Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Earnest of the Spirit



2 Corinthians 5:5 in the King James Version says, “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.” For a clearer understanding of this verse, the Amplified Bible reads, “Now He who has made us and
prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Holy Spirit as a pledge [a guarantee, a down payment on the fulfillment of His promise].”

There are many old English words that are not used very often anymore. The word “earnest” is one of those words. The earnest of the Holy Spirit is a fascinating concept and a wonderful reality. One commentary explains that the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is said to be an “earnest”—that is, a pledge or deposit—on an ultimate fulfillment of a magnificent promise from God Himself. The word translated “earnest” (Greek “arrhabon”) is essentially a transliteration of its Hebrew equivalent (“arabown”), translated “pledge” in the Old Testament. Now if the guiding presence of God, through the Holy Spirit, is merely an earnest payment, the fulfillment must be glorious beyond comprehension. This “selfsame thing,” as our text calls it, is a wonderful “house which is from heaven,” the spiritual body we shall receive when we go to be with the Lord.

The phrase also occurs in 2 Corinthians 1:22: “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” In context, the earnest payment here is associated with the “sealing” of God and the assurance that “all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen” - 2 Corinthians 1:20.

The third and last use of this word in the New Testament is in Ephesians 1:13-14: “In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and [as a result] believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit [the One promised by Christ] as owned and protected [by God]. The Spirit is the guarantee [the first installment, the pledge, a foretaste] of our inheritance until the redemption of God’s own [purchased] possession [His believers], to the praise of His glory.” We are “joint-heirs with Christ” and He is to inherit all things.

Thus, the indwelling Holy Spirit, a present possession of all who have received Christ as Savior, is also God’s pledge of a glorious future—a perfect and eternal body, a great inheritance, and the certain fulfillment of all of God’s gracious promises. 

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