God's Earnest Money

In negotiating a contract to purchase a home, a buyer makes a down payment to the seller. The down payment is the buyer’s pledge that he will fulfill the contract and purchase the home. This upfront money is evidence that the sale will be completed. It provides the seller assurance during the time it takes to finalize the transaction. In the real estate world, this upfront money is called earnest money. 

In the letter to the Ephesians, the biblical writer spoke of the Spirit as God’s pledge — the word in the original means earnest money — given to us regarding our redemption (Ephesians 1:14). The Spirit is God’s down payment guaranteeing the completion of God’s transforming work in our lives.

The Spirit is God’s mark on our lives, identifying us as God’s children (Ephesians 1:13). The Spirit’s work in our lives — whether cleansing our guilt with forgiveness or giving us peace that quietens our anxiety or sustaining us in the face of suffering or granting insight into the ways of God or providing power to do what we cannot do in our own strength or empowering us to love as Jesus loves — assures us that we are God’s children. Such assurance stirs hope (Romans 5:5) — the hope of sharing God’s glory, that is, God’s character (Romans 5:2). The Spirit’s work in our lives is concrete evidence that God is making good on God’s promise to bring us to Christ-like maturity. The Spirit is God’s pledge — earnest money — that God will not stop working until our salvation — the transformation of our heart and mind — is complete.

Such assurance and hope sustain us on our journey. In the midst of suffering, in the face of yet another failure, as we wrestle with that persistent, recurring sin, as we struggle with the frustrations of our still-in-process nature, the Spirit’s presence in our lives assures us of God’s faithful love that does not give up on us or abandon us. The Spirit’s presence reminds us that God works to transform these challenges into greater strength and personal growth (Romans 5:2-5).

The Spirit is God’s down payment — earnest money — assuring us that God will complete the transformation of our hearts and minds. The outcome of our salvation is certain. We will be like Jesus (1 John 3:2), measuring up to the full stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).

With God’s earnest money in our pocket, we press on (Philippians 3:12), confident in the ultimate outcome.