a steer with
branded on your hide, then
you could proudly say, "I know that I belong to Cowboy Hank. He has branded me with
his own personal mark of ownership!"
The believer in Christ has been "branded" or sealed with what (or Whom)–(Ephesians 1:13)? ______________________________________ Who has sealed the believer (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)? _______ Therefore the believer can say, "I know that I belong to _______ because He has S_________________ me with His Holy _______________." In 2 Timothy 2:19 we read: "Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure (solid), having this _________, the ______________ knoweth them that are __________." He knows those who truly belong to Him! Does the Lord know who His true believers are? ________ Does the Lord know which people He has sealed with the Holy Spirit and which people He has not sealed? _______ As you watch and observe other people, is it possible for you to actually see the Holy Spirit in them? _____ Is the Holy Spirit visible or invisible? ______________ Therefore, is God’s seal visible or invisible? ____________________ The first time you looked in the mirror after you were saved, did you see any great difference in your appearance? _____ Did you see the Holy Spirit living in you? ______ Did you find God’s name written on your forehead as the people will who are described in Revelation 14:1? _______
| ________ | The believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit, but no one can see this seal except the Lord. |
| ________ | When a sinner is saved his physical appearance changes drastically. |
| ________ | The Lord knows which people have the Holy Spirit in their hearts (compare 1 Samuel 16:7 with 2 Corinthians 1:22). |
Certainly God knows that we belong to Him, but how can other people know that we belong to the Lord? The answer to thisquestion is found in the last part of 2 Timothy 2:19: "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from ________________________ (unrighteousness)." According to this verse, explain how other people can know that we are truly Christians: _________________________________________________________________________________
Although people cannot see the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, are they able to see the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 5:9)? _______ How can the world know that we belong to Christ (John 13:35)? _________________________________________________
| ________ | The world can actually see the Holy Spirit in the believer. |
| ________ | The world can see the way we live and conduct ourselves and they can see the evidence of the Spirit at work in our lives. |
| ________ | The person who truly has the Holy Spirit will want to depart from iniquity and unrighteousness. His desire is to please and obey the Lord. |
| ________ | If a person is consistently living in sin and unrighteousness then he is giving evidence that he does not belong to the Lord (compare 1 John 2:29; 3:10). |
| ________ | If a person claims to be a Christian then he must be a true believer. If you say you are saved then this means that you really are saved. |
Ephesians 1:14 teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the "_______________ (down payment, pledge) of our inheritance until the _____________________ of the purchased possession." This verse is talking about the believer’s final redemption when the believer will be with the Lord forever and will never again sin. Christ has promised us that someday He will return for His believers (see John 14:2-3; Romans 8:23). As a guarantee that Christ’s promise is true, God the Father has given us His Holy Spirit as an earnest or pledge that someday our salvation will be completed (compare Phil. 1:6). "God has also ______________ us, and given the ________________ (pledge) of the ____________ in our hearts" (2 Cor. 1:22). "God also has _______________ unto us the __________________ (pledge) of the ________________" (2 Cor. 5:5). To understand the word "earnest" just think of an engagement ring. When a young man gives his sweetheart an engagement ring, the ring serves as a pledge or a guarantee that someday he will come to marry the girl who has the ring. He will receive his bride and enter into a wonderful relationship with her. Therefore, the fact that we have the H__________ S_____________ is a guarantee that someday Christ will come to receive His bride (John 14:1-3). We will be with Him face to face (1 Thess. 4:16-18) in a far greater and closer relationship than we enjoy even now (Phil. 1:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:8; 1 John 3:1-3).
| ________ | The fact that we have the Holy Spirit now proves that someday our salvation will be complete and we will be with the Lord. All who are sealed will be saved forever! |
| ________ | We are sealed with the Holy Spirit until we sin (Eph. 4:30). |
| ________ | It is possible for the believer to grieve and sadden the Holy Spirit because of sin in his life (Eph. 4:30). |
| ________ | When the believer sins, then the Holy Spirit leaves him and abandons him (Eph. 4:30; John 14:16-17). |
| ________ | God the Father has given us the Holy Spirit so that He might abide and live with us forever (John 14:16). |
| ________ | A saved person can lose the Holy Spirit and become unsealed. |
| ________ | The Holy Spirit sometimes leaves a believer (John 14:16; Hebrews 13:5). |
| ________ | It is possible for a true believer to become unsealed. |
| ________ | If a person claims to be a Christian, then he should show that he is really saved and really sealed by the way he lives (2 Timothy 2:19). |
Object Lesson
An envelope has a seal. The purpose of the seal is to make sure that the contents of the envelope are kept safe and do not fall out, so that the contents can arrive safely at the desired destination.
God has a destination marked out for every child of God, a place "reserved in _________________ for you" (1 Pet. 1:4). God will make sure that every believer is delivered safely to his final destination. The Holy Spirit is the "seal," or the guarantee that we will get there.
Take an ordinary envelope. On a piece of paper have the student draw a picture of himself. We are assuming that this person is a believer in Christ. He can write his name next to the picture. Then fold the paper and place it in the envelope. Lick the flap of the envelope and seal it securely. On the back of the envelope write:
"I am Christ's purchased possession.
The Holy Spirit is the Seal
and because of Him I am safe and secure."
On the front of the envelope write in the destination address:
To the Father's House (John 14:1-3)
Located in the Third Heaven
Far Beyond Any Zip Code
Where the return address is normally found write:
From the Owner, the Redeemer,
The Lord Jesus Christ,
the One who purchased me
Where the stamp is normally put, write:
Paid in full
by the blood
of Christ
This object lesson will reinforce some of the truths of this lesson.
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