2 Corinthians 1:21–22

It is GOD who establishes them both in Christ. Notice the force of this statement, so that we escape a common error. Some credit God with the first conversion of the soul, but throw on the believer the job of keeping or confirming himself in Christ. That divides the effective work of salvation between the Saviour and the saved — a notion nature herself could refute. Infants do not keep themselves alive, and the right to a promise is not the merit of the receiver but the generosity of the giver.

We have been established in Christ. And it is God who has done it. What man does, he may very likely undo at some later point. What God does, He does forever.

Here we are told that God is the One who fastens us to Christ, just as elsewhere we are said to be in Him. Man is weak and unsteady, more in deed than in word. But the One who binds us fast to Christ is God. This is true not only of the strong but of the weakest, who most need such securing grace and power... Christ for both was the fortress that cannot be stormed, the rock that can never be moved.

Turning now to the believer, we have first a general statement that he is anointed... This is not an apostolic anointing but, as the term "with you" shows, it is common to all believers, as in the next verse... The connection is suggestive: all in Christ are anointed — officially marked out as His.

First, the Spirit as the anointing. The sons of Aaron were sprinkled with the blood and then anointed, together with Aaron. Aaron, as a picture of Christ, had been anointed alone and without blood. So our blessed Lord was anointed at His baptism... The effect of the anointing is to give understanding and power. The very name God has allowed believers to carry — Christian — shows this character of the Holy Spirit. The meaning of "Christ" is "the Anointed One," and so the meaning of "Christians" is "anointed ones." It also points clearly to their sharing with Christ in the anointing. That explains why we are reminded here that God has connected us with Christ.

For us who believe it is more an active communion with His revealed mind. Still, the Spirit given is of power, and love, and a sound mind. And He who anointed us is not man, but God... It is not a passing display of power over Satan in the world outside. It is not a qualification for apostles only, as some have thought. It is the permanent privilege of the Christian, so that his own soul may enter into the revealed mind of God. And "the babes" have it as truly, if not as plainly, as the most mature.

So we learn that God "establishes us," "has anointed us," "sealed us," and given us "the earnest of the Spirit." In being established we look back to the cross to learn all the love of Christ. By the anointing we look up into the glory at Christ, to be given understanding in all God's counsels. By the sealing we become witnesses to Christ in the world around, showing that we belong to God. And by the earnest we look on to the inheritance, when we shall be with Christ and like Christ.

God also seals us. Anointing and sealing are the work of the same Spirit, and they happen at the same time, though their character is different. God seals every believer who has the forgiveness of sins. He marks them out as belonging to Christ, and He secures them until the day of redemption. So the Spirit as the seal points to ownership and security. In His grace God stamps His mark on us, and at the same time makes that mark impossible to break.

The Father, even God, sealed the Son of man. We can easily see why this was fitting. He was His Son from eternity, and His Son as man too — the constant and perfect object of His delight. But how could God seal us? We were in sin and misery, the marked opposite of the Lord Jesus. His redemption completely delivers us from Satan's slavery... Because of that work, God also sealed us, and gave the "earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." The earnest does not mean the Spirit is given in a limited measure, with more of Him to come. He is the witness of what has been done and accepted for us. He is also the foretaste of the glory that will certainly follow.

Our being sealed by God's own Spirit is God's guarantee that no judgment will fall on us... In this wholehearted recognition that we are God's, we have the support of the Holy Spirit. Even as the seal, He is nothing less than a living, acting, Divine Person. He comes into us to give us the sense, every moment and every day and in every circumstance, "You belong to God."

"Earnest" is an old word for deposit, down payment, or guarantee. When a buyer of a house pays the deposit, you know he intends to pay the balance. In this sense, the Holy Spirit is called "the earnest of our inheritance." God has already given us His Spirit. So He will also give us the future inheritance — a share in Christ's universal dominion.

As the seal, the Spirit is the sign of God's claim on me. As the earnest, He is the sign of the claim God's grace has given me on God.

The Spirit becomes the guarantee, in our own hearts, of what we shall fully have later in Christ. We understand the things God gives us in the glory. God's seal marks us out to enjoy them. We have the guarantee of them in our hearts, and our affections are engaged by them. God has established us in Christ, and the Holy Spirit seals us when we believe. He brings us into the enjoyment of what is in Christ, even while we are still here on earth.

So we learn that God "establishes us," "has anointed us," "sealed us," and given us "the earnest of the Spirit." In being established we look back to the cross, to learn all the love of Christ. By the anointing we look up into the glory at Christ, so that we understand all God's purposes. By the sealing we become witnesses to Christ in the world around us, showing that we belong to God. By the earnest we look on to the inheritance, when we shall be with Christ and like Christ.