Our Sure Hope and Expectations

Copyright 2020 by Floyd Knight. All rights reserve. See last slide for usage The Hope of the Resurrection And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died* so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. 1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-14 (NLT) We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died* will rise from their graves. 1 THESSALONIANS 4:15-16 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. 1 THESSALONIANS 4:17-18 It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us. 2 CORINTHIANS 1:21-22 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own* by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him. EPHESIANS 1:12-13 1 THESSALONIANS 4:17-18 Three Ways of Knowing We Are Saved I. Objective Knowledge and Assurance in God’s Word, Way, and Character II. Observational Knowledge of Spiritual Growth III.Relational Knowledge of God We base our hope (trust, confidence, sure expectations) in item #1 alone. Items #2 and #3 are more like icing, toppings, or sprinkles on our cake or ice cream cone. MANSER (2021) STUDENT’S DICTIONARY OF SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS Synonyms of Hope • Ambition • Aspiration • Desire • Dream • Expectation • Goal • Intention • Plan OXFORD DICTIONARY HOPE, n. 1 1. a. Expectation of something desired; desire combined with expectation. c1200—1868 d. Personified; esp. as one of the three heavenly Graces. (1 Cor. 13:13.) 2. Feeling of trust or confidence. Obsolete except as biblical archaism, with mixture of sense 1. c1000—1867 3. Expectation (without implication of desire, or of a thing not desired); prospect. Obsolete. c1400—1535 4. transferred. a. Ground of hope; promise. c1480—1971 b. A person or thing that gives hope or promise for the future, or in which hopes are centered. Also: spec. a son and heir. a1225—1931 c. An object of hope; that which is hoped for. a1382—1816 INTENTION/AIM/HOPE/DESIRE/GOAL/TARGET/ASPIRATIONS VERSUS RESULTS OR ACTUALITY Conceptual Metaphor: Shooting a Bow and Arrow at As a human, my desires, hopes, aims, goals, intentions, and plans may not result in hitting the target. I may undershoot, overshoot, miss left or miss right, or miss the target all together. My hope and desire have no future guarantee of success. However, God is God. What God says is guaranteed by God Himself to Result in What God Has Predestined and Ordained. OXFORD DICTIONARY HOPE, n. 1 1. a. Expectation of something desired; desire combined with expectation. c1200—1868 d. Personified; esp. as one of the three heavenly Graces. (1 Cor. 13:13.) 2. Feeling of trust or confidence. Obsolete except as biblical archaism, with mixture of sense 1. c1000—1867 3. Expectation (without implication of desire, or of a thing not desired); prospect. Obsolete. c1400—1535 4. transferred. a. Ground of hope; promise. c1480—1971 b. A person or thing that gives hope or promise for the future, or in which hopes are centered. Also: spec. a son and heir. a1225—1931 c. An object of hope; that which is hoped for. a1382—1816 1 THESSALONIANS 4:17-18  Hope, as used in the Bible and especially in the Gospels, is not to be defined as a synonym for wish or desire. It is better defined as trust, confidence, or sure expectation.  When we work 80 hours; we expect to get paid for 80 hours, not 2 hours, 8 hours, 20 hours, or 79.5 hours. We don’t wish for 80 hours of pay, and we aren’t glad or filled with joy when we get less than 80 hours of pay. No! We have an expectation grounded in reality. We don’t wish to get paid for 80 hours. We trust that, we have confidence that, we expect that we will get paid for 80 hours.  Here is another example of the different meaning of hope: We may have hoped or wished or desired to receive a new BMW M8 as a gift although your parents may have gifted you a pre-driven Chevy Cruse. That new BMW M8 is a wish, a desire, a dream, and a hope! However, when you yourself have paid for a brand new BMW M8, you don’t wish or desire to receive a new BMW. There is no mere wishing or hope. You have a sure expectation that the Dealer will tranfer to you a BMW M8.  We have the same concepts when it comes to insurance. We don’t hope or wish our spouse or children will get the proceeds from our life insurance policies when we die. No, we expect it to happen because we paid the premium and it’s guaranteed.  This is how we should view our salvation, sanctification, and transformation. We expect it because God has guaranteed it by God’s Word/Promise, Character, and nature. If we do what God has told us to do (John 3:16ff; Rom. 3, 6, and 10; etc.), then we can have assurance that God will do what God said He would do. It’s guaranteed; it’s what is expected—not wished or desired only! Three Ways of Knowing We Are Saved I. Objective Knowledge and Assurance in God’s Word, Way, and Character II. Observational Knowledge of Spiritual Growth III.Relational Knowledge of God We base our hope (trust, confidence, sure expectations) in item #1 alone. Items #2 and #3 are more like icing, toppings, or sprinkles on our cake or ice cream cone. Grape vines produces mature grapes one year after they are planted. Apple trees take two to five years. Macadamia nut trees start producing after five years and take 12 to 15 years to reach full production. We can not judge the growth of an apple or macadamia tree by the standards we expect for a grapevine or vice versa. Each tree and each plant has a different maturation process or schedule. The same can be said of individuals and the sanctification process or growth towards being Christ-like. (See C. S. Lewis’ “Nice People or New Men [Humans]” in Mere Christianity, pp. 207-217.) Three Ways of Knowing We Are Saved I. Objective Knowledge and Assurance in God’s Word, Way, and Character II. Observational Knowledge of Spiritual Growth III.Relational Knowledge of God We base our hope (trust, confidence, sure expectations) in item #1 alone. Items #2 and #3 are more like icing, toppings, or sprinkles on our cake or ice cream cone. There is a difference between toddlers’ love for their parents versus adult children’s love and appreciation for their parents. Young children rarely imagine loving another person more than their mother or father or leaving them to start their own family. There is a difference between love as a feeling and love as a commitment that has greater depth forged over years of living as a couple that goes beyond feelings and infatuation. Mature Christians should have relational knowledge and love for God that new Christians don’t. This greater maturational and relational joy and intimacy should be seen by others. Three Ways of Knowing We Are Saved I. Objective Knowledge and Assurance in God’s Word, Way, and Character II. Observational Knowledge of Spiritual Growth III.Relational Knowledge of God We base our hope (expectations) in item #1 alone. Items #2 and #3 are more like icing, toppings, or sprinkles on our cake or ice cream cone. Copyright 2020 by Floyd Knight. All Rights Reserved. Individuals are free to use and share this presentation for private consumption. All commercial usage is prohibited.