“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this 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 NIV
As mentioned last week the grace of God strengthens us to live in blessed hope. It is this hope that causes us to live before God with a clear conscience, as we do exploits for the kingdom of God.
Our clear conscience here has to do with our hearts or the spirit man. The grace of God helps us to become more and more sensitive, in our conscience or spirit man. We are therefore able to hear God more clearly, and walk in His perfect will for our lives, here on earth while in His grace.
Hope is strengthened by grace, as we become established in the kingdom of God to do the will of God, the Father.
We need to pay particular attention, to how Apostle Paul here referred to the appearance of Jesus, when He will return. Jesus is referred to here as “our great God”. All the earth will bow before Him, and worship Him as “our great God” at His appearance in glory.
The synergy of Faith, Hope and Love in the Grace of God
Faith, hope and love are very important for our Christian lives to become productive. But the hope which works through grace, causes us to be more fruitful in God’s kingdom. It is of great blessing to our hearts or spirit man, as we get established in this hope.
Without hope our faith cannot work for us. Faith itself is the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1).
Hope is vital for the corresponding action of our faith, to manifest the glory of God in our lives.
In exercising our faith, we are able to receive answers to our prayers from God. But hope is the anchor on which our faith hangs on to, as we receive the answers to our prayers from God.
The blessed hope of the Christian faith, is primarily in the return of Christ Jesus in glory and power. This Christian hope empowers us, to shun all ungodliness and worldly passions, as we look forward to the return of the Lord.
Faith, hope and love works together in this way, to make this a reality for us. Hope also strengthens us on the inner man, or in the spirit man to live a godly lifestyle. As our inner man is strengthened by grace through hope; so also does our faith becomes stronger as we meditate on God’s word daily.
Hope is therefore important to our spiritual growth as Christians; just as faith and walking in love are both important as well.
We cannot pray as believers in Christ, if we have no hope of receiving answered prayers. But thanks be to God that the substance of the things, that we do hope for as we pray, are written in the Bible for us to have faith in them when we pray.
Grace and Hope establishes us in hearing God’s voice
A lot of Christians often listen to their human senses, instead of listening to the voice of their spirit or inner man. And because they are not established in hope, they often fall into every form of deceptions from the enemy.
Our human spirit or inner man has a voice, just as our senses or feelings has a voice also. The voice of our hearts or spirit man comes to us through an inner witness, or “a knowing”. It is sometimes called “spiritual green light”, in guiding and directing our lives as Christians (John 16:13-15).
There are certain things that we have knowledge of, through an inner witness or inner knowing of our spirit man. We may not pray about them. But because our heart is established in hope, faith becomes automatically activated in the heart, to know the will of God about those things. And as we respond by faith with corresponding action, God moves on our behalf in manifesting the desired results.
The voice of our senses on the other hand, comes to us through our feelings. That’s why we have to be careful, not to pay so much attention to those feelings. The enemy has a way of manipulating them against us, because our senses never got saved. It is with the heart that we believed and are saved, not with our senses (Romans 10:10).
Our feelings are never permanent, and they are subject to changes very often. We are advised by Paul in Romans 12:1-2, to renew our mind or the senses with the word of God. By doing so our senses will be trained, to take its cues from the inner man or inner witness, rather than the feelings. Human senses that are trained and transformed in this way, becomes stronger and bolder to resist the enemy.
It is the voice of the spirit or the inner man, that is real, authentic and permanent. But we must also be able to differentiate, between the voice of our human spirit, and the voice of the Holy Spirit to us. The Holy Spirit speaks often emphatically, in communicating to us, than our inner witness or spirit man does. The inner witness is often softer and gentler in speaking and appealing to us.
The Bible says:
“The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD that sheds light on one’s inmost being.”
Proverbs 20:27 NIV
In other words when God speaks to us, He speaks to our human spirit and the “inmost being”, through the voice of the Holy Spirit. If our spirit or heart is established in hope, we will be firm and strong, in opposing the voice of the enemy with our shield of faith. Where hope is strong, faith becomes very effective in spiritual warfare. That’s why people with no hope, can never pray effectively.
Hope strengthens us through grace, so that we may be able to walk by faith. Our inner man is then able to separate the voice of our senses, the voice of our inner man and that of the Holy Spirit from one another. This is very important for us in doing spiritual warfare. When we are able to differentiate the three voices, we will be well able to recognize when God is speaking to us.
Proclaiming hope to the nations
Every believer in Christ is supposed to be looking forward, expectantly for this blessed hope in the return of Jesus Christ. Christianity offers the only hope which no religion can ever give. It is a hope which stretches beyond time and eternity, because God can never be measured in time (Hebrews 13:8).
This Christian hope in the return of the Lord, causes us to act in the grace of God, for the salvation of all men. It is hope for eternity with Christ, that energizes us on the inner man, to be able to take the gospel to all nations.
Jesus said:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””
Matthew 28:19-20 NIV
This last statement of Jesus made it plain to us, that He will always be with us, even to the very end of the age.
This promise of Jesus has not changed – He is always there with us, and for us as we act in obedience to His words. The Christian hope is what drives the proclamation of the gospel around the world; as believers risk their lives continually, while our faith is anchored in Christ Jesus.
The grace of God which is being manifested, through the workings of the Holy Spirit, instructs us and reveals things to us as we stand in hope. Grace teaches us what to do in all circumstances, while we walk in obedience to the Spirit of Christ.
The grace of God has great authority in our lives, as it empowers us in doing exploits for the kingdom of God. God’s grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires; in order for us to be able to live sensibly, righteously and godly lives before God in this world. Grace helps us to look forward to the return of the Lord. It helps us to get ourselves ready, and unashamed while we wait to appear before Jesus Christ.
Hope Consecrates, Sanctifies and Purifies us
The Bible says:
“And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
I John 3:3 NKJV
Our hope in the return of the Lord, leads us also into purifying ourselves. Purification is essential if we really want to see the Lord when He appears.
The Bible says:
“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:”
Hebrews 12:14 NKJV
This process begins in our lives, as we shun evil, and cling on to the Christian hope. If our hope is based on the substance of faith, it will definitely affect our lifestyle as believers in this world. We will definitely be transformed by the Holy Spirit, who does the works of sanctification and purification in our lives.
Apostle Paul wrote:
“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.”
II Timothy 2:20-21 NKJV
Our ability to yield to the Holy Spirit, opens the way for the sanctification and purification of our lives. We are changed as we hold on to the Christian hope in this way.
This basically means that every believer with the Christian hope, does has an evidence of faith in His or her life. As believers in Christ we are continually being sanctified and purified, as we deny ungodliness and worldly passions. Living righteously, sensibly and godly lifestyle in this world, should be at the center of our lives. This is one way that the Christian hope affects, our focus on the appearance of Jesus Christ in glory.
Secondly, by having hope we are released from the bondage of time, as we wait on the Lord’s return. We are looking forward into eternity with hope. We are not worried or disturbed by the disasters and troubles of living in the bondage of time of this world; as some people do because they have nothing else to look forward to.
There are so many who live daily, with the fear of disasters and troubles in this world, because they have no hope for eternity. People like that are often constrained to this world. They are shut up in just the few years that they live in this world. They have no hope for eternity. But thanks be to God for the hope that the Christian faith gives us.
But for those that have this glorious hope, our lives on earth are just a preparation into eternity with God. Having this hope in the return of the Lord, should have a huge effect on the way we live. When we come in contact with people with this hope, we become spiritually connected with them instantly.
Do you have that hope? Is your lifestyle as a believer, only constrained by time to this world? Or are you looking forward beyond time into eternity?
If you are not sure about these questions, but will like to start living with this blessed hope. If you want the eternal joy and freedom that this hope for eternity gives. Then click on this link, and say the prayer in the link page, by asking the Lord of hope into your life.
