The life of a believer is critically dependent on a single hope. Paul writes, “God willed to make known […] Christ in [us], the hope of glory” (Col. 1:26-27). However, to many people in today’s society, both “hope” and “glory” have been misunderstood. People may hope for a new car or house, success and happiness with friends and family, college acceptances and career promotions; similarly, they may see glory as human accomplishment, the gaining of recognition for one’s own feats. But a believer’s hope and glory are none of these.
A believer’s hope is a hope that cannot be seen (Rom. 8:24). Everything seen is part of the old creation that has already existed. Hope for a genuine believer is not for large church buildings, the truth or ministry preached, charismatic persons, or even miracles of healing or power. Instead, a believer is brought into a hope for a new creation — a new life through Christ that is fulfilled in the mingling together of God and man. The Bible is written for such persons who have been saved and joined together with God in a marital relationship. They are people that have come to the end of their pride and received the mercy and grace of God in each situation. In facing their human struggles, they are secured in this marriage. They are not afraid of losing anything of the world’s treasures. They are only after one hope, which is Christ.
As a wife’s hope is in being the glory of — or expressing — her husband, a believer’s “hope of glory” lies in expressing this very One that is in us. Instead of seeking our own physical glory and adornments in the old creation, we take on an adornment of spirit that is very costly in the sight of God (1 Pet. 3:4). When people come to the church, they see no other glory but Christ’s. Today, we are the church, a new creation, a married woman. Our hope is in His glory and to be the glory of our Husband (1 Cor. 11:7). What is glory if it is not to manifest and express God, to express what we were created for, to have that expression when two become one — Christ and the church!
(Above are notes of fellowship taken from a gathering on 7/3/2024, not reviewed by the speaker.)