COLOSSIANS 1:25-27

June 22, 2021

CONFIDENT EXPECTATION

I became its servant by the commission God gave me to fully proclaim to you the word of God, the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hopeG1680 of glory.G1391 Colossians 1:25-27 (BSB)

G1680 ĕlpis – (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstr. or concr.) or confidence: – faith, hope.

G1391 dŏxa – glory (as very apparent). In a wide application (lit. or fig., obj. or subj.): – dignity, glory (-ious), honour, praise, worship.

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

As we learn in the eighth chapter of Romans, we are the adopted children of the King of kings. As stated in the scripture above, our faith in Christ and his Spirit within us give us hope of being glorified when we go to live with Him. The fourteenth chapter of John tells us that Jesus assured his disciples that there were many mansions in his Father’s house, and He would prepare a place for them and us.

            We must ask ourselves, are we living as people who are confident of our future? Or do we fret over things that will not matter in eternity? Jesus lived on earth for 33 years and died in our place so we could have this hope. He sent his Holy Spirit to dwell within us to assure us of his presence, his comfort, his power during our lives on this planet and his promise of a glorious eternity with God.

            We tap into the Spirit’s power through prayer and Bible study. We demonstrate the hope that we have by worshipping and witnessing. One way we can show our faith is to anticipate heaven with pleasure and wonder, like a small child anticipates Christmas. Heaven will be tremendously better than Christmas because we will be able to see the One who was born in a stable face to face!

            Father, let us never lose the wonder and awe of contemplating heaven with confident expectation! Help our countenances to radiate that expectation to others as we worship with them or witness to them. Thank You that no matter what our past may have been, our future with You will be one of dignity and glory. Thank You for forgiveness and the promise of a bright future.