[ Consider how God– the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit–has given believers special guarantees to encourage us to fully trust in Him.]
My friend, Troy, has exciting plans for a Christian film he hopes to produce. Informed by his experience as an actor, and inspired by his own faith journey, he dove into this project and completed the screenplay. He confided in me about the movie’s great message and potential in this media-driven generation. Troy’s prayer request now is for investors to underwrite the cost of the project. Such sponsors would invest the budgeted funding; with guaranteed finances the crew and cast would be assembled and the production would move forward.[6]
Likewise, God has special plans for your life, fellow believer. He also has guaranteed the resources required for you to move forward in the Christian life.
3. The Holy Spirit has provided guarantees
He is the Spirit of Truth
As co-equal with God the Father, the Holy Spirit shares divine attributes as truthful and unchangeable. One of His titles is “the Spirit of truth.” Christ prophesied of His coming to baptize believers into one body: “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13; see John 14:17; Acts 1:8,9).
The truthfulness of God’s Spirit gives infallibility to the Holy Bible that He inspired: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).
His presence is a pledge
When a person receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his/her personal Savior, the Spirit of God graciously bestows the multi-faceted miracle of the new birth. At regeneration:
- He indwells you as a temple – 1 Cor. 6:19
- He makes you alive spiritually – Titus 3:5,6
- He pours divine love into your heart – Rom 5:5
- He seals you for the day of Redemption – Eph 4:30
- He anoints you to understand spiritual truth – 1 John 2:27
- He baptizes you into the corporate body of Christ–the Church – 1 Cor. 12:13
The Scripture explicitly identifies the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence as a guarantee.
2 Corinthians 1:21,22 declares “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” The Greek word translated “guarantee” here (arrhabon) means: “an earnest; money which in purchases is given as a pledge or downpayment that the full amount will subsequently be paid.”[7] In this context, the believer is assured that the deposit of the Spirit is God’s guarantee of His redeemed ones’ ultimate deliverance, resurrection, and glorification!
In Ephesians this is reaffirmed: “In Him [Jesus] you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:13,14).
When the Holy Spirit came to indwell you as a true believer, you were sealed by Him. As documents in ancient times were sealed with wax and an authorized imprint, so the child of God is secured, authenticated, and protected by God’s Spirit!
Anchored to God’s guarantees
After giving a Grace Fellowship conference in Homer, Alaska, My wife, Linda, and I were given a treat. The pastor and his wife took us out in their boat. We launched out across Katchemac Bay, enjoying the mountainous beauty and playful otters. In the harbor, I noticed that boats were secured by ropes to the dock. Out in the bay, the boat’s anchor could be used to secure a particular stopping place, perhaps to do some fishing. So, the slip’s ropes and the boat’s anchor are both available for security.
Likewise, God has given us assurance of spiritual security through His character as well as His guarantees–“exceedingly great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit give us an unshakeable witness of the Gospel.
Don’t let your feelings, your circumstances, or winds of post-modern philosophy distract you from wholehearted trust in God. In Him you have “an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.”
Part 3 of 3
Notes
[6] troykrombholz@gmail.com [2022 update: Troy is now a recording artist. See his online channel and albums https://www.youtube.com/channel/ ]
[7] Thayer’s Greek Lexicon
I dedicate the God’s Guarantees series is to Dr. Bill and Anabel Gillham, who founded Lifetime Guarantee Ministries in Fort Worth, Texas in 1976. Their resources (such as Bill’s book, Lifetime Guarantee and their DVD seminar, The Life) continue to be a blessing to so many. See Lifetime.org
Copyright 2010 by John Woodward. Permission is granted to reprint this article for non-commercial use. Please credit GraceNotebook.com. Scripture quotations (unless indicated otherwise) are from The Holy Bible, New King James Version © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.