Romans 8:23-25 “More Hope”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

²³but not only [them], but we ourselves, [the] very ones having the firstfruits of the Spirit, also are groaning in ourselves, ones waiting eagerly for adoption, the redemption of our body. ²⁴For we were saved in this hope, but hope being seen is not hope, for who is hoping for what he is seeing? ²⁵But, if we are hoping for what we are not seeing, we are waiting eagerly through patience.

There are still more thoughts I’d like to record from this passage. First, it’s not surprising that a discussion of hope ends with waiting. Interestingly enough, in Hebrew, their word for hope is the same word for waiting. Anytime you read a passage that says anything about waiting for the Lord, just realize it could have been translated hoping in the Lord, or vice versa. Of course, the original language here in Romans is Greek, not Hebrew, but I would suggest that in any language, you really can’t separate the two logically. If you truly hope for something, you must be waiting for it, and, again, vice versa.

Then, speaking of hope and waiting, one ends up discussing patience. In the New Testament, there are two words which might be translated “patience.” One would be literally our idea of simple “patience,” while the other leans more toward “endurance,” although the two obviously differ little. Here in Rom. 8:25 is the one that leans more to endurance. The last phrase of the verse could be translated, “… we are waiting/hoping eagerly through endurance.” Life in this world certainly calls for a lot of endurance!

Then I was reading the thoughts of a fellow named W.M. Metcalfe regarding that two-sided coin of faith and hope. Based on his thoughts, it occurred to me that faith is, in a sense, what points our boat in the right direction, but it is hope that fills our sails and carries us on. That is the dynamic which was working in David’s life when he wrote, “I would have fainted, except I believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord” (Ps. 27:13,14). In those two little verses, you see it all – faith, hope, waiting, patience, endurance – but note it was hope that was carrying David forward. Someone has said that faith is the mother of hope, yet, I would add that hope is, in fact, the engine that keeps us going.

I also like to think how true it is that “where we’re going” comes down to love, so there you have the blessed triumvirate of “faith, hope, and love.” That also explains why “the greatest of these is love.” Love is the destination, the port for which we sail. Once we arrive there, we leave the ship behind.

Then, as I’ve studied, there were several verses I found encouraging:

I John 3:1-3 – “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! …  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure.” Here is that same “You will, but not yet” dynamic. Children of God “is what we are,” yet “when we see Him,” only then “we shall be like Him.” And what does that hope do for us? “All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure.” Our hope of heaven doesn’t make us lethargic but rather stirs in us that desire to be more like Christ

Rom. 15:13 – “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Notice that He is “the God of hope.” The rest of the world can go on believing He is a mean, vindictive God throwing His lightning bolts at everyone, but you and I know the truth. He is “the God of hope.” If hope is what fills our sails, then our God is our dreams come true! And He doesn’t just want you to have hope, He wants you to overflow with it!

And what was John the Baptist’s cry? “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29). What was John seeing in Jesus? Hope. Hope that this horrific disaster of sin will not last forever, that Jesus is the Messiah who will conquer it all and give us again the wonderful world God created us to enjoy!

Then consider how people without the Lord are described in Eph. 2:12: “Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, … without hope and without God in the world.” “Without hope and without God.” That’s not who we are anymore. We do have God and we do have hope. Even as we groan in this broken world, God help us to remember we get to know You and we get to be people of hope!

Last of all, consider Jesus’ words in John 14:1-3: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” What is Jesus doing in these verses? He’s giving us hope. What He is giving us is a promise. To believe that promise is faith. And what does that faith do for us? It gives us hope. That in turn enables us to be patient, to endure the miseries of this world. And what does that free us to do? It frees us to actually love, to rise above our natural compulsion to be driven by our fears, and instead to simply invest love in the people around us – quite confident our good and gracious God has already secured a glorious future for us!

Hope is a wonderful thing. How great is it to know the God of hope, who wants us to overflow with hope, whose Gospel is “good news,” and would make us people of hope, even as we live out our lives in this broken world!

Hope is a wonderful thing!