THE SEALING
After the anointing comes the sealing. The sealing is rather easy to understand. Any kind of painting is also a sealing. Sometimes we mark things by painting them. To mark something with a seal is to declare that we own that particular thing. Although there may be thousands of copies of a certain book, by putting my mark, my seal, upon a particular book, I declare that it belongs to me. In like manner, the anointing within us as the sealing declares to the universe that we belong to God. God possesses us, and He has put Himself upon us as a seal. This seal is actually God Himself. Oh, I would like to proclaim to everyone, to the angels, to the demons, and to the universe, "Don’t touch me! I have a mark upon me, and this mark is God, the all-inclusive Spirit." Do you not have such a mark upon you, showing that you belong to God? Yes, you do, for you have been sealed with God. Hence, the ointment is within you, and the mark is upon you.
BEARING THE IMAGE OF GOD
If you put your seal upon a piece of paper, the paper will bear the image of the seal. The anointing within us becomes the seal, and the seal bears the very image of God. In this way, we bear the image of God. This means that we express God by being anointed and by being sealed. Because God has sealed us, marked us with Himself, the image of God is upon us. We do not bear the image of God by trying to imitate God. Many Christians have been taught to imitate Christ. They were told, "Now that you are a child of God, you must glorify Him by improving your behavior." This improvement of behavior is not Christ; it is religion. There is no need to try to improve your behavior. God has sealed you with Himself as the all-inclusive paint. Has not God painted you? Has He not put Himself upon you? Has He not put Himself into you? You have been sealed with God both within and without. We all have been sealed, painted, anointed with God, inwardly and outwardly. Hence, we bear the image of this seal.
Take the example of a young person who has recently been saved. In a sense, after someone is saved, he does not need anyone to teach him, for spontaneously, religiously, and naturally he will have the concept of improving himself. A young sister may say, "Formerly, I did not treat my mother very well. Now that I am saved, I should be a nice daughter. I must be gentle and mild toward my mother. I shall make up my mind never to be unkind to her again. O Lord Jesus, You know that I am so weak and sinful. Lord, help me to be gentle and kind to my mother from now on." However, after praying in this way, she will behave either like a scorpion or like a turtle, not like a mild, gentle dove.
I tried to change my behavior for years, but I was never successful. One day I realized that I had been anointed and sealed. When I saw this, I was happy, beside myself, and full of praise to the Lord. It seemed that I forgot where I was. Spontaneously I began to be kind to my mother; yet, I had no realization that I was being kind to her. This was the bearing of the seal. One day I heard my mother telling a friend, "You know my son, Witness, is a quick person. I don’t know what has happened to him. For the last several weeks, he has been so kind to me." After hearing this, I said, "Mother, I am not really so kind. I didn’t have any change." According to my feeling, I had no change, but actually I was altogether a different person, a person bearing the image of God. This was not the result of trying to improve my behavior; it was the result of His anointing.
Do not try to be good or to improve your behavior. If you are bothered with your temper, do not try to adjust it, for the more you try to adjust yourself, the worse your behavior will be. Forget about your temper and your behavior, and praise the Lord for His anointing. Praise Him that you are attached, anointed, and sealed. If a married sister did this, she would spontaneously become an excellent wife. However, if she tries to be a good wife, she will become worse as a wife. Some may ask, "What kind of teaching is this? We have been teaching people to improve their behavior. Now you are telling them not to try to change themselves." Yes, I do say that you should not try to improve. Instead, simply enjoy the anointing and the sealing. If a married couple did this, they would have the best married life. But if they forget to praise the Lord for His anointing, the wife may be like a turtle, and the husband may be like a cat trying to catch the turtle. We need to praise the Lord for the anointing that brings in the divine element and for the sealing that gives us the image of God.
(The Spirit and the Body, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)
