The Word Says:
“But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”
Verse Thoughts:
This verse is the opposite argument to what “is seen is not hope.” The two elements of hope (future hope and certainty) correspond to two dimensions of our attitude.
Hope is something that we do not now see. If hope is already realized, it is no longer hope but a reality that is reached already.
Since our hope involves certainty, we eagerly expect what God is going to do for us in the future. By this we wait during the delay. Believers endure this interim struggle because we are sure of what lies ahead of us. The realization of the glorification of the believer is still future, albeit certain. What makes it certain is its content. We obtain our hope from God’s promise in His Word. He promises the return of Christ, the resurrection of the body, and our gathering to Him in glorification. Since God cannot lie, we can count on His Word.
Hope expects something better than present circumstances. It is something that is anticipated with delight; it is no passive endurance.
There is a difference between faith and hope. Faith brings promise into the present; hope accepts a future promise. Faith precedes hope and is the basis for our hope. Faith has promise as its present object, whereas hope regards the promise as future. Christians hope for eternal life because God made a promise to give it to us. Believing the promise produces expectation of result. Hope carries the idea of certainty of God fulfilling the promise; faith looks to the promise as a present possession. Believers “rejoice in the glory of God.” We have “the full assurance of hope.”