THE ANOINTING, SEAL AND EARNEST.

THE ANOINTING, SEAL AND EARNEST.
In 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, the Spirit of God is brought before us under three striking figures. "Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." The Apostle is setting forth the settled place of blessing into which God has introduced every believer in Jesus. We are no longer in Adam, exposed to death and condemnation, but in Christ, and in Him we find every purposed blessing made everlastingly good. But so abounding is the grace of our God, that over and above all this, He has given us the Holy Spirit as the anointing, the seal, and the earnest. He dwells within us.
(1) The anointing. The Lord Jesus received the Spirit in this way when walking as a man on earth as we read, "Thy holy child (servant) Jesus, whom thou hast anointed"; "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power" (Acts 4:27; Acts 10:38). This was an expression of divine delight and complacency in Him personally. The Father saw in Him perfect dependence and faultless obedience; the Spirit was sent down upon Him in token of His full approval and complete satisfaction. He was the true meal offering "Anointed with oil" (Leviticus 2:4). Believers are anointed with the Holy Ghost on an entirely different principle. It is not because of what God sees in us, but because of what His eye sees, and what His heart has found, in the risen and exalted Christ. One grand result of the anointing is, that we have fellowship with the mind of God. The Holy Spirit introduces us into the circle of the thoughts of God, as revealed in His word. It is not enough that we should be born again, the Spirit must be possessed ere any advance can be made in the things of God." Hence when the beloved Apostle warned the babes against the many antichrists that were even then abroad in the world, he refers them to two things as safeguards. (1) Apostolic teaching: "Let that therefore abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning" (1 John 2:24) (2) The anointing: "The unction which ye have received of him abideth in you," etc. (1 John 2:27). Souls who avail themselves thus, and abide in the circle of the Spirit's instruction, are preserved from all the many efforts of the enemy. Our hearts are then in the enjoyment of what the Spirit imparts; and thus are in a position to reject the devil's counterfeit. There may not be ability to expose the error that is presented, but it is known to be not the truth, and that is sufficient for the simple soul (compare John 10:5). In considering the anointing, we are reminded of our kingly and priestly place. Both kings and priests were inducted into their office in this way. Both dignities are ours through divine grace. Believers are "a holy priesthood" now, with title to draw near to God through the rent veil; and in the approaching day we are to reign with Christ, when all things are given into His hand by God. Suffering is our appointed lot meanwhile.
(2) The seal. "Who hath also sealed us." The Lord Jesus could say of Himself, "Him hath God the Father sealed" (John 6:27). The same is true of all who believe, through His death and resurrection. Sealing follows faith. This is quite plain in Ephesians 1:13. "In whom after that ye believed ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." Thus we note two distinct operations of the Spirit of God: first He works in us to produce faith in God and in His Son; then He is given as God's seal. Believers are thus marked off as belonging to God. Our connection with the world has been broken, the fetters which once Satan bound upon us have been severed, and we are now the possession of our God (1 Peter 2:9). Do all our hearts respond loyally to this? Are we yielded up, body and soul and spirit, to Him, for His service and glory? Alas, there is not a little keeping back of part of the price. How much self-will works, how strongly the world is clung to by not a few of those who really belong to the Lord Jesus! Let each one of us own more thoroughly His gracious claims, and surrender ourselves entirely to Him.
What immense comfort that this Divine Seal will never be removed from any, even the feeblest believer. Many are defective as to this point. Many fear that the Holy Spirit will really be withdrawn, because of their faulty ways and walk. Not so. God gave me His Holy Spirit well knowing what I should turn out to be, and gave Him not because of what He saw in me, but because of what He saw in Christ. This will never change. But a careful holy walk is nevertheless due from us. "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30)
(3) The earnest. "The earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." This is in view of the future inheritance. God intends to give everything in heaven and in earth to His beloved Son. The usurper may hold at present part of His dominions, but divine power will shortly wrest them from him and give them over to the Lord Jesus. He will share this universal inheritance with us; such is the purpose of His heart. But it cannot be given to us yet. There are purposes yet to be accomplished, and enemies to be put down. The Spirit of God dwells therefore within us as the earnest (or pledge) of all that is to come. He is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession (Ephesians 1:14; 2 Corinthians 5:5). Thus we wait in confidence for God to make good all His word. As the seal, the Spirit is the token of God's claim on me; as the earnest, He is the token of the claim which divine grace has given me on God.
He is not the earnest of divine love, nor of relationship. We know and enjoy both now. We are already in a circle of boundless unchanging love, for all the affections of the Father's heart rest upon us in Christ Jesus; and we are already children of God. But the inheritance is not yet ours, for it has not yet come into the hands of Christ, hence the earnest of the Spirit. He waits at the right hand of the Father; we wait in this scene for the same appointed hour. The Holy Ghost is the present blessed link between us the Him.