Among the many blessings God gives his children in Christ is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the seal that marks us as God’s beloved. The presence of the fruit of the Spirit assures believers that their salvation is genuine and secure, and it helps them distinguish truth-tellers from spiritual frauds. The love for others demonstrated by disciples of Christ also serves as a powerful witness to observers outside the faith that God’s Spirit is present to transform lives.
If you’ve ever watched the Antique Road Show, you’ve probably seen the look of disappointment when experts tell a collector that their prized heirloom is not genuine and is worth much less than they thought it was. Or, alternately, the delight someone expresses upon discovering that the article they bought at a garage sale for two dollars is actually a rare, valuable antique.
Experts in the antique business say they look for specific signs that prove whether an item is authentic or not: color, patina, materials used, how it is put together, whether it is signed by the artist or stamped by the manufacturer, whether the item is similar to other items the same crafter or artist created that are known to be genuine and so on.
Have you ever wondered how you can tell a genuine follower of God from a fake or fraud? Apparently, Jesus’ disciples wondered about that, too.
In the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds,1 Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to someone who sowed good seed in his field, but when the plants came up and bore grain, weeds appeared as well. The farmer concluded that an enemy had sown weed seed in his field. The weeds looked so similar to the good grain that the farmer wouldn’t let his farmhands pull up the weeds, lest they uproot the wheat along with them. Once the grain was ready for harvest, the farmer said, he would instruct the reapers to separate the weeds from the wheat, so that they could dispose of the weeds and gather the wheat into his barn.
Jesus used this metaphor not to make a point about agriculture, of course, but to let his disciples know that it wasn’t their job to try to determine which people were genuine God-followers and which people were fake. The authenticity of a person’s faith would eventually be seen in the outcome of their life.
In our text for today from Ephesians 1, Paul tells the Ephesians that they were marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit, which proved they were part of God’s own people, even though they were not Jews. God gave them this mark, Paul says, when they heard the word of truth, the good news of their salvation, and believed in Jesus.
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