Aloha Dearest Family,
In the King James Version of
the Bible there is a phrase that is not easily understood. In fact, for many
years, I skimmed over these words not really understanding what they meant. The
phrase “earnest of the Spirit” remained a mystery to me until someone opened my
eyes to the complete meaning. This phrase is used only three times in the New
Testament and when understood they are very exciting for the Christian
believer.
“Who
hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” (II Corinthians 7:22)
“Now
he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto
us the earnest of the Spirit.” (II
Corinthians 5:55)
"In whom ye also trusted,
after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom
also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
(Ephesians 1:13 and 14)
If you are still confused,
maybe you first need to understand the word “earnest.” This word simply means a pledge. In the times when the Bible was written, when
someone wanted to purchase a piece of land, they would need to put down a
deposit or earnest money for the land. This earnest money is similar to a down
payment, guaranteeing that one day you would possess what you are purchasing. The
idea of having an item in earnest means that this is just the first
installment. I found a good definition: “A foretaste, installment, pledge,
of anything afterwards to be received in greater abundance.” In spiritual
terms, it refers to the spirit we received from God when we confessed Jesus
Christ as our Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead, as being the
first installment of something greater to come. When we were born again, God
placed in us His gift of holy spirit. This spirit is a deposit, our guarantee
that we will absolutely have a greater inheritance to come. This is the
greatness of the word “earnest”. It is a little taste of the inheritance that
is ours.
I would now like to go
back to the scriptures I used earlier, but this time from the New International
Version. These give a better translation of the guarantee we have because of
God’s spirit within us.
“(God) set his seal of
ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing
what is to come.” (II Corinthians
1:22)
“Now the one who has
fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a
deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (II Corinthians 5:5)
“And you also were included
in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy
Spirit, that is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of
those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians
1:13 and 14)
This is very exciting! Because the spirit within us, we have a deposit
guaranteeing us an inheritance in God’s kingdom. YIPEE!! This inheritance
cannot perish, spoil or fade away.
“Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth
into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and
into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in
heaven for you,..” (I Peter 1:3 and 4)
Insert your own name into the word “you” because one day
when Christ returns for us, we (you and I) will share in the inheritance that
we didn’t earn. It was earned by Jesus Christ. He is the heir. But God says
that WE are joint heirs with him.
“The spirit itself bearing witness with our spirit
that we are the children of God. And if children, their heirs of God, and
joint-hears with Christ…” (Romans 8:16 and 17a)
There’s no time to be
down-hearted or discouraged today. God has given us His spirit and made us
heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. This truth will never, ever
change because it is God Almighty who declared it.
Love Always, Ray
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