Yes — after you believe, God seals you with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Ephesians 1:13 shows that after hearing the gospel of your salvation and believing, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Les Feldick repeatedly emphasizes that the only human response is believing, and God's immediate response is sealing and indwelling the believer with the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13-14 — This passage directly answers the question by showing that after hearing the gospel and believing, the believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the earnest of the inheritance.
Ephesians 1:13–14 directly answers the question. Paul tells the Ephesian believers that after they heard 'the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation' and believed, they 'were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.' The next verse explains that this same Holy Spirit is 'the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.' The sequence is plainly stated: hearing, believing, and then being sealed. Romans 8:9 adds that believers are not in the flesh but in the Spirit because the Spirit of God dwells in them.
Les Feldick repeatedly takes his students to Ephesians 1:13 to show the order of salvation. He emphasizes that after a person hears the gospel — that Christ died, was buried, and rose again — the only response Scripture places next to it is believing. He says, 'after that you believed, period, plus nothing' (Clip 5). No church membership, catechism, baptism, or communicant status is inserted into that sequence (Clips 1 and 2). What God does on His side, says Les, is seal the believer with the Holy Spirit of promise. This sealing is 'part and parcel of our salvation experience' and means the believer is marked by the person of the Holy Spirit Himself (Clip 3). The moment a person believes, the Holy Spirit indwells, empowers, and keeps them (Clip 5). Because of this, the believer's position has changed: no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit and in Christ, with no condemnation for the genuinely believing child of God (Clips 0 and 6).
Les calls the sealing 'part and parcel of our salvation experience.' He says the believer is 'sealed, we have been marked by the person of the Holy Spirit Himself' (Clip 3). The Holy Spirit is also 'the earnest of our inheritance' until the redemption of the purchased possession (Ephesians 1:14). According to Les, the moment we believe the gospel and are saved, the Holy Spirit indwells us, empowers us, and keeps us (Clip 5).
In Ephesians 1:13, the order is hearing the word of truth, the gospel of salvation; then believing; then being sealed. Les points out that Paul places nothing else beside believing — 'there's nothing else in here except believing' (Clip 1). He also stresses that people may want to insert joining the church, catechism, baptism, or becoming a communicant, but the text simply says 'after you believed' (Clips 2 and 7).
Les connects the indwelling Holy Spirit to a change of position. Quoting Romans 8:9, he says a believer is not in the flesh but in the Spirit, and is in Christ; the position has changed and the person is now a child of God (Clip 0). He also says the indwelling Holy Spirit is the proof of eternal life (Clip 0). For the person who has genuinely believed the gospel with all his heart, Les maintains the Scripture says there is no condemnation (Clip 6).
The Indwelling Holy Spirit as Proof
Les teaches that the indwelling Holy Spirit proves a person is genuinely saved and that their position has changed from being in the flesh to being in Christ.
Faith Plus Nothing
Les emphasizes that Paul puts nothing beside believing — after hearing the gospel, the next step is simply to believe, and then the believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
The Pauline Doctrine of Sealing
Les notes that the sealing and indwelling of believers by the Holy Spirit is new Pauline doctrine, not found in the Old Testament or in Christ's earthly ministry.
Sealed and Marked by the Holy Spirit
Les explains that being sealed with the Holy Spirit is part of salvation and means the believer is marked by the person of the Holy Spirit Himself, who is the earnest of the inheritance.
The Order: Sinner, Hearing, Believing, Sealed
Les walks through the progressive order in Ephesians 1:13, showing that every child of God goes from being a condemned son of Adam to hearing the gospel, believing, and being sealed.
Believed, Period, Plus Nothing
Les declares that after a person believes the gospel, 'period, plus nothing,' God seals them with the Holy Spirit of promise, and the Spirit indwells, empowers, and keeps them.
No Condemnation for the Genuine Believer
Les distinguishes genuine faith from ritual profession and says the genuine believer is a child of God with no condemnation.
The Gospel Heard, Then Believed, Then Sealed
Les again traces Ephesians 1:13–14: after hearing the gospel of salvation, the next step is believing, and then God seals the believer with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Ephesians 1:13: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
This verse states the exact sequence after hearing and believing the gospel: the believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Ephesians 1:14: Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
This verse explains that the Holy Spirit is the earnest of the believer's inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.
Romans 8:9: But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
This verse describes the believer's position as no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit because the Spirit of God dwells in them.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4: For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Les identifies this as the gospel that is the word of truth a person hears before believing.
According to Ephesians 1:13, after hearing the word of truth and believing, the person is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Les Feldick describes this sealing as part and parcel of the salvation experience and notes the Spirit then indwells, empowers, and keeps the believer.
No. Les points out that Ephesians 1:13 lists only believing between hearing the gospel and being sealed. He notes people may think church membership, catechism, baptism, or communicant status belong there, but the verse simply says 'after that you believed.'
It is the Holy Spirit Himself, who seals and marks the believer as God's own. Paul calls Him the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. Les teaches that the Holy Spirit's presence is the proof of eternal life.
Watch the Teaching: Does the Holy Spirit Live in You? Romans 8:9 Explained