The terms “faith” and “hope” are used numerous times in the Holy Scriptures. Although very closely related, faith and hope are separate graces given by the Lord (1 Tim 1:14, 2 Thess 2:16). To properly understand their usage in the Bible, it is very important that we compare and contrast these two undeserved gifts given to us at our salvation.
THE SCRIPTURES:
(Rom 5:1-2) Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
(1Co 13:13) And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
(2Co 10:15) Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,
(Gal 5:5) For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
(Col 1:23) If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
(1Th 1:2-3) We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
(1Th 5:8) But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
(Heb 11:1-3) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
(1Pe 1:21) Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
THE STUDY:
To understand the Biblical terms “faith” and “hope” let’s begin by looking at the NT Greek terms used for each….
- Faith
- 4102 pistis – persuaded, convicted, rely upon, believe, assured
i. All others
- 1680 elpis – to expect, to anticipate (normally translated “hope”)
i. Only in Hebs 10:23
- Hope
- 1679 elpizo – to expect, to have confidence (1680 – elpis is its origin)
i. various
- 1680 elpis – to expect, to anticipate
i. Various
Based upon the above study we can see that based upon these word meanings: “faith” involves relying upon or being convinced of an event with no reference to the time of the event. Only in one case (Heb 10:23) does the word meaning imply a confidence in a future event. However, in every case, “hope” carries with it the idea of a confidence or an assurance of an event that has not taken place yet.
In other words, based on linguistics, “hope” is a particular type of faith. It is always a future-looking faith. It can be described as a conviction of the occurrence of a coming event.
Now that we have a basic understanding of these two terms let’s consider how this might be applied to several Scriptures:
(Rom 5:1-2) Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
In this set of verses, we find that we have three graces given to us through our faith in the person and the past work of Christ on the cross.
Two of these graces involve our current standing before God. These two graces are justification and peace.
However, there is one grace that involves the future glorification of our bodies and entrance into an eternity with God… this grace is the hope (or confidence) that we will receive “the glory of God”.
(1Co 13:13) And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Here, we find the three blessings of faith, hope and love. We are told that love is the greatest of the three… why is that? It is because love is the only one of the three that will exist throughout eternity.
We will no longer need faith because we will see the scars of our Lord which proves His past work on our behalf. We will be experiencing our glorified bodies and sinless eternity with Him; this will result in no need of hope. But we will still possess love for our Savior, the One who made all this glorious eternity possible for us.
(2Co 10:15-16) Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to our hand.
Paul is expressing his confidence that, in the future, the church at Corinth will take the gospel to regions beyond their immediate area. This will take place with the growth of the Corinth church’s faith in the past, and present, work of Christ on their behalf.
(Gal 5:5) For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
It is our confidence (or faith) in the past work of Christ on the cross and His present workings in our life that gives us the future confidence (or hope) that we will someday experience perfect righteousness throughout eternity.
(Col 1:21-23)
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
“The faith”, in context, is speaking of the set of truths about Christ and His work that we have come to trust and to be assured. Proof that we have been reconciled to God, and are in good standing before God is found in our treatment of the truths of His Word in two ways...
We exhibit genuine salvation by: holding fast to these truths and not finding ourselves moved away from the confidence of future blessings (hope). This hope is based upon faith in the message of Christ’s workings on our behalf (His death, burial and resurrection – ie the gospel message).
(1Th 1:2-3) We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
Paul was remembering the Thessalonian church’s exhibitions of service were based upon three things: 1. faith in Christ and His work; 2. labor of love to Christ and others; and 3. patience based upon a future faith (hope) in the coming Christ.
The church’s service was being seen by God the Father who would bless them appropriately.
(1Th 5:8) But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
Proper Christian armor involves both trust in Christ and His Work and Word, as well as the future confidence of salvation from the presence of sin (glorified body and eternal, sinless dwelling place)
(Heb 11:1-3) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Our belief in the past work of Christ is the basis of our assurance of future blessings. What Christ has done for us in the past is our evidence that He will bless us with future blessings.
It is this same backward looking faith that points to His Creatorship and the makeup of His creation.
(1Pe 1:21) Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
It is through Jesus Christ that we are given our belief in God the Father. It is this same God that raised Christ for the dead and placed Christ in an exalted position as Lord over all. Christ did all of this so that we can have faith in our past salvation and hope in future blessings from Him.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION:
For those who have trusted in Christ.
As Christians we all, at times, become discouraged and feel as if “all hope is lost”. If this is your current state remember…. The same Lord in whom we trust with our past salvation, is the same Lord who has promised to save us from this sinful world and present to us a glorious eternity with Him!
For those who have never trusted in Christ.
Do you desire to know that Christ has died for you on the cross and that He will, someday, take you home to be with Him eternally? As we have seen in several of the above verses, placing our trust in Christ and His past work on the cross secures forgiveness and security for us. This in turn, results in a confident expectation knowing that He will bless us with an eternal sinless presence with Him.
If you have any questions concerning the way of salvation please feel free to visit or call a Bible teaching church in your area. They will be happy to speak to you about the Lord Jesus and the salvation He graciously gives.
Or, if you would rather, feel welcome to email me at settledinheaven@gmail.com. I’ll be more than happy to answer any question you may have.
Also, if you look at my blog page “How To Have A Relationship With God”. On this page, you will find several blog entries explaining the way of salvation.
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May the Lord bless your study of His Word. Like God’s Word… may your soul’s salvation and your life’s faithfulness be “Settled in Heaven.”
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