Help Is HereSample

To whom does the Trinity entrust your protection? You “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13). Later in the same epistle, Paul urges us “not [to] grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30).

Seal. You know the verb. You twist a jar lid to seal the pickles. You lick an envelope to seal the letter. You notarize the contract to seal the deal. Sealing declares ownership and secures contents. Sealing is the act that says, “This is mine, and this is protected.”

Not only are you sealed, but you are also adopted.

All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him “Abba, Father.” Because His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children, and since we are his children, we are his heirs. (Rom. 8:14–17 NLT)

You are adopted by God. This idea is amazing in any era. Yet to the audience of the apostle Paul, it was especially significant.

You are no slave. The slave lives in fear, fear that the master won’t approve of work done, fear that the master will not provide for the future. What is to keep the master from selling the slave at any point?

The father-child relationship, however, is one of assurance.

This is what Christ made possible for us. We are undeniably God’s. Our past might as well have never happened. We have nothing to do with our old identity. The Holy Spirit convinces us of this transaction.

He “joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children” (Rom. 8:16 NLT).

You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives, crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave but a child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance. (Gal. 4:6–7 THE MESSAGE)

The natural attitude of people toward God is not like this. We might repeat the phrase “Our Father in heaven,” but we do not mean it. We do not really trust him, love him, or pursue him. Apart from the work of the Spirit, we see God as a deity to avoid, appease, or even escape. We dread God. If we come to him in prayer, it is out of duty or fear, not love.

Upon conversion, a supernatural change occurs. Our affection toward God begins to warm. We turn to him. We trust him. We begin to perceive him as the perfect Father. We can do this “because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5 NASB).

The Spirit convinces your spirit of this truth: your destiny is in the hands of a loving Father. Your name is not written in God’s book with a pencil. He does not hover an eraser above your entry, just waiting for an excuse to remove it. He is no cruel master who demands perfection and promises retribution. He is a good Father who has recorded your name in the Book of Life with the blood of the Lamb. And the Spirit of God is urging you to listen as he affirms in your spirit that you are a child of God. You have been adopted into the family. “God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete” (2 Cor. 1:21–22 THE MESSAGE).

A young college graduate requested that I pray for her to be accepted into law school. She filled out the forms, made the submission, and waited and waited. Each time we talked, she seemed increasingly anxious. What if I don’t get in? What will I do in the next semester? Have I selected the wrong profession?

The unknown future unsettled her.

Then came the acceptance letter. “We are pleased to inform you . . .”

She called me with the great news. Her voice was strong, and her thoughts were positive. She immediately kicked into a higher gear. She was planning to find an apartment, review the curriculum, and shop for some new clothes. Why the change in her outlook? She knew what was coming next. Her future was secure.

The Holy Spirit provides a far more significant assurance. We receive an acceptance letter from him, not to law school, but heaven.

So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him confidently because we live like Jesus here in this world.

Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, which shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first. (1 John 4:17–19 NLT)

God loves you with a perfect love: perfect knowledge of your past mistakes, perfect knowledge of your future missteps, and, yet, is perfectly willing to love you despite both. He is committed to getting you home safely.

Respond

What does perfect love look like?

Share an example of God’s perfect love for you.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I am grateful for salvation through your sacrifice. Please keep me watchful today for an opportunity to share your perfect love with someone.