“He which stablisheth us with you in Christ,” Paul says, “and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:21–22, emphasis added). The gift of the Spirit, Paul says, is like the “earnest” money that seals an agreement (like a down payment on a new home) and makes that promise binding. By superimposing a life in God’s presence onto these mortal bodies, the Spirit seals God’s promise and makes that promise binding. The Spirit is God’s way of giving right now what he has also promised to give later: a life with him.
