We all have hopes and dreams. All of us hope our kids find success in their lives. All of us hope that the struggles of our modern world don’t overtake us and send us to the poor house or, worse yet, send us to the funny farm where we’ll lick windows all day and sway back and forth to some unheard song. In each of these instances, the word hope means little more than “wishful thinking”. In this article, I want to talk about hope in a different way. In the Bible, the word “hope” means “confident expectation”. I want to talk about how the Bible uses the word “hope” and what it means to have “hope in the Lord”, as Isaiah 40:31 puts it.
Before I begin, let’s look at how the dictionary defines the word hope. Hope can be used as either a noun or a verb. These definitions come from http://dictionary.reference.com/
NOUN:
1. the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best:
to give up hope.
2.a particular instance of this feeling:
the hope of winning.
3.grounds for this feeling in a particular instance:
There is little or no hope of his recovery.
4.a person or thing in which expectations are centered:
The medicine was her last hope.
5.something that is hoped for:
Her forgiveness is my constant hope.
VERB:
6. to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.
7. to believe, desire or trust:
I hope that my work will be satisfactory.
Definition number 6 is very similar to the way the bible uses the word, as is number 4. What we often do, as we read God’s word, is we read that word “hope” and just skip over it. As we look at this word in the various verses we will discuss, I want to relay to you the idea that God want’s us to understand that the confidence (hope) that we place in Him is in now way a “wishful thinking” sort of hope. Rather, we can be utterly confident that our hope and confidence we place in Him is founded in His eternal and unchanging character.
The original Greek word that is translated as “hope” in the New Testament is “elpis”. The proper translation of that word, according to the HELPS Word study, is “expectation of what is sure (certain).” In other words, the hope that the New Testament is not just wishful thinking. Rather, it is based on a God given faith in Him that He will fulfill what He has promised. Our hope, is, therefore, the embodiment of our faith. Let’s look at Hebrews 11:1 (NASB) and dig into this idea a little deeper.
That word “hoped” is the Greek word “elpizó”, which is a derived from “elpis” and carries the same weight of the conviction that what is “hoped” for is a certainty. It is to be actively awaiting God’s fulfillment of the faith which He has birthed in you through the power of His love. The word translated as “faith” is the Greek word “pistis”, which literally means “to be persuaded”. To expand on the NASB translation, you could read this verse in this way: “Now God has persuaded us that we can be assured that those things he as promised will be delivered”. The reason for our assured hope is because God WILL deliver on his promises. Because that is true, we can believe, even when we cannot SEE the end, yet. This, my friends, is not just wishful thinking.
With this understanding of the way the bible uses the word “hope” let’s look at a few more verses. (These are also all NASB)
Those who have been saved are promised eternal life in Jesus Christ. This is the hope (promise) that Paul refers to here in Romans 8:24. Romans 6:23 explains just what this hope is all about:
What a magnificent promise. Like Paul, we can be absolutely confident in the promise of eternal life. This is our hope and it is found ONLY in Jesus. John talks about our inheritance as a child of God. Specifically, he talks about the transformation that we will undergo and see the fullness of God’s glory at Christ’s return because we will be like Him.
As Christians, we have this hope. We are promised many things as we grow in our understanding and relationship with Christ. Peter talks about being “ready to make a defense”. This chapter is about living a Godly life. If we continue in growing to be more like Christ, Peter says in verse 14, “…even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed.” Another MAGNIFICENT promise upon which we can rely as Christians. Christ is our hope and he lives within us.
These are just a few of the references to the hope of salvation, that is possible through Christ. Our hope is not wishful thinking here. It is an absolute assurance that Christ’s power in us will save us. Paul started his letter to Timothy like this:
Our hope is Christ Jesus. Our salvation is Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus IS the fulfillment of God’s promised salvation. God’s glory appears through the person of Christ Jesus and we will see that glory revealed at his return. This is the hope that Paul refers to in Titus 2:13:
In this short article, I have only shown you a few things that the bible teaches about hope. I would encourage you to seek out all the things the bible teaches regarding our hope in Christ. The word “elpis” (hope) appears 53 times in the New Testament. God wants us to be confident in his promises. He persuades us (give us faith) to believe that He is truthful and because this faith comes from God, we can be completely confident that His promises will be kept. Your hope and mine are based not on any man or man’s ability to fulfill anything. Isn’t that a tremendous truth?