Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
When the Holy Spirit indwelt you, you became God’s possession. You were sealed in His Son evidenced by the indwelling Holy Spirit. But in Eph. 1:14, we learn that the Holy Spirit isn’t simply the seal of all the grace and blessings you have in Christ, He is also the earnest of your inheritance. This is the guarantee of you receiving your inheritance.
In the Old Testament, there is no Hebrew equivalent to an earnest. The closest thing you’ll find to an earnest is a pledge or a surety. Do you remember the story in Gen. 38:16-17 when Judah propositioned what he thought was a harlot when, in fact, she was Tamar, his own daughter-in-law? When they spoke, she said, essentially, “What are you going to give me?” He said, “I’ll send you a kid from the flock” (by kid, he means a young goat, not a child). She says to him, “Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?” And he gave her his signet (his ring) and his bracelets. (Weird that a guy like him was wearing valuable bracelets. He must’ve been quite a dandy.) Now that is sort of an illustration of an earnest, but not really because this pledge is not truly a guarantee of the promise like an earnest. The deal with Judah could still fall through.
Some commentaries suggest that the Greek word for earnest came from the Phoenicians because they were known for their skills at trading. They say an earnest is technical about a specific business transaction. An earnest is the non-refundable deposit of a guaranteed purchase.
In the Greek, this word is arrabon (G728), essentially, “earnest-money.” But in modern Greek, a derivative, arrabona is an “engagement ring.” Of course, the engagement ring symbolizes a commitment. Nowadays, engagements can fall through, too, but you can see how modern Greek usage of the word sorta aligns metaphorically with the ancient meaning of the word.
Broadly, this is a pledge or a commitment. Specifically, an earnest is a non-refundable deposit of a guaranteed purchase. That deposit is part of the full price that one is paying for a purchase. One book made the point that, in a legal sense, an earnest was very similar in meaning to the word establish. Establish is to set or fix unalterably, to settle permanently, to enact or decree something that cannot be altered. So when it comes to God and your inheritance, earnest is similar to establish. God has settled forever the transaction of your inheritance. This is a deal that cannot and will not ever fall through. This is unalterably cemented forever.
We usually think of an earnest as binding for the purchaser, because this is a guaranteed purchase. The purchaser cannot back out of this agreement, right? But, you know, an earnest is actually binding for both the purchaser and the seller. Neither one of them can back out of the deal. They are both locked in this transaction. The seller is locked in this transaction as much as the purchaser. The seller cannot get out of his responsibility of relinquishing that item as much as the purchaser cannot get out of his responsibility of making the final payment.
Thus, based upon all of this, I have a list of Seven Biblical Aspects About an Earnest
- The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance.
- In the Greek, an earnest is very technical about a specific business transaction. It’s the non-refundable deposit of a guaranteed purchase.
- An earnest is binding for both the purchaser and the seller. The earnest merely guarantees that which had been agreed upon. This is “a legally guaranteed security.”
- An earnest is usually given because there is a great desire on the part of the purchaser to possess that item knowing full well he has the means to purchase it and he’s strongly committed to the final payment.
- The earnest is also a form of identification. That object is now identified with its new owner. The purchaser has publicly proclaimed that this item is mine. The earnest identifies the item with its new owner.
- Like the seal, the earnest also infers security about the completion of that transaction. This is “a legally guaranteed security.”
- The earnest is a foretaste of what is to come, even though the inheritance is ours right now. The foretaste is the rest of the money.
This last aspect, this foretaste of what is to come is how some, like Webster, would try to define earnest. This deposit is just a preview of all the money to come. Webster would try to define earnest by talking about firstfruits.
“EARNEST, n. ern’est. 1. First fruits; that which is in advance, and gives promise of something to come. Early fruit may be an earnest of fruit to follow. The first success in arms may be an earnest of future success. The Christian’s peace of mind in this life is an earnest of future peace and happiness. Hence earnest or earnest-money is a first payment or deposit giving promise or assurance of full payment. Hence the practice of giving an earnest to ratify a bargain.”
You get the gist, right? A non-refundable deposit of a guaranteed purchase. And this is what just about every grace book has to say about the word earnest.
But that’s not the whole story.
All of what you commonly hear about an earnest doesn’t explain what Eph. 1:14 is talking about. Paul takes earnest and totally flips this idea on its head.
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of OUR inheritance…
In this verse, you are not the object God purchased. You are not the seller. You are the new member of God’s family and God has given you a non-refundable deposit guaranteeing your inheritance because you are now part of His family.
Who does that? God does.
God is so loving and so generous beyond all comprehension, and He is so happy that you have become part of His family that He has chosen to give you a non-refundable deposit, which guarantees that you’ll be receiving your inheritance along with everyone else.
What are you inheriting? When you got saved, you didn’t earn a ticket into Heaven. You inherited Heaven itself. You didn’t simply gain access into the kingdom of God. You inherited the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom is yours to possess and to make it your own.
When you step into eternity, you’re not walking around as a guest in God’s house. You’re walking around in your new home, a home that is YOUR possession. You aren’t just saved. God designed this entire universe to be YOUR possession. He made everything for YOU.
YOU are what HE values. Everything else? You can have it. He inherits you. You inherit Him and everything else. This is why Paul talks about the exceeding riches of the grace of God. Paul, here in this doxology that makes up Ephesians 1:3-14 is in part trying to enlarge your view about how generous God is and how glorious everything will be. You’re not blessed just because you’re saved and forgiven and already seated in the Heavenlies. Paul is saying, basically, “You need to understand the scope of what God has done for you. God has given you everything, because that is the nature and character of God the Father who is worthy of all your endless praise.”
Doesn’t all of that make you feel like God truly is beyond wonderful and truly praiseworthy every second? It’s mind-blowing that God so wanted a relationship with you before He even created the universe, He determined to have a secret age of grace, and He determined to give you everything along with His Son. He chose to bless you so overwhelmingly you cannot comprehend the scope of it all. Doesn’t this make you want to praise God with every breath?
SUPPLY OF GRACE 
Leave a comment