1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love, 5having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire, 6to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved. 7In him we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him 10to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in him. 11We were also assigned an inheritance in him, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will, 12to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ. 13In him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
15For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you and the love which you have toward all the saints, 16don’t cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, 18having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might 20which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. 22He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Word Study: Seal (Gk. σφραγίζω, sphagidzo). (John 3:33; Rom 15:28; 2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30; Rev 10:4, 3; 20:3, 2) Strong’s 4972
This word can refer to 1) a seal as a security measure —Rev 20:3, 2) a seal to close something tight—Rev 10:4, 3) a seal for purposes of identification—Eph 1:13; 2 Cor 1:22, 4) a seal to certify that something is so—John 3:33, 5) a seal for delivery—Rom 15:28. In this verse, the seal of the Holy Spirit and His indwelling presence seems to have a multifaceted effect. First and foremost, it identifies the believer as belonging to God, but as such, it does provide security, it does certify the reality of salvation and relationship with God and it does look forward to the delivery of the saint into the heavenly presence of God. The Holy Spirit’s seal is the ground of the believer’s spiritual security and the foundation of the believer’s assurance of salvation. Within its range of meaning, a word normally has a one meaning in a particular context, and that context plays an important role in determining what meaning is intended. However, in this passage, the context and this word’s possible meanings indicate that the apostle probably used the word precisely for the many layers of meaning it could bring, not an unusual literary device.