Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Doctor Martyn Lloyd-Jones Monday – Sealing of the Spirit: Experiences and Gifts

Doctor Martyn Lloyd-Jones Monday – Sealing of the Spirit: Experiences and Gifts

Last updated on: February 22, 2023 at 6:23 am by Adrian Warnock

Doctor Martyn Lloyd-Jones Monday – Sealing of the Spirit: Experiences and Gifts 2023-02-22T06:23:05+00:00 Adrian Warnock

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Today we return to Lloyd-Jones exposition of Ephesians 1:13 and his examination of true and counterfeit experiences associated with the sealing of the Spirit. To begin with, the Doctor makes the following clarification:

There is a sense in which I, for my part, am not concerned about the terminology with regard to sealing with the Spirit or baptism with the Spirit. To me it is very regrettable that many are so much concerned about the terminology, and especially about the word baptism, that they fail to face the real question. That question is, Do we know that we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit? The question that should be uppermost in our minds is not the question of terminology but the question of whether we have the Spirit of adoption, whether we really are crying Abba, Father from the depths of our hearts. Terminology has its place and it is important that we should have ideas clearly in our minds; but it is the experience itself that matters most. So we continue with our description of this blessing in order to bring truth out yet more clearly.

He then reminds us of several things which result from what he calls the sealing of the Spirit:

The first result . . . is the immediate, direct, blessed assurance that we are the children of God, “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. That is what the Apostle is concerned about chiefly here . . . [Paul] is writing about an inheritance which Jews and Gentiles have received together in Christ.

Second, in Romans 5:5 we read: Experience worketh hope, and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us.

Note the expression, “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. It is comparable to the term used in the second chapter of Acts about the Holy Ghost being poured forth. It is the same idea exactly; not something vague and indefinite, but the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts so that we are filled to overflowing with this love of God. The sealing of the Spirit leads to that shedding abroad of God’s love in our hearts.

The third result of the sealing is found in 1 Peter 1:8:

The relationship of these people to the Lord Jesus Christ is that they love Him and rejoice in Him with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

The Doctor now addresses the question of spiritual gifts. His comments will be uncomfortable both to the typical charismatic and to the typical cessationist. Rather than pointing out the areas where I agree and disagree with the Doctor in this post, I have decided to simply let him speak for himself:

Every time a person is sealed with the Spirit, is he given some of these particular gifts?

. . . it is clear from the second chapter of the book of Acts that those who were at that time baptized by the Spirit received certain gifts; they spoke with other tongues, and there were clearly other manifestations. It is clear that on the day of Pentecost and subsequently, this sealing with the Spirit was accompanied by gifts. This has emerged in the various Scriptures which we have examined. So it is right that the question should be asked as to whether it therefore follows that, every time a person is sealed with the Spirit, of necessity he has some of these particular gifts. Fortunately we are given an answer to that question [in 1 Cor. 12] where the teaching is that the Holy Spirit is the Lord of these gifts, and that He dispenses them and distributes them as He sees fit. To this man He gives one gift, to that man another gift. They do not all have the same gifts, they do not all have any one particular gift. Paul asks the question Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret ? Do all work miracles ? And clearly they do not. There are many gifts, and the Apostle gives a list of them wisdom, “helps, “understanding, and so on.

There was trouble in the church of Corinth because of this, for the whole church of Corinth had become divided into groups and factions over the possession of particular gifts. Some were more spectacular than others, and the men who had the spectacular gifts despised those with the lesser ones. So Paul gives his teaching concerning the church as a body ; but his main emphasis is that the bestowal of gifts is the prerogative of the Holy Ghost. He can give gifts, He can withhold gifts, as He chooses and as He pleases.

It is interesting to observe that when we read the history of the Christian Church, and especially in terms of this doctrine of the sealing with the Holy Ghost, we find that many of these gifts given at the beginning do not seem to have been given in subsequent ages of the Christian Church. This becomes quite clear as we recall the experiences of the great men to whom we have referred, and who lived in different centuries and places and who were so varied in their natural gifts. Not one of them ever spoke with tongues ; but they had other striking gifts. Some had the gift of understanding, others the gift of teaching. Wesley had his amazing gift of administration, and organization. But none of them seems to have had the gift of miracles. But they clearly had the sealing with the Spirit.

So it is important that we should differentiate between the sealing itself and the gifts that may or may not accompany it. The central truth concerning the sealing with the Spirit is that it seals the inheritance to us, that it gives the assurance of sonship, and the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba, Father. Unfortunately many have become confused over this question of the sealing because of their confusion about the whole question of gifts. Many are even afraid to consider it merely because they know people who claim t

o have had this sealing with the Spirit, but who insist upon some particular gift as evidence. But Scripture . . . does not give us the right to postulate any particular gifts in connection with the sealing of the Spirit. There may be gifts, there may not be gifts . . . Therefore, I do not ask whether you have spoken in tongues or not; what I ask once more is whether the love of God has been shed abroad in your heart? Are you rejoicing in Jesus Christ with a joy unspeakable and full of glory ?

What is the relationship of the conversion experience to this sealing with the Spirit?

Being justified by faith we have peace with God (Romans 5:1). Now what is the difference, someone may ask, between that and the sealing with the Spirit? . . . When a man has this rest of justification he knows that his sins are forgiven, and he is given a sense of peace and quiet. Is that therefore not the same thing? The answer is that the sealing with the Spirit goes well beyond what is experienced at conversion.

. . . this is God, if I may so express it, endearing us and showering His love upon us, overwhelming us . . . There is always an overwhelming element . . . Such is the difference between the two experiences.

What is the relationship of sanctification to the sealing with the Spirit?

Lloyd-Jones compares the relationship between sealing and sanctification to the relationship between rain showers and sunshine to a seed that’s been planted in the ground. Weeks of cold, dry weather pass without any evidence of growth. But when rain finally falls, followed by a burst of warm sunshine, the seed sprouts. From the moment the seed was sowed, the process of growth had begun. In the same way, the moment a man is born again, the process of sanctification has begun.

Sanctification is not an experience to be received, it is the working out of the life of God in the soul, and it starts from the moment of re-birth. This must be so, because you cannot have the life of God in you without the activity of that life. But while that is true, the process may appear to be quiescent for some time. But then this blessed experience of sealing is given, and like the shower and the sunshine on the earth it has a marked effect upon one’s sanctification. It is not sanctification, but it has an inevitable effect upon it. The rain and the shower do not contain life; the life is in the seed; but the rain and sunshine greatly promote and stimulate the growth of the seed; similarly with this experience.

Is it correct to say that we have not been sealed with the Spirit until we have had some overwhelming experience?

The answer is that . . . the experience itself is unmistakable, but the intensity varies even as the intensity of any experience varies . . . it is always certain and unmistakable; there is no question about that! If you have to persuade yourself concerning it, you do not know it. It is of the essence of sealing that it is unmistakable when it is given, for it is God’s action.

What is the place of emotion in this experience?

Modern Christians seem to be more frightened of emotion than of anything else. This is due to their failure to draw the distinction between emotion and emotionalism . . .There is a real difference . . . But . . . what about the excesses, the fanaticism, and the various phenomena . . . are you not tending to encourage disorder? . . . In reply we must emphasize that for God to visit a soul is the most overwhelming experience one can ever know; and it is not surprising therefore that sometimes the physical frame cannot stand it . . . it is not surprising if, sometimes, when the Spirit of God enters into people with great power, they should lose their self-control for a while. This should not trouble us. But should it still do so, the best course to adopt is to read a great book by Jonathan Edwards entitled On the Nature of the Religious Affections . . . The essence of his argument is to demonstrate that it is not at all surprising if when the Spirit of God enters into a man’s soul in power, unusual things should happen, and that his normal balance should be upset temporarily. This does not justify excesses, but helps to explain them . . . We must remember also that at such a time of revival the devil is anxious to produce counterfeits and cause confusion. He turns people’s attention to the phenomena, to the experiences, to the excitement; and there are always people who look only for such things.

How can we tell the difference between the true and the counterfeit?

There are certain tests which can always be applied. True emotion produced by the Holy Ghost ALWAYS leads to humility, to reverence, to a holy love of God. A man may sing, or may dance for a while; but that does not persist . . . what is permanent, and what proves genuineness, is that the man is filled with a sense of awe. He has been near the Majesty of God and is of necessity humbled. This emerged clearly in the accounts of the experiences of several of the great men of God which I have quoted. They very rarely spoke about it; there was no boastfulness.

No man ever knew more about these matters than the Apostle Paul . . . with all his burning passionate love there is always reverence. The two elements are always present in the same man.

In closing, Lloyd-Jones warns us:

Let us then be careful lest in our fear of excitability and emotionalism and strange enthusiasm and some odd phenomena, we may become guilty of quenching the Spirit and thereby robbing ourselves and others of these wonderful blessings that God has for all His people. The question for each of us is: Is the love of God shed abroad in my heart? Do I know, beyond argument, beyond having to convince myself, that I am a child of God, and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ? Such is the result to which the sealing of the Spirit leads.

All emphasis is mine. Excerpts from this post were taken from: D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, God’s Ultimate Purpose An Exposition of Ephesians 1, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1978, chapter 24, pp. 279-288.

Ephesians

Gifts of The Holy Spirit

Gifts of the Holy Spirit 2006

Previous Post

April 23, 2006

This Morning's Talks from Jubilee

Next Post

April 24, 2006

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 1 and 2 Corinthians 1 and 2 Thessalonians 1 and 2 Timothy 1 John 300 Leaders A Life of Joy Abortion Acts of the Apostles Adrian on radio Adrian on TV Adrian's Story Albert Mohler Amazing Grace Arminocalvinist Spectrum Assurance Atonement Atonement Series Attributes of God Barnabas Best of the Blog Bible Bible Software Bible Translation Biblical Inerrancy Billy Graham Bob Roberts Books C. J. Mahaney Calvinism Cessationism Charis Warnock Charismatic Spectrum Charles Simeon Charles Spurgeon Church Leadership Colossians Complementarian - Egalitarian Spectrum Complementarianism Conferences Culture Daniel Debates Deuteronomy DGM08 DGM13 Discernment Doctrine Don Carson Ed Stetzer Eddy Leo Ephesians ESV Bible Translators Interview Evangelism in a Post-Christian World evolution Exodus Expository Preaching Ezekial Faith and Feelings Family Florida Galatians General Genesis Get Wisdom - Proverbs sermons Gifts of The Holy Spirit Gifts of the Holy Spirit 2006 Global Faith Forum Godly Attitudes Gospel Gospels Grace Greg Haslam Grudem vs Piper: The Baptism Debate Healing Heaven Hell and Rob Bell Hebrews Henry Tyler Henry Warnock Holy Spirit Holy Spirit Baptism Hope Reborn Hugh Palmer Irresistable Grace Isaiah J. I. Packer Jack Hayford Joel Joel Warnock John John Lanferman John MacArthur John Newton John Owen John Piper John Smyth Jonathan Edwards Josh Harris Justification Justin Taylor Kenneth Ulmer Leadership Leadership Lessons from 1 & 2 Samuel Lex Loizides Liam Goligher Lig Duncan Limited Atonement Lou Fellingham Mark Dever Mark Driscoll Martyn Lloyd-Jones Matt Chandler Mental Health Missionary Methods: St Paul’s or Ours? My Story N. T. Wright Nehemiah NWA08 NWA09 NWA10 Opinion OT History Books Pentateuch Personal Personal Revival Philippians PJ Smyth Podcast Politics Preaching Prophecy Proverbs Psalms Raised With Christ Reformed Charismatic Regeneration Relationships Resurrection Resurrection & Salvation Revival Rice Broocks Rich Man and Lazarus Rick Warren Rob Rufus Roland Allen Romans Sam Storms Sanctification Series Sermons Sermons on Philippians Serving Jesus at Work Sexuality Sin St Paul Steve Chalke Strange Fire Suffering T4G T4G Statement TAB09 Tamasin Warnock Teamwork Terry Virgo The Atonement Debate - Chalke book The Soulwinner The Spirit-Filled Church The Traitor Within Theologcial Spectrums Theosis Tim Challies Tim Keller Titus TOAM06 TOAM07 TOAM08 TOAM09 TOAM10 TOAM11 Todd Bentley Tope Koleoso Total Depravity Video Water Baptism Wayne Grudem Worship

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 May 2025 April 2025 January 2025 November 2024 October 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 August 2023 May 2023 April 2023 February 2023 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 August 2021 May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 June 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 June 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian group believes in the doctrine of purgatory?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Catholics Baptists Methodists Pentecostals

Books by This Author Books by Adrian Warnock

See All Titles »