The Christian’s Hope

Background Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4–5
Lesson Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:14–18; 5:1–9

Introduction

Soft as the voice of an angel,

Breathing a lesson unheard,

Hope with a gentle persuasion,

Whispers her comforting word.1

Hope is indeed a most comforting word. And its antonym, hopeless, must be one of the most despairing. If someone has hope, he is looking toward the future with eager expectation. Hope’s gentle persuasion lights up a life with optimistic hues. Regardless of circumstances, life can be met with a bright and positive face when there is hope.

If someone is hopeless, the future is dark; it holds nothing to reach for with desire. Life’s panorama is painted in dark shades, which is a very pitiable condition.

Job’s life illustrates both extremes. While his trial was at its worst, he said, “My days . . . are spent without hope” (Job 7:6). When it was over, he said with hope’s gentle persuasion, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee” (Job 42:5). He was seeing with the eye of hope that, after all, the Lord is of tender mercy (James 5:11).

Key Verse

According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death (Phil. 1:20).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

Paul, who wrote both letters to the Corinthians, was no stranger to trouble. His life was beset with discomfort, danger, and the constant threat of death. In the letter from which our lesson scripture is taken, he names more than twenty-five troubles, starting with tribulation and affliction at the beginning of the first chapter and continuing through to a tenacious thorn in the flesh toward the end of the letter. Chapter 11 contains a very specific list of incidents, any one of which could have ended his life prematurely, and which, in the least case, brought him suffering. In no other letter does Paul refer to his sufferings more than in 2 Corinthians.

Troubles of this magnitude could have had a devastating effect on Paul’s faith. He could have asked, “Lord, don’t I deserve better than this?” While being perplexed, persecuted, and troubled on every side, he could have said, “I give up. It’s not working. Something must be wrong. God isn’t fair.” He could have given up hope; in fact, he had every earthly reason to do so.

But Paul did not join the ranks of the hopeless; rather, he chose to believe the promises of God. He says that the inward man was being renewed day by day, even as all manner of troubles were causing the outward man, or the physical body, to perish. Even though the word hope is not used in today’s lesson scripture, its essence is contained throughout.

What spurred Paul on in the face of such withering adversity? He knew the secret of the Christian’s hope. Instead of focusing on the abominations of this life, he set his sight upon things unseen, the eternal. Though he earnestly groaned in his spirit under the weight of the bondage of human flesh, his earthly body, in his mind he could see his precious Lord, the one who suffered and died for him, waiting for him in eternity after death.

Furthermore, Paul possessed something from the eternal realm already: the earnest of the Spirit. Earnest here has the meaning of a down payment, or something given in advance as an assurance that the full price agreed upon will be paid. God gives the gift of the Holy Spirit to each of His born-again children as an advance payment toward the great eternal prize; that is, sharing His glory with Him in heaven. When we become converted, eternal life begins for us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But we cannot experience the full joys of heaven and eternity until we shed this earthly body that is mortal and subject to death from the day we are born.

Second Corinthians 4:17 is one of the golden texts of the Bible. Paul was enabled by his living hope to count his persecution as a “light affliction, which is but for a moment.” He could see beyond the distresses of life to the goal where his affliction was taking him—to “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

Practical Truths for Today

To be without hope is a tragic condition. To have a vague, obscure hope is not much better. Many people in the world today hope that if there is a God, He somehow will not be too hard to please and that if they live honestly and uprightly as much as possible, they will be accepted by Him. This is not a living hope.

A living hope is based on the promises of God’s Word and faith in Jesus Christ. Hope is the anchor of the soul. Hebrews 6:18–20 says that we “have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever.”

Hope, as an anchor so steadfast,

Rends the dark veil for the soul

Whither the Master has entered,

Robbing the grave of its goal.2

Jesus, by His death and resurrection, entered within the veil, referring to the veil of the temple which God tore from top to bottom when Jesus died. That veil symbolized the separation between sinful man and the holy God. It barred mankind from entering the Holy of Holies; because of our sinfulness it prevented us from being in communion and fellowship with God. Jesus is our forerunner and as our eternal high priest, He burst the veil of separation to lead us into the inner sanctuary of God’s presence. Now we can freely approach God and commune with Him without an earthly high priest. We can now “come boldly unto the throne of grace” (Heb. 4:16) to have our spiritual needs supplied.

With Christ as the hope of our salvation, our anchor is secure because He conquered death. A living hope and a focus on the eternal are the best approach to facing the challenges of this life. As we keep the vision of our heavenly homeland firmly fixed in our minds, the storms of life cannot set us adrift, and we will not suffer shipwreck.

Troubles almost ’whelm the soul; Griefs like billows o’er me roll;

Tempters seek to lure astray, Storms obscure the light of day:

But in Christ I can be bold, I’ve an anchor that shall hold.3

Questions

1. What is the secret to having our spiritual anchor firmly set?
2. What is an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 17)?
3. What is the meaning of “hope maketh not ashamed” (Rom. 5:5)?
4. What are indicators that we are losing hope, and how can we best help a brother or sister who is showing such signs?
5. 1 “Whispering Hope,” Septimus Winner (1827–1902)
6. 2 Ibid.
7. 3 “My Anchor Holds,” William C. Martin (1864–1914
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Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).