(1.) What grace, what gift of the Spirit, is intended by this earnest, some have made inquiry; I suppose to no purpose. It is the Spirit himself, personally considered, that is said to be this earnest, 2 Cor. i. 22. It is God hath given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts: an expression directly answering that of Gal. iv. 6, “God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts;” — that is, the person of the Spirit; for nothing else can be called the Spirit of his Son: and in Eph. i. 14, he hath given the Spirit (ὃς for ὃ); which is that earnest. The Spirit of promise himself is this earnest. In giving us this Spirit he gives us this earnest.