THE HOPE OF THE GLORY OF GOD

To the Roman believers Paul says, ““Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2

What is the hope of His calling?

The HOPE of His calling IS the GLORY OF GOD.

What is Hope? Hope is the confident expectation of future blessing. Hope looks forward to the future fulfillment of the promises of God. Faith looks backward to the record of the past promises that God has fulfilled. And thus, both Hope and Faith give us the confidence to Love in the present. I do believe this is what the apostle meant when he said that, “We are saved by Hope.” So, we rejoice in the present because of the promise of the hope of the glory of God in the future.  This hope keeps us moving forward to the Day when we stand in His presence!

The Glory of God is the prize that the apostle Paul so earnestly sought at the cost of ALL his earthly treasures and accomplishments.

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 3:13, 14  

So, what do we know of this glory of God?

He has not left us without witness.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Gen. 1:1

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Ps. 19:1

The majesty of the sunrise and the sunset; the wonder of life at the birth of all creatures; the beauty and design of a single flower; the immensity of the canopy of stars displayed at the dark of the moon; the fury of the stormy seas; the deafening silence of snow falling; the terror of rumbling thunder and lightning strikes or the earth moving beneath our feet are all the works of His hands that we witness with our own eyes; and are common to all men.

He sent his own Son to walk the earth to redeem His world.

  “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” 2 Cor. 4:6

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. Jn. 1:14

We witness the glory of God with the eyes of faith as we read the historical accounts of the life and work of His Son Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “ The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” Acts 2: 32-35

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. Col. 3: 15-20

“I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,… I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw… someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” Rev. 1: 9-18

“And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousand saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying,   “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

And so our hope is to enjoy the glory of God in His Person, forever.