The Pledge

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

2 Corinthians 1:21–22 NIV

As we trust in Christ, God gives us the Spirit not only as a seal. He is also our pledge, or, as some translations read, “earnest” or “guarantee,” according to such passages as 2 Corinthians 1:22 and Ephesians 1:14.

“Now He who established us with you in Christ and anointed us in God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge” (2 Corinthians 1:21–22 NKJV).

In the apostle Paul’s day, businessmen considered a pledge to do three things: it was a down payment that sealed a bargain, it represented an obligation to buy, and it was a sample of what was to come.

Suppose you were to decide to buy a car. The pledge would first be a down payment sealing the transaction. It would also represent your promise to pay the rest of the purchase price. This is what the Holy Spirit promises when we receive the “earnest of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14).

As the great missionary statesman Adoniram Judson once said, “The prospect is as bright as the promises of God.”

Our Father and our God, because I trust in Christ Jesus, I have been sealed with Your divine mark of approval. I have Your pledge of the Holy Spirit living in me to guide me and lead me through life. My eternal future is guaranteed by You through the cross of Christ and by my faith in Your amazing grace. Thank You for that promise. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).