The Earnest of the Spirit (1)

After referring to the Holy Spirit who "sealed" us (Eph. 1:13), the apostle Paul calls Him an "earnest:" "the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory" (14). II Corinthians 1:22, as well as Ephesians 1:13-14, joins the Spirit as seal and as earnest. These two aspects of the Spirit should be linked, understood and enjoyed together by all who are righteous in Jesus Christ. But what is an earnest? Three points should be made.

First, an earnest or down payment or deposit is a guarantee of full payment on time. This is the idea in the realm of human, financial dealings: one man owes another a certain amount and so he pays an earnest (or down payment or deposit) promising full payment on time. Ephesians 1:14 teaches us that God wills to give us the vast riches of heavenly glory in His wondrous grace, and He wants us to be sure, absolutely confident, that He will bestow this upon us.

So He does two things. He gives us promises in the Scriptures, such as Christ’s words, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5) and "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne" (Rev. 3:21). These promises are true and certain; they are "yea" and "Amen" in Christ Jesus (II Cor. 1:20). But we are weak—doubting and sinful—and the objective promise, considered all by itself, is outside us. So God does something more. He not only gives us promises in holy Writ; He also gives every believer the earnest of the Spirit in his heart, guaranteeing him future glory in God’s good time and assuring him through the Word that His promise is true and that it is for him. Believer, the glorious world to come with all its blessedness is yours! As you read this, the Spirit witnesses in you, personally and inwardly: "You have a place in the new heavens and the new earth. You will see the face of Jesus Christ, your redeemer, and join with the entire church and the elect angels in celebrating His praises!"

Now we can see why two of the three references to the Holy Spirit as an earnest—the other one being II Corinthians 5:5—come immediately after calling Him a seal (II Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13-14). The Spirit as seal stamps us with God’s ownership, saying, "You are God’s! You belong to Him!" The Spirit as earnest says, "Heaven is yours! It belongs to you in Jesus Christ!" The Spirit as seal assures us that we belong to God—before the foundation of the world in eternal election in Christ, now and forever. The Spirit as earnest assures us, with regard to the future, that everlasting glory is ours. Do you see it? Both the Spirit as seal and the Spirit as earnest speak of His internal, personal testimony in our hearts through the Word. The difference is that the Spirit as seal witnesses that we belong to God (past, present and future) and the Spirit as earnest witnesses that heaven belongs to us (future).

Second, an earnest is not only a guarantee of full payment; it is also a part of the payment. This adds something. We not only have God’s objective promises and the Spirit guaranteeing us that they are true and that they apply to us personally, but we are also given part of the payment already. Our "inheritance" (14) is not all future; God gives us a foretaste of glory now, to assure us, to succour us and to cause us to long for more. If what we have now is only a part, a tiny fraction, how much greater must the full inheritance be?

Third, an earnest is not only a guarantee of full payment and it is not only a part of the full payment; it is also of the same kind as the full payment. Let me explain by an illustration. Let us say you owe £100. You could guarantee repaying the whole sum by giving part of the total in something other than cash. For example, you could give your creditor your stereo system, which he accepts as having the value of £40. Thus your stereo system is a guarantee and part payment, and you pay the remaining £60 later. However, the Holy Spirit who is in us as an earnest is Himself of the same kind as the full payment. He is not, as it were, the equivalent of the stereo now (with the rest being given in cash later). The earnest of the Spirit in us now is the full inheritance in miniature. He is a foretaste of glory because both the earnest and the inheritance are the same in kind. But we have only the "firstfruits of the Spirit" now, whereas we will have the fulness of the Spirit in the world to come (Rom. 8:23).

This teaches us that our inheritance is spiritual. Our eternal state is one in which the fruit of the Spirit will be perfectly manifested in all God’s people (cf. Gal. 5:22-23) and "all [our] spiritual blessings" will shine with a glorious lustre.

Since the Holy Spirit, the earnest, is the Spirit of Christ and His role is to glorify the Lord Jesus (John 16:14), our inheritance is Christ Himself and all things in Him (I Cor. 3:21-23). This is also the context in Ephesians 1. Christ’s inheritance is all things in heaven and on earth (10). Verse 11 adds that in Him "we have obtained an inheritance," for we have "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (3). Colossians 1:27 states that "Christ in [us by the Holy Spirit is] the hope of glory." Thus the Spirit of Christ in us assures us that we shall see Christ’s face and so be like Him. All the earth shall be filled with His glory and we will be servants of the Lamb in Immanuel’s land!