Christian hope has to do with
the unseen, the future, and is the assurance,
confidence and sure expectation of the thing
promised. It is a mindset instilled by God into the
hearts of believers by the Word of God, whereby we
"patiently, actively, and with assurance anticipate
the future promised benefits."
People who were "without hope
and without God" (Eph. 2:12) have been given a
glorious hope which is "Christ in you" (Col. 1:27).
"The glorious riches" believers
in Jesus Christ have is the indwelling by Christ
"the hope of glory."
Hope for the Christian is like
an anchor of the soul (Heb. 6:19). We are encouraged
to put on "a helmet, the hope of salvation" (1
Thess. 5:8). A person whose hope of salvation is
fixed on Jesus Christ has the present assurance of
eternal life and can even now glory in tribulation
(Rom. 5:3).
As Christians we are "looking
for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of
the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus
2:13). Our hope is not in this life; we are looking
for "our blessed hope" the glorious appearing of
Christ.
Because we are "in Christ" (2
Cor. 5:17; Eph. 1:4), and Christ is in us (Rom.
8:10; 2 Cor. 13:5) we look forward to the day when
we will share His glory (Col. 3:4; Rom.5:2; 8:18,
30; Gal.5:5; 1 Peter 5:10).
The object of our hope is "the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior
Jesus Christ." He has already appeared to us when He
became flesh (Isa. 9:6; Jn.1:14, 18). He is
Immanuel, "God with us" (Isa. 7:14; 8:8, 10; Jn.
14:9-11). The apostle Paul said great is the
mystery, God manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16;
Phil.2:7).
Jesus Christ has appeared to us
in our hearts and He is being "formed" in us
(Galatians 4:19). The apostle Paul saw himself as a
spiritual mother "in labor until Christ is formed in
you." The word "formed" means "to give outward
expression of one's inward character." Paul is
referring to the inward and real, the necessity of
change in character and conduct. The Holy Spirit is
the agent who acts upon the believer to fashion and
form us from the inside out in the likeness of
Christ (Gal.5:22-23; Rom.8:28-30).
The object of our hope is Jesus
Christ (1 Tim.1:1). He appears in us by the
operation of His grace and transforms us into His
own image. Thomas Watson said, "In the incarnation,
Christ made Himself like us. By sanctification, He
makes us like Him--holy as He is holy . . ."
The greatest mystery of the
ages is the "mystery among the Gentiles, which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). The
secret is that Christ is in you. Christ is enthroned
in the believer. This is the transforming power that
brings holiness into our lives.
A. T. Robertson explains, "It
is the personal experience and presence of Christ in
the individual life of all believers that Paul has
in mind; the indwelling Christ in the heart as in
Ephesians 3:17. He constitutes also the hope of
glory for He is the Shekinah of God. Christ is our
hope now (1 Tim.1:1) and the consummation will come
(Rom.8:18)."
The Jewish Messiah took up
residence in non-Jewish persons. And if that were
not enough the apostle goes on to remind Gentile
readers that the goal of his ministry is to "present
every man complete in Christ" (Col. 1:28).
When our ministry has reached
its end, we will present you finished, complete,
perfect in Christ. This is the reason God called
pastors labor unto weariness over you to the point
of weariness and exhaustion (Col. 1:29). We want to
present you full grown, mature in Christ Jesus.
The hope of our salvation is
that Christ living in you will cause you to be all
that God fully intended you to be from the moment
you were born spiritually (Rom. 8:28-30; 1 Cor.
15:49; Phil. 3:21; Col. 3:10).
Do you ever get excited
thinking about what the finished product will be
like? (1 Jn.3:2) God's original intention in
creating and recreating us is that we will be like
Christ. At the coming of Christ we will finally
attain to that glorious likeness of Him. This is
"our blessed hope." One day we will be like Jesus!
A person who is dead in
trespasses and sins is without hope. However, a
person spiritually regenerated and quickened by the
Holy Spirit is born again to a lively hope. The
object of our hope is eternal life. We are justified
by the grace of God and made an "heir according to
the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:7).
The ground of our hope is the
living Christ. Our hope receives its virtue and
vigor from the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
J. C. Ryle writes eloquently:
"The man who has a good hope founds all his
expectations of pardon and salvation on the
mediation and redeeming work of Jesus the Son of
God. He knows his own sinfulness; he feels that he
is guilty, wicked, and lost by nature: but he sees
forgiveness and peace with God offered freely to him
through faith in Christ. He accepts the offer: he
casts himself with all his sins on Jesus and rests
on Him. Jesus and His atonement on the cross, Jesus
and His righteousness, Jesus and His finished work,
Jesus and His all-prevailing intercession, Jesus and
Jesus only is the foundation of the confidence of
his soul."
Romans 8:24; Colossians 1:27;
Titus 3:7; 2:13; Hebrews 11:1; 1 Peter 1:3; 1
Timothy 4:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:8
1. When a person possesses hope
in Christ he is not ashamed in whatever
circumstances to testify of his living hope. He is
not ashamed to appear before God, or before men, and
will not be ashamed at the coming of Christ (Romans
5:5; Psalm 119:116).
2. When the
Christian seeks those things above, his affection
and desires are weaned off this world and set on the
things of heaven.
3. Hope in
the coming of Jesus Christ carries the believer
through difficult times on this earth so that he can
glory in the tribulation (Romans 5:3-5; 2
Corinthians 4:17-18).
4. Hope of
being with Jesus Christ forever and enjoying eternal
life supports us in the shadow of death (Proverbs
14:32; 1 Corinthians 15:50-58).
5. Hope in
the coming of Christ purifies the believer (1 John
3:3). Everyone who has the hope of the appearing of
Jesus Christ in him and desire to be like Him
"purifies himself even as He is pure." The blood of
Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:6-10; 2
Corinthians 5:21).
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Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB." "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
Bible word studies for sermon preparation, messages, devotions and personal Bible studies with abiding principles and practical applications.
Reports on what God is doing through Bible believing evangelical Christians in Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, India and Ecuador. Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7).
Study the master theme of the Bible with these prophecies and types in the Old Testament of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
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