I. The whole of a man's peace, and all his security depend upon this: What is his foundation? It is the plainest of all plain Scriptural truths, that the only foundation of any soul's safety is the Lord Jesus Christ. By which is meant, that the groundwork of a man's salvation is the, Saviour's love for his soul, and the work which the Saviour has begun and finished for him that righteousness in which the Saviour clothes him; that intercession which the Saviour pleads for him, and that glory which the Saviour has prepared for him. Other foundations may have a momentary peace, but this only can support the superstructure for eternity.
II. Now this truth the Apostle carries a little into more detail. In order to do it, his mind borrows an image from a ceremony common at the commencement of the erection of a public building, when a king, as he lays the foundation stone, sets upon it the impression of the royal seal. In like manner, as if to give to the believer's hope a twofold security, God is said not only to lay the foundation, but to seal it; and when He seals it, He seals it to Himself by the oath with which He confirms it, and to the believer by the spirit in which He gives it.
III. The seal is twofold. There are two fundamental principles which God has placed on it. The one stands out clear, legible and large. "The Lord knoweth them that are His"; and the other is like unto it "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." The seal must have been twice stamped; both inscriptions must have been there before the seal is safe, and stands quite sure. The two sides must never be divided. But as the stamp of God's love is laid, so must the stamp of man's obedience be laid. God's love first, to teach that there is no real obedience till there is first a sense of God's love.
J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons,2nd series, p. 351.
The Sealed Foundation.
I. The testimony or the declaration of the text. "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure," or, more literally, "the firm foundation of God standeth." Observe the force of the first word, "nevertheless." It obviously refers to the preceding verses, as if the Apostle had said, Whatever error or corruption may spring up, whatever power and influence enemies of the truth may acquire, and whatever defection or apostacy there may be among professing Christians, there is no good reason why Christ's servants should lose heart, or should relax in their prayers and efforts. "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure." (1) What are we to understand by the foundation of God? The whole scope of the verse obviously is to set forth the absolute safety of Christ's Church and people. The Lord Jesus Christ, in His glorious Person, offers atoning death, a finished work of redemption, as the one great foundation; but all who are built on Him by faith, are, in God's judgment, one with Him, one building, one body. (2) What is taught concerning this foundation? "It standeth sure." This is a plain inference from the fact that it is the foundation of God.
II. The Divine seal or confirmation of this testimony. (1) We have, on the one side, a declaration of glorious privilege "having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His." The Lord knows all things, but in a peculiar and distinguishing sense He knows and marks His people as His own. But God has known His people, and set His love on them from eternity, for they are all elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. (2) "And let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." It is here put in the form of a rule or precept, to teach us that the certainty of God's purpose never interferes with our moral responsibility, nor supersedes the obligation resting on His people, to strive and pray for entire holiness.
R. Elder, The Redeemer's Cry,p. 91.
References: 2 Timothy 2:19. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. xxxi., No. 1854; Ibid., Evening by Evening,p. 174; R. S. Candlish, Sermons,p. 220; G. E. L. Cotton, Sermons to English Congregations in India,p. 157; Bishop Magee, Church of England Pulpit,vol. xxii., p. 1; H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit,vol. vi., p. 201; Ibid.,vol. viii., p. 74; L. Abbott, Ibid.,vol. xxi., p. 113; Ibid.,vol. xxxvi., p. 74.