We Are Secure

By Wally Odum

Security is a word that is in the news now. There are insecurities on every front. The stock market is not secure. The political situation around the world is not secure.

In his letter to the Ephesian believers, Paul gave us a reason for our security as Christians:

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

There are two things Paul mentions that lead to our security. He first mentions the part we play, and then he explains the role of the Holy Spirit.

We have responsibility for listening to God and believing what He says. “You heard the word of truth” implies that we process what we hear and allow it to reshape our entire perception of what life means. Our faith comes from our hearing what God says. Romans 10:17 describes how important it is that we hear:

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

We not only listen to what God says, but we believe His Word. In1927, the wife of Scottish preacher Arthur Gossip died suddenly. When he returned to the pulpit, he preached a sermon entitled “When Life Tumbles In, What Then?” With his life suddenly interrupted by the tragic and unexpected death of his wife, Gossip went on to explain that during this darkest period of his life he needed his faith more than ever. He said to his congregation, “You people in the sunshine may believe the faith, but we in the shadow must believe it. We have nothing else.” Faith isn’t just for sunny days, we can believe during the tough times as well.

God responds to us when we hear and believe. “You were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” The Holy Spirit seals us and guarantees our redemption.

The idea of sealing means that there is security. Something that is sealed can’t be opened and changed. What God has promised will never be altered. The Holy Spirit guarantees that.

Some people think they will not survive the responsibilities of serving Jesus. That is not true. The Holy Spirit marks us as belonging to Him, and that’s the greatest blessing we could ever imagine. The Holy Spirit is evidence that we belong to God and that means we come under His divine protection. He protects what is His.

The Holy Spirit is our guarantee that God will watch over us. When difficult times threaten to overwhelm us, God will not abandon us. He will come to our rescue. How do we know that? We have heard the Word of Truth and we believe it. That means that the Holy Spirit has come alongside us to secure our safety and our final destiny.