8.3 Holy Sealing

8.3 Holy Sealing the New Testament, “being sealed” is understood to mean receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit: (cid:129) “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 guarantee” (2 Corinthians 1: 21–22). “In Him [Christ] 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” (Ephesians 1: 13). “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4: 30). The book of Revelation also contains references to sealing as a mark of (cid:129) (cid:129) ownership or as an eschatological sign of salvation (Revelation 7: 3; 22: 4). 8.3.2 The promise of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament In the time of the old covenant, the Holy Spirit was active in individual human beings chosen by God for specific tasks. Hence the prophets used the words “Thus says the Lord” to attest to their divine authority and instruction. The Spirit of God awakened in them the thoughts on which their proclama- tions of both judgement and salvation were based. By commission of God, the prophets also anointed kings to rule the chosen people. Thus, for example, David was anointed king by Samuel (1 Samuel 16: 12–13). With this act, David’s kingship was “sealed”, as it were. Furthermore, we read that the Spirit of God came upon David. According to Psalm 51: 11, the king prayed—after having committed a sin—that the Lord should not take His Holy Spirit from him. Moreover, the Old Testament contains references to the future, when the Spirit of God would be poured out—no longer merely upon individuals, but upon many people: “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those 339 8 The sacraments days” (Joel 2: 28–29). Comparable promises can be found in the words of other prophets, for example in Ezekiel 36: 27: “I will put My Spirit within you.” In his sermon on Pentecost, Apostle Peter pointed out that the promise of the prophet Joel had been fulfilled (Acts 2: 15 et seq.). 8.3.3 Jesus’ anointing with the Holy Spirit Like the two other sacraments, Holy Sealing also has its foundation in the life and activity of Jesus Christ. Concerning Him—the Son of Man—John 6: 27 states that “God the Father has set His seal on Him.” After Jesus had been baptised in the Jordan, John the Baptist also testified: “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.” This was the identifying sign that God had promised John the Baptist, by which he was to know Him “who baptises with the Holy Spirit ... this is the Son of God” (John 1: 29–34). This event is also described in Matthew 3: 16: “When He had been bap- tised, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.” The descending of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus occurred after His baptism with water was complete. Two distinct acts can therefore be identified. The Holy Spirit and the voice of God proclaim the divine Sonship of Jesus. The anointing of Jesus with the Holy Spirit is a legit- imation of His Messiahship, and is at the same time a reference to the later sacrament. The understanding of the link between Holy Baptism with water and Holy Sealing is based—among other things—on these two events, namely baptism with water and anointing with the Holy Spirit. They belong together and are interrelated—and yet they are two distinct sacraments. That Holy Sealing has its example in the anointing of Jesus is also under- lined in Acts 10: 37–38: “The word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John 340