Now he that has made us for the same thing is God, who also has given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
All Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 5:5 Go To 2 Corinthians 5
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
Now He that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God. He that wrought, perfected, and formed us, i.e, (1.) He that created us for this eternal life of bliss, is God. (2.) He who by His eternal decree prepared and predestinated us for this same bliss, is God. (3.) Best of all, He who by His grace so forms and prepares the will and understanding of man and his whole nature, and who makes him so live as to be worthy of being beatified with this immortality, is God.
Who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. I.e, as Ambrose says, the Spirit Himself. God has not given us a pledge of gold or of silver, i.e, gold or silver as a pledge, but He has given us His Holy Spirit, inasmuch as He has infused into us His charity, and the virtues of the Spirit of holiness, whereby as sons we cry "Abba, Father," in full trust in God as our Father. For this Spirit is a pledge of our heavenly inheritance of glory laid up for us, and God has given us this Spirit to assure us through Him, as a pledge and earnest, that we shall attain our future inheritance if only we imitate our Father, and call upon Him as sons, and obey Him, and retain inviolate His Spirit as a pledge.
