And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this freedom. For if you already have something, you don't need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don't have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently. Romans 8:23-25 (NLT)

Sometimes when we are attempting to share the gospel with someone, we might ask them if they are saved. A typical response might be, “I hope so!” At that point we have a perfect lead in to tell them about the meaning of biblical hope.

Instead of hope being something we wish for, but is unlikely to happen, biblical hope is a confident expectation that God’s promises will be fulfilled.

Biblical hope enables us to patiently wait for the promise, no matter how long it may take for it to come to pass. Some have described hope as “stretched out” faith. Faith is the basis or ground of hope. Like faith, hope originates in God, who is our source. Paul wrote:

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NLT)

 We expectantly wait (hope) for what we believe (know) to be true.

Faith immediately receives the answer to prayer, knowing that God has already “done” what He promised, even though we do not yet see it. Hope hangs on to that promise for as long as it may take until we see and experience the actual fulfillment.

The resurrection is our hope. We know it’s coming, but we don’t know how long it will be before it arrives.

The future salvation of the body is called glorification, and this is what will happen when believers rise from the dead. We will be instantly transformed into Christ’s image, and our resurrection bodies will radiate His glory.

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer everything, everywhere. Philippians 3:20-21 (NLT) 

The resurrection is the final installment of God’s great salvation.

The first installment is the new birth, whereby we are given a right standing with God, liberation from all that would enslave us, forgiveness of sins, life eternal, the indwelling Holy Spirit, reconciliation to the Father, and the privileges and rights of sonship. The second installment is called sanctification or transformation, which is the day-by-day walking out in our souls of what was given to us through the new birth. This requires our participation in daily grace, faith, and obedience. This is the process of working out our salvation and becoming more and more like Jesus in our thoughts, motives, and behavior. This process will continue until the day of our death. At that point, we will be ready to receive the last installment, the resurrection of the body. The first installment is a past grace. It was accomplished at Calvary. The second installment is a present or daily grace. The last installment, the resurrection, is in the future. Though it will certainly come, we cannot have it now and must patiently wait for it. When the resurrection becomes our experienced reality, salvation will be complete.

But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us. Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed. 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die. 53 For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die. 54 When this happens—when our perishable earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die—then at last the Scriptures will come true: "Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 (NLT) 

The transformation of our souls will be instantly completed when our bodies are transformed, too. Jesus wants us to live today in the tension between looking back to what He has already completed through His death and resurrection and what will be ours in the resurrection. In other words, we must learn to live in past grace, present grace, and future grace.

We must learn to reckon as true what is already done and confidently wait for what yet remains to be done.

This will give us the faith and strength to walk with God today, day after day after day.

What do we hope for? Jesus wants us to live our lives in the hope of receiving a reward at the resurrection. This means we should invest in God’s kingdom by making sacrifices now so that we can have a more glorious resurrection later.

It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25  He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26  He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. Hebrews 11:24-26 (NLT)

Having a future hope in the resurrection gives us a reason to live today.

Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3  And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:2-3 (NLT) 

Hope in the resurrection is one of our most powerful motivations toward godly living. We should ask God to give us transforming hope.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NLT)

 

Questions for Further Study and Discussion

• In your own words, give a working definition of hope.
• Explain why it is important for our life in the present to both look back to what Christ has already accomplished for us through His death and resurrection and to look forward to what will be given to us in the resurrection.
• What practical difference will it make for me today, if I live in the hope of the resurrection?

Click here to see the other articles in this series.