Thursday, July 19, 2007

The Down Payment

“Indeed, we who are in this tent groan, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life. And the One who prepared us for this very thing is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.” (2 Corinthians 5:4-5 CSB)

What a great thought – God gave us His Spirit as a down payment! He filled us with His spirit, and as great as that is, it is only a portion, a taste, of what is to come. A down payment is a portion of the whole, representing a commitment toward completion. There is so much more ahead.

Scanning the whole of 2 Corinthians 5 reveals some related meanings.

For one thing, God’s Spirit in us means that our mortality has been swallowed up by immortality. We have eternal life. We have a heavenly home that is prepared for us now, and while death still represents an area of real discomfort for us, we do not fear it quite so much as we once did when there was no hope. We have become eternal.

God’s Spirit in us also means that we walk by faith, not by sight (verse 7). Our confidence is in the Lord, and to Him we are committed. We live out our lives on the foundation of faith, trusting God, trusting ourselves to His care, whatever may come.

And then, God’s Spirit in us further means that we have undergone a fundamental change in who we are. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.” (verse 17) We are not the people we used to be. God’s Spirit has transformed and is transforming us. Everything is new. And there is so much more ahead that is beyond our imagination.

What a great thought! God put His Spirit in us.

Lord, We are forever grateful for what you have done and are doing in us, and we so look forward to what is yet to come. Thank You for filling us with Your Spirit. Amen.

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