'Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of
the Spirit in our hearts.'--2 COR. i. 23.
There are three strong metaphors in this and the preceding
verse--'anointing,' 'sealing,' and 'giving the earnest'--all of which
find their reality in the same divine act. These three metaphors all
refer to the same subject, and what that subject is is sufficiently
explained in the last of them. The 'earnest' consists of 'the Spirit
in our hearts,' and the same explanation might have been appended to
both the preceding clauses, for the 'anointing' is the anointing of
the Spirit, and the 'seal' is the seal of the Spirit. Further, these
three metaphors all refer to one and the same act. They are not three
things, but three aspects of one thing, just as a sunbeam might be
regarded either as the source of warmth, or of light, or of chemical
action. So the one gift of the one Spirit, 'anoints,' 'seals,' and is
the 'earnest.' Further, these three metaphors all declare a universal
prerogative of Christians. Every man that loves Jesus Christ has the
Spirit in the measure of his faith,' and if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ he is none of His.'