Rejoice in the Hope

Dearly beloved of God, the Lord Jesus Christ gave us the introduction and entrance into the state of God’s divine favor. We now firmly and safely stand in His grace towards us. We do not have to earn this access; it is now ours through the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We now stand in God’s grace, not in our works. We rest in God’s grace; that is why we can exult; we can rejoice in the hope of enjoying the glory of God!

We have gone from being dead in sin to alive before God; from condemned to redeemed; from headed into the wrath of God to saved from the wrath; from enemies of God to beloved sons of God. Our hearts and minds should overflow with thankfulness for the undeserved, divine favor shown us in Christ.

Romans 15:13
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Our God is the God of “the hope.” He provided our hope in Christ. The hope of Christ’s return for the Church is the grand finale of revelation in the book of Romans.

We should abound in the hope. It should govern our stand, our thinking, and our resolve.

If you took a set of scales and put the hope of Christ’s return on one side of the scales, and the daily stuff, junk, and things of life we endure on the other, it should be obvious that our hope of glory in Christ far outweighs the things we endure today.

Understanding the hope will give you the stamina required to stand as a son of God day by day.

II Corinthians 3:18
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass [a mirror] the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

When we confessed Jesus as our Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead we received the spirit from God. The spirit of the Lord, the sonship spirit, removed the veil from our eyes. Now we can see spiritually.

When we are beholding the glory of the Lord, it is like seeing a reflection in a mirror. We are beholding what He created us to be in Christ Jesus.

The spirit of the Lord changed us from being natural men, to men who are filled with the spirit of the Lord. We were “transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord”.

We have the glory of the spirit of the Lord today, and when our Lord returns we will have glorious spiritual bodies like his. We will see him face to face and we will be transformed to be like him. It is truly Christ in you, the hope of glory!

What are you looking at? Are you looking at the world, or at the glorious hope of Christ’s return? If you look at the world, you will faint from its burdens. If you want to be filled with joy and peace in believing keep your eyes on the hope of Christ’s return.

Abound in hope through the power of the holy spirit in you! Abounding in hope cannot hurt you; it can only strengthen you, and keep you joyous and peaceful.

The hope of the Lord's return is the anchor of our soul. It is certain and fixed. As Christ Jesus entered the heavenlies, so shall we when he comes! The glory of the new birth is only the beginning. The fulfillment of the purpose of the ages awaits us.

I Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Keep your eyes on the hope of Christ’s return and press toward the finish line for the prize of the calling on high. We press on with God’s Word, His spirit, our standing in Christ, and our hope of acquiring the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We study, renew our minds to who we are in Christ, believe God’s Word, and live in the reality of God’s love. We are God’s epistle known and read of all men.

It is Christ in you, the hope of glory, dearly beloved! Rejoice in the hope of receiving the glory of God.