A. As you know, we are in a sermon series about the 7 ones that equal unity.
1. God wants His people to be unified and the 7 ones are the things that unite us.
2. So far in our series we have discussed the one body and the one Spirit.
3. Today, we want to talk about a subject that is one of the most encouraging and inspiring of the 7 ones – there is one hope.
B. Let’s begin with an illustration from the Peanuts.
1. Lucy asked Linus, “You know what we’re going to do tomorrow?”
2. Lucy continued, “Patty and Violet and I are going on a picnic!”
3. Lucy concluded, “I just hope to goodness that it doesn’t rain.”
4. Linus, the resident theologian, replied, “‘Hoping to goodness’ is not theologically sound!”
C. This is a great launching point because the biblical “one hope” that we are discussing today is not an uncertain “hope so” type of hope, like the way we often use the word hope.
1. Like Lucy, we often say, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow on our picnic,” but because we live here in CNY, and have the Great Lakes nearby, then there is a pretty good chance it is going to rain tomorrow.
2. We use the “hope so” kind of hope when we talk about hoping to win the lottery, or hoping that our sports team will win – we hope the SU Orangemen will win the national football championship – we hope the Bills will win the Super Bowl – that’s “hope so” hope.
3. Our Christian faith gives us a “know so” hope, not a “hope so” hope.
4. In biblical hope, we hope for things that are absolutely certain, but have just not yet been realized.
D. How can we be so certain about the biblical things we hope for? They are a certainty because God has promised them and God always keeps His promises.
1. Look at how the writer of Hebrews explained it: 13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself: 14 I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply you. 15 And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and for them a confirming oath ends every dispute. 17 Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. (Heb. 6:13-19)
2. God had promised that Abraham would have a son with Sarah and many descendants to follow – He made the promise when Abraham was already 75 years old, but then Abraham and Sarah had to wait 25 years for the promise to be fulfilled.
3. I think that one of the reasons why God made Abraham wait so long was to prove how God is able to keep His promises and can even do so in a man and a woman who are way past child-bearing age.
4. When God makes us a promise, He has no one greater than Himself to swear by, but when He makes a promise, we can know that He will keep it – because it is impossible for God to lie.
5. God’s promise of our salvation through Jesus is the hope of our calling and it is an anchor for our souls, firm and secure.
6. Aren’t you thankful about that? Amen!!
E. There is no sadder word in the English language than the word “hopeless.”
1. We never want to hear that word from the doctor (“I’m sorry, your case is hopeless”), or the marriage counselor (“I’m sorry, your marriage is hopeless”), or the pilot of the plane we are on (“I’m sorry, our situation is hopeless”).
2. And we certainly don’t want to hear it from our Creator and Judge.
F. We live in a world and at a time where there is little hope.
1. Many years ago, an S-4 submarine was rammed by another ship off the coast of Massachusetts and quickly sank.
a. The entire crew was trapped in the submarine many feet below the surface.
b. Helplessly the men clung bravely to life as the oxygen slowly gave out.
c. When divers arrived at the sunken submarine, they could hear a tapping sound and recognized the dots and dashes of Morse code.
d. The question that was being tapped was: “Is…there…any…hope?”
2. This seems to be the cry of humanity today - “Is there any hope?” “Is there anything worth living for?”
a. And sadly for many the answer is “no” and that’s why rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide are so high – people have lost meaning and have no hope.
3. On a purely human level, there seems to be little hope in the world.
a. The world continues to be a place of unrest and conflict – wars abroad and mass shootings at home.
b. Immorality and lawlessness are increasing – wrong seems to be winning and right losing.
c. Solid things like the nuclear family have been redefined and are crumbling.
d. Inflation, the loss of good jobs, and the national debt have many people discouraged.
e. On top of all that, faith in God has been removed from the general consensus and consciousness – and so most people have concluded that we came from nowhere, are here for no reason, and are going nowhere after we die.
f. So, is it any wonder that many people live with a sense of despair and hopelessness?
G. But that’s why it is so important that I share this message with you today and why it is so important that we share this message with others – there is hope – there is only one hope.
1. The one hope is not in America, or in money, or in humanity.
2. Rather, the one hope is in Jesus Christ and the promises that come through Him.
3. Our hope in and through Jesus Christ is a living hope.
a. Peter explained: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. (1 Peter 1:3-4)
b. Our new birth into a living hope is brought about by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and our resurrection is assured because His resurrection is real and true.
c. Paul explained to the Corinthians: 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. 19 If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone. 20 But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep... 23 But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. (1 Cor. 15:17-20, 23)
d. Praise God that Jesus was raised from the dead and therefore we will be also.
4. Paul referred to Christ Jesus as “our hope” (1 Tim. 1:1), and Paul said that Jesus Christ in us is “the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:27)
5. In Titus 1:1-2, Paul said: Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
a. God’s plan and promise of eternal life through Christ, was promised before time began and God does not and cannot lie – So, our hope is secure and valid.
6. And then in Titus 2, Paul explained: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:11-13)
a. God has brought us salvation and God is enabling our transformation, and all this is going on while we wait for the blessed hope – the second coming of Jesus.
H. Let’s talk for a minute about an important aspect of our hope – the already, but not yet.
1. In one of Mike Cope’s chapters from his book about grief, called Megan’s Secrets, he did a great job of explaining this “already, but not yet” dimension of our Christian experience, and I’m borrowing many ideas from him in this section.
2. The work of God is two-pronged – First, there was the victory that came through Jesus: sin, the powers of evil, and death were all defeated, but then second, there is more ahead in the future when Jesus returns and the final battle is won.
3. Right now, we live in an overlap of the old age and the new age and it’s something that we proclaim every Sunday in the Lord’s Supper – “for whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
4. Michael Gorman summaries it well: “The story of God’s dream for Israel and for all humanity has come to its climax and is working toward its consummation…this age is passing away, and the new age has begun. To live during the overlap of the ages is to live in a time of great fulfillment and yet also great anticipation.” (Reading Paul, Cascade Books, 2008, pg. 63)
5. And so, we must understand this “already, but not yet” dimension of the Christian faith.
a. Even though Jesus has conquered death, it has not been eliminated – not yet.
b. Even though we have been saved, delivered and rescued by God, the battle with sin isn’t over – not yet.
c. Even though we know one day God will wipe away all tears from our eyes, the tears aren’t gone – not yet.
I. The apostle Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, employed four deep, rich, theologically saturated words that help us in our understanding of the “already, but not yet” Christian life and the are “groaning, longing, waiting, and hoping.”
1. Groaning – Paul wrote: 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. (Rom. 8:20-22)
a. Mike Cope explained: Groaning is guttural, wordless hope. This Holy Spirit-assisted expression of anticipation recognizes, painfully, that this life has too much illness, hunger, death, sorrow, and grief. Yet it also envisions the grand conclusion of re-creation toward which God is nudging everything along. This groan is the language of our dance between mourning and courageous hope…Groaning recognizes that God is with us, that God hasn’t abandoned us, that God hears.”
b. We groan under the weigh of the struggle and groan in the hope and anticipation of consummation.
2. Longing – Paul wrote: 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 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 instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Cor. 5:2-5)
a. Now that we are Christians and have been clothed with Christ’s righteousness, we long to put aside this earthly tent with all it’s frailty and propensity toward sin, and put on our eternal, immortal dwelling.
b. We know this is what we have been made for.
c. And we know that we have received the Spirit as a deposit and guarantee of what coming.
d. Already, and not yet.
3. Waiting – Paul wrote: 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. (Rom. 8:18-19)
a. Waiting can be difficult, but there is a power and strength in eagerly waiting when what is coming is assured and certain.
b. Mike Cope used the term “on tiptoes” to describe this eagerly awaiting – straining to observe what God is doing and what God will finally do.
4. Hoping – Paul wrote: 24 Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience. (Rom. 8:24-25)
a. Let me remind you that Paul didn’t use the word hope like we often do when we are “hoping against all hope” for something.
b. Rather, for Paul the thing we hope for is sure it just hasn’t arrived yet and it is built on the firm foundation of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
J. I love the fact that Paul used the illustration of pregnancy and childbirth to describe our “already, but not yet” experience.
1. Lee Camp, in his book Mere Discipleship, explained: Imagine any mother, say, eight months pregnant, on the telephone with an old friend who had heard the news of the pregnancy, but did not know the anticipated date of delivery: “Do you have your baby yet?!” the old friend might ask. To which the mother would undoubtedly be thinking, “-Yes!- of course I’ve got a baby, of which I’m reminded on every frequent trip to relieve my bladder, or every time the dear one decides to roll over in the womb, or each time she rakes her sweet little arms across my belly.” But then again, she does not yet have her baby. To remain eight months pregnant indefinitely would be nothing short of torment. And so she waits for the day – and the day comes, with pain and tears. The mother’s body is transformed, and everything changes. Crying gives way to laughter, cursing gives way to joy, the groaning gives way to life.
2. As Christians, we are like a pregnant mother in her eighth month.
3. We have been born again and are saved, and the Spirit is in us and is growing.
4. Eternal life has been planted within us and our inheritance is guaranteed, but it is still unseen and we are groaning and longing for its fulfillment.
5. But very soon, the birth pains will be over, and the complete joy of eternal life will be fully experienced.
6. Until then we wait, patiently, eagerly – and with hope: “know so” hope, not “hope so” hope.
L. In the end, our hope is so secure, because our hope is in Jesus Christ and His righteousness; our hope is not in our righteousness.
1. Like the great hymn proclaims: My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.
2. In Romans 8:1-2, Paul proclaims that very truth: 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, 2 because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.
3. Earlier in chp. 3, Paul explains: 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Rom. 3:23-24)
4. In Ephesians 2, Paul explains: 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do. (Eph. 2:4-10)
a. Our God is full of love and grace, and so, He has provided salvation through Christ Jesus.
b. We are saved by grace through our faith in Christ.
c. We are not saved by our works, otherwise we might boast, and we would certainly fall short, rather we are saved by Christ’s work in His death, burial and resurrection.
d. How’s that for good news? Great news!
M. So, what must we do? We must continue to put our trust in Christ who is our hope.
1. Paul wrote: 21 Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions. 22 But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him— 23 if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. (Col. 1:21-23a)
a. Obeying the Gospel puts us into Christ, but then we must remain grounded and steadfast in our faith in Jesus and hold on to the hope of the Gospel.
2. The Hebrew writer said something similar: 19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus— 20 he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)— 21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. 23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. (Heb. 10:19-23)
a. God has given us this new and living way through Jesus, who is our great high priest.
b. Because of our faith in Jesus and our baptism into Him, we are clean and free.
c. Therefore, we must hold on to our hope without wavering, knowing that God is faithful to His promises.
N. Ultimately, our one hope is an anchor that gives us stability and strength.
1. Our one hope assures us that we know where we came from, we know why we are here, and we know where we are going.
2. Our one hope brings meaning to life and to death and to eternity.
3. This hope is not a sedative, but a shot of adrenaline giving us power and purpose for daily life.
4. Our one hope brings us joy, courage, endurance, and security.
O. Since we started with a Peanuts cartoon, let’s end with one.
1. While Lucy and Linus were looking out the window at a steady downpour of rain, Lucy said: “Boy, look at it rain. What if it floods the whole world?”
2. Linus replied confidently, “It will never do that. In the ninth chapter of Genesis, God promised Noah that it would never happen again, and the sign of the promise is the rainbow.”
3. Then Lucy said with a relieved smile, “You’ve taken a great load off my mind.”
4. “Sound theology has a way of doing that,” pontificated Linus.
P. I hope that sound theology about our one hope has taken a great load off everyone’s mind.
1. The apostle John wrote: 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 The one who has the Son has life. The one who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13)
2. This is the one hope of our calling – eternal life through Jesus – and our one hope is a “know so” hope, not a “hope so” hope.
Resources:
• Ephesians and Philippians, Jay Lockhart and David Roper, Truth for Today Commentary, 2009.
• There is One Hope, Sermon by Dave Schmidt, Southside Church of Christ
• The Basis for Christian Unity, Steven Cole
https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-26-basis-christian-unity-ephesians-44-6
• Ephesians 4:4-6 Basis for Church Unity, http://www.abideinchrist.com/messages/eph4v4.html
• The Basis for Unity, Brent Kercheville, Westpalmbeachchurchofchrist.com
• There is One Hope of Our Calling, Sermon by Nick Angel, Pleasant Plains Church of Christ
• Mike Cope, Megan’s Secrets, Leafwood Publishers, 2011, chapter 14.
