The meaning of the word translated “earnest” is most difficult to ascertain. Lexicons, translations or dictionaries are not always as definitive as we might like to believe. In fact, we continue to see people quote definitions to prove opposite views. The way words are used in texts of Scripture is the best way to define New Testament words and the way we propose to define the word is not with the word, “earnest” in the sense of a downpayment. Reardon explains, “In all of these texts Paul seems to understand the arrabon, not only as the pledge, but also as the “first installment” (cf. “the aparche of the Spirit” in Romans 8:23) of our promised inheritance. That is to say, the Father has already made the initial deposit of eternal life into our hearts by the sealing of the Spirit. Now it is the business of a “down payment” to include immediate occupancy. This earnest having already been conferred, then, we even may now reside inwardly in the realm of glory.’[1]
In contradiction to a multitude of views concerning the Holy Spirit, this section of the book is designed to show that the Holy Spirit is not the downpayment on their inheritance. Simon J. Kistemaker represents this popular view, when he writes, “God has given us the Holy Spirit as a deposit, a first installment. We have the assurance that after the initial deposit a subsequent installment follows.”[2] By appealing to the definitions offered by our lexicons, one might make this conclusion. But the way the word is used reveals a different conclusion. Rather than thinking of it as a deposit that is followed by future installments, the Holy Spirit was the surety or guarantee that the possession is a present reality. Having the miraculous powers of the Holy Spirit provided the visible seal/proof of that reality. To fixed this in our mind, we must distinguish the seal of the guarantee from what was guaranteed (redemption, salvation). The Spirit is neither salvation, nor inheritance, but the guarantee of salvation and the inheritance.
[1] Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois. He is the author of Christ in the Psalms, Christ in His Saints, and The Trial of Job (all from Conciliar Press). He is a senior editor of Touchstone
[2] Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1997), 80.