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ÒThe God of HopeÓ

Romans 15:13

 

What a great name this is for our God! In verse 12 the Apostle speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ, Òthe Root of Jesse,Ó whom he has given us grace to trust. Now, trusting him, we have hope, Òa good hope through graceÓ (Psalm 146:5; Isaiah 11:10-12; Jeremiah 17:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17; 1 Peter 1:3). The Lord our God is called Òthe God of hopeÓ because all true hope with respect to forgiveness of sin and divine favor is from God and is effectually wrought in the heart by God himself. Any hope of which he is not the Author and Giver is false and fatal!

      ÒFill you with all joy and peace in believingÓ — True joy and peace are the gifts of God in Christ. Joy and peace generated by human philosophy, fleshly comforts, and emotional spasms of religious excitement are temporary. The joy of redemption and the peace of Christ are eternal and real, even in the midst of human misery and severe trial.

      ÒThat you may abound in hopeÓ — The more we know the joy and peace of Christ, the greater will be our hope. Joy and peace, as well as all other spiritual blessings, come from God through faith and in proportion to faith. The more we are able to rejoice in our blessings in Christ and enter into the peace of Christ, the stronger will be our confidence and hope of future glory.

      ÒThrough the power of the Holy GhostÓ — God gives us hope through the agency and by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-18).

      We have patience and consolation from God just in proportion as we trust Christ and find hope in him (Isaiah 26:1-4).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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