The Holy Spirit of Promise

I politely state that you misinterpret Ephesians 1:12-14.

This passage is not speaking of man’s relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. It is Paul’s exhortation on the principle of the holy Spirit of promise. And perhaps you unconsciously recognized that, since your post bears that title.

Also, wherein the passage in Ephesians uses the word “earnest”, that word is not signifying a downpayment. The notion of the holy Spirit of promise being a “downpayment” is perpetuated from the incorrect theology of Calvinism with regard to that Faith’s false doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints. The original Greek for “earnest” is ἀρραβών (arrabon), which is a highly nuanced term for a “pledge”. Even many scholars miss the nuance and therefore apply the wrong interpretation. However, it must be understood that Paul was not speaking of earthly things and so he did not intend the connotation of this term to be one that might be appropriate in the business world, but was incorrect in the spiritual realm. The King James translators well-understood the high nuance of the term and therefore provide the English rendering “earnest”.

The term “earnest”, particularly here, means “the intense conviction”. In other words, the holy Spirit of promise is the intense conviction – conveyed through the Spirit – that if a person faithfully endures to the end, then whatever thing the Spirit is “promising” will become the eternal possession of that faithful saint. This principle is often – though erroneously – applied in connection with the LDS theology regarding the doctrines of salvation and eternal marriage. I say that this principle is erroneously applied because LDS theology often describes the holy Spirit of promise as a “guarantee” of these things (much as you have done here) – which guarantee has been manifested by the Holy Ghost while a person is yet in the flesh.

This is an incorrect application of the principle since Jesus clearly taught the doctrine of enduring to the end (see Matthew 10:22 and 24:13; Mark 13:13; Doctrine and Covenants 18:22). Both personal salvation and eternal marriage are only “possible”; but not necessarily “probable”; and most certainly not “assured”, until one has faithfully completed their life on earth and passed into the next life.

Enduring to the end is a doctrine. The holy Spirit of promise is a principle. And the doctrine cannot be supplanted by a principle. Therefore, the error lies in the incorrect notion that the holy Spirit of promise provides an “unconditional” guarantee of the thing it is witnessing (calling and election, aka: personal salvation; and eternal marriage being the two most commonly considered theological themes in connection with the principle of the holy Spirit of promise). The mistake comes from the misunderstanding that the holy Spirit of promise is an “unconditional” signification (an assurance), rather than correctly understanding it as an “earnest conviction”.

Indeed, you make this same error in your summary by stating: “The Holy Ghost assures us that we will receive the promised blessings”. As noted above, the holy Spirit of promise – the object of Paul’s exhortation – does not assure the reception of anything. It provides an intense (though conditional) conviction that the thing is within our grasp according to our trajectory. Be cautioned that trajectories can change. Peter denied knowing Christ, Thomas doubted the veracity of his companion’s witness; and though these Apostles changed their erroneous trajectories back toward safe waters, Judas betrayed the living Christ. So, the holy Spirit of promise is not an unconditional assurance.

Additionally, I politely point out that you err in the statement that the “the influence of the Holy Ghost [is] God’s seal of approval: an assurance that I’m moving in the right direction and that He is pleased with my trajectory.” While this CAN be the case, it is not ALWAYS the case. Much of LDS theology has been watered down by incorrect “-ism’s” that are too-often superlative in nature; and therefore create incorrect notions of absolutism.

Often the influence of the Holy Ghost is not a “seal of approval” but rather a corrective manifestation of “disapproval”. In fact, one role of the Holy Ghost is to warn. That warning influence most often comes when a person is heading in the WRONG direction. Whether a person chooses to heed the Spirit’s warning determines whether the outcome is positive or negative. Certainly every Latter-day Saint has, at various times, lamented that they “should have listened to the warning of the Spirit”. This common experience is evidence of what I’m demonstrating.

Please don’t take offense at my corrections. I offer them in the hope that they will be received with an attitude of graciousness and a desire to improve. It’s important to be careful when writing about doctrinal themes. It’s vitally important to ensure that the theology one shares is absolutely correct when posting doctrinally themed text in view of the entire world, via the internet. As an LDS theologian I occasionally act on opportunities to share correct theology and doctrine in the attitude of advancing truth for the common good. I felt that this was one such opportunity that might have merit.

One final note:

Obtaining the correct exegesis of the phrase “in earnest of our inheritance” is difficult. A great many modern Biblical scholars miss it. But there are also those who do not. Those who don’t are trained in more than just linguistics. They understand how Paul spoke and have studied his personal use of language devices, which provides invaluable context. I certainly don’t expect that you have been trained in these things, so please don’t take my correction here as an insult. I provide the correction as a teacher who desires the success of others.