2 Corinthians 1:22

ὁ καὶ σφρ. ἡμᾶς κ. τ. λ.: who also sealed us (sc., all Christians), and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. The aorists, σφραγισάμενος … δούς, point to acts completed at a definite moment in the past; and this can only mean the moment of baptism. This, too, is the best explanation of the parallel passages, Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30. The gift of the Holy Spirit is repeatedly mentioned as consequent on baptism (Acts 2:38; Acts 19:6); and the σφραγίς, or “seal” of baptism, is a common image in early Christian literature (e.g., [2 Clem.,] § 8, τηρήσατε … τὴν σφραγῖδα ἄσπιλον). The “seal” of the Church is given by St. Paul (2 Timothy 2:19) as “The Lord knoweth them that are His” (Numbers 16:5), and “Let every one that nameth the Name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness” (Isaiah 52:11; cf. Numbers 16:26; Isaiah 26:13). The ἀρραβών (see an exhaustive note in Pearson, On the Creed, 7), i.e., עֵרָבוֹן, is a first instalment, given in pledge of full payment in due course; see reff. and cf. Romans 8:16, τὸ πνεῦμα συνμαρτυρεῖ τῷ πνεύματι ἡμῶν ὅτι ἐσμὲν τέκνα Θεοῦ : here is the ἀπαρχή τοῦ πνεύματος (Romans 8:23). For the constr. διδόναι ἐν cf. Ezekiel 36:26; John 3:35; Acts 4:12, chap. 2Co 8:1; 2 Corinthians 8:16.