What is the Seal of God?

The Sabbath, Circumcision, and the Seal of God

Few subjects generate more confusion than the relationship between the Sabbath, circumcision, and the seal of God. Scripture speaks clearly about each—but it does not use these terms interchangeably. If we want biblical truth, we must let the Bible define its own language.

The Sabbath: A Sign Between God and His People

The Sabbath is explicitly called a sign in Scripture.

“Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a **sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you” (Exodus 31:13).

“It is a **sign between me and the children of Israel for ever” (Exodus 31:17).

Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord repeats this:

“Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them” (Ezekiel 20:12).

The Sabbath is a covenant sign. It identifies the Creator (Genesis 2:2–3; Exodus 20:8–11). It points to sanctification. It reminds us who God is and who we are in relation to Him. But Scripture never explicitly calls the Sabbath the seal of God. It calls it a sign.

A sign identifies. A seal authenticates and secures.

Those are not the same thing.

Circumcision: Also a Sign

Circumcision is described in nearly identical covenant language.

“And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you” (Genesis 17:11).

The apostle Paul clarifies its meaning:

“And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised” (Romans 4:11).

Notice carefully: circumcision itself was not righteousness. It was not salvation. It was a sign and a covenant marker. Abraham was justified by faith before he was circumcised. The outward sign testified to an inward reality.

Paul later explains that true circumcision is spiritual:

“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly… But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit” (Romans 2:28–29).

So circumcision, like the Sabbath, functioned as a covenant sign. But neither the physical act nor the observance itself was the saving power of God.

What Scripture Calls the Seal of God

When the New Testament speaks plainly about the “seal,” it identifies it clearly: the Holy Spirit.

“Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22).

“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” (Ephesians 1:13).

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).

These verses do not leave room for speculation. The seal is not presented as a day, a ritual, or an outward observance. The seal is the indwelling Holy Spirit given to believers after faith in Christ.

A seal in biblical times signified ownership, authenticity, and protection. When a king sealed a document, it bore his authority. When God seals a believer, it signifies divine ownership and security until the day of redemption.

Revelation and the Seal

In the book of Book of Revelation, we read:

“Hurt not the earth… till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Revelation 7:3).

The forehead symbolizes the mind—conviction, loyalty, allegiance. But Revelation does not redefine the seal apart from the Spirit. Scripture interprets Scripture. The only explicit New Testament identification of God’s seal is the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit writes God’s law in the heart (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10). Obedience, including Sabbath-keeping, flows from that inward transformation—but obedience itself is the fruit, not the seal.

The Proper Relationship

Let’s put it plainly:

• The Sabbath is a sign of God as Creator and Sanctifier.

• Circumcision was a sign of covenant identity.

• The Holy Spirit is the seal of God upon the believer.

Signs point.
Seals secure.

The danger comes when we confuse the outward sign with the inward sealing. Paul consistently warned against trusting in external markers while neglecting the heart (Colossians 2:16–17; Galatians 5:6).

The foundation of salvation is Christ alone. The seal is received by faith in Him. The Spirit produces obedience, love, and loyalty. The Sabbath then becomes a joyful sign of relationship—not a substitute for the Spirit’s sealing work.

Conclusion

Biblical truth demands precision. The Sabbath is holy and a covenant sign. Circumcision was a covenant sign. But Scripture explicitly teaches that believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit.

If we elevate a sign to the place of the seal, we misrepresent the order of salvation. God seals hearts by His Spirit. From that sealed heart flows obedience—including reverence for His commandments.

The seal is not something we perform.
It is Someone we receive.

And where the Spirit dwells, Christ reigns. 

It is also important to remember that the Sabbath was created on the seventh day of creation (Genesis 2:2–3), long before Sinai, long before Israel existed as a nation, and long before Scripture ever speaks of sealing believers. If the Sabbath itself were the seal of God in the salvific sense described in the New Testament, then logically God would have gone thousands of years without placing His seal upon His people prior to its formal covenant identification in Exodus 31. That creates theological tension the Bible itself does not create. Furthermore, we must be careful not to equate God’s sealing work with the mechanical practice of earthly kings stamping wax onto documents. While Scripture uses the term “seal,” it defines it spiritually—through the indwelling Holy Spirit—not through ritual observance. God is not limited to human administrative analogies. His seal is living, personal, and relational: the Holy Spirit dwelling within the believer.

John 6:27 "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed."

If the Sabbath was the test of loyalty to God, the Jews would be saved without Christ. The rich young ruler would not need to follow the instructions given him by Jesus. He kept all commandments.