I've Been Established, Annointed, and Sealed by God  
 
"Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He annointed, set  
his soul of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing  
what is to come."
                     
                   2 Corinthians 1:21-22    
 
Most of us when we were young we grew up with the idea that we were not supposed  
to question authority.  
 
I know with my father, “Boy oh boy, if I questioned him on any matter, it was look out.”    
 
The moto was:  
“Mine is not to reason why, mine is but to do or die.”  
My dad was a stickler for following orders.
 
 
I’m learning that in the USA patriotism is a huge thing – the old saying holds true:  
“my country, right or wrong.” Such is the basis for fanaticism and blind loyalty.
 
   
Throughout the history of the USA, there have been major developments that have  
at times left the country shaking in its boots.  
 
 For you Americans, the Vietnam War brought the country to its knees; leadership  
was questioned and patriotism was challenged. Watergate was one of the final straws  
as the credibility of leadership suffered a crushing blow.  It was a difficult time in  
your countries history.
 
 
I remember that time – I was a young pastor in Canada and after that whole fiasco  
hit, leadership in all areas of both the USA and Canada was called into question.  
 
 
Politicians are no longer believed; many times for very good reasons.  People will  
say anything to get elected, as promises fall on deaf ears.
 
 
Today, it appears because of that lack of integrity, everybody sits in judgment of  
authority figures. We go to church and criticize the pastor and his sermon. Rather  
than sit in judgment  of the message, shouldn’t the message sit in judgment of us?  
Are we supposed to critique the worship service, or are we to enter into the experience  
and worship God?  
 
I have to admit that I do the very samething. I go to a new church and I find myself  
assuming the role of critic. What in the world am I doing?  I should be personally  
participating in the worship experience. I should be there to worship God, not to be a  
critic.
 
 
GOD IS TRUE  
 
We are living in times where authority is questioned and leaders are challenged –  
there is a lack of trust, a spirit of unbelief.
 
 
Does losing our faith in humanity have to alter our ability to trust God?  
 
 
“What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at  
all! Let God be true, and every man a liar” (Romans 3:3-4)
 
   
Yes criticism of leadership has intensified in our days, but it isn’t a new problem. Paul  
addressed this very same issue of human leadership versus God’s leadership in  
2 Corinthians 1:17-20:
 
 
 
17When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so  
that in the same breath I say, "Yes, yes" and "No, no"?     18But as surely as God is faithful,  
our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." 19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was  
preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it  
has always been "Yes." 20For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes"  
in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.
 
Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that he should lie,”  
 
and Hebrews 6:18 says,  “It is impossible for God to lie,”
 
Governments, kingdoms will come and go, human authorities rise and fall. Leadership  
here on earth changes. However, the integrity of the Church is not based on the nature  
of man or the credibility of any human government, not is our relationship based on that.  
However, it is based upon the faithfulness of God and thank God the assurance of His  
Word because of His timeless, unchanging nature.
 
   
WE ARE ANNOINTED BY GOD
 
   
What fabulous words Paul gives us!
 
“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ (2 Cor 1:21).
 
God is the One who establishes us. How does he do this?
 
1)  First He anoints us.  (gonna give ya a little Greek lesson here).
 
Christos is the Greek word for Christ, which actually means “the anointed one.” In our  
passage here, the word for anointed is the Greek word Chrio, which is used in the  
Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament before the time of Christ) for  
kings, priests and prophets.
 
This is what you could call kingdom terminology, meaning that someone is anointed  
for some regal (royal) position. Peter captures this idea beautifully when he declares,
 
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to  
God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into  
his wonderful light.”  (1 Peter 2:9)
 
We are not speaking here of a earthly, temporal kingdom; this is God’s eternal  
Kingdom, and God Himself has anointed us to be a part of it.
 
 
WE HAVE HIS SEAL OF OWNERSHIP  
 
Not only are we anointed by God as Paul says in this verse, God has set His seal of  
ownership upon us.
 
A History Lesson: Kings and other royalty used seals as a means of communicating  
integrity and the assurance of the authority of a message. They would pour melted  
hot wax upon a letter that was closed. Then they would seal it with an impression of  
their ring or another official insignia stamped into the wax. It would mean then that  
letter that was stamped with the seal of the king was directly from him – you could  
count on it – it was as sure as sure could be who this message was coming from.
 
Governments have seals – in the USA the Seal of the President carries tremendous  
weight. But Christians have a greater seal given by God Himself that ensures so much  
more than any earthly King or Government.
 
God demonstrated His seal upon the Israelites, protecting them from the plagues that  
the Egyptians would experience. Many references in Exodus (8:22, 9:4,26, 10:23, 11:7)  
attest that God dealt differently with those who were His covenant people.
 
A good example of this is found in Exodus 12:12
 
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn – both  
men and animals – and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.  
The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the  
blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”
 
When the judgments of God come upon this earth, no eternal judgment will harm  
believers, because we have the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to protect us. As we  
read in Revelation 9:4,  
 
“They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree,  
but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.”
 
We have been brought and purchased by the blood of the lamb. God has placed His seal  
upon us ensuring that His protection will last through any enduring trials or judgments,  
both now and forevermore.
 
WE HAVE A GUARANTEED INHERITANCE  
 
Not only have we been sealed but God has put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit,  
guaranteeing what is to come. Paul says in Ephesians 1:13,14
 
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel  
of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised  
Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those  
who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.”  
 
This guarantee is not being made by some inflated politician or a star-struck entertainer  
or even your pastor, or that matter from me.  
 
GOD GUARANTEES AND ENSURES IT BY PLACING HIS HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN US AS A DOWN PAYMENT.
 
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE PROMISE!
 
Then we have the added assurance from Hebrews 13:5:
Never will I leave; never will I forsake you.”
 
So while all of the questionable promises of man and the destructive tongues of others  
would tear down the very fabric of society, we would do well to pay heed to Ephesians  
4:29-30:
 
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only  
what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those  
who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for  
the day of redemption.”    
 
Pray with me:
 
Dear Heavenly Father, I praise you for being a God who cannot lie, whose promises  
are never NO but always YES. Forgive me for believing the promise of man when I  
should  have been resting in your promises. Forgive me for questioning Your faithfulness  
because of the unfaithfulness of man. I renounce the lies of Satan that would question  
Your word, and I submit to the Holy Spirit, who guarantees my inheritance to come.  
Thanks You for establishing me, anointing me, placing Your seal of ownership on me  
and putting Your Spirit in my heart. In Jesus’ name and by the authority of His Word  
I pray. Amen!