Followed By Mercy

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Holy Spirit's Guarantee

• W. Austin Gardner • Season 3 • Episode 12

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What if you could stop trying to earn God’s approval and finally rest in the truth that you already have it? In this episode, we walk through Ephesians 1:13–14 and discover what it means to be sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.


God’s seal isn’t fragile or conditional. It’s as real as DNA inside your body, an unshakable mark that says you belong to Him. This seal doesn’t vanish when life gets messy, when you lose your temper, or when doubt keeps you awake at night. It is permanent, personal, and proof that you are His.


We’ll discuss how salvation isn’t based on your performance, but on God’s promise. The very moment you believed, He sealed you, not after you proved yourself, not once you got it all together. That seal makes you part of God’s family, with no second-class citizens.


The Spirit within you is God’s down payment, His pledge that He will finish what He started. Every glimpse of peace in the middle of chaos is a reminder of what’s ahead, the fullness of redemption, when even your body will be made new.


This truth sets you free from spiritual anxiety. You’re not on probation with God. You’re not one mistake away from being cast out. You are secure, loved, and kept until the day of redemption.


Stop living like a spiritual orphan, afraid that God might change His mind. He won’t. Live with boldness, knowing you are fully loved and fully His. Rest in what is already yours. Walk in the confidence that God always finishes what He begins to the praise of His glory.

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Austin Gardner:

Welcome to, followed by Mercy, and I want you to just take a moment and breathe. You may not realize it, but even right now the Holy Spirit of God is bearing witness in you that you are His. You didn't stumble onto this podcast by accident. The God of Heaven is guiding you into truth, into rest, into a deeper awareness of what Paul was teaching the church, in whom you also trusted. After that, you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and also after that you believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession. Now, if you take your time with this passage, it'll change your life.

Austin Gardner:

But so often these first verses in Ephesians 1 are the verses that we run over and we don't pay attention to and we only cherry pick what we might like. This right here is about what God promised you. This is not about what you promised God. It's not about you clinging desperately to God. It's about God putting his seal on you and saying you are mine. You can trust this, not because you feel it, but because God said it in his word. Your feelings may come and go, but the sealing of the Holy Spirit of God is as certain as God is, and God cannot lie. It's like this. The seal of God is like the DNA in your body. Every strand in your body carries the unmistakable proof of who you are and to whom you belong. The Spirit is God's spiritual DNA, written into your soul. It cannot be erased or duplicated. It's a divine fingerprint, god's fingerprint on your life. Don't think this means the life is going to be neat and tidy. You'll still get stuck in traffic, you'll forget your grocery list, you'll snap at your kids, but right in the middle of the mess, god hasn't misplaced his seal. He hasn't fumbled you or dropped you. You're still his. So what? Why should this matter to you on any given weekday morning, or even Sunday morning? Here's why Because if God has already sealed you, then you don't have to keep chasing approval. You don't have to keep chasing approval. You don't have to keep chasing approval. Pay attention, you already have it. You can finally rest. And so today, that's what I want to talk to you about Signed, sealed and delivered. So the next little bit let's just talk about this. Let's think about what's going on here. I know you want to feel safe in God's love. Going on here. I know you want to feel safe in God's love. I want you to feel safe.

Austin Gardner:

Paul didn't write this letter to give scholars material for footnotes. He wrote it so we wouldn't have to wonder am I really secure? Does God really mean it? So if you've ever wrestled with fear about whether God is holding on to you, this passage is for you. If you ever thought you needed to do just a little more to prove yourself to him, this passage is for you. If you ever thought you could lose your salvation as easily as you misplace your car keys, well then this passage is for you. And before we're done, I believe you'll see what Paul saw that salvation, from beginning to end, is God's work, sealed by the Spirit, guaranteed under the day of redemption, all to the praise of his glory.

Austin Gardner:

Paul begins this section in whom also, we have obtained an inheritance. Now, what's he talking about? In whom? Well, in Jesus Christ. And then what's he talking about when he says we have? He's talking about the Jew, and then the Gentile, the person who's not Jewish. We'll put it all together, meaning all of us together in Christ. Don't miss it.

Austin Gardner:

Paul is showing us a miracle of grace that tears down dividing walls. Jews who lived with centuries of covenant history, gentiles who were far off and outside the promises, are now together in one new family. Salvation was never meant to be a private possession of one tribe or the Jews. From the beginning, he meant to gather us all into his son, and this is not Paul's opinion. This is the word of God. The Jews who were the first to hope. In those eyes, their place in God's plan is confirmed. And Gentiles who heard the gospel and believed it, your place is just as secure. This is scriptural authority, not cultural compromise. Think of it like the human body. The Jewish people were like the heart pumping from the very beginning of salvation history. The Jews were like the lungs drawn in later to supply breath and expansion. Different roles, same body together. Christ is the head coordinating all.

Austin Gardner:

I don't think this unity was easy. When you put Jews and Gentiles in the same congregation, you had food fights, literally Kosher versus non-kosher, feast days versus freedom days, circumcision versus non-circumcision. There were real tensions. And yet Paul said in Christ we are one. Sound familiar. Have you ever been in a church business meeting? Same spirit, same truth. We've always had to learn how to live as one family. Here's a takeaway God's plan was never just about one group, it's always been about everyone. And if that's true, then it changes how we see people who are different from us. Here's the big idea. If God didn't draw lines to keep people out, why should we?

Austin Gardner:

Paul writes that the Jews were the first to trust in Christ, the ones who lived with the promises, who read Isaiah, who longed for the Messiah. Then he says the Gentiles, you too, you're included, you too are sealed, you too share in the inheritance. This is grace, pure grace. Nobody earned their way in. The Jews didn't earn it through the law, and the Gentiles didn't learn it or earn it through philosophy. We're here because of God, of love, purposed before the foundation of the world to gather us to his son. And here's the evidence the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Word of truth doesn't mean doubt it. You may doubt it, but it's not the sifting sand, it's a rock of God's revelation. You may doubt it, but you can bank on your eternity based on the word of God.

Austin Gardner:

Imagine two streams running for centuries, one called Israel, the other called the nations. For most of history they flowed separately, but at the cross they merged into one mighty river, different sources, same destination, and when two rivers join, you can't tell one drop from the other. That's the church One body, one family, sealed by the same spirit. Isn't it funny? We divide over things so small. We fight about the Bible, we fight about how you worship, what kind of coffee you serve, yet God broke down the biggest divider, the biggest division walls ever. Jew and Gentiles, you are one in my son. If he could do that, maybe we could let go of some petty fights. So God's plan is bigger than your preferences.

Austin Gardner:

When you walk into church, you're not just sitting in the row with your kind of people. You're sitting in a miracle, a community God put together that the world could never build. That's worth protecting. That's worth protecting, that's worth celebrating In Christ. There's no second-class believer Jew, gentile, insider, outsider, first generation, someone who grew up in the church. It doesn't matter. If you believe the gospel, you're sealed, you're in, you belong Ephesians 1.13, in whom you also trusted.

Austin Gardner:

After that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation. Get that. You hear. You believe, you're sealed.

Austin Gardner:

Faith doesn't begin with you trying harder to believe. Faith begins when you hear the word of truth. The spirit opens your heart to trust. Hearing is the doorway of grace. You don't initiate it. God came to you with his word, his gospel, his truth, and when you heard it, something in your heart said yes, paul doesn't call it the truth or an opinion, he calls it the word of truth. That's objective reality. The gospel isn't a feeling, it's not about guessing. It's a truth of God revealed. When you heard it, you were faced with a decision and you decided to believe or reject. And at that moment you believed. The Holy Spirit sealed you forever.

Austin Gardner:

Think of it like sound waves when someone speaks, sound enters your ear, vibrates your eardrum, travels into your inner ear, where it's translated into signals your brain can understand. In the same way, when you hear the gospel, it's not just noise. The Holy Spirit translates it into life. Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God. The words enter the ear, but the Spirit of God carries it to your heart. So let's be honest Some of us didn't believe the first time we heard, or even the tenth.

Austin Gardner:

Some were stubborn and skeptical, running hard in the other direction. Stubborn and skeptical, running hard in the other direction. Was it something that one day, maybe at a church service, maybe on a late-night radio broadcast, maybe through a friend's testimony. Suddenly it clicked. You heard the same words you'd heard before, but this time the Holy Spirit whispered this is for you, and everything changed. God always speaks. Before we believe, nobody drifts into faith. Somebody brings you the message, somebody tells you the truth, and that's why hearing matters, that's why you and I have a role in others' hearing.

Austin Gardner:

Paul says it's the gospel of your salvation, not a set of ideas, not moral teaching salvation, rescue, deliverance, forgiveness, eternal life. It's not advice on how to live better. It's the announcement that Christ has already done what you could never do. You don't clean yourself up and then believe. You believe and the Holy Spirit begins the miracle of transformation. And don't miss the personal pronoun your salvation. Not salvation in the abstract, not somebody else's story. This is yours. God sealed you personally. This isn't theory, it's your inheritance. Think of a drowning man pulled from the ocean. He doesn't need just advice shouted from the shore, he needs a rescuer who jumps in, grabs him and pulls him to safety. That's the gospel. Christ doesn't tell you how to swim better. He saves you when you cannot save yourself.

Austin Gardner:

We like to complicate it, we add layers of rules and traditions and expectation, but Paul keeps it so clear you heard you believed you were sealed. That's it. Don't let anyone sell you a gospel that adds a dozen hoops to jump through. Salvation is simple, because Jesus did all the hard work. So what? Here's a takeaway. Somebody's waiting to hear the same way. Someone told you you need to tell someone else. Don't overcomplicate it. You don't need a seminary degree. Just tell them what you heard that God loves them, christ died for them and that salvation is theirs if they'll simply believe. Paul says in whom? Also? You have believed and you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

Austin Gardner:

Now we are now looking at one of the most exciting parts. We are sealed by the Spirit. A seal means ownership, authenticity, protection, and Paul says that when you believe, god places his seal on you. The seal is not about your performance. It's not your performance, it's not your effort, it's not your feeling. The seal is the Holy Spirit himself living in you. He is God's way of saying you belong to me and nothing or no one can change that. Notice the timing. He doesn't say that you were sealed after you proved yourself or after you reached some higher experience. He says you were sealed when you believed. That's not my opinion. That's the word of God. Eternal security is not a denominational idea. It's a plain teaching of Scripture.

Austin Gardner:

Think of a genetic steal. Every cell in your body carries your DNA. That DNA is the code that marks you as uniquely you. In the same way, when the Spirit seals you, he places God's spiritual DNA within you. It can't be erased or altered. No matter where you go, no matter what you do, his seal remains.

Austin Gardner:

Let's be honest, you don't always feel sealed. Some days you feel like you've lost the warranty. The seal is cracked. But aren't you glad? This isn't about feelings. Paul doesn't say you felt sealed. He said you were sealed, end of the story, period. The spirit doesn't leak, I'm not going anywhere is what the Holy Spirit of God is saying. That's what a seal means. He bought you, he marked you and he's not letting go. So when life feels shaky, that's when you to come back to it and say I belong to God and he isn't leaving.

Austin Gardner:

Now, what's it mean to be sealed? A seal means finality. A seal means a transaction is done. When you were placed in Christ, when you were sealed, it meant the deal was finished. Christ paid the price at the cross. Nothing needs to be added. Nothing can be undone. The Spirit of God is God's signature at the bottom of the contract of grace. It's finished, paid in full. That means there's nothing left hanging. You can't add to what Christ has already accomplished. The seal confirms that the blood of Jesus has already settled it forever.

Austin Gardner:

When Jeremiah bought a field during the exile, the deed was sealed and stored, proof of ownership, even when the land looked lost. In the same way, when God sealed you, it was His way of saying if you don't see all the final fulfillment, the ownership is still there. It's like when you sign for a package it's sealed and delivered. It's yours. You don't go back the next day and wonder if it still belongs to you. That would be silly. Same with your salvation, god signed his name with his spirit. It's a done deal. You don't need to live anxious. You don't need to wonder if God's going to change his mind. He won't. That seal means a decision is final. You can stop struggling to get God to approve of you. He already has A seal means security.

Austin Gardner:

An ancient letter, a sealed letter, carried the authority and protection of the sender. Break the seal and you answer to the king. When God seals you with his spirit. He's saying you're under his protection until the day of redemption. Ephesians 4.30 says you are sealed until the day of redemption. That's a time stamp. Not until you sin, not until you stumble, not until the day when Christ returns and your redemption is complete. That's security. Think of it like being in a vault with a seal of the government placed on it. Nobody dares to tamper. The Spirit of God placed his divine seal on your life. The power of hell cannot break it. Satan cannot tamper with it. God has sealed you. Now.

Austin Gardner:

Eternal security makes some people nervous. They think if I believe I can't lose it, I'll get lazy. But the opposite is actually true. Just like workers on the Golden Gate Bridge worked harder and harder once a safety net was in place, knowing you're secure in Christ doesn't make you careless. It makes you free to live with courage. It fuels boldness. When you know you're sealed, you stop living scared, you take risk, you love deeply, you serve freely because you're not afraid of losing God's favor. You already have it.

Austin Gardner:

The seal means identity. In Ephesus, merchants would stamp logs with their seal before shipping them. So when they arrived, the seal proved they belonged to them. It's the way you mark your possessions, and the Lord knows those that are his. 2 Timothy 2.19. He seals us. That's saying this is mine. It's like branding the cattle on the ranch you mark the cattle so you know they're yours, they're marked, we're marked. We're marked with the Holy Spirit of God. Let's be real Belonging changes behavior. If you're sealed, if you're his, that means you just don't live for yourself, you live to reflect his name. Yes, sometimes we forget, but his seal never forgets. Your identity is secure. The Spirit says you belong to God, not because of your performance, but because of his promise, the lens that you look through now. You can now face rejection and failure or fear, no matter what. The seal still says you're mine. It's God's guarantee of your finality, your security and your identity. You don't have to earn it, you don't have to maintain it, you simply rest in it.

Austin Gardner:

The Holy Spirit is the earnest, the down payment, the deposit guaranteeing what's to come. It's more than a pledge, it's a piece of the thing itself. When God gave you the Spirit, he wasn't just saying one day I'll bless you. He put the first and Solomon of heaven inside you. Now the Spirit of heaven came early. We're already tasting the eternal feast. That's not wishful thinking. It's a down payment that guarantees the rest, you can be sure, because God has already invested himself in you. The Spirit of God lives in us. The complete pattern of God's glory, the DNA of God came into us. The earnest money is put down on the house. The bigger the deposit, the stronger the guarantee. Well, god gave the Holy Spirit. God gave Himself. You don't have to worry about it. The Spirit is proof that you are secure.

Austin Gardner:

Now let's look at what all this means. An inheritance has been given to us. It's not earned. You receive an inheritance by birth. You're an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. That means heaven is yours, not because of your merit, but because you're a child of God and a joint heir with Christ. That means heaven is yours not because of your merit, but because you're a child of God. Peter said it this way an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, that fades not away, reserved in heaven. That's the word of God. You have a reserved inheritance and no power can cancel it.

Austin Gardner:

In biology, inheritance means passing down genetic traits. Spiritually, inheritance means God passing down his very life to us. We don't earn our family traits, we inherit them. In the same way, eternal life is ours because we're born again into God's family. And isn't it encouraging that inheritance isn't wages. Wages depend on how well you work. Inheritance depends on who your father is. You get that. You get that. Wages is on how you work, but inheritance is on who your father is. That's why we can rest. Your future is not a paycheck, it's a birthright. You're not working your way to heaven. You're waiting for what's already yours in Christ.

Austin Gardner:

Sometimes the Holy Spirit just floods our hearts with peace, joy and love. In those moments you've tasted heaven. Those are not just emotions. They're previews of the world to come. Romans 8 says the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. The inner assurance. That's not psychological manipulation, it's divine testimony. It's like when they brought out the grapes from the promised land. When the spies brought back the fruit from Canaan, that was a foretaste of what was awaiting them. The Spirit is like those grapes evidence that the promised land is real and the best is yet to come.

Austin Gardner:

Have you ever been to a worship service where you felt like heaven was just one breath away? Or in prayer when the presence of Christ was so real you didn't want it to end. There's more coming. That's what God was saying. So don't ignore the Spirit's presence in your life. Every nudge, every reminder, every moment of peace and chaos. That's God giving you a foretaste of heaven.

Austin Gardner:

Remember this the Holy Spirit is a guarantee of our full redemption. God doesn't tease His children. He doesn't give you the Spirit just to snatch Him away. He's the earnest, the guarantee. What God begins, god finishes. We are sealed. We're given the earnest. That's a legal statement.

Austin Gardner:

God has already made the down payment. He will not default. Earnest money shows commitment. The Spirit is divine earnest money. Human deals may fall apart, but God will not. His down payment is Himself. We're not home yet. Life's still hard, but the Spirit is like that first taste and when you've had the appetizer you know the feast is coming. The Spirit inside you is proof that God's not done with you. If he lives in you now, you can be sure he'll bring you to the finish line. The Spirit is heaven's down payment in your heart, the guarantee, the foretaste, the appetizer. You don't just wait for heaven. You already have tasted heaven until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory. So here we are at the climax.

Austin Gardner:

Paul has spoken about believing and sealing and earnest. And now he says the redemption of the purchased possession. Redemption is not just a word about the past, what Christ did on the cross, it's about the future. The day when Christ purchased what he purchased will be fully, finally, ours. Right now. Redemption is accomplished, but not yet complete. We live in the middle, sealed and guaranteed, but waiting. That's where eternal security comes into focus. If you were purchased by Christ's blood, then God will not abandon you. The purchase price is paid, the payment is sufficient. The payment is sufficient, the redemption is inevitable.

Austin Gardner:

Think of a prescription filled at the pharmacy. The medicine is yours, but you don't experience the full healing until you take it and it works its way through your system. Christ paid in full at the cross. The spirit is a seal of the bottle. Final redemption is when the cure is complete. Have you ever paid? Have you ever put something on layaway? That was something they did when I was a kid. My children were young. You go in and you pay. They set it back in the back and it's yours, and they're just waiting for that final payment. Well, that's what's going on. God's not done with you yet. Life may feel unfinished, but redemption means the story's not over. God claims you, and he will bring you home.

Austin Gardner:

Redemption is past, present and future. At the cross, christ redeemed us from sin's penalty. Right now the Spirit redeems us from sin's power and one day, at the resurrection, christ will redeem us from sin's presence. Redemption is a complete package across time. Romans 8.23 says that we wait for the redemption of the body full salvation until our bodies are raised and glorified. The Spirit inside us is God's guarantee that day is coming. Full salvation until our bodies are raised and glorified. The Spirit inside us is God's guarantee that day is coming.

Austin Gardner:

Christ started all this redemption at the cross. The Spirit sustains it and the final glory will be when we see it revealed. Let's not forget. These bodies of ours are breaking down. Joints ache, eyes, dim energy fades. Cancer comes in. But Paul said don't worry. The warranty includes a full body upgrade. That's the part of the purchase price.

Austin Gardner:

Salvation is bigger than forgiveness. It includes your whole future, your whole body, your whole eternity. That's why you can face aging and illness, death, with hope. Redemption is bigger than what you can see now. We are God's purchased possession. That means he bought us with his blood. You are not your own. You were bought with a price and because of that your value is not determined by how the world sees you, but how much God paid for you. You are not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. We are God's possession. Possessions are marked with a seal. In the marketplace, in the laboratory, a specimen is labeled with the owner's name. In Christ, we are doubly marked purchased by His blood, sealed by His Spirit, you belong to God. That means your worth is not based on your success or failure or reputation. It's based on Him, and all of this was done to the praise of His glory.

Austin Gardner:

The final word is not about us, it's about God's glory. Our redemption is the canvas upon which God paints his grace for all eternity. If one believer were lost, his glory would be diminished. That can't happen. So don't make the story about you. Make about him. Your redemption is a testimony to the universe that god keeps his word. So when life feels messy, remember it's not the end of the story. God will finish what he started and when he does, the whole universe. We'll see his glory through what he did in you.

Austin Gardner:

So I've tried to walk you through Ephesians 1, 13 through 14. And so you may be saying. So what? What does it mean for you and me sitting here with ordinary struggles, doubts and fears, that we are sealed, with the Spirit, guaranteed an inheritance awaiting redemption? It's not a doctrine to follow in your notebook. It's good news that you are safe in the arms of Jesus. You are sealed, you are owned, you're kept. God has moved inside of you.

Austin Gardner:

Live as though this is true, because it is. Don't let anybody talk you out of it. The Spirit's witness is your anchor. You may feel weak, you may fail, but the Spirit inside of you cries Abba, father. That cry is proof you belong to God. He will not cast you away. Think of your body as a fragile clay jar. The world sees weaknesses and flaws and cracks, but inside there's a treasure the spirit of God. Its value is beyond measure. Think of what it contains.

Austin Gardner:

You know, sometimes we forget this and live like spiritual orphans. We walk around worried about losing our salvation, as if God's going to repossess us if we don't measure up. That's nonsense. If he sealed you, you are sealed. Live like you are loved. The Spirit's seal means you can live with confidence, like you are loved. The spirit sealed means you can live with confidence, not fear. Your future is secure so you can focus on being faithful today.

Austin Gardner:

So let me give you some practical things to take with you. Live resting, not restless. So many believers live in anxiety, as if God had them on probation. But sealed means rest. You can stop striving during what's already yours. Faith means just taking God at his word. He promised you eternal life. The spirit sealed you. Now rest. You know the difference between a dog who's chained up and one that's free in the backyard. One of them's pacing nervously, the other plays joyfully, which are you Sealed people can stop pacing and startously.

Austin Gardner:

The other plays joyfully, which are you Sealed people can stop pacing and start enjoying Quit living like God might change his mind. He won't Live with boldness, not fear. The Spirit of God can move you into the most wonderful parts of your life. Fear shrinks the immune system, weakens the body, drains the soul, but assurance strengthens the spirit. Sealed is divine medication.

Austin Gardner:

Courage is not the absence of fear, it's confidence in God's presence. When you know you're sealed, you don't have to fear rejection, not from God, not even people. You're already accepted. Live with purpose. Live with purpose. He that began a good work in you will fulfill it. Don't waste your life wondering if it counts. It does. Purpose is not something you chase, it's something you carry. You're sealed. Live with hope.

Austin Gardner:

The best is yet to come. That's what the Holy Spirit's whispering. Beloved, we are now the sons of God. It does not yet appear what we shall be, but think of an acorn. It doesn't look like much, but it's got the blueprint of an oak tree. Your life in Christ may look small now, but the glory is hidden within. The Spirit is the acorn of eternity. Life can feel overwhelming, bills and sickness and relationships, but hope reminds you this isn't the end. The King is coming. Christians should be the most hopeful people in the room, not because life is easy, but because the Holy Spirit guarantees the ending.

Austin Gardner:

So what's it mean to be sealed with the Spirit? Remember you heard, you believed you were sealed. The Holy Spirit is your earnest, your down payment, your foretaste. You are God's purchased possession. Your full redemption is guaranteed to the praise of His glory. You are safe in Christ. Rest, stand firm, treasure the miracle, live like you're loved, your future's secure. So be faithful. You are signed, sealed and one day fully delivered, all to the praise of his glory. I just want you to know. Today we have the wonderful, wonderful promises found right here in Ephesians, chapter one. I hope this has been valuable to you. I hope it changes your life, hope it motivates you and excites you, and I am so thankful that you're listening to, followed by Mercy, and I hope you'll help others realize you know it's not about you or what you do, it's about him and what he's done. Trust the Lord.

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