The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 145

Ver. 5.-" The earnest of the Spirit." The apostle has been referring to the great hope set before us in the gosRel, which, as he regards it, is this, that" mortality might be swa~lowed up ~f li!e." 1hat is_ the object of the Divine working in the believer, and of its final realization he has this" earnest," or pledge of assurance, God has given us already the " earnest of the Spirit," who is the power that alone can work out such a sublime result as our final triumph over the flesh and sin, and meetness to take our place and part in a spiritual and heavenly state. "It is because the Spirit dwells in us by faith while we are here that we are to be raised hereafter. The body th119 possessing a principle of life is as a seed planted in the ground to be raised again in God's good time'' (comp. the sentence in eh. i. 22 and Rom. viii. 1-11). Observe that the Holy Spirit is presented to us under many aspects and figures; no one representation of his Di ,;-ine mission can exba.nst his relations to us. We must see his work on one side after another, and be willing to learn from all the figures under which it is presented. L WHAT IS MEANT BY AN "EABNEST "? It is something offered as a pledge aud assurance that what is promised shall surely be given. But it has been well pointed out that an "earnest" me.terially differs from a "pledge." A pledge is something different in kind. given as assurance for something else, as may be illustrated by the, 1111Craments; but an earnest is a part of the thing to be given, as when a purchase is made and a. portion of the money is paid down at once. The idea of the I' earnest " may be seen in the "firstfruits," which are a beginning of, and assure the character ot, the coming harvest. II. WHAT IS THE SPIBIT .AS "EARNEST" TO us Now? St. Paul's one point here is that it is an assurance of the final victory of the higher life over the lower. We have indeed that higher life now, in its initial and rudimentary stages, in having the Spirit dwelling in us. m w HAT FUTURE IS PLEDGED IN OUR H.A VING THE SPmIT NOW? Precisely a future in which the spiritual life shall be victorious and supreme, and our vehicle of a body simply within the use of the Spirit. That is full redemption, glory, and heaven.-R. T. Vm.7.-Walkingbyfaith. "We walk by faith,not by sight." "Walking" is a familiar Scripture term for a. man's life on the earth. It seems to have been aesociated with the figure of life 1111 a "pilgrimage" in the Old Testament, and as a. "racecow-se" in the N L'W Testament. It is joined to another word sometimes, and our "walk and conversation" are spoken of, our "going forward " a.ad " turning about." L w ALK .AS DESCRIPTIVE OF HUMAN LIFE. Its suitability will he seen if we notice: L That it is a moving on. The days of our life go by as do the scenes in a. panorama. 2. It is a slow moving on, steady and regular as the clock; time moves on, bearing all i~ aons away. 3. It is a moving on through ever-changing scenes, as is the path of the traveller, now up the hillside, now along the dusty highway, and now through the shaded valleys, with ever-varying sights and sounds a.round us. 4. It is a moving on somewhere; for he who walks has some end before him or some home in view. So our human life has its goa.L We pass on into the eternal, where we may find our home. II. WALK BY SIGHT .AB DESCRIPTIVE OF THE WORLDr,Y LIFE, " Walk by sight" does not mean "in the power of our vision,'' but" under the influence and persuasion of thingB ,reen and temporaL" It is the one essential characteristic of the worldly man that his oe, v.1-21.] THE SECOND EPIS'fLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 141