Hope
Hi, this is Brother Scott with another Truth Time, Look in the Book.I'm going to take a break from my Bible Keywords and Meanings A-Z series to submit this Bible study on hope.My prayer is that it encourages you and helps to reinforce what it means to be in Christ while we are living in this fallen world of pain and suffering.Okay, let's get started.2 Corinthians 5:8, We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.The moment we die, we will find ourselves absent from our physical body and in the presence of Christ.Our hope?There is no gap, no darkness, no wandering.The believer steps out of this life and immediately into the presence of Christ himself.2 Corinthians 1:21-23, For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor, yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a straight betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better.Our hope?Death is actually gain, not loss.Paul doesn't soften the language.Being with Christ is far better than the best this life can offer.Death is not defeat.Defeat, it is promotion.1 Corinthians 15:51-55, Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption. And this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?Our hope?We will be raised in glory.This is not symbolic, it is literal.Bodily, glorious, and victorious.Death loses.Christ wins.And we share in that victory.2 Corinthians 5:1, For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, and a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.Our hope?We have a heavenly home already prepared.Your future home is not under construction, it already exists, eternal and secure.1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.Our hope? We will forever be with the Lord.Eternity is not floating around or wandering or uncertainty, and there is no purgatory.It is ever to be with the Lord.Paul says this truth is meant to bring comfort right now.1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.Our hope?Our future is glory, not wrath.The believer's future is not judgment for sin, it is salvation, deliverance, and life with Christ.Romans 8:18, For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.Our hope? Our suffering is temporary.The glory is eternal.Whatever this life brings, pain, loss, hardship, suffering, cannot even be placed on the same scale as the glory that awaits.Romans 8:38-39, For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.Our hope?Nothing can separate us from God's love, not even death can break the bond God himself established in Christ.1 Thessalonians 4:13, But I would not have you to be ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep that ye sorrow not even as others whichhave no hope.Our hope?We grieve but not as those who have no hope.God never tells us not to grieve, he tells us not to grieve as those who have no hope.Our sorrow is real, but it is not hopeless.2 Timothy 1:10, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our SaviorJesus Christ who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Our hope?Christ abolished death.Death is no longer the terrifying unknown.Christ exposed it, defeated it, and replaced it with immortality.1 Corinthians 15:22, For as in Adam all die. Even so in Christ shall all be made alive.Some cite this verse as proof of universal salvation, but it speaks of the two realms all of humanity belong to.The two realms are, those in Adam.They represent the fallen nature and spiritual death inherited through the first man.And those in Christ. They represent the new creation and spiritual life attained through faith in Jesus Christ.Our hope is rooted in identity, not performance.In Christ is life, resurrection, immortality, and the glorious body which will be changed to be like Christ's.Philippians 3:20 to 21, For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.1 Corinthians 15:49, And as we have born the image of the earthy, we shall also bare the image of the heavenly. This is breathtaking when you slow down and let us sink in.Let me repeat that.And as we have born the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.We currently bear Adam's image, weakness, aging, sickness, corruption, mortality.Our hope, we shall bear Christ's image, glory, power, immortality, and incorruption. Paul doesn't say might, he says shall. This is guaranteed, irreversible, and anchored in Christ's resurrection.It means your future body will match Christ's resurrection body. Your future existence will match his heavenly realm. Your future glory will reflect his own. This is not vague comfort, it's concrete, doctrinal, and deeply personal. Here is how these two stories strengthen hope about death. Together they tell a story. In this life, we bear Adam's image.In the life to come, we will bear Christ's image. In this life, we experience death.In the life to come, we will be made alive. In this life, we live in weakness. In the life to come, we will be raised in power. In this life, we are corruptible. In the life to come, we will be incorruptible. In this life, we are earthly. In the life to come, we will be heavenly. This is why Paul can say, we shall be changed, 1 Corinthians 15:52.Death is swallowed up in victory, 1 Corinthians 15:54. So shall we ever be with the Lord, 1 Thessalonians 4:17. These are not just poetic metaphors. No, they are promises tied to Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Hallelujah! My prayer is that this Bible study gives you hope while living in this fallen world with so much pain and suffering we see all around us, and we experience ourselves at times.Okay, that will do it for now. Like the noble Bereans did with Paul's messages, I urge you to search the scriptures to see if what I am teaching is true.You can find that in Acts 17:10-11.11. Also, prove all things, 1 Thessalonians 5:21. And finally, please do not place confidence in what I say, Psalm 118:8-9.This is Brother Scott with another Truth Time, Look in the book.
