What Is The Basis Or Guarantee Of Our Hope?
The Death and Resurrection of Christ
1 Pet 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
1 Cor 15:13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Christ's resurrection is the basis of our hope. It is the ultimate proof that Jesus is who he claimed to be and that his teaching is reliable.
The resurrection presupposes, of course, that Christ first died for our sins upon the cross. Given that Christians tend to focus much more on Christ's death than upon his resurrection, it might seem surprising to note that the Bible focusses more on the resurrection as the basis of our hope than upon the cross. At the time when Christ was crucified, the cross seemed like the end of all his followers' hopes and dreams. It was in the resurrection that their hopes were not only restored, but greatly amplified, and God's purpose in the cross was fully revealed.
In Rev 1:5, Christ is described as the 'firstborn from the dead'. This means that his resurrection is seen as part of, and proof of, 'the resurrection of the dead' that will occur at the end of the age, when we also will be raised as Christ was raised. The bodily resurrection of the dead can be a confusing and somewhat incredible topic to some Christians. After we have died and gone to heaven, why would we then want to receive a bodily resurrection and in some way return to the Earth? And although it might seem credible that Jesus was raised after three days in a tomb, it is perhaps not so easy to believe that people will be raised who died hundreds or thousands of years ago. And yet Paul argues emphatically that we cannot have Christ's resurrection without believing in our own bodily resurrection. And so the resurrection of the dead is a topic that Christians must study and try to understand and believe. It is a key part of the Gospel.
Christ in you
Col 1:27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The Holy Spirit in you
2 Cor 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,
22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
2 Cor 5:4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Eph 1:11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession--to the praise of his glory.
God's unfailing love
Psalm 147:11 the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
The whole bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is the story of God's unfailing love for his people, and gives us a basis for putting our hope in God.
1 Pet 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
1 Cor 15:13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Christ's resurrection is the basis of our hope. It is the ultimate proof that Jesus is who he claimed to be and that his teaching is reliable.
The resurrection presupposes, of course, that Christ first died for our sins upon the cross. Given that Christians tend to focus much more on Christ's death than upon his resurrection, it might seem surprising to note that the Bible focusses more on the resurrection as the basis of our hope than upon the cross. At the time when Christ was crucified, the cross seemed like the end of all his followers' hopes and dreams. It was in the resurrection that their hopes were not only restored, but greatly amplified, and God's purpose in the cross was fully revealed.
In Rev 1:5, Christ is described as the 'firstborn from the dead'. This means that his resurrection is seen as part of, and proof of, 'the resurrection of the dead' that will occur at the end of the age, when we also will be raised as Christ was raised. The bodily resurrection of the dead can be a confusing and somewhat incredible topic to some Christians. After we have died and gone to heaven, why would we then want to receive a bodily resurrection and in some way return to the Earth? And although it might seem credible that Jesus was raised after three days in a tomb, it is perhaps not so easy to believe that people will be raised who died hundreds or thousands of years ago. And yet Paul argues emphatically that we cannot have Christ's resurrection without believing in our own bodily resurrection. And so the resurrection of the dead is a topic that Christians must study and try to understand and believe. It is a key part of the Gospel.
Christ in you
Col 1:27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The Holy Spirit in you
2 Cor 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,
22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
2 Cor 5:4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Eph 1:11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession--to the praise of his glory.
God's unfailing love
Psalm 147:11 the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
The whole bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is the story of God's unfailing love for his people, and gives us a basis for putting our hope in God.