Blessed Hope

“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)

The hope of glory, which we have in Christ, is built upon Christ himself, alone. It is a hope founded upon his blood, righteousness, intercession, and grace. Here are five facts revealed in the Scriptures, which assure us that our hope of glory is a good, well-grounded, and sure hope. I hope to go to heaven when I die. I have hope of eternal life with Christ. I confidently expect the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. I am looking for and expecting immortality and eternal life in glory with Christ. But is that reasonable; or is it just a pipe dream? Let’s see.

1. God has promised eternal life and glory to his elect.

It is written, “The Lord will give grace and glory” (Psa. 84:11). God promises to believing sinners not only spiritual life that now is, but also eternal life which is to come (1 Tim. 4:8). This promise of eternal life, life with Christ forever in glory, is the principle, all-encompassing promise of the gospel. It is the center of all the promises of God. Indeed, all other blessings of grace terminate in this. — “This is the promise that he promised us, even eternal life” (1 John 2:25). It is a promise made by God, who cannot lie, before the world began (Tit. 1:2). This is a promise that can be depended upon. It is sure and certain. When this life is over, God’s saints shall enter into eternal life in glory. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried,” when he has been proved by the trials and afflictions of life in this world, “he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1:12). And the crown of life is the “crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Pet. 5:4).

2. The glory of eternal life in heaven is a glory that God has prepared for his elect.

It is a glory unseen, unheard of, and inconceivable to the minds of men and women in this world. But it is a glory prepared by God for them that love him (1 Cor. 2:9). This preparation of eternal happiness was made for us before the world began. Heaven is a kingdom prepared for God’s elect from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:34).  It was prepared in the counsels and purposes of God, which cannot be defeated, frustrated, or made void by any means. This kingdom of glory was prepared for us by our blessed Savior’s sin-atoning death as our Substitute (John 14:1-3). And this kingdom of glory shall, most assuredly, be given to those men and women for whom it was prepared by God (Matt. 20:23). It will not be given to any but those for whom it was prepared. It cannot be purchased, earned, won, or in anyway merited by the works of men. But it shall be given freely to those for whom God prepared it.

3. God’s elect in this world are men and women he has prepared unto glory (Rom. 9:23).

Not only has God promised and prepared a kingdom of glory for his elect, but his elect are “vessels of mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory.” Every work of God’s grace is a preparatory work, by which he prepares his people to enter into and enjoy  everlasting  glory.  God  prepared  us  unto  glory in sovereign  predestination, having ordained us unto eternal life. He has prepared us for glory by blood atonement. And he prepares us for glory by the experience of his grace, making us partakers of the divine nature, putting Christ in us by the mighty operations of his Spirit. At God’s appointed “time of love” (Ezek. 16:8), those who were ordained unto eternal life are given grace to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and effectually caused to come to him in faith by the Spirit of grace (Acts 13:48; Psa. 65:4). Those whom God has ordained to eternal life and caused to believe on Christ shall most assuredly enjoy that life in eternity to which they were ordained from eternity (2 Thess. 2:13-14).

4. The hope of glory arises from the covenant of grace ordered in all things and sure (2 Sam. 23:5).

The covenant of grace includes, among its many blessings, an everlasting inheritance of happiness and glory, and assures every believer of its possession (Eph. 1:3-14). It is called a covenant of grace, because it arises from and is founded upon the pure, free grace of God in Christ, and is filled with all the blessings of grace. It is a covenant ordered in all things and sure. Everything necessary for our spiritual and eternal welfare was provided and secured by our God in this covenant before the world was made (Eph. 1:3-9). And it finds its full accomplishment in eternal life in glory.

5. The suretyship engagements and performances of Christ as our Covenant Head and Representative assure us that our hope of glory is not vain.

All that God promised and pledged to his elect in the covenant was made sure to us by Christ, the Surety of the covenant (Heb. 7:22-25). Christ became a Surety for his people in the covenant of grace. As such, he pledged himself not only to bring the blessings of grace to us in time, but also to bring us to glory in eternity. He pledged not only that he would bring us to himself in faith and into the fold of his church upon earth, but also to set us before his Father’s face in heaven (John 10:16). As Judah became surety for Benjamin (Gen. 43:9), promising to bring him and set him before the face of his father, Jacob, or bear the blame forever, so Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, became Surety for God’s elect and promised to bring them everyone to glory at last. As our great Surety, Christ voluntarily put himself under obligation to do everything required by the law and justice, and mercy and grace of God to bring us home to God in heaven. He became responsible to God for our everlasting salvation. Therefore, in the fullness of time, he came into the world to remove our sins, establish righteousness for us, and open the way before us unto God. He came that we might have life and that we might have it more abundantly (John 10:10). He came to give us a more excellent and abundant life than Adam had in innocence, or the angels have in heaven. He came to give us a life of glory with himself. Christ our Surety gives us “the hope of glory.” He is the Captain of our salvation. As such, he will bring many sons to glory and present them to the Father, saying, “Behold, I and the children whom God hath given me” (Heb. 2:10-13). This is what the Apostle means when he says, “Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by him!”