God's guarantees

We are guaranteed that God is with us.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22: Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

It is God who makes us stand firm in Christ. We are not able to stand firm in our own strength. We are not even able to choose to stand in Christ, to begin with. It is the work of God, and if I find myself standing firm, I can be assured that God has called me and that he has made me one with him in Jesus.

The cross of Jesus is the bridge that we go over from being a stranger to God, to becoming a child of God. Through the forgiveness we receive in Christ, we are able to stand firm in him and through his glorious victory we can remain standing. Only Jesus is the beginning of our relationship with God. What comes after we are called and are standing firm in Christ - our whole life for him and our eternal security in him - are summarised in three potent words describing the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives:
Seal, deposit and guarantee!!

Seal: Kings, governors and even Caesar would imprint the design on their rings using wax, to certify the authenticity of a document. A sealed document was truly from the man of authority who sealed it and could be believed and acted upon.
When we find the Holy Spirit working in our lives, God through the Spirit sealed us as being authentically his own children.

Deposit: A deposit is made as a firm pledge that someone will purchase an item and it serves as assurance that the rest of the payments will be made. When God “deposits” the Holy Spirit into our lives, we know in faith that everything that is promised to God’s children will follow – his presence, salvation, victory, gifts, fruit and even eternal life. Starting with the gift of faith, God will through his Spirit not leave us until we receive his perfect glory as one of the saints around his throne in the glorious light of his heaven. The wonders of the indwelling of the Spirit is the deposit of his gracious work in our lives and it makes us excited about everything that certainly is going to be given to us as we journey with God.

Guarantee: The seal and deposit message of the presence of God in us through his Spirit allows us to be certain that the Lord is our God and that nothing will tear us from him or derail our journey with him. The Holy Spirit being part of our lives, is the blessed assurance that all God’s promises to us are going to be fulfilled. Our God will never let go of us!!

In a cynical culture where most people think that no guarantees exist, God’s people may stand firm in Christ and know that they have been eternally sealed as authentic children of God! Our Lord made a significant deposit into our existence – the Holy Spirit himself - and thus we live with joyful expectations of all the wonders God guarantees for us!

Be courageous, be confident and be excited. God will certainly complete the journey that he started with you when he gave you Jesus as your Saviour and Redeemer. Live and work for him, worship him and love him, be obedient to him and serve him with joy – you are always safe in him!