Jottings

Amongst Dictionary meanings of Hope is the following:

"A desire of some good accompanied with expectation of obtaining it, or the recognition of better thing's in store, accompanied with all due effort to gain them."

God is called "the God of hope":

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15.18).

The Lord is called our Hope:

"Christ Jesus our Hope " (1 Timothy 1.1). He is also the Hope of glory:

"Christ in you, the Hope of glory" (Colossians 1.27).

Hope finds its base in God's love and this we are told has been "shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us" (Romans 5.5).

God's hope in creation on this earth is stated in Romans 8.19-21

"For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God."

What an unfolding of the divine mind is contained in these few verses! When Adam, who was earth's over-lord sinned and fell all animated creation fell with him. Man's life in this world became vanity and God subjected all animated creation to vanity, though with the exception of the serpent, it had done no evil. This subjection of creation to vanity was in hope, that is God's hope, that the time would come when it would be delivered from the bondage of corruption into which it was brought through man's sin. Most of animal life is not simply born to die, but to be killed The law of the jungle and the forest is one of tooth and claw. The weaker animals spend their days and nights in fear of the killers. In this orgy of killing, men the hunters have shared a large and gory part winch they call sport. Most of the (clean) domesticated animals are finally slaughtered Thus the vain struggle of existence goes on century after century. Was this God's original purpose? We answer No. God had a good day in view. The time of the coming of the Son of Man was in view, One who would recover what Adam lost through sin; He who is the second Man and the last Adam.

In Him the words of Psalm 8. 4-S will have fulfilment. "What is man? in verse 4 does not refer to the Lord. The word for " man" here is the Hebrew word Enosh, which means frail moral (dying) man. The Lord was not an Enosh, a mortal man, though He died. He died because He willed to die, that is, to lay down His life, as John 10.17, ~8 clearly shows. Men killed Him when He allowed them so to do.

The Lord is the Son of Man (Adam) the Representative of the human race and the Heir to all the good which was lost in Adam. All things are put under His feet:

" All sheep and oxen,

Yea, and the beasts of the field;

The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea,

Whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

All this animated creation is awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God, and then it shall be delivered into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. This great change is indicated in Isaiah 11. 6-9; 65.25.

Saints have their part in the common groan of creation, such as have the firstfruits of the Spirit. We were saved in hope, not by hope; we were saved in a state of hope and we look forward to the day of our redemption, the redemption of our bodies, and then for us the groan will cease for ever. The Spirit also helps us in our present distresses, for He " maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8.26). The Spirit groans, we groan, and creation groans!

We wait and long and hope.

Hope is expectation, expectation of some future goad. Paul says, Hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth? But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it" (Romans 8.24, 25).

The Scriptures are the foundation of all true hope, of future good and blessedness

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15. 4).

We must therefore first of all believe the Scriptures. Hence the word of Hebrews 11. 1:

" Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for."

Faith comes first in the ways of God with us, for if there is no faith there is no hope.

"Now abideth faith, hope, love, these three ; and the greatest of these is love " (1 Corinthians 13.18).

Some have thought and written of this verse, that the time will come when faith and hope will cease and love alone abide. Is this so? What of the words of Peter concerning us?

"Who through Him (Christ) are believers in God, which raised Him from the dead, and gave Him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God" (1 Peter 1.21).

Shall we ever cease to be believers in God ? I should say never, neither will our faith and hope cease to be in Him.

It is said of the Lord even now in heaven,

"I will put My trust in Him" (God) (Hebrews 2.18).

("Trust" here, in the Greek, is a form of the word Peitho to persuade, from which Pistis, faith, is derived).

If God's saints who stand in grace and rejoice in hope of the glory of God are to have an increase of hope in that glory, Paul outlines how this will be brought about. He says, "Tribulation worketh patience; and patience, probation (or experience, proof, trial); and probation, hope."

It is not in the sunny days of prosperity that hope is the brightest, but in dark days of trial when in the experience of saints they are put to the proof it is then that the lamp of hope shines clearly. The darker the day, the brighter the hope!

The hope of the gospel (Colossians 1.28) is a hope which is laid up for the believer in the heavens (1.5).

The hope of Hebrews 3.6 ; 6.18, 19 ; 7.19 is in the fact that the Lord as our High Priest has entered into heaven to appear before the face of God for us. In the past dispensation the hope of Israel on the day of atonement was in the high priest who entered the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the people's sins or errors. So our High Priest has entered in to make propitiation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2.17), not reconciliation, as in the A.V. This propitiation for the sins of the people should not be confused with that of Romans 3.25, where it is propitiation made at the Cross for the guilty sinner. Note the difference between propitiation made for the people's sin, and that for the ruler or one of the common people, in Leviticus 4. In the one case it was made at the golden altar in the holy place, and in the other at the copper altar.

The hope of Titus 2.18 is not the going-in hope of our High Priest entering into heaven itself, but the coming-out hope of His return.

"Looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ."

The blessed hope is the appearing of the Lord, not two events such as the coming of the Lord to the air and later to the earth. Looking " means awaiting to receive.

We have here in the R.V. a signal proof of the Deity of our Lord; He is described as '"our great God and Saviour". The A.V. wrongly translates as "the great God and our Saviour." God and Saviour both apply to the Lord Jesus Christ.

unknown | Mar 1958
Jottings