Difference between revisions of "Hope"

<p> ''''' hōp ''''' : </p> 1. In the Old Testament <p> In the Revised Version (British and American) the New Testament "hope" represents the noun ἐλπίς , <i> ''''' elpı́s ''''' </i> (52 t), and the verb ἐλπίζω , <i> ''''' elpı́zō ''''' </i> (31 t). King James Version, however, renders the noun in &nbsp; Hebrews 10:23 by "faith," and for the verb gives "trust" in 18 cases (apparently without much system, e.g. in Phil 2 compare &nbsp; Philippians 2:19 and &nbsp; Philippians 2:23; see [[Trust]] ), while in &nbsp;Luke 6:35 it translates ἀπελπίζω , <i> ''''' apelpı́zō ''''' </i> , by "hoping for nothing again" (the Revised Version (British and American) "never despairing"). But in the Old Testament there is no Hebrew word that has the exact force of "expectation of some <i> good </i> thing," so that in the King James Version "hope" (noun and vb.) stands for some 15 Hebrew words, nearly all of which in other places are given other translation (e.g. מבטח , <i> ''''' mibhṭāḥ ''''' </i> , is rendered "hope" in &nbsp;Jeremiah 17:17 , "trust" in &nbsp;Psalm 40:4 , "confidence" in &nbsp;Psalm 65:5 ). the Revised Version (British and American) has attempted to be more systematic and has, for the most part, kept "hope" for the noun תּקוה , <i> ''''' tiḳwāh ''''' </i> , and the verb יחל , <i> ''''' yāḥal ''''' </i> , but complete consistency was not possible (e.g. &nbsp;Proverbs 10:28; &nbsp;Proverbs 11:23; &nbsp;Proverbs 23:18 ). This lack of a specific word for hope has nothing to do with any undervaluation of the virtue among the Hebrews. For the religion of the Old Testament is of all things a religion of hope, centered in God, from whom all deliverance and blessings are confidently expected (&nbsp;Jeremiah 17:17; &nbsp;Joel 3:16; &nbsp;Psalm 31:24; &nbsp;Psalm 33:18 , &nbsp;Psalm 33:22; &nbsp;Psalm 39:7 , etc.). The varieties of this hope arc countless (see Israel , [[Religion]] Of; [[Salvation]] , etc.), but the form most perfected and with fundamental significance for the New Testament is the firm trust that at a time appointed God, in person or through His representative (see Messiah ), will establish a kingdom of righteousness. </p> 2. In the New Testament <p> (1) The proclamation of this coming kingdom of God was the central element in the teaching of Jesus, and the message of its near advent (&nbsp;Mark 1:15 , etc.), with the certainty of admission to it for those who accepted His teaching (&nbsp;Luke 12:32 , etc.), is the substance of His teaching as to hope. This teaching, though, is delivered in the language of One to whom the realities of the next world and of the future are perfectly familiar; the tone is not that of prediction so much as it is that of the statement of obvious facts. In other words, "hope" to Christ is "certainty," and the word "hope" is never on His lips (&nbsp;Luke 6:34 and &nbsp; John 5:45 are naturally not exceptions). For the details see [[Kingdom Of God]]; [[Faith]]; [[Forgiveness]] , etc. And however far He may have taught that the kingdom was present in His lifetime, none the less the full consummation of that kingdom, with Himself as Messiah, was made by Him a matter of the future (see [[Eschatology Of The New Testament]]; Parousia ). </p> <p> (2) Hence, after the ascension the early church was left with an eschatological expectation that was primarily and almost technically the "hope" of the New Testament - "looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (&nbsp;Titus 2:13 ), "unto a living hope ...., unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled,... reserved in heaven for you, who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Pet 13-5; compare &nbsp;Romans 5:2; &nbsp;Romans 8:20-24; &nbsp;2 Corinthians 3:12; &nbsp;Ephesians 1:18-21; &nbsp;Colossians 1:5 , &nbsp;Colossians 1:23 , &nbsp;Colossians 1:17; &nbsp;Titus 1:2; &nbsp;Titus 3:7; &nbsp;1 John 3:2 , &nbsp;1 John 3:3 ). The foundations of this hope were many: ( <i> a </i> ) Primarily, of course, the promises of the Old Testament, which were the basis of Christ's teaching. Such are often quoted at length (&nbsp;Acts 2:16 , etc.), while they underlie countless other passages. These promises are the "anchor of hope" that holds the soul fast (&nbsp;Hebrews 6:18-20 ). In part, then, the earliest Christian expectations coincided with the Jewish, and the "hope of Israel" (&nbsp;Acts 28:20; compare &nbsp;Acts 26:6 , &nbsp;Acts 26:7; &nbsp;Ephesians 2:12 , and especially &nbsp;Romans 11:25-32 ) was a common ground on which Jew and Christian might meet. Still, through the confidence of forgiveness and purification given in the atonement (&nbsp;Hebrews 9:14 , etc.), the Christian felt himself to have a "better hope" (&nbsp;Hebrews 7:19 ), which the Jew could not know. ( <i> b </i> ) Specifically Christian, however, was the pledge given in the resurrection of Christ. This sealed His Messiahship and proved His lordship (&nbsp;Romans 1:4; &nbsp;Ephesians 1:18-20; &nbsp;1 Peter 3:21 , etc.), so sending forth His followers with the certainty of victory. In addition, Christ's resurrection was felt to be the first step in the general resurrection, and hence, a proof that the consummation of all things had begun (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 15:23; compare &nbsp;Acts 23:6; &nbsp;Acts 24:15; &nbsp;Acts 26:6 , &nbsp;Acts 26:7; &nbsp;1 Thessalonians 4:13 , &nbsp;1 Thessalonians 4:14 , etc.). ( <i> c </i> ) But more than all, devotion to Christ produced a religious experience that gave certainty to hope. "Hope putteth not to shame; because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us" (&nbsp;Romans 5:5; compare &nbsp;Romans 8:16 , &nbsp;Romans 8:17; &nbsp;2 Corinthians 1:22; &nbsp;2 Corinthians 5:5; &nbsp;Ephesians 1:14 , etc., and see [[Holy Spirit]] ). Even visible miracles were wrought by the Spirit that were signs of the end (&nbsp;Acts 2:17 ) as well as of the individual's certainty of partaking in the final happiness (&nbsp;Acts 10:47; &nbsp;Acts 19:6 , etc.). </p> <p> (3) Yet, certain though the hope might be, it was not yet attained, and the interim was an opportunity to develop faith, "the substance of the things hoped for" (&nbsp;Hebrews 11:1 ). Indeed, hope is simply faith directed toward the future, and no sharp distinction between faith and hope is attainable. It is easy enough to see how the King James Version felt "confession of our faith" clearer than "confession of our hope" in &nbsp;Hebrews 10:23 , although the rendition of <i> ''''' elpis ''''' </i> by "faith" was arbitrary. So in &nbsp;Romans 8:20-24 , "hope" is scarcely more than "faith" in this specialized aspect. In particular, in &nbsp;Romans 8:24 we have as the most natural translation (compare &nbsp; Ephesians 2:5 , &nbsp;Ephesians 2:8 ), "By hope we were saved" (so the King James Version, the English Revised Version, the American Revised Version margin), only a pedantic insistence on words can find in this any departure from the strictest Pauline theology (compare the essential outlook on the future of the classic example of "saving faith" in &nbsp;Romans 4:18-22 , especially &nbsp;Romans 4:18 ). Still, the combination is unusual, and the Greek may be rendered equally well " <i> For </i> hope we were saved" (" <i> in </i> hope" of the American Standard Revised Version is not so good); i.e. our salvation, in so far as it is past, is but to prepare us for what is to come (compare &nbsp; Ephesians 4:4; &nbsp;1 Peter 1:3 ). But this postponement of the full attainment, through developing faith, gives stedfastness (&nbsp;Romans 8:25; compare &nbsp;1 Thessalonians 1:3; &nbsp;1 Thessalonians 5:8; &nbsp;Hebrews 3:6; &nbsp;Hebrews 6:11 ), which could be gained in no other way. On the other hand this stedfastness, produced by hope, reacts again on hope and increases it (&nbsp;Romans 5:4; &nbsp;Romans 15:4 ). and so on. But no attempt is made in the New Testament to give a catalogue of the "fruits of hope," and, indeed, such lists are inevitably artificial. </p> <p> (4) One passage that deserves special attention is &nbsp;1 Corinthians 13:13 , "Now abideth faith, hope, love, these three." "Abideth" is in contrast to "shall be done away" in &nbsp;1 Corinthians 13:8 , &nbsp;1 Corinthians 13:9 , and the time of the abiding is consequently after the Parousia; i.e. while many gifts are for the present world only, faith, hope and love are eternal and endure in the next world. &nbsp;1 Corinthians 13:1-13 is evidently a very carefully written section, and the permanence of faith and hope cannot be set down to any mere carelessness on Paul's part, but the meaning is not very clear. Probably he felt that the triad of virtues was so essentially a part of the Christian's character that the existence of the individual without them was unthinkable, without trying to define what the object of faith and hope would be in the glorified state. If any answer is to be given, it must be found in the doctrine that even in heaven life will not be static but will have opportunities of unlimited growth. Never will the finite soul be able to dispense entirely with faith, while at each stage the growth into the next can be anticipated through hope. </p> 3. Practical <p> Only adventist bodies can use all the New Testament promises literally, and the translation of the eschatological language into modern practical terms is not always easy. The simplest method is that already well developed in the Fourth Gospel, where the phrase "kingdom of God" is usually replaced by the words "eternal life," i.e. for a temporal relation between this world and the next is substituted a local, so that the accent is laid on the hope that awaits the individual beyond the grave. On the other hand, the cataclysmic imagery of the New Testament may be interpreted in evolutionary form. God, by sending into the world the supernatural power seen in the Christian church, is working for the race as well as for the individual, and has for His whole creation, as well as for individual souls, a goal in store. The individual has for his support the motives of the early church and, in particular, learns through the cross that even his own sins shall not disappoint him of his hope. But both of the above interpretations are needed if religion is fairly to represent the spirit of the New Testament. A pure individualism that looks only beyond the grave for its hope empties the phrase "kingdom of God" of its meaning and tends inevitably to asceticism. And, in contrast, the religion of Jesus cannot be reduced to a mere hope of ethical advance for the present world. A C hristianity that loses a transcendent, eschatological hope ceases to be Christianity. </p>

<p> ( '''''Ἐλπίς''''' ), a term used in [[Scripture]] generally to denote the desire and expectation of some good (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 9:10); specially to denote the assured expectation of salvation, and of all minor blessings included in salvation, for this life and the life to come, through the merits of Christ. </p> <p> '''(1.)''' It is one of the three great elements of Christian life and character (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 13:13). Faith is the root, love the fruit-bearing stem, and hope the heaven-reaching crown of the tree of Christian life. Faith appropriates the grace of God in the facts of salvation; love is the animating spirit of our present Christian life; while hope takes hold of the future as belonging to the Lord, and to those who are his. The kingdom of God, past, present, and future, is thus reflected in faith, love, and hope. Hope is joined to faith and love because spiritual life, though present, is yet not accomplished. It stands in opposition to seeing or possessing (&nbsp;Romans 8:24 sq.; &nbsp;1 John 3:2 sq.); but it is not the mere wish or aspiration for liberation and light which is common to all creation (&nbsp;Romans 8:19-22), nor the mere reception of the doctrine of a future life, which may be found even among the heathen philosophers. It is, beyond these, the assurance that the spiritual life, which dwells in us here, will be prolonged into eternity. Hence, in the scriptures of the N.T., Christians are said to have [[Hope]] rather than ''Hopes'' (&nbsp;Romans 15:4; &nbsp;Romans 15:13; &nbsp;Hebrews 3:6; &nbsp;Hebrews 6:11; &nbsp;Hebrews 6:18). The Holy Spirit imparted to believers is the ground and support of their hope (&nbsp;1 Peter 1:3; &nbsp;Acts 23:6; &nbsp;2 Corinthians 5:5; &nbsp;Romans 8:11; &nbsp;Romans 15:13; &nbsp;Galatians 5:5). Hence the notion of hope appeared first in the disciples in its full force and true nature, ''After'' the resurrection of Christ and the descent of the Holy Ghost. In the test we do not find it with its significance (see &nbsp;Hebrews 7:19). </p> <p> Thus hope is an essential and fundamental element of Christian life, so essential, indeed, that, like faith and love, it can itself designate the essence of [[Christianity]] (&nbsp;1 Peter 3:15; &nbsp;Hebrews 10:23). In it the whole glory of the Christian vocation is centered (&nbsp;Ephesians 1:18; &nbsp;Ephesians 4:4); it is the real object of the propagation of evangelical faith (&nbsp;Titus 1:2; &nbsp;Colossians 1:5; &nbsp;Colossians 1:23), for the most precious possessions of the Christian, the '''''Σωτηρία''''' '''''Ἀπολύτρωσις''''' , '''''Υἱοθεσία''''' , '''''Δικαιοσύνη''''' '','' are, in their fulfillment, the object of his hope (&nbsp;1 Thessalonians 5:8 sq.; &nbsp;Romans 8:23; comp. Ezekiel 1:14; 4:30; &nbsp;Galatians 5:5; &nbsp;2 Timothy 4:8). [[Unbelievers]] are expressly designated as those who are without hope (&nbsp;Ephesians 2:12; &nbsp;1 Thessalonians 4:13), because they are without God in the world, for God is a God of hope (&nbsp;Romans 15:13; &nbsp;1 Peter 1:21). </p> <p> But the actual object of hope is Christ, who is himself called '''''Ἡ''''' '''''Ἐλπίς''''' , not only because in him we place all our dependence (the general sense of '''''Ἐλπίς''''' ), but especially because it is in his second coming that the Christian's hope of glory shall be fulfilled (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:1; &nbsp;Colossians 1:27; &nbsp;Titus 2:13). The fruit of hope is that through it we are enabled patiently and' steadfastly to bear the difficulties and trials of our present existence, and thus the '''''Ὑπομονὴ''''' is a constant accompaniment of the '''''Ἐλπίς''''' , (&nbsp;1 Thessalonians 1:3; &nbsp;Romans 8:25), and even is sometimes put in its place with faith and love (&nbsp;Titus 2:2; compare &nbsp;2 Timothy 3:10; &nbsp;1 Timothy 6:11). As it is the source of the believer's patience in suffering, so it is also the cause of his fidelity and firmness in action, since he knows that his labor "is not in vain in the Lord" (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 15:58). Christianity is the religion of hope, and it is an essential point of its absolute character, for whatever is everlasting and eternal is absolute. To the Christian, as such, it is therefore not time, but eternity; not the present, but the future life, which is the object of his efforts and hope. See Herzog, Real- Encyklop, 6, 195; Krehl, N.T. Handw '''''Ö''''' rterbuch, p. 372. </p> <p> '''(2.)''' "One scriptural mark," says Wesley, "of those who are born of God, is hope. Thus St. Peter, speaking to all the children of God who were then scattered abroad, saith, '''''‘''''' Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope' (&nbsp;1 Peter 1:3) '''''—''''' '''''Ἐλπίδα''''' '''''Ζῶσαν''''' a [[Lively]] or [[Living]] hope, saith the apostle, because there is also a [[Dead]] hope as well as a dead faith; a hope which is not from God, but from the enemy of God and man, as evidently appears by its fruits, for as it is the offspring of pride, so it is the parent of every evil word and work; whereas, every man that hath in him the living hope is '''''‘''''' holy as he that calleth him is holy' '''''—''''' every man that can truly say to his brethren in Christ, '''''‘''''' Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and we shall see him as he is,' '''''‘''''' purifieth himself even as he is pure.' This hope (termed in the [[Epistle]] to the Hebrews, &nbsp;Hebrews 10:22, '''''Πληροφορία''''' '''''Πίστεως''''' , and elsewhere '''''Πληροφορία''''' '''''Ἐλπίδος''''' , &nbsp;Hebrews 6:11; in our translation, '''''‘''''' the full assurance of faith, and the full assurance of hope,' expressions the best which our language could afford, although far weaker than those in the original), as described in Scripture, implies, first, the testimony of our own spirit or conscience that we walk '''''‘''''' in simplicity and godly sincerity;' but, secondly and chiefly, the testimony of the Spirit of God '''''‘''''' bearing witness with' or to '''''‘''''' our spirit that we are the children of God,' '''''‘''''' and if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." The passage, "Thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts" (&nbsp;Psalms 21:9), suggests that hope is an inbred sentiment. [[Considered]] as such, it implies (a) a future state of existence; (b) that progress in blessedness is the law of our being; (c) that the Christian life is adapted to our constitution. See, besides the works above cited, ''Homilist, 5,'' 116; Jay, ''Sermons,'' vol. 2; Tyerman, ''Essay On Christian Hope'' (London 1816, 8vo); Craig, ''Christian Hope'' (London 1820, 18mo); Garbett, ''Sermons,'' 1, 489; Wesley, ''Sermons,'' 1, 157; Liddon, ''Our Lord'S Divinity'' (Bampton Lecture), p. 72, 75; Martensen, ''Dogmatics,'' p. 450 sq.; Pye Smith, ''Christian Theology,'' p. 622 sq.; Pearson, ''On The Creed,'' 1, 24, 401, 460, 501; Fletcher, Works (see Index, vol. 4); Jahrb. deutsch. Theol. 10:694; Bates, Works (see Index in vol. 4); Harless, Systen of Ethics (Clark's Theol. Libr.), p. 174 sq.; Nitzsch, System d. christl. Lehrb, '''''§''''' 209 sq. </p>