2 Corinthians 1:22

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Simplified Cowboy Version
He branded us as his own by giving us the Holy Spirit to ride with us and in us. The Holy Spirit was the down payment on all the great things he has promised his cowboys.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

Legacy Standard Bible
who also sealed us and gave the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts.

Bible in Basic English
And it is he who has put his stamp on us, even the Spirit, as the sign in our hearts of the coming glory.

Darby Translation
who also has sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Christian Standard Bible®
He has also sealed us and given us the Spirit as a down payment in our hearts.

World English Bible
who also sealed us, and gave us the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Who hath also sealed us, and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Weymouth's New Testament
and He has also set His seal upon us, and has put His Spirit into our hearts as a pledge and foretaste of future blessing.

King James Version (1611)
Who hath also sealed vs, and giuen the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Literal Translation
even He having sealed us, and having given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and sealed us, and geuen the ernest of the sprete in oure hertes.

Mace New Testament (1729)
and mark'd me with his seal, and given me the earnest of the spirit in my heart.

Amplified Bible
it is He who has also put His seal on us [that is, He has appropriated us and certified us as His] and 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].

American Standard Version
who also sealed us, and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Revised Standard Version
he has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
which hath also sealed vs and hath geven the ernest of the sprete into oure hertes.

Update Bible Version
who also sealed us, and gave [us] the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Webster's Bible Translation
Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the spirit in our hearts.

Young's Literal Translation
who also sealed us, and gave the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

New Century Version
He put his mark on us to show that we are his, and he put his Spirit in our hearts to be a guarantee for all he has promised.

New English Translation
who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.

Berean Standard Bible
placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.

Contemporary English Version
and put his Spirit in our hearts to show that we belong only to him.

Complete Jewish Bible
put his seal on us, and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee for the future.

English Standard Version
and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Who hath also sealed vs, and hath giuen the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

George Lamsa Translation
And who has sealed us, and pledged his spirit in our hearts.

Hebrew Names Version
who also sealed us, and gave us the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts.

International Standard Version
who has placed his seal on us and has given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.2 Corinthians 5:5; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 2 Timothy 2:19; Revelation 2:17;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
22 and hath sealed us, and given us the earnest-pledge [fn] of his Spirit in our hearts.

Murdock Translation
and hath sealed us, and hath given the earnest of his Spirit in our hearts.

New King James Version
who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

New Living Translation
and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.

New Life Bible
He has put His mark on us to show we belong to Him. His Spirit is in our hearts to prove this.

English Revised Version
who also sealed us, and gave [us] the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

New Revised Standard
by putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Who also hath sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Who also hath sealed us and given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts.

King James Version
Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Lexham English Bible
who also sealed us and gave the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Which hath also sealed vs, and hath geuen the earnest of the spirite in our heartes.

Easy-to-Read Version
He put his mark on us to show that we are his. Yes, he put his Spirit in our hearts as the first payment that guarantees all that he will give us.

New American Standard Bible
who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

Good News Translation
who has placed his mark of ownership upon us, and who has given us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the guarantee of all that he has in store for us.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and which markide vs, and yaf ernes of the spirit in oure hertis.

Contextual Overview

¹⁵Confident of your welcome, I had originally planned two great visits with you—coming by on my way to Macedonia province, and then again on my return trip. Then we could have had a bon-voyage party as you sent me off to Judea. That was the plan. ¹⁷Are you now going to accuse me of being flip with my promises because it didn't work out? Do you think I talk out of both sides of my mouth—a glib yes one moment, a glib no the next? Well, you're wrong. I try to be as true to my word as God is to his. Our word to you wasn't a careless yes canceled by an indifferent no. How could it be? When Silas and Timothy and I proclaimed the Son of God among you, did you pick up on any yes-and-no, on-again, off-again waffling? Wasn't it a clean, strong Yes? ²⁰Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God's Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete. ²³ Now, are you ready for the real reason I didn't visit you in Corinth? As God is my witness, the only reason I didn't come was to spare you pain. I was being considerate of you, not indifferent, not manipulative. ²⁴ We're not in charge of how you live out the faith, looking over your shoulders, suspiciously critical. We're partners, working alongside you, joyfully expectant. I know that you stand by your own faith, not by ours.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

sealed: John 6:27, Romans 4:11, Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 1:14, Ephesians 4:30, 2 Timothy 2:19, Revelation 2:17, Revelation 7:3, Revelation 9:4

the earnest: 2 Corinthians 5:5, Romans 8:9, Romans 8:14-16, Romans 8:23, Ephesians 1:14

Reciprocal: Exodus 28:41 - anoint them Exodus 30:26 - General Exodus 37:29 - he made Exodus 40:9 - the anointing oil Leviticus 14:18 - the remnant 1 Kings 1:34 - Zadok Song of Solomon 4:10 - the smell Song of Solomon 4:12 - sealed Jeremiah 32:10 - and sealed Ezekiel 9:4 - set a mark Ezekiel 28:12 - Thou sealest Zechariah 3:9 - I will engrave Matthew 25:4 - oil John 4:14 - shall be Romans 5:5 - shed Romans 8:16 - Spirit Galatians 3:14 - might Galatians 4:6 - God 1 Peter 1:8 - full 1 Peter 1:12 - with 1 John 2:20 - ye have 1 John 5:8 - the water Revelation 7:2 - having

Cross-References

Genesis 1:14
God spoke: "Lights! Come out! Shine in Heaven's sky! Separate Day from Night. Mark seasons and days and years, Lights in Heaven's sky to give light to Earth." And there it was.

Genesis 9:1
God blessed Noah and his sons: He said, "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill the Earth! Every living creature—birds, animals, fish—will fall under your spell and be afraid of you. You're responsible for them. All living creatures are yours for food; just as I gave you the plants, now I give you everything else. Except for meat with its lifeblood still in it—don't eat that.

Genesis 30:27
Laban said, "If you please, I have learned through divine inquiry that God has blessed me because of you." He went on, "So name your wages. I'll pay you."

Genesis 35:11
God continued, I am The Strong God. Have children! Flourish! A nation—a whole company of nations!— will come from you. Kings will come from your loins; the land I gave Abraham and Isaac I now give to you, and pass it on to your descendants.

Job 40:15
"Look at the land beast, Behemoth. I created him as well as you. Grazing on grass, docile as a cow— Just look at the strength of his back, the powerful muscles of his belly. His tail sways like a cedar in the wind; his huge legs are like beech trees. His skeleton is made of steel, every bone in his body hard as steel. Most magnificent of all my creatures, but I still lead him around like a lamb! The grass-covered hills serve him meals, while field mice frolic in his shadow. He takes afternoon naps under shade trees, cools himself in the reedy swamps, Lazily cool in the leafy shadows as the breeze moves through the willows. And when the river rages he doesn't budge, stolid and unperturbed even when the Jordan goes wild. But you'd never want him for a pet— you'd never be able to housebreak him!"

Job 42:12
God blessed Job's later life even more than his earlier life. He ended up with fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand teams of oxen, and one thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the first daughter Dove, the second, Cinnamon, and the third, Darkeyes. There was not a woman in that country as beautiful as Job's daughters. Their father treated them as equals with their brothers, providing the same inheritance.

Psalms 128:3
Your wife will bear children as a vine bears grapes, your household lush as a vineyard, The children around your table as fresh and promising as young olive shoots. Stand in awe of God's Yes. Oh, how he blesses the one who fears God !

Proverbs 10:22
God 's blessing makes life rich; nothing we do can improve on God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Who hath also sealed us,.... "Two" things more are here attributed to God; "first", the sealing of his people. The use of seals is various, as to denote property in things, to distinguish one thing from another, to show esteem and affection for persons or things, and for security and protection, and to hide and conceal; all which might be applied to sealing, as expressive of the grace of God to his people, in claiming a property in them, distinguishing them from the rest of the world, setting his affections on them, securing and protecting their persons, and hiding them under the shadow of his wings: but sometimes a seal is used to certify, make sure, or assure the truth of a thing; see John 3:33 in which sense the word "sealing" is used here, and intends that assurance which God gives his people of their interest in his love, and the covenant of grace; of their election of God, and redemption by Christ; of their interest in Christ, and union with him; of their justification by him, and adoption through him; of the truth of grace in their hearts, their perseverance in it, and sure and certain enjoyment of eternal glory. The persons thus sealed are not carnal and unconverted persons, only believers in Christ, and these, after they commence such; the seal by which they are sealed, is not any of the ordinances, as circumcision under the Old Testament, or baptism, or the Lord's supper under the New; for these are no seals, nor are they ever so called; but the Spirit of God himself, as the Holy Spirit of promise; for the same who, in the next clause, is called the earnest, is the seal; see Ephesians 1:13. "Secondly", the giving of the earnest of the Spirit:

and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts: by "the Spirit" is meant, not the gifts and graces of the Spirit merely, but the Spirit of God and Christ himself; who was concerned in the creation of the world, in inditing the Scriptures, in forming and filling the human nature of Christ, and in his resurrection from the dead; he himself is given as an "earnest": the word αρραβων, here used, and in 2 Corinthians 5:5 is the Hebrew word ערבון, and comes from

ערב, which signifies "to become a surety, to give a pledge"; and is used for a pledge in covenants and bargains, both in Scripture, see

Genesis 38:17, and in Jewish writings d; which is given as an earnest, and in part of what it is a pledge of, and is never returned: the Spirit of God is an earnest or pledge of the heavenly inheritance, which is not only prepared for us, and promised to us, and Christ is in the possession of in our nature, in our room and stead, and as our representative; but the Spirit of God also is sent down "into our hearts" as a pledge of it; where he dwells as in his temple, supplies us with all grace, witnesses to us our sonship, and assures us of the heavenly glory: and as such he is "given"; and an unmerited free grace gift he is; for him to be given in this manner, and for such a purpose, is a wonderful display of the love of the Father, and of the Son, and is a surprising instance of his grace and condescension of the Spirit, and for which we should be abundantly thankful.

d Midrash Megillath Esther, fol. 94. 2. Maimon. Hilch. Mechira, c. 7. sect. 1. & c. 11. sect. 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Who hath also sealed us - The word used here (from σφραγίζω sphragizō) means to seal up; to close and make fast with a seal, or signet; as, e. g., books, letters, etc. that they may not be read. It is also used in the sense of setting a mark on anything, or a seal, to denote that it is genuine, authentic, confirmed, or approved, as when a deed, compact, or agreement is sealed. it is thus made sure; and is confirmed or established. Hence, it is applied to persons, as denoting that they are approved, as in Revelation 7:3; “Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads;” compare Ezekiel 9:4; see the note, John 6:27, were it is said of the Saviour, “for him hath God the Father sealed;” compare John 3:33. In a similar manner Christians are said to be sealed; to be sealed by the Holy Spirit Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30; that is, the Holy Spirit is given to them to confirm them as belonging to God. He grants them His Spirit. He renews and sanctifies them. He produces in their hearts those feelings, hopes, and desires which are an evidence that they are approved by God; that they are regarded as his adopted children; that their hope is genuine, and that their redemption and salvation are sure - in the same way as a seal makes a will or an agreement sure. God grants to them His Holy Spirit as the certain pledge that they are His, and shall be approved and saved in the last day. In this there is nothing miraculous, or in the nature of direct revelation. It consists of the ordinary operations of the Spirit on the heart, producing repentance, faith, hope, joy, conformity to God, the love of prayer and praise, and the Christian virtues generally; and these things are the evidences that the Holy Spirit has renewed the heart, and that the Christian is sealed for the day of redemption.

And given the earnest of the Spirit - The word used here (ἀῤῥαβών arrabōn from the Hebrew צרבון ‛arabown means properly a pledge given to ratify a contract; a part of the price, or purchase money; a first payment; that which confirms the bargain, and which is regarded as a pledge that all the price will be paid. The word occurs in the Septuagint and Hebrew, in Genesis 38:17-18; Genesis 38:20. In the New Testament it occurs only in this place, and in 2 Corinthians 5:5, and Ephesians 1:14, in each place in the same connection as applied to the Holy Spirit, and his influences on the heart. It refers to those influences as a pledge of the future glories which await Christians in heaven. In regard to the “earnest,” or the part of a price which was paid in a contract, it may be remarked:

1. That it was of the same nature as the full price, being regarded as a part of it;
2. It was regarded as a pledge or assurance that the full price would be paid. So the “earnest of the Spirit,” denotes that God gives to his people the influences of his Spirit: his operation on the heart as a part or pledge that all the blessings of the covenant of redemption shall be given to them.

And it implies:

(1) That the comforts of the Christian here are of the same nature as they will be in heaven. Heaven will consist of like comforts; of love, and peace, and joy, and purity begun here, and simply expanded there to complete and eternal perfection. The joys of heaven differ only in degree, not in kind, from those of the Christian on earth. That which is begun here is perfected there; and the feelings and views which the Christian has here, if expanded and carried out, would constitute heaven.

(2) These comforts, these influences of the Spirit, are a pledge of heaven. They are the security which God gives us that we shall be saved. If we are brought under the renewing influences of the Spirit here; if we are made meek, and humble, and prayerful by his agency; if we are made to partake of the joys which result from pardoned sin; if we are filled with the hope of heaven, it is all produced by the Holy Spirit, and is a pledge, or earnest of our future inheritance; as the first sheaves of a harvest are a pledge of a harvest; or the first payment under a contract a pledge that all will be payed. God thus gives to his people the assurance that they shall be saved; and by this “pledge” makes their title to eternal life sure.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 22. Who hath also sealed us — Not only deeply impressed His truth and image upon our hearts; but, by the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, attested the truth of our extraordinary unction or calling to the ministry.

And given the earnest of the Spirit — Τον αρραβωνα του Πνευματος. From this unction and sealing we have a clear testimony in our souls, the Divine Spirit dwelling constantly in us, of our acceptance with God, and that our ways please him. The αρραβων of the apostle is the same as the ערבן erabon of Moses, Genesis 38:17; Genesis 38:18; Genesis 38:20, which we there translate pledge. The word properly signifies an earnest of something promised; a part of the price agreed for between a buyer and seller, by giving and receiving of which the bargain was ratified; or a deposit, which was to be restored when the thing promised was given. From the use of the term in Genesis, which the apostle puts here in Greek letters, we may at once see his meaning above, and in Ephesians 1:14; the Holy Spirit being an earnest in the heart, and an earnest of the promised inheritance means a security given in hand for the fulfilment of all God's promises relative to grace and eternal life. We may learn from this, that eternal life will be given in the great day to all who can produce the arrhabon, or pledge. He who is found then with the earnest of God's Spirit in his heart, shall not only be saved from death, but have that eternal life of which it is the pledge, the earnest, and the evidence. Without this arrhabon there can be no glory. See the whole case of Judah and Tamar, Genesis 38:13, &c., and the notes there.