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hisalone said:
Just to get the thread started about regeneration and what took place in the O.T. and what takes place in the N.T. <span style="background-color:#FFFF00">I will ask a question, were the O.T. saints sealed with the Spirit?</span> If you answer yes, then please explain why they had to continue with the animal sacrifices. If your answer is no, then we will be starting on common ground in this discussion. Until Tomorrow.

This may help. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/coffee2.gif" alt="" />

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THE CHRISTIAN’S REASONABLE SERVICE
WILHELMUS à BRAKEL

Chapter Thirty–eight
The Sealing of the Believer by the Holy Spirit and by Means of the Sacraments

All the ways of the Lord with His elect are mercy. Not only is this true in bringing the most wretched among them to the greatest felicity after this life, but also because He bestows so many benefits on them as they journey through this life. He leads them in a wondrous manner; every step is a manifestation of unfathomable wisdom and goodness. It is His desire that they see and know this, and that they would live in the assurance of His goodness toward them. To facilitate this, numerous marks and qualifications of gracious souls are presented in the Word of God, and in this manner many promises are made and repeated. Yes, above and beyond that, the Lord gives them an earnest and a seal, and transcending all adoration, the Holy Spirit Himself is that seal who seals the eternal inheritance to them. He does this Himself internally, as well as in a manner most commensurate with human nature: by means of external signs and seals, generally referred to as sacraments.
A Description of the Act of Sealing
Sealing is the imprinting of one’s coat of arms—engraven in a signet—upon something, doing so 1) to distinguish one’s own property from that of others, 2) to conceal something from others, 3) to preserve something in its purity, and 4) to assure one of being a partaker of something. The Holy Spirit accomplishes this work by the instrumentality of the Word in order to engrave His operations in the hearts of believers.

The Sealing by the Holy Spirit and what He Accomplishes Thereby
The apostle testifies that the Holy Spirit seals believers: “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30).
The activities and purposes of the sealing process are also applied to the children of God.
(1) The Holy Spirit Himself is the seal and earnest of the promised inheritance. “In whom ye also trusted, after that...ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession” (Eph. 1:13–14).
(2) The Holy Spirit impresses the image of God upon the children of God. They are the express image of Christ. “We shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Cor. 15:49); “I travail...until Christ be formed in you” (Gal. 4:19). The Holy Spirit accomplishes this by regenerating and sanctifying them. “But we all...are changed unto the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18).
(3) Others recognize believers by means of this seal, and God knows them to be His property. “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Tim. 2:19). Hereby the unconverted recognize the regenerate, perceiving that there is a different Spirit and a different life in them. “...They took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13); “And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed” (Isa. 61:9). Believers know by this seal that they are children and heirs of God. “Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13).
(4) Believers, by means of this seal, are hidden from the eyes of the world. The world indeed perceives that there is a different Spirit and life in believers, but is not acquainted with the glory and felicity of their state. “Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not” (1 John 3:1); “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:3–4).
(5) By means of this seal believers are preserved free of blemish. In reference to this they are called “a fountain sealed” (Song of Sol. 4:12). Revelation 7:3 also refers to this: “Hurt not the earth...till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”
(6) By the seal of the Holy Spirit God’s children are assured of being partakers of the covenant of grace and all its promises. “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” (1 Cor. 2:12). The Holy Spirit reveals to them the graces which have been laid within them. He directs them to texts which promise salvation to those who are in such a condition. He enables them to fully understand these texts and by them draw a conclusion about their state of grace. Their sanctified judgment convinces them of this, and the Holy Spirit joins with this by His immediate operation upon their heart. He thereby witnesses in harmony with what their spirit judges and witnesses of itself, confirming that their judgment concerning themselves is right. Therefore, by way of the witness of their own judgment, He makes it clear to them and immediately makes the assurance lively within them that they are partakers of the promises. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:16).

William