27 ^qTo them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are ^rthe riches of the glory of ^pthis mystery, which is Christ in you, ^sthe hope of glory.^[1]

Hope is a strange, wonderful and powerful phenomenon. We can’t see it but we can experience its strong influence in our life. It is mysterious, inspiring and challenging. Without hope we would be left, in some cases, without initiative to live…without a vision of the value of life. Hope gives us a certainty in our spirit and an emotional image of the future that enlivens us with the will to go on.

A Home-Grown Definition of HOPE

Hope is the resonance of knowledge certified by the down payment certainty of future reality. It is the part of us that has a genuine taste of something but does not have it yet in its fullness. Hope is willing to wait because it knows that:

Hope believes in the positive outcome of the anticipated event or circumstance with such reality and certainty that it will, by God’s Grace, endure any amount of adversity and trial – even to the point of death, until that outcome is realized. Hope does not make us ashamed while we wait and endure such adversity because, if God gives the hope, He also gives us His love with it. Love builds in us growing maturity and compassion regarding even the more negative circumstances and personalities around us while our spirit waits patiently for the fulfillment of the hope that we have been promised.

Most people, whether they realize it or not, live most of their lives using the benefit of that elusive factor, given by God, called hope. Without hope we would not reach out to grasp anything that is not yet in our grasp. But earthly hope can and will disappoint. Things we see cannot succeed because they will break down, rust, die, or be destroyed. Only that which is not seen will last forever. That sounds strange doesn’t it! But when you think about it, it is true! So Hope in things of God becomes even more important!

18 ^jas we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

When we have hope in the profit of a treasure that we truly believe in, we are willing to endure any amount of pain and suffering with the expectation of benefit from such hope.

If we are living in compliance with the world or our fleshly lusts – seeking our own benefit and motivated by our own selfish desires, this element of hope within us can be tricked by false hope, so that our emotions will believe a deceiving “hope” in that which should not be hoped in at all…the “snake oil” kind of hope (that which offers benefit but which cannot perform benefit). People in the world, every day, are guided by false hope – or hope which is only temporary, self-fulfilling and ultimately destructive.

If we are born again and made alive by the Spirit of God, we will be buoyed up by hope that will not make us ashamed, even before the Presence of God Himself. Jesus having gone before us as an anchor of our soul, placing the “earnest” of His Spirit in our hearts – having the authority of our hope based on an oath by God Himself (Heb. 6:17-20).

In Matthew 13 Jesus taught those following Him, in Parables, about the Kingdom of God:

w The Parable of the Sower, the Seed and the different types of Soil (Matt. 13:1-23)

w The Parable of the Yeast many times multiplying the volume of the Bread Dough (Matt. 13:33-35)

It is in this context of Parables on the Kingdom of Heaven, that these two parables of interest to us today, are given. These parables show the ingredient of Hope and the potentially risky action taken by those who realize the great value in the hidden treasure or phenomenal pearl.

The Treasure Hidden in a Field

44 “The kingdom of heaven ^xis like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy ^yhe goes and sells all that he has and ^zbuys that field.

The Treasure found in a Priceless Pearl

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding ^aone pearl of great value, ^ywent and sold all that he had and ^zbought it.

In both these parables, someone finds a treasure more worthy that anything that they already have. In turn they sell everything (all of their possessions) to purchase that one possession which would bring them far greater benefit than anything they already owned and more than they could ever imagine…the treasure, which they find.

Not everyone sees the treasure with the same coveted value and some would never loose the security of what they have to “go out on a limb” to purchase something that could cause them to loose everything that they have. If one truly perceives the value correctly and one has the willingness to risk it all, then the outcome is phenomenal. So it is with the Kingdom of God.

ª Believers in Christ discern the immense value and greatness of the treasure…there is no treasure that can compare.

ª Believers in Christ understand what they have to do to obtain the treasure…they give up themselves. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose!”

If one is a pig wallowing in a mud hole filled with breathtaking diamonds, the swine may wish the diamonds removed so they would not prove to be so irritating to the skin during the mud bath. On the other hand, one who would understand the phenomenal value of the diamonds would remove the diamonds for a totally different reason and view the mud hole itself as considerably less than desirable.

In the same way a person who is consumed with the selfish perspective of the world, its values, riches, aspirations and glory, will have a totally opposite view of the treasures of life than one who perceives the reason of life to be for the glory of God.

2. The Down Payment of Hope Accepted – Sealed by the “Earnest” of the Holy Spirit

We don’t receive the full treasure until the right time, but when it comes it will be breath taking!

God gives His Holy Spirit as the “down payment” sealing the transaction and enlivening and guaranteeing the hope resident within the believer. This “earnest” of the Spirit, given at new birth, confirms the value and truth of the eternal hope given to us in the Word of God. The Presence of the Holy Spirit in us, at New Birth and throughout the life of the Believer in Christ, gives authentication to the validity of this hope of Eternal Life and the Promises of God. Fiery trials that test us can be endured through the Hope given us by God’s Spirit.

21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and ⁿhas anointed us, 22 and who has also ^oput his seal on us and ^pgiven us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.¹

4 For while we are still in this tent, we sigh, being burdened––not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal ^pmay be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, ^qwho has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

11 In him we have obtained ^zan inheritance, ^ahaving been predestined ^baccording to the purpose of him who works all things according to ^cthe counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be ^dto the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard ^ethe word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, ^fwere sealed with the ^gpromised Holy Spirit, 14 who is ^hthe guarantee⁴ of our ⁱinheritance until ^jwe acquire ^kpossession of it,⁵ ^lto the praise of his glory.

3 ^gBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! ^hAccording to his great mercy, ⁱhe has caused us to be born again to a living hope ^jthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to ^kan inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and ^lunfading, ^mkept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded ⁿthrough faith for a salvation ^oready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, as was necessary, you have been grieved by ^pvarious trials, 7 so that ^qthe tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes ^rthough it is tested by ^sfire—may be found to result in ^tpraise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 ^uThough you have not seen him, you love him. ^vThough you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining ^wthe outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

3. The Incremental Growth and Maturity of Hope Applied

The Life of the Believer begins, as does any new life, … as a newborn. Growth then brings the new believer into maturity. Hope matures with the maturity of the believer. Trials strengthen hope, rather than dampening it, because of the power of God’s ability to sustain us in the fieriest of trials. Maturity gives us stability, since we have seen God carry us through previous profound trials.

§ A Continuing Transformation from New Birth in Christ to Maturity in Christ

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 ^kLike newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual ^lmilk, that by it you may grow up to salvation— 3 if indeed you have ^mtasted that the Lord is good.

17 Now the Lord² is the Spirit, and where ^rthe Spirit of the Lord is, there is ^sfreedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, ^tbeholding ^uthe glory of the Lord,³ ^vare being transformed into the same image ^wfrom one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

11 And ^mhe gave the ⁿapostles, the prophets, the ^oevangelists, the ^ppastors and teachers,³ 12 ^qto equip the saints for the work of ministry, for ^rbuilding up ^sthe body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to ^tthe unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, ^uto mature manhood,⁴ to the measure of the stature of ^vthe fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, ^wtossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in ^xdeceitful schemes. 15 Rather, ^yspeaking the truth in love, we are to ^zgrow up in every way into him who is ^athe head, into Christ….

7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, ^ksilly myths. Rather ^ltrain yourself for godliness; 8 for while ^mbodily training is of some value, godliness ⁿis of value in every way, as ^oit holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is ^ptrustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive,² because we have our hope set on the living God, ^qwho is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

§ Trials and Suffering produce endurance which gives us character and character births hope and hope is fulfilled as God’s love floods our heart throughout the trials and suffering, through the Holy Spirit – Christ in us.

^aTherefore, since we have been justified by faith, ^bwe¹ have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also ^cobtained access by faith² into this grace ^din which we stand, and ^ewe³ rejoice⁴ in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we ^frejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering ^gproduces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and ^hhope does not put us to shame, because God’s love ⁱhas been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

4. The Blessed Hope Longed for and One Day to be Fulfilled – The Glorious Appearing

One day Jesus Christ will come again for His own Children. This hope purifies us

(1 John 3:3) and gives us a longing to be free from this sin cursed body and sin ravaged earth. God promised this fulfillment and it will more surely come than the rising of the sun!

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, ^gthat you may not grieve as others do ^hwho have no hope. 14 For ⁱsince we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him ^jthose who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you ^kby a word from the Lord,³ that ^lwe who are alive, who are left until ^mthe coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For ⁿthe Lord himself will descend ^ofrom heaven ^pwith a cry of command, with the voice of ^qan archangel, and ^rwith the sound of the trumpet of God. And ^sthe dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be ^tcaught up together with them ^uin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so ^vwe will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

50 I tell you this, brothers: ^qflesh and blood ^rcannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. ^sWe shall not all sleep, ^tbut we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For ^uthe trumpet will sound, and ^vthe dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and ^wthis mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

56 The sting of death is sin, and ^zthe power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, ^awho gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 ^bTherefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in ^cthe work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord ^dyour labor is not in vain. (HOPE!)

The “Blessed Hope” is one of the most precious “Hopes” of the believer…in fact, all creation groans together waiting for this release from the curse of sin…how much more the Children of God!

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time ⁿare not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for ^othe revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation ^pwas subjected to futility, not willingly, but ^qbecause of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that ^rthe creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that ^sthe whole creation ^thas been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have ^uthe firstfruits of the Spirit, ^vgroan inwardly as ^wwe wait eagerly for adoption as sons, ^xthe redemption of our bodies. 24 For ^yin this hope we were saved. Now ^zhope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we ^await for it with patience.

Conclusion

2. The Down Payment of Hope Accepted – Sealed by the “Earnest” of the Holy Spirit

3. The Incremental Growth and Maturity of Hope Applied

4. The Blessed Hope Longed for and One Day to be Fulfilled – The Glorious Appearing

The Trio becomes a Solo

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

We live by faith, hope and love in this world, but one day two of these will be needed no longer. The only thing left and needed from the grand trio, when we reach the eternal shores of heaven will be love. We will be with God who is Love! We will never have to hope again for release from the sin-cursed world, for we will be home.

Faith will be fulfilled in the appearing of our great God and Savior; hope will also be consummated at His coming when we will be caught up together in the clouds to be with Him in our new Spiritual bodies – never again to be corrupted by sin; but love goes on forever.

Do we hope in that which is lasting? Or is our hope in the things of this world that decay and will one day be destroyed? Our only Hope is in Christ who is in Us!

May we set our sights on the everlasting hope that cannot be seen as yet, confirmed by the Spirit of Christ with us!

q [ch. 2:2]

r Eph. 1:18; 3:16

p [See ver. 26 above]

s 1 Tim 1:1

^[1]The Holy Bible : English standard version is one of the latest, most reliable word for word translations available and is used throughout unless otherwise noted. 2001 (electronic ed.) Wheaton: Good News Publishers.

j ch. 5:7; Rom. 8:24; Heb. 11:1, 13

x Prov. 2:4

y [ch. 25:9; Prov. 23:23; Phil. 3:7, 8]

z [Isai. 55:1; Rev. 3:18]

a ch. 7:6

y [See ver. 44 above]

z [See ver. 44 above]

n [1 John 2:20, 27]

o Eph. 1:13; 4:30

p ch. 5:5; Eph. 1:14; See Rom. 8:16

1 Or down payment

p 1 Cor. 15:54