“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit…” – Eph. 1:13

At the monergism.com blog:

Visitor: If regeneration precedes faith, how can we explain Ephesians 1:13? This verse lists hearing, believing and sealing with the Holy Spirit in that order. If being sealed with the Holy Spirit is the same thing as being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, or if this happens when the heart is changed (ie., with regeneration, as per Ezekiel 36:26-27), doesn’t that mean that regeneration follows belief rather than precedes it?

Response: Hi and thank you for your question. Are you suggesting that because the Spirit comes to indwell the believer AFTER he believes and is justified, that the Spirit does no work whatsoever in people prior to and during his conversion? That the Spirit is dormant and is waiting for a natural, graceless person to take the first step to believe, before He will do anything? Consider that if we as regenerate believers need the Spirit daily to believe, obey and persevere in the faith, how much more does the unbeliever need Him to understand and believe the things of the Spirit (1 Cor 2:12,14)? The Biblical evidence is so overwhelming that the Spirit also works prior to belief (1 Thess 1:4,5) that this should not even be a debate in the church. The sinner hears and comes to Christ only because the Holy Spirit opens his ears, eyes and understanding to the gospel (Deut 29:4, 30:6; John 6:63-65). As in creation, the Spirit broods over us, so to speak, before He gives the birth to us. It is important that we do not limit the Spirit’s work but understand that He has a full array of ministries:

In fact, there are seven major distinct ministries of the Holy Spirit:

Convicts unbelievers of sin, righteousness and judgment: John 16:8-11.

Calls and Regenerates (causing us to believe): 1 Cor 1:24; John 1:13, 3:1-8, 6:63-65; Titus 3:5, I Peter 1:23-25; James 1:18.

Indwells and baptizes the believer: I Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9; John 14:16; I Corinthians 12:13.

Seals us: Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30.

Imparts gifts: I Corinthians 12:7-11.

Fills the believer: Ephesians 5:15-21; Galatians 5:16.

Causes us to bear fruit: Galatians 5:22-23.— conforming us to the character of Jesus Christ.

I would encourage you to also consider that you thank God for your conversion because you know your repenting and believing cannot be ascribed to your own wisdom, sound judgment, or good sense (even partly). Jesus Christ gets ALL the glory (1 Cor 1:20-31). Even the very humility you have to believe is a gift of grace… “for what do you have that you did not receive.”

Lastly, take the time to read Ephesians 1:13 in light of the first 12 verses in the chapter. Reading texts in isolation is a sure way to produce unsound
theology. Read in context God predestined and adopted us as sons, according to the good pleasure of His will, not ours.

Watch this “Ask R.C.” event hosted by Lee Webb and recorded live on January 21, do they immediately go to heaven?

03:00 – If Jesus was born of the substance of the virgin Mary, how was He born without original sin?

09:10 – If Saul had repented, would God have made the bloodline of Christ go through Saul and Jonathan rather than David?

11:08 – If God is a Spirit, how is Jesus, being God, more than just a Spirit?

19:45 – If no one seeks for God (Rom. 3:11), how do we understand what Paul says in Acts 17?

27:33 – Did God know there would one day be sin in the world when He created it?

30:05 – Should a Christian pursue a philosophy degree?

38:50 – Should fear play a role in our evangelism?

43:43 – Since Jesus took the punishment for us, why did He not have to spend eternity in hell?

47:45 – How concerned should we be for the lack of truth in the local church?

51:00 – When should a person leave a church?

54:37 – If we do not witness and share the gospel will some people not go to heaven?

58:54 – Can you, by prayer, change God’s will? If not, why pray?

1:02:10 – How does one obtain eternal life?

1:08:40 – When the Psalms make promises like in Psalm 91—no harm, no disaster will overtake us—how are we to interpret them?

1:11:30 – How do we distinguish between the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, and His work in the New Testament?

1:17:35 – I’m a believer, but can’t recall a time when I became a Christian. Can you help me understand this?

1:18:30 – How is it just for people to be born with a sin nature when they have never actually sinned?

1:19:42 – Why did God rest after six days of creation?

1:20:42 – Has God created one right person for each to marry?

1:21:25 – What do you think is the greatest need of the modern church?

1:21:37 – What is conveyed to an infant at baptism?

1:22:18 – What role do electronic devices have during the Lord’s Day worship?

1:23:28 – What does the resurrection mean?

1:24:07 – Why does Old Testament prophecy speak of God giving His people a new heart of flesh if Old Testament saints were regenerate to begin with?

1:26:15 – Why do we need a new heaven and a new earth if heaven is perfect?