No need to wait
Hello,
There’s a General Election in the air. The government has produced five pledges by which they should be judged before the election. Will they achieve them? Time will tell. The opposition has produced six pledges of what they will do first should they win the election. Will they win the election and implement these pledges? Time will tell.
Interestingly, God makes three pledges to us: that he is faithful in keeping his promises (2 Corinthians 1), we shall receive spiritual bodies at the Second Coming of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5), and we have a glorious inheritance of life forever more in the kingdom of God (Ephesians 1).
Will these pledges come to pass? Well, we don’t need to wait to find out. The Holy Spirit has already been given to us as a pledge: guaranteeing that God is faithful – He ‘has given us the [Holy] Spirit in our hearts as a pledge [like a security deposit to guarantee the fulfillment of His promise of eternal life].’ (2 Corinthians 1:21 AMP); guaranteeing our spiritual bodies – ‘Now He who has made us and prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the [Holy] Spirit as a pledge…’ (2 Corinthians 5:5); and guaranteeing our inheritance – ‘The Spirit is the guarantee [the first installment, the pledge, a foretaste] of our inheritance…’ (Ephesians 1:14).
The commitments of God to us are not like the ‘pie crust’ promises of so many political pledges: easily made, easily broken. Rather, they are sure and certain, guaranteed to us right now through the Holy Spirit.
In Christian love,
Barry.
About the Writer:
Barry Robinson is a Regional Pastor for Southern England, the Midlands and Wales