Proof of Purchase

In Francis Schaeffer's book "The Finished Work of Christ" , he offers a vivid illustration of what it means to be have the "earnest" of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

He says that "In English law, it used to be the custom that when a portion of land was purchased, the person who was selling the land handed . . . a handful of his soil to the person who was buying it. That handful of soil was the "earnest," or promise, that the whole had been purchased. When you and I are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, this is an earnest of the fact that the whole has been purchased by the blood of the Lamb. The earnest is already ours . . . He is the proof that whole has been purchased."

The redemption transaction begun by God through Christ in believers will certainly be completed in its entirety and we have the receipt to prove it!