And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.—2 Corinthians 1:21–22

Introduction

Thorough-Going Trinitarians

Second Corinthians has been a life-line for me in these days. I have loved every minute of being immersed in this great book. The main point so far has been the God-centered worship of 2 Corinthians 1:3–7. Paul praises God for how God has been at work to bring Paul and the Corinthians together. The suffering, comfort, comforter paradigm results in a thanksgiving of praise to God (v. 3) and unshakeable hope that they can share in together (v. 7). God’s fortifying comfort to Paul has resulted in the fortification of the Corinthians. Joining his anthem of praise will draw them deeper into the hope that they can have together in the gospel.

Ever since those verses, Paul has been giving reasons for them to join him in praising God and sharing in unshakeable hope. He has asked them to observe the drama of desperation, dependence, deliverance (2 Corinthians 1:8–10)—and then they get to join the drama through prayer and praise and thanksgiving (1:11).

He urged them to boast in him as their apostle in light of the coming day that they will boast in one another in glory (1:12–14) and then he explained how his travel plans flowed out of this confidence that came from being “for them” as their apostle (1:15–20).

What I loved most about last week’s look at 1:15–20 was how Paul addressed his change in travel plans. He took his travel plans and took them all the way up into the counsel of God to show the Godwardness of his apostleship. Then he went to what I call his apostolic ground zero. He camped out on how God’s great “Yes” in the gospel for them is ground zero for all of his interaction with the Corinthians. God’s heart is always “Yes” for his sons and daughters because of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. We simply cannot talk about our sonship in the family of God without talking about what the Son did in our behalf. I love it when Paul makes a beeline for Jesus—it is beautiful to behold. Therefore, Paul’s great “yes” for them is completely dependent upon God’s greater “Yes” for them found in the gospel. Even if his travel plans change because of changing circumstances, God’s message to them and therefore his message to them has not changed one bit—God is for them in Christ and therefore Christ’s apostle (Paul) is for them.

But this week, we will see that Paul goes further. He does not stop with the gospel of God’s Yes. It is almost like he is saying, “But wait, there is more…” That phrase has been completely ruined by advertisers. “But wait, if you call in the next 10 minutes you will get 2 more boxes of whatever.” Let the addition of 2 Corinthians 1:21–22 redeem that phrase for you. This is the “but wait, there is so much more” moment in the opening of this great letter.

Paul’s Thoroughly Trinitarian Theology

Here then is the addition. He does not move away from the supremacy of God. “And it is God who establishes us” (v. 21). God is the very focus of these verses. He does not move away from his stress on the Son of God. “And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ” (v. 21). He adds the Holy Spirit. In other words, what he adds is his thorough-going Trinitarian thinking.

It is hard to over-emphasize this point on the Trinity. Maybe a word of warning is in order here. I know that we all believe in the Trinity if we are orthodox Christians, but the question that I am wrestling through is “how integrated is the Trinity in all of our theological thinking?” That is why I am challenged by what I call Paul’s thorough-going Trinitarian thinking. It is deep and sweet and robust and rousing. I will tell you one of my fears. I fear getting so caught up in theological fads that we eventually lose our theological balance. I fear a reductionism that rides the wave of God-centeredness by perhaps focusing only on the Father. I fear a reductionism that rides the wave of gospel-centeredness that may focus myopically only on Jesus. I quickly say “yes, yes” to both of those emphases, but never at the expense of saying “no, no” to the role of the Holy Spirit. We cannot content ourselves with being God-centered if we leave out 1/3 of the Godhead in our theological thinking! Therefore, let us press further up and further in concerning what it means to be robustly and thoroughly Trinitarian as we examine the passage before us.

Three Passes Through the Passage

We are going to take three distinct looks at this passage. The first time through I am going to make four observations that are like a fly over or an aerial view. The second time through will look at four specific key words in this passage, like a walk through or the view on the ground. The third time through will be like returning home after our visit and taking stock of the treasures that we have found in our two journeys through the passage (application).

First Pass Through the Passage: Aerial View

Let us look first at the structure of the passage. In the original language, the word “God” explicitly occurs at the end of verse 21 (probably for emphasis), but he is there also at the beginning of both verse 21 and 22 through the phrase “the one who” (Greek definite article ὁ).

Second, these two verses consist of four participles. The phrase “the One who is establishing” is the focus on the verse, the other three participles are in a different tense, which describes them as happening prior to this establishing. Having already anointed us, sealed us, and given us the deposit of the Spirit, God is currently establishing and strengthening us together as a Christian community.

Third, three of the four participles all share in common a metaphor from the life of commerce when someone buys property. When the purchase price is big enough in which the buyer does not pay for all of it all at once, a buyer must confirm his purchase with a down payment. In other words, the buyer confirms and guarantees the full purchase of the property in the future with his seal of ownership and a down payment. The odd word out is the word “anointed,” and there are good reasons for this as we will see in a moment.

Fourth, the best way to understand these two verses is to ask the question: how does verse 22 relate to verse 21? Some take the “sealing” and the “giving the deposit of the Spirit” in verse 22 as two things God has given us in addition to the “anointing” of verse 21. In other words, God did three things in the past (anointed, sealed, and gave the deposit of the Spirit). The ESV takes this reading by using the phrase “and he also.”

But I take the view along with most commentators that verse 22 is actually unpacking what the “anointing” means. The translation literally reads like this: “The One who is establishing us with you in Christ and who anointed us is God, who thereby also sealed us.” Do you see the relationship between anointed and sealed? It would be like one of my kids saying, “I am a Meyer, which means Jason and Cara are my parents." He anointed us, which means he sealed us.

But it gets even more complicated and difficult to bring into translation. The two things found in verse 22 (the sealing and the giving of the Spirit as a deposit) are also interrelated. The second one spells out what it means to be sealed. God’s gift of the deposit of the Spirit is how God seals us. God seals us by giving us the Spirit who functions as a down-payment for our future inheritance.

It would be like one of my kids saying, “I am a Meyer, which means I live in the same home as Jason and Cara Meyer, which is located at 11221 Quinn Street NW.”

So here then is the translation: “The One who is establishing us with you in Christ and who anointed us is God, who thereby also sealed us in that he gave us the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts.”

Therefore, in the rest of the sermon, I want to uncover what each of those four pieces means: (1) Establishing (1:21), (2) Anointed (1:21), (3) Sealed (1:22), and (4) Guaranteed (1:22).

Second Pass Through the Passage: The View From the Ground

Establishing (v. 21)

Or as I translated it earlier: “The One Who is establishing us with you in Christ … is God” (v. 21)

The word here for “establishing” could be better translated “confirming.” It is the commercial metaphor I referred to earlier. God is currently standing behind all of his promises, (which are all “Yes” in Christ) as the guarantor of their future. He is the One responsible to complete the work. He is working now to bring about the fulfillment of all of his promises for Paul and the Corinthians so that they will be together boasting in one another in glory at the day of Christ. God stands behind that future promise in the present as the One Who Guarantees it. The One Who began the work is working to complete the promise.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord—1 Corinthians 1:4–9

The noun form of the word came back in the thanksgiving of 2 Corinthians 1:7.
“Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.”

Anointed (v. 21)

I translated it “The One who is establishing us with you in Christ and who anointed us is God.”

I said earlier that this was the odd word out concerning the commercial metaphor. The reason is because Paul could not resist a word play. The word “Messiah” or “Christ” means “anointed one.” Throughout the OT, kings, priests, and prophets would be anointed with anointing oil. It was a sign that they were commissioned for a specific task.

The word “anointed” became associated with the Holy Spirit especially through the prophetic promise of Isaiah 61. The coming Messiah or Anointed One would be marked with the presence of the Spirit in an utterly unique way (Isaiah 61). We learn in the Gospels that Jesus is the Anointed One, and this anointing is closely connected with the presence of the Spirit upon him. He is the fulfillment of Isaiah 61. But he is also the fulfillment of all of the other anointed personages in the OT. Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed in the OT. Interestingly, Jesus fulfills all the functions of Prophet, Priest, and King perfectly.

Now through the Anointed One, Jesus, we come into the picture. Paul has a play on words with “Christ” and “anointed.” Christians have been “christed” in “Christ.” Another way to say it would be: When God put us into Christ, we became “christed,” which means “he made us the people of Christ.” Christians are God’s anointed ones, because they are found in the Anointed One.

Sealed (v. 22)

I translated it “who thereby also sealed us”

Therefore, when he defines this past “anointing” he returns to his commercial or business metaphor. What does it mean to be anointed? What benefit is that? Paul says it means that you are sealed. The “seal” was a stamped imprint in wax that consisted of the “seal” of the owner. A seal signified ownership and authenticity.

The closest thing we have to this today would be the stamp that some of us have for our letters (like a family seal) or what ranchers in Texas do with their cattle when they brand them with a hot iron so that they wear the seal of the rancher—signifying ownership.

This word occurs in this same sense two other times in Paul (Ephesians 1:13 and 4:30). Notice how each time it is connected with the Holy Spirit.

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13–14).

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).

Guaranteed (v. 22)

I translated it "Who thereby also sealed us in that he gave us the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts.”

The giving of the down payment of the Spirit is what it means to be sealed. This metaphor only occurs three times in the New Testament and they are all found in Paul (2 Corinthians 1:22; 2 Corinthians 5:5; Ephesians 1:14).

“For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians 5:4–5).

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13–14).

Notice Paul’s consistent connection of the down payment with the Holy Spirit. In Paul’s mind, the Spirit is the down payment or deposit which guarantees their future. The Holy Spirit is the first installment of a total amount. This installment both creates the contractual obligation and guarantees its fulfillment.

Returning to our text you can see why virtually all scholars believe that the phrase “the down payment of the Spirit” means that the Spirit is the down payment or the guarantee. The Holy Spirit is the first part of the redemption—which will culminate even in the redemption of our bodies so that they become spiritual bodies or glorified bodies.

Application on the Other Side: How Then Shall We Live?

Christian do you see God as the great Guarantor of your future. Do you believe He is at work in your life? Specifically, do you believe that He is working all things together for your good? The promise that God is right now working all things together for your future good in glory is grounded in what He has already done. The fact that God is for us has been supremely demonstrated in the gospel. It was also demonstrated in the past in that when you were united to Christ you became part of Christ’s people—which means you have God’s stamp of ownership and authenticity by virtue of the gift of the Holy Spirit as the deposit that guarantees your future inheritance.

Application #1: Anointed Applies to All Christians. Use the word “anointed” the right way. Don’t limit it only to a few!

The word “anointed” tends to be used today concerning preaching. We say that was an “anointed” sermon, by which we mean a sermon that was marked by the presence and power of the Spirit. If that kind of thing happens enough times, we may even say, “that is an anointed preacher.” But the good news is that this word does not only apply to preachers like Pastor John Piper—who is an anointed preacher.

It applies to all Christians. All Christians have been marked out by God to belong to the people of God. They become his anointed people through the Anointed One. 1 John says that this anointing means something to our present day situation. True Christians do not fall away in the face of false teaching because they have God’s anointing.

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.—1 John 2:18–21

And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.—1 John 2:25–27

Christian, you have what Piper used to call a “theological sniffer” because of the Holy Spirit. You can sniff out error before you can explain why something is wrong. You can hear someone twist some doctrine and say, “Sniff, sniff, something stinks. That just does not smell right. I don’t know what it is, but it just does not sit right.”

That sniffer from the Spirit is part of the promise of the new covenant. That is what John means when he says “you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.” 

Remember part of the new covenant promise in Jeremiah 31:34 was knowledge?

And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD (Jeremiah 31:34).

Application #2: The Holy Spirit is for All Christians. Don’t be scared of the Spirit or the Spirit is a gift only for some with sensational spiritual gifts.

Some people ignore the Spirit because they think of certain gifts of the Spirit that seem mysterious or a little spooky to them like speaking in tongues or miracles or the like. These people can sometimes wonder if they have the Spirit at all if they can’t do sensational things or if they are not Pentecostal enough?

Remember back to the sermon on spiritual gifts. I argued that spiritual gifts are manifestations of the Spirit—that is, manifestations of God’s presence. Think of the Holy Spirit as a present empowering presence of God in the heart. Think of the Holy Spirit from this text as a promise—a pledge—a guarantee that God is going to keep you. God does not default on his deals. He is faithful. He will complete what He starts.

Application #3: All Christians should feel the courage that comes from God’s confirmation and commission.

God is currently standing behind his promises as the guarantor of their future life together. The identity of a Christian community cannot be defined only by God’s past action, but in the present path He has us on, which is moving towards our guaranteed future. He is for us and He has a place for us—and He is preparing us for it even now. The clearest way that Paul addresses this present and future work is by focusing on a deposit that God has already made in our account: the giving of the Spirit.

You bear God’s own seal—his stamp of ownership and authenticity. You are a marked man or woman if you a child of God in Christ. The seal is like a target on your back. The Bible says many times that we should not be surprised if the world hates us. Satan hates that we are sealed. It means that you will experience Satan’s rage in one form or another. “The Prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him, his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, one little word shall fell him.”

His seal also means we bear his name. We must remember that we represent him in the world. What we say, what we do—we are commissioned because we are confirmed and anointed and we bear his seal and guarantee.

Bearing God’s seal ultimately reminds us that who we are fundamentally comes down to whose we are. We belong to him. As the song Day by Day says, “The protection of His child and treasure is a charge that on Himself He laid.”

What promises are ours in Christ! I read the story recently of two young girls who were talking, and one said she had ten pennies. The other girl looked at her hand and only saw five. She said, “You only have five pennies.” The first girl replied, “I have five, and my father told me he would give me five more tonight. So I have 10.” She understood that her father’s promise was as good as done (From Linda Belleville’s commentary on 2 Corinthians).

This Christian community stays together only because God’s promises are true. Did you hear that? God will not one day be on his throne—he is on His throne right now. Therefore, his promises will not only someday be true—they are true now. That confirmation becomes our courage.

Conclusion

So-Called Same Sex Marriage and Other Troubling Cultural Trends

And we need courage right now given the recent development of the vote for the so-called same-sex marriage bill in Minnesota. The April issue of World magazine has the picture of a rainbow train rolling down the tracks with a full head of steam and many are jumping out of the way (including those in the robes of clergy) and only a few brave souls are trying to stand against it. The caption says, “The runaway train to redefine marriage.” Probably all attempts to distinguish between legal same sex marriage and religious same sex marriage. A day may come in which refusing to perform a same-sex wedding will bring the charge of discrimination and government intervention.

We cannot only limit ourselves to our Antioch moment discussions—there is a world out there that we must interact with as well. Our community is related to our world because they will know us by our love. We invite people to a Wednesday night prayer gathering for our Antioch Moment on May 29, 6:30–7:30pm. We also want to help you think through the issues we face in our culture as it relates to so-called same sex marriage. On June 2, 7–8:30pm, we will have a panel here on Sunday night to discuss all the particulars of this issue. Look for more information to come.

We can stand against the ungodly currents of culture only because we are rooted and grounded by God’s “Yes” in the gospel and God’s ongoing strengthening of the church through the Spirit. The Spirit gives reinforcing strength to God’s gospel “Yes” in our hearts so that we can stand against all the “NO's” around us in our world. God’s Yes in the gospel and God’s strength through the Spirit are enough for us to overcome the world. In fact, God is able to take all the “NO's” around us and make a grand mosaic in which all the NO’s spell out one big eternal “YES.” He is working all things (even the NO’s) for our good—they are part of the Yes. He has pledged that he will protect his children—we will make it to the great day in which there are no more “No’s.” Not one of his children will be missing on that great day because of his great power.

Closing Song: "The Stand"

Discussion Questions

• What is the relationship between God’s present work of “establishing” and his past work of anointing, sealing, and giving the Spirit as a down payment?
• What does it mean to be “anointed” and “sealed”? How do those terms apply to you in a personal way? (Try to go beyond the level of theological language to what it means in personal experience.)
• How does God’s “Yes” arm the Christian when he or she comes against culture’s “No”?