The trouble with the term 'seal' is that it did not mean at those times to be encased in an impermeable baggie. It meant to have a mark put upon the object - usually in wax with the king's signet ring. The wax was to indicate that the contents, if the seal was not broken, to be what the king wanted to be there. If the seal was broken - and it very well could be - then there is no guarantee that the king's content could be deemed valid.
Are you asking... Was he a fisherman like Peter, Andrew, James, and John? Was he a Jewish pharisee and tent maker like Paul? Was he a tax collector like Matthew? Was he a physician like Luke? Was he a zealot like Simon? Was he chosen by lot like Matthias? Does he know Christ?
Very good. It is not what was in our heart before we knew Christ, but after.
You can, of course, go right to the Bible and find the specific qualifications for Elders as set out under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is most amazing to see what is not there. It is most encouraging to see what qualifications God sets out.
Yes. Unlike some of our antagonists, I think that we understand that there are requirements given to Christians and that they are required to follow them.
The word “seal” indicates security (Matt. 27:66; Eph. 4:30), authentication and approval (John 6:27), certification of genuineness (John 3:33), and identification of ownership (2 Cor. 1:22; Rev. 7:2; 9:4). God is the One who seals, Christ is the sphere in which the seal is done, and the Holy Spirit is the instrument of the seal.The Holy Spirit who seals is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. The “deposit” is more than a pledge which could be returned; it is a down payment with a guarantee of more to come (cf. “the firstfruits of the Spirit,” Rom. 8:23). “A deposit guaranteeing” translates the Greek arrabōn (used elsewhere in the NT only in 2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5). It guarantees believers’ “inheritance” of salvation and heaven (cf. 1 Peter 1:4). (See comments on “inheritance” in Eph. 1:18.) In essence, the “deposit” of the Holy Spirit is a little bit of heaven in believers’ lives with a guarantee of much more yet to come.
1:14b. The believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit until the redemption (apolytrōsin; of those who are God’s possession. This redemption is not release from the guilt of sin; that was spoken of in Ephesians 1:7 and the believer is already “God’s possession.” Instead, this is the believer’s ultimate, final release from the presence of sin (cf. Rom. 8:23b; Phil. 3:20–21). The Greek word for “possession” (peripoiēsis) is also used in 1 Thessalonians 5:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; Hebrews 10:39 (see comments there); and 1 Peter 2:9. Again the doxological refrain, to the praise of His glory, is repeated here as it was after the description of the work of the Father (Eph. 1:6) and of the Son (v. 12).
Hoehner, H. W. (1985). Ephesians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), . Vol. 2: The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck, Ed.) (619). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.