2 Corinthians 1:21-22

The corporate vocal "Amen" draws attention to the unity of believers with one another as well as with God. Paul had developed this idea of sharing with the Corinthians to help them appreciate God’s consistency and his own consistency in harmony with God’s. Now he did so also to stimulate their own consistency in harmony with his and God’s consistency.

God had established them together in Christ. Paul cited three evidences of their spiritual unity. First, they had experienced anointing, as had Christ (the "Anointed One"). This took place when they trusted Christ as their Savior. God poured out the Holy Spirit on them equipping them to serve acceptably to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 12:13; 1 John 2:20; 1 John 2:27).

Second, they had all experienced sealing. A seal in the Roman world signified ownership, authentication, and security. God stamps His own invisible mark on every believer (i.e., the Holy Spirit) and guarantees his or her preservation as God’s child and servant (Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30; cf. John 6:27). Thus the seal of God, in addition to the promise of God, guarantees the believer’s eternal security. [Note: See Eldon Woodcock, "The Seal of the Holy Spirit," Bibliotheca Sacra 155:618 (April-June 1998):139-63.]

Third, they had received the Holy Spirit as a down payment of the inheritance God has promised. The "pledge" was earnest money put down as a deposit that guaranteed the consummation of the contract (cf. Genesis 38:17-18). The Greek word (arrabona) also occurs in the Greek papyri (all kinds of common contemporary non-biblical writings in New Testament Greek) of an engagement ring. Such a pledge guarantees that the marriage will take place. [Note: Tasker, p. 49. See also Barclay, p. 197.]

These three acts of God uniting us in Christ build to an emotional climax and reinforce the solidarity that we believers have with our consistent God.

"We should not overlook the references to the Trinity in 2 Corinthians 1:18-22: (1) the certainty given by God (2 Corinthians 1:18); (2) the centrality found in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:18-20); (3) the certification established by the Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)." [Note: Broomall, p. 1265.]

By way of review, Paul’s point in this section (2 Corinthians 1:15-22) was that Christians normally behave like Christ. Yet we all know Christians who do not behave consistently. Why did Paul think that this appeal would make the Corinthians conclude that he had been consistent? He was not relying on this argument alone but was simply affirming his consistency and proving it consistent with the character of the One who had appointed him as an apostle.

"Paul has been showing how the accusation of insincerity and fickleness is entirely incompatible with the Corinthians’ own personal knowledge of him and his word, as well as with the character of one to whom God has given stability, anointing, sealing, and the earnest of the Spirit. Now he explains why it was that he had found it desirable to make an alteration in his plans: it was to spare them-and the explanation is fortified by a solemn oath." [Note: Hughes, p. 46.]