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Jesus Christ, the Hope in You
"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment
of God our Saviour, and LORD Jesus Christ, which is our hope."
(1 Timothy 1:1)
"To whom God would make known what is the riches
of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the Hope
of Glory."
(Colossians 1:27)
by Charles G. Finney-- (1792-1875)
(edited by Katie Stewart)
hrist is our Hope.
Our only rational expectation is from Him. Christ in us is our Hope of glory. Without
Christ in us, we have no good or well-grounded hope of glory. Christ in the Gospel,
Christ on the cross, Christ risen, Christ in Heaven, all is hope, of an external
type, to the believer; but Christ in us, Christ actually present, living, and reigning
in us, as really as He lives and reigns in glory, is the only
bedrock and only
well-grounded Hope a real Christian has.
We cannot stress this too much. The soul that does not know, and Spiritually know,
Christ in this relation has absolutely no well-grounded hope. He may hope that he
is a Christian. He may hope that his sins are forgiven, that he shall be saved. But
he can have no good hope of glory. It cannot be too fully understood, or too deeply
realized, that absolute despair of help and salvation in any other possible way,
except by Christ in us, is an unalterable condition of our knowing and embracing
Christ as our Hope.
Many seem to have conceived of Christ as their hope only in His outward relation,
that is, as an atoning Savior, as a risen and ascended Savior, but also as a factual,
historical, concrete statistic. The indispensable necessity of having Christ within
them, ruling in their hearts and establishing His government over their whole being,
is a condition of salvation of which they have not thought. Christ cannot be truly
and savingly our hope, in any degree further than He is received into, and reigns,
in our souls. To hope in merely an outward Christ is to hope in vain.
To hope in Christ with true Christian hope implies:
a. WE know the full spiritual image of our hopeless condition without Him.
It implies an understanding of our sins, as to annihilate all hope of salvation concerning
the demands of the Law of God.
- Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death."
Romans 6:21 "What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye
are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death."
Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world,
and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
Romans 1:32 "Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit
such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them
that do them."
b. WE know, with such a perception of our spiritual bondage to sin, that without
Him, all hope of salvation is extinguished, and that we cannot exist as a Christian
without His constant influence and strength to keep us from sinning.
- Jude 1:24 "Now
unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before
the presence of His glory with exceeding joy."
Romans 16:25 "Now
to Him that is of power to stablish you"
Romans 14:4 "Yea,
he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand."
Ephesians 3:20 "Now
unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the Power that worketh in us"
Ephesians 5:26-27 "That
He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might
present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."
Colossians 3:4 "When
Christ, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory."
2 Timothy 4:18 "And
the LORD shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly
kingdom"
Hebrews 13:20-21 "Now
the God of peace ... make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working
in you that which is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ"
Philippians
2:13 "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of
His good pleasure."
1 Peter 5:10 "But
the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus ...
make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you."
1 Thessalonians
5:23 "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God
your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ."
John 17:17 "Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth."
1 Peter 1:5 "Who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation"
Romans 5:21 "That
as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto
eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."
1 John 3:8 "He that committeth sin is of the devil ... For this purpose
the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."
c. WITH such a knowledge of our circumstances, we know the temptation of fighting
our own battles, and the fruitless effort of making, in the least degree, any headway
against our spiritual foes. We know, that in our own wisdom and strength, we have
no expectation of pleasing God in any respect, and thus, we have no expectation of
really being a Christian.
- John 7:18 "He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that
seeketh His glory that sent Him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."
1 Corinthians
3:18-19 "Let
no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let
him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness
with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness."
Jeremiah 9:23-24 "Thus
saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty
man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that
glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the LORD
which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in
these things I delight, saith the LORD."
Isaiah 64:6 "But
we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags"
Ephesians 6:12 "For
we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in
high places."
Psalm 127:1 "Except
the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep
the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."
Psalm 60:11 "Give
us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man."
1 Corinthians
3:20 "And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that
they are vain."
1 Corinthians
1:20 "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer
of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?"
Romans 1:22 "Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools"
d. WE have absolutely no hope from any other source.
- Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
John 5:41 "I receive not honour from men."
John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."
John 17:3 "And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent."
Psalm 39:7 "And
now, LORD, what wait I for? my hope is in Thee."
Psalm 78:7 "That
they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments"
Psalm 147:11 "The
LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy."
John 5:44 "How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and
seek not the honour that cometh from God only?"
1 Thessalonians
2:6 "Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others"
John 3:36 "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he
that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
1 John 5:12 "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son
of God hath not life."
e. WE know the revelation of Christ Jesus to our souls, as our Hope,
by the working of His Holy Spirit.
- John 14:26 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father
will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
John 15:26 "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from
the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall
testify of Me"
John 16:13 "Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He
will guide you into all truth"
Philippians 3:21 "according
to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself."
f. WE recognize Him to be the One that dwells in us, and is received by faith
to be the Supreme Control of our souls.
- 1 John 3:24 "And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He
in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given
us."
John 14:23 "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me,
he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and
make Our abode with him."
2 Corinthians
5:15 "And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth
live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again."
John 14:15 "If ye love Me, keep My commandments."
2 Corinthians
6:16 "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye
are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk
in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
Ephesians 3:17 "That
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love"
Revelation 21:3 "And I heard a great voice out of Heaven saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His
people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God."
1 John 4:13 "Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because
He hath given us of His Spirit."
1 John 2:6 "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk,
even as He walked."
John 13:15 "For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have
done to you."
John 15:10 "If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even
as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love."
g. WE appreciate Him being our Hope, and we have a hearty and joyful reception
of Him in this relationship. The dethroning of self, the utter denial and rejection
of self, is essential to the enthroning and crowning of Christ in our inner man.
When Christ is clearly seen to be the only hope of our soul, and when He is spiritually
received in this relation, the soul learns habitually and constantly to lean upon
Him, to rest in Him, and makes no efforts without Him.
- Psalm 16:9 "Therefore
my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in Hope."
Psalm 33:18 "Behold,
the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy"
Psalm 119:81 "My
soul fainteth for Thy salvation: but I hope in Thy Word."
Romans 8:10 "And
if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because
of righteousness."
Galatians 5:24 "And they
that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."
Romans 6:4 "Therefore
we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
Romans 6:5 "For
if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in
the likeness of His resurrection"
Galatians 6:14 "But
God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our LORD Jesus Christ, by whom
the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
Galatians 2:20 "I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,
Who loved me, and gave Himself for me."
Psalm 39:7 "And now, LORD, what wait I for? my hope is in Thee."
Psalm 71:14 "But
I will hope continually, and will yet praise Thee more and more."
Revelation 1:5-6 "And from Jesus Christ ... the Prince of the kings
of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion
for ever and ever."
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