Ephesians 1:13

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, (Ephesians 1:13 NKJV).

The pathway to salvation may look different in each person’s life because of the direction from which we enter that moment.  However, once we stand at the doorway, the process is the same for everyone – we hear the word of truth, we trust it, and we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.  Then the pathway becomes unique again as we begin to “work out our salvation,” as Paul describes it in Philippians 2:12.

While the comparison is rather lame, the picture I get in my mind when I think about this, is one of an immense crowd of people who are going to Disney World.  They come from all different backgrounds and locations, and once they get inside they go in many different directions, but they all get into the park the same way.  It is at that point of common ground in which we enter into salvation where God chooses to seal us with His Spirit that we must always consider when we encounter those who seem so different from us in the body of Christ.  With the wide variety of spiritual gifts, the varied offices of responsibility, the unique personalities, and the infinite combination of experiences and backgrounds we each bring to the table, the one point upon which we can all identify is our entry point into the relationship with God and our “seal” of the Holy Spirit.  This is the entire point Paul is making in his dissertation to the church in Corinth concerning the body of Christ and its diversity.   Whether you are called to be a pastor, evangelist, a teacher, or are gifted with helps, mercy, administration, or come from affluence or poverty, whatever your ethnic origins or personality profile, we all believed the same word of truth, trusted in the same Jesus for our salvation and were sealed with the same Spirit,. 

Considering the immense ways in which I am going to be different from my brothers and sisters in Christ, I think it might be beneficial to start focusing on the one way in which I will have a common point of reference – the fruit of the Spirit by whom we all are sealed.  That means that while I might have the gift of a teacher and be an extrovert, if I am amplifying the fruit of gentleness and self-control, I won’t be imposing my point of view on someone else, but instead will be more interested in what they have to share than what I think I bring to the table. 

Today, I will revisit the list of the fruit of the Holy Spirit and begin to pray for those qualities to be what earmark my life.

Check out Gennarino's devotional on this same verse at:  Ephesians 1:13.