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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