us with the Holy Spirit (v. 13), which in itself is the first installment of our inheritance. It is not only a hope of the future; we have begun already to live in our inheritance. Look back at the verbs in this text. They are almost all past or perfect tense, that is, these actions and gifts of God have happened. This is what C. H. Dodd meant a half-century ago when he coined the phrase “realized eschatology.” For Christians the future has already begun. The broad sweep of the passage is also apparent