NOW MAY THE GOD OF HOPE FILL YOU WITH ALL JOY AND PEACE : O de theos tes elpidos plerosai
(3SAAO) humas pases charas kai eirenes: (Ro 5:2-5
8:20, 24-25 12:12 15:4, 12) (Ro 14:17
Jn 14:1,27 Php 4:7 Isa 55:12 Ep 5:18,19)
Now (de) marks a transition to a new subject, something distinguished in some way
from the preceding.
Note
also that this sentence is structured as a prayer (O
in AAO =
optative mood =
expresses a wish or in NT a prayer) to the "God of hope", He on Whom both Jews and Gentiles
center their
hope.
The God of Hope - The truths
conveyed are that
God is both the origin of hope and the
object of our hope ("Who inspires hope and imparts it to His children" Harrison). These great benefits Paul prays for cannot be possessed apart
from God, and we can possess them only as He gives them to us. Also note that
this joy and peace are intimately related with our continually trusting in Him
and His promises (in believing).
Abounding in hope should ideally be the description
of every believer. The Christian should be the one in this decaying world who
has the inner strength (and Spirit) to look ahead with a contagious enthusiasm. God
has filled us with hope, the absolute certainty of future good or that God will
do good to us in the future.
JOY (5479)
(charas
from
chaíro = to rejoice) (cf
notes
Romans 14:17,
Romans 15:32) is one of Paul's great themes,
with charas being used by him 21x compared to next most
frequent use of 9 by John. The Christian life is to be a life of "JOY". It is founded
on faith in Jesus, whose life on earth began as "good news of great joy for all
people" (Lu 2:10).
Joy is the deep-down sense of well-being that abides in the
heart of the person who knows all is well between himself and the Lord and is
independent of whether circumstances are favorable or unfavorable (Jn 16:20-22).
Joy
is God’s gift to believers, a fruit of the Spirit (see
note
Galatians 5:22). Nehemiah
declared, "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Neh 8:10). So Paul prays that
they would be filled with ALL JOY, that inner gladness and deep seated pleasure.
It is a depth of assurance and confidence that ignites a cheerful heart. It is a
cheerful heart that leads to cheerful behavior.
Note that Paul prays for this
Joy
to FILL US [see note on Greek verb (pleroo) under
discussion below (Romans
15:14 filled with all knowledge)].
The point is that like wine that fills a man exerts control over him, so too
Paul's prayer is that joy and peace would fill the believers in Rome and they would
be controlled by this fruit of the Spirit (cp note
Ephesians 5:18). The hope we have in
Christ is the source of a great part of our joy.
Warren Wiersbe defines joy as — "that inward peace and sufficiency that
is not affected by outward circumstances. (A case in point is Paul’s experience
recorded in
Philippians 4:1ff [see notes].) This "holy optimism" keeps him going in spite of
difficulties."
Donald Campbell former President of Dallas Theological Seminary says
Joy
(chara) is a deep and abiding inner rejoicing which was promised to those
who abide in Christ (cf.
Jn 15:11). It does not depend on circumstances because
it rests in God’s sovereign control of all things (cf. note
Romans 8:28).
Webster's definition reflects the world's view of joy "the emotion evoked by
well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one
desires". Obviously this is not an accurate description of the JOY independent
of circumstances that is available to every believer.
Hodge writes
God is called the God of hope, because
He is the author of all the well–grounded hope of His people. All hope of
which He is not the author, in the heart of men, is false and delusive.
The world in general may have hope, but it is false hope. All true hope
with respect to the Divine favor is effected in the human heart by God
Himself. Not only is God the author of all true hope, but He can create
this hope out of the midst of despair. The most desponding are often
raised by Him to a good hope through grace; and the most guilty are in a
moment relieved, and made to hope in His mercy. How remarkably was this
the case with the thief on the cross, and with the three thousand on the
day of Pentecost! ...["fill you"] implies that there are degrees of joy
and peace in the minds of Christians. Some may have a measure of these
graces who do not abound in them. It is a great blessing to be filled with
them; and for this blessing the Apostle prays with respect to the
Christians at Rome. If there be different degrees of joy and peace, how
important is it to look earnestly to God for the fullest communication of
these blessings! (Hodge,
Charles: Commentary on Romans. Ages Classic Commentaries
or
Logos)
PEACE (1515)
(eirene
from verb eiro = binding or joining together what is broken or divided)
(Click
word study of
eirene)
(Click the 10 uses
of
eirene in
Romans) means
literally that which has been bound together. It is freedom from disquieting or
oppressive thoughts or emotions. Peace in this verse is that inward state of
quiet which is independent of circumstances and is that inner attitude which God's Spirit (see
notes
Galatians 5:22; 23)
gives His people. Note that this peace is only possible when after one has been
justified by faith and experienced peace WITH God (see note
Romans 5:1).
In short peace with God must precede and is the basis for the peace OF
God (see note
Philippians 4:7).
Webster defines peace as a state of
tranquility or quiet, freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or
emotions, harmony in personal relations, a pact or agreement to end hostilities
between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity, state of repose in
contrast with or following strife or turmoil. (Click for discussion of "gospel of peace" the believer's
spiritual "sneakers").
IN (the) BELIEVING: en to pisteuein (PAN):
In believing - Click
Romans for 20 uses of the
verb pisteuo. Notice that joy is also
linked with faith in Paul's letter to the Philippians...
And convinced of this, I know that I
shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the
faith (Philippians
1:25 [note])
Pastor Ray Stedman comments on Paul's
phrase in believing
:
I want to
stress that briefly because I think that we have gone astray in this respect.
Oftentimes people come to me, and say, "What is the matter with my Christian
life? I have come to a plateau where I seem to be so bored, and nothing
interesting is happening, and I have lost all vision and joy and victory in my
life. It seems to be so dull and lifeless. What can I do?" For years I think I
gave a wrong answer to that. I said to them, "Well, are you reading the Bible?"
And usually it turned out that they weren't. Or, "Are you having times of
prayer?" And I gave the pat answer which is so easily given by most of us, "What
you need is time for prayer and reading the Scriptures -- prayer and the Bible."
But I have come to see that this isn't the answer. What they need is to BELIEVE
what they read in Scripture, and BELIEVE what they pray--that is the answer.
These other things are merely mechanics which make possible the BELIEVING, but
BELIEVING is the real answer. It isn't BIBLE READING, or
PRAYER, or Christian
FELLOWSHIP that unlocks the power of the Holy Spirit. It is BELIEVING what you
read or what you pray: When you BELIEVE that Jesus Christ indwells you, when you
BELIEVE that he is all that you need, when you BELIEVE that he intends to act
through you, then you can act! You discover that all that He is becomes visible
through you and accomplishes all that needs to be done. The result is power and
joy and peace, as Paul prays here....The God of hope cannot fill us with joy and
peace if we don't believe -- which means to act on what we know. But it is when
we BELIEVE and act that the power of the Holy Spirit begins to work through us
and causes us to abound in hope -- for all around us are the evidences that God
is at work accomplishing his purposes in our lives. (Read the full message
Power to Please) (bolding added)
In summary, Christian joy and peace are IMpossible apart from trust in
Him in Whom they are eminently HIMpossible! (See related topics of
In Christ
and
in Christ Jesus)
THAT YOU MAY (continuously)
ABOUND (super abound)
IN
HOPE: eis to perisseuein (PAN) humas en
te elpidi:
Abound (4052)
(perisseuo from perissós = abundant in turn
from peri = in sense of beyond) means to exceed a fixed
number or measure and so to exist in superfluity.
Here we see Paul's purpose - that they would
overflowing with hope. The joy and peace given by
God should result in an overflow of hope in the believer.
A common goal in
Paul's prayers was that the saints wouldn't be "ain'ts" but that they would
''super abound'' spiritually (Ro 15:13 1Co15:58 1Th 3:12).
Paul uses this
perisseuo also in
Romans 3:7 [note],
Romans 5:15 [note])
Perisseuo
is used three times in
2Cor 9:8
And God is able to make all
grace abound to you, that always having all
sufficiency
in
everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed
In
context those who are overflowing in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit have
no time to quarrel over nonessentials. Our common hope is a powerful unifying
force in the Christian life. For more discussion of the word "hope" see note
above on Romans 15:4.
McGee says
This is what a study of Romans should do
for you. I trust it has given you joy and peace and that it has strengthened
your faith. I trust it has brought hope and power into your life, my friend.
This is the benediction that concludes the doctrinal section of the Epistle
to the Romans. (McGee,
J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
James Witmer writes that...
Paul desired God to fill his readers with all joy and peace (see
note
Romans 14:17). Joy
relates to the delight of anticipation in seeing one’s hopes fulfilled. Peace
results from the assurance that God will fulfill those hopes (see notes
Romans 5:1;
Philippians 4:7).
These are experienced as believers trust in Him (cf. note
Hebrews 11:1). As a result
believers overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (cf. note
Romans 15:19)
(Walvoord,
J. F., Zuck, R. B., et al: The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 1985. Victor
or
Logos)
Ray Stedman writes
What a magnificent verse! Whenever I
am asked to give an autograph, I almost always include this verse in it. It
is such a beautiful expression. Look how much you have got going for you.
All the great words of the Christian faith appear here: hope, twice (once it
is called "overflowing hope"); and joy, great joy; and peace, calmness and
confidence; and trust, belief in a living God; and finally, the power of the
Holy Spirit, the invisible force that can open doors and no man shuts them,
and can shut and no man opens -- the power of God released among us....What
the apostle is urging us to do is to unite on the great positive words of
our faith, and that we allow these qualities of hope, and joy, and peace,
and trust, and power to be visible when others see us gathered together as
Christians. When they hear us talking about each other we are to reflect
these qualities, rather than the miniscule divisions and arguments that many
of us have. (Read the full message
Our Great Example)
BY THE POWER (inherent enablement) OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: en dunamei
pneumatos hagiou:
Power
(1411)
(dunamis)
(7x
Romans) refers to inherent power
residing in something by virtue of its nature. Here the power Source is
the Holy Spirit. His inherent enabling power is the means by which unity will
be accomplished. The Holy Spirit supernaturally enables the stronger and weaker brothers to see
each other’s positions and to refuse to let their differences mar the unity that
they have in Christ. The result is true spiritual freedom and maturity.
What was described as the effect of Scripture in [v4] (have hope) is now
attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul here follows a pattern evident
throughout the New Testament in which God’s saving acts are attributed to God’s
Word as well as to the work of the Holy Spirit
Cranfield
The existence of this hope in men
is no human possibility but the creation of the Spirit of God. (Cranfield,
C. E. B Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. Vol 1: Ro 1-8.;
Volume 2: Romans 9-16)
Barclay
There are no hopeless
situations...there are only men who have grown hopeless about them. (
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