Is the guarantee of the Holy Spirit miraculous?
Question:
What is the seal and guarantee or earnest of the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 1:13-14? One view of the seal is that it is the miraculous gifts of that time. The ones who hold this view will use Acts 19 where Paul laid hands on the disciples in Ephesus and he was reminding them that was how they were sealed. Some believe that the earnest or guarantee is the word of God.
I have noticed the NKJV says “who is the guarantee of our inheritance”, but the KJV says “which” instead of “who”. Does that change anything as to what it is?
I heard in a lesson on II Corinthians 1:21-22 that the “us” and “our” are Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, so that is another reason some believe the seal is referring to the miraculous, and they believe Paul, Timothy, and Silvanus had the word of God as the earnest or guarantee in their hearts due to preaching. Same for II Corinthians 5:5 with the “us” as being Paul, Timothy, and Silvanus as being the ones that were given the earnest of the Spirit.
Some in the church think the saints at Corinth and Ephesus did not all receive the seal and the earnest, because they believe it is only referring to Paul, Timothy, and Silvanus in the Corinthian letters and believes it only applies to the ones at the church of Ephesus who received miraculous gifts.
Is the seal and earnest in II Corinthians 1 and 5 the same as in Ephesians 1:13-14?
One last question, in Titus 3:6, what does Paul mean when he said “whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior”?
Just like in Ephesians 1:13-14, the KJV has “which” whereas the NKJV has “whom”. Is there a way we could apply that verse in Titus 3 today if “whom” is the correct wording? I have noticed a lot of verses in regards to the Holy Spirit where the KJV says “which” while the NKJV says “who" or "whom.” Romans 5:5 is another verse where the NKJV says “who” instead of “which.”
Answer:
"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:13-14).
The seal is "the Holy Spirit of promise." The reason for the seal is "a pledge of our inheritance." In other words, it is done to assure us that we will be saved.
In another passage, Paul asks, "This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?" (Galatians 3:2). The answer to his question is "by hearing with faith." Thus, we are told that the Holy Spirit is received by listening to the Spirit's teaching combined with our faith in that teaching. Notice a bit later, Paul said, "in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:14).
Receiving a promise of salvation, guaranteed by the Holy Spirit, is not a miracle. It is a gift given. Actually, each of the Godhead gives a gift in regards to our salvation.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water" (John 4:10). Jesus was referring to eternal life, here referred to as the gift of God. "Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). God has given us a gift of righteousness and justification (Romans 5:14-19). "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23; see also Ephesians 2:4-8).
Grace is Jesus' gift to us (Ephesians 4:7-13). What are those gifts? Notice in Ephesians 4:11 that Jesus gave us people to teach his gospel so that we might be saved. Once again, the word of God and salvation are tied to the gift. It is nothing amazing, Paul said the same thing in Romans 1:16.
Not only is the gift of the Holy Spirit a guarantee of our salvation, but he also is there to show our relationship with God and to give us life (Romans 8:9-11). He gives testimony that we are children of God (Romans 8:14-17).
"Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge" (II Corinthians 1:21-22).
Notice that Paul said, "establishes us with you". The "with you" expands the "us" as the verse continues to not just Paul, Timothy, and Silas, but now includes the Corinthians (and all Christians) as well. There is nothing in this verse that indicates Paul is talking about the miraculous. He just says the Spirit seals us and is given as a pledge -- the same as Ephesians 1:13-14.
"For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge" (II Corinthians 5:4-5).
Paul is discussing death and the change of our mortal bodies into immortal ones. This is not limited to only Paul, Timothy, and Silas. This applies to every Christian. Again, Paul states that God gave the Spirit as a pledge that what He promised (eternal life) will take place. There is no discussion of miraculous gifts in this passage.
"He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:5-7).
The "washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" is the same thing Jesus stated to Nicodemus when he said, "unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). See You Must Be Born Again.
In every passage you sighted, you assumed the giving of the Spirit meant a display of miraculous gifts but none of the passages actually mention miracles. All are discussing salvation, which is a gift that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all give to those who obey God.
There is a textual variation in Ephesians 1:14. Most manuscripts have hos ("who") while several manuscripts have ho ("which"). In Greek, "which" would refer back to the Spirit which is in the same case. Some argue that if it is "who," then it refers back to Jesus Christ. Regardless of the debate, neither means that you toss in miracles, which are not in the context of the passage.
