The Spirit of Promise

How do you know for sure that you will be raptured? Do you have the full assurance of your destiny in Christ, your heavenly calling? Here’s what God’s Word tells us.
 
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5).
 
Part of your salvation in Christ is regeneration. It’s where your spirit is made new, when you are born again. In Him 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 of promise (Eph. 1:13). The Holy Spirit seals your new spirit so that it is incorruptible.
 
The Apostle Paul explains it this way: For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. 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 Cor. 1:22).
 
Another part of our salvation is forgiveness of all our sins for all time. “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Heb. 10:12-14). This doesn’t mean we don’t sin. Being sanctified is the ongoing process of learning to walk according to God’s ways instead of the sinful ways of the world (our old flesh). No believer is perfect—yet!
 
This is why Paul also cautions us, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the Day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). If you have truly asked God into your heart and accepted Jesus as your Savior, then you are sealed for that Day of redemption—the dawning of the Day of the Lord when believers are raptured and fully redeemed and perfected.
 
The seal of the Spirit reminds us that we are not of this world, even though we exist in it. Yet it grieves Him when we ignore His leading and walk according to our flesh instead of our spirit. We are meant to lead fruitful lives in Christ. But that fruitful life is a daily choice. Thankfully, because of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice, our wrong choices do not remove the seal of the Spirit.
 
That is the significance of the sealing. It is our guarantee, our down payment of the hope of our calling to be conformed fully to Christ when He gathers us and takes us to our prepared place in Father’s House in Heaven. That is when our true destiny shall be revealed in the last time—the last Day of God’s prophetic week (the 7th Day). When we recognize this sealing, our hearts need not be troubled in the meantime.