Hope
Summary
Hope is the confident expectation of future good promised by God, one of the three fundamental Christian virtues alongside faith and love.
☩Definition and Character
Hope in Scripture is the assured expectation of salvation and all blessings included in it, through the merits of Christ. It stands in opposition to seeing or possessing what is already present; rather, it takes hold of the future as belonging to the Lord and to those who are His. Unlike the vague wishes or fears that characterize human hope, Christian hope is directed toward specific promises of God and is sustained by the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is a 'living hope' in contrast to the 'dead hope' that springs from pride and produces evil.
☩Objects of Christian Hope
Christian hope has various objects that all unite in Christ: salvation, eternal life, the glory of God, the resurrection of the dead, and righteousness. Christ Himself is called 'our hope' because in His second coming all Christian expectations shall be fulfilled. The hope is 'laid up in heaven' where Christ dwells, and 'Christ in you' is called 'the hope of glory.' Christians are heirs of salvation in hope, looking for 'the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.'
☩Hope and the Christian Life
Hope is essential to Christian existence—so essential that it can designate the essence of Christianity itself. Unbelievers are expressly designated as 'without hope' because they are 'without God in the world.' Through hope, Christians are enabled patiently and steadfastly to bear trials, for hope produces patience. Hope is joined with faith and love as the three fundamental elements of Christian character. Everyone who has this hope set on Christ 'purifieth himself, even as he is pure.'
☩The Anchor of the Soul
Hope is described as 'an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, entering into that which is within the veil, whither as a forerunner Jesus entered for us.' This beautiful image portrays hope as what secures the believer's life against the storms of existence, anchored in the heavenly sanctuary where Christ has gone before. As blessed is the person whose hope is the Lord—though troubles arise, such a person will not cease to bear fruit.
☩Hope of the Wicked
Scripture also speaks of the hope of the wicked, which is contrasted with the living hope of believers. The hope of the godless shall perish; it is like a spider's web that cannot sustain. Those who place their hope in riches or in anything other than God will be disappointed, for their hope will come to nothing. The expectation of the righteous results in gladness, but the hope of the wicked perishes.
Related Verses130 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Hope," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Hastings (ed.), "Hope," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 3.George Morrish, "Hope," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.Philip Schaff and Johann Herzog (ed.), "HOPE," in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. V (Funk and Wagnalls, 1908–1914).