- 151. Earnest of the Spirit
2 Corinthians 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
God gives the Spirit and promises Him to be a guarantee. A guarantee means that it has to be. A commercial guarantee in our economics means that if something goes wrong or breaks the seller promises to fix it free of charge. In other words, the company promises that the product will work the way it is supposed to for as long as the guarantee is in the contract. The guarantee of the Spirit means that the promised product will be there, and you can count on it.
The product guaranteed here is Life. Life is coming and death is swallowed up. God says, “I guarantee it!”In order for us to believe it and live our lives accordingly He gives the Spirit as a guarantee. The Spirit is the earnest = you will definitely be clothed with a new body.
That Holy Spirit that is presently the guaranteed contract that the promise is true is the Life we enjoy right now. How can we be sure we will have that new resurrected life in a new body? We can be sure because we have the Spirit, who is life, right now. We might ask, “How do I know I have the Spirit? I can’t see Him.” You can know because God says so. Jesus says so in His Word. He can promise Him because he earned it for you by His death and resurrection. Did Jesus die? Did Jesus rise? Do you believe this? Then you have it.Your body hasn’t risen yet, but you know it will. How do you know? You have the Spirit as a guarantee.