Useful Bible Studies > 2 Corinthians Commentary > chapter 1

The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of God’s promises

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

God has made his promise; Christ has fulfilled (carried out) the promise, and we must accept it* Then something else happens.

Some Christians in Corinth had thought that they received the complete benefit of all God’s promises at once*. They were wrong. Most of God’s promises are for the future age, after Christ’s return*.

What God gives to Christians immediately is not the benefit of these promises but the guarantee, or proof, of them. That guarantee is God’s Holy Spirit, who is working in the life of every Christian.

That is not the kind of proof that convinces the human mind*. It is more like the legal proof of something. When people sign a cheque or a contract, nothing may seem to happen immediately. However, the law considers that payment or that agreement to be certain. Whatever they have agreed must happen at the proper time in the future. So, God’s Holy Spirit proves that a person has the benefit of God’s promises.

Paul describes the Holy Spirit’s work in 4 different ways here. Each time, he emphasises that God has done this for his people.

(1) By means of the Holy Spirit, God establishes his people in their relationship with Christ. In other words, he gives them a strong relationship with Christ.

(2) God anoints his people with the Holy Spirit. To ‘anoint’ means to ‘cover’; it was the custom to anoint Israel’s kings and priest with oil, to separate them for their special work for God.

(3) God seals (or marks) his people with the Holy Spirit*. The purpose of the mark is to show that they belong to him.

(4) God places his Holy Spirit inside them, as a guarantee that they will receive the benefit of his promises.

Next part: The nature of a church leader’s authority (1:23-24)

 

* See complete article for these Bible references.

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© 2016, Keith Simons.