Covenant Reformed News – March 2009 • Volume XII, Issue 11
This article explores the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as the "earnest" or down payment of our eternal inheritance, examining how the present work of the Spirit guarantees and foreshadows our future glorification in the new creation. The author traces the biblical connections between current spiritual blessings (regeneration, indwelling of the Spirit) and their consummation in the future redemption of both soul and body, drawing primarily on Ephesians 1:14 and related New Testament passages.
The Earnest of the Spirit (2) Last time, we saw that, as an “earnest,” the Spirit who dwells in us is a guarantee, a part and a foretaste of our eternal inheritance (Eph. 1:14). Since the Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus Christ and Christ is the revelation of the Triune God, our inheritance is irradiated with the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then the one, true God will be all in all, and all idolaters will be banished forever to the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8; Isa. 66:24)....