"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." II Timothy 3: 16

 

H   O   P   E

"Everything that is done in the world is done by hope."
  Martin Luther


Shirley, a disciple "...of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ which is our HOPE" (1 Timothy 1:1) to the Saints:

"HOPE-- Elpis (1680) - Noun in the New Testament, "favorable and confident expectation".  It has to do with the unseen and the future.

The numbers in parenthesis are from The New Strong's Exaustive Concordance of the Bible, by James Strong, LL.D., S.T.D. from Thomas Nelson Publishers and is a tool
every preacher/teacher/layman and serious bible student should have in their library.

Romans 8:24-25 "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?" 

"Hope" describes

(a) the happy anticipation of good (the most frequent significance), e.g.,  Titus 1:2 "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;" 1 Peter1:21 "Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God."

(b) the ground upon which "hope" is based, Acts 16:19  "And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers," or  Colossians 1: 26-27 ".... the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

(c) the object upon which the "hope" is fixed, e.g. 1 Timothy1:1

  Acts 23:6 hope and resurrection of the dead

  Acts 26:6 hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: (and the fulfillment of the promise)

  Galatians 5:5 the hope of righteousness

  Colossians 1:23 the hope of the Gospel (promises presented in the Gospel)

  Romans 5:2 hope of the glory of God, as in

  Titus 2:13 the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ

  I Thessalonians 5:8 the hope of salvation

  Ephesians 1:18 the hope of His calling,   Ephesians 4:4 the hope of your calling are objective to be distinguished from Romans15:4, e.g., where the use is subjective.

In the New Testament three adjectives are descriptive of "hope": "good" 2 Thessalonians 2:16; "blessed" Titus 2:13; "living" I Peter I:3. To these may be added Hebrews 7:19 "a better hope" (18) a hope centered in a new priesthood . 

Romans 15:13 God is spoken of as "the God of hope" i.e., He is the author, not the subject of it. 

"Hope" is a factor in salvation, Romans 8:24; it finds its expression in endurance under trial,
(are you going through a trial?) which is the effect of waiting for the coming of Christ,
I Thesalonians.1:3, it is "an anchor of the soul," staying it amidst the storms of this life."

1) HOPE - Elpizo - (1679) -verb- frequently translated to trust in the KJV. John 5:45, , Luke 24:21,
          Matthew 12:21, 2 Corinthians 1:10, 1 Timothy 4:10; 5:5, 6:17and Romans 15:12, 24. 

The verb is followed by three prepositions:
   (1) eis rendered "on" John 5:45; the meaning is really "in" as in I Peter 3:5,"who hoped in God";     the hope is thus said to be directed to and to center in a person,
   (2) epi, "on" Romans 15:12, "On Him shall the Gentiles hope" this expresses the ground upon which "hope" rests, and
   (3) en, "in," I Corinthians 15:19 "we have hoped in Christ," expresses that Christ is not simply the ground upon whom, but the sphere and element in whom the "hope" is placed.

The perfect participle form of the verb stresses the character of those who "hope," more than the action; "hope characterizes them showing what sort of persons they are.
2) proelpizo (4276) "to hope before" Ephesians 1:12
3) apelpizo (560) despair (no hope)"

(Information taken from Vines Complete Expository  Dictionary Of Old and New Testament Words.  W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, William White, Jr., AMG Publishers, Pages 311-312)

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
I Corinthians 3:13

There is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

     Remember what Easter cost Him .... Gethsemane and Calvary!
                                                 Amy Carmichael
HOPE for the Christian is absolute certainty of our future good.  Romans 8:28


Man can live about 40 days without food, 8 days without water, 5 minutes without air,
but only a second without hope.
(Cover statement of Hal Lindsay's "The Terminal Generation" by Fleming Revell Publishers)

   HOPE'S SONG

I hear it singing, singing sweetly,
Softly in an undertone--
Singing as if God had taught it,
"It is better farther on!"

Night and day it sings the same song,
Sings it while I sit alone,
Sings so that the heart may heart it,
"It is better farther on!"

Sits upon the grave and sings it,
Sings it when the heart would groan,
Sings it when the shadows darken,
"It is better farther on!"

    Farther on? Oh, how much farther?
          Count the milestones one by one-
          No, not counting, only trusting,
            "It is better farther on!"
--Unknown

"Be not anxious about to-morrow. Do to-days's duty, fight to-day's temptation, and do not weaken and distract yourself by looking forward to things which you cannot see, and could not understand if you saw them."
--Charles Kingsley

"He growled at morning, noon, and night,
And trouble sought to borrow;
Although today the sky was bright,
He knew 'twould storm tomorrow;
A thought of joy he could not stand,
                   And struggled to resist it;
              Though sunshine dappled all the land
This sorry pessimist it."
--Nixon Waterman


THOUGHTS: "This is our constant hope, that God will so cleanse and purify our hearts that they may not hinder the transmission to others of that light and truth which issue from His presence." Frances Paget

"The Solid Rock"
My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus' name,
On Christ the solid Rock, I stand- All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,  My anchor holds within the veil,
On Christ the solid Rock, I stand- All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,   Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul give way, He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ the solid Rock, I stand- All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found,
Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ the solid Rock, I stand- All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

Great Hymns of the Faith, pg.272
William Bradbury 1816-1868 and Edward Mote 1797-1874
Singspiration, Inc., Zondervan Publishing House
Grand Rapids, MI 49506

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

PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, My hope is built solidly on you, the cornerstone, the Rock which is my hope. Blessed be God the Father who has begotten me, according to His abundant mercy unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Thank you for including me in the house, the building fitly framed together, growing unto an holy temple in the Lord for your habitation. I sanctify the Lord in my heart and am ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh me a reason of the hope that is in me with meekness and fear. Rejoicing in hope; I can be patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. When I see you, I will be like you and because I have this hope my heart is purified. Thank you, Lord, for this gift of hope. Amen
(some paraphrasing mine)    

"The phenomenal power and presence of God are released in a person's life when he learns to personalize the promises of the Scriptures by offering them back to God through prayer."
  Prayers that Prevail: The Believer's Manual of Prayers
                               by Cliff Richards with Lloyd Hilderbrand
                                    Published by Victory House, Tulsa 1990




Thanks.
Blessings, The Biblelady




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© 2002 Shirley Lawless