Rev. Andrew Kuyvenhoven
"Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." — 2 Corinthians 5:5
Bible Reading
2 CORINTHIANS 5:1-5Devotional
The Spirit here is called a "deposit." In everyday language we would call it a down payment. By making a down payment, we mean to say that we are going to complete the transaction. So when we put money down on, say, a house, we are telling the seller that we are a serious buyer. The down payment is a kind of guarantee that we'll live up to all future obligations.
The Holy Spirit is God's initial fulfillment of all his promises. God is going to give us a new and better life in a new and better body on a new and better earth. That's the extent of his promise. Most of it is still in the future. But one installment has already been paid: the Holy Spirit has come. This down payment is God's guarantee that all the rest is coming.
The Holy Spirit is the connection between this life and the life to come. It is the one gift in the present world that has come from the future world. That's why the Spirit cannot possibly feel at home in the present world. He is "otherworldly." He is constantly at war with the present lords and the present powers. Restlessly the Spirit strives to bring all thoughts and words and actions under the dominion of the Lord of lords, the King of kings.
By the Spirit we have the beginning of the future, and through the Spirit God prepares us for the future. When we finally come to God's new world, it will be a new kind of existence, an existence quite different from what we have now. But whatever we have already received from the Spirit of God goes with us.
For the present we have the treasure of the Spirit in an earthen vessel. That is to say, our whole environment and our whole persons have not yet adopted the tone and color of the kingdom. In fact, sometimes we almost despair of seeing the kingdom become real. But the Spirit himself is the guarantee. God does not stop with the first installment.
REFLECTIONS
How is the Spirit preparing you for the future, when you finally come to God's new world?
Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.
A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.
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