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Romans
8:24-25 Commentary |
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Romans
8:24 For
in
hope we have been
saved, but
hope that is
seen is not
hope; for
who
hopes for
what he already
sees? (NASB:
Lockman) |
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Greek:
te
gar
elpidi
esothemen; (1PAPI)
elpis
de
blepomene (PPPFSN)
ouk
estin (3SPAI)
elpis;
o
gar
blepei (3SPAI)
tis
elpizei? (3SPAI)
Amplified:
For in [this] hope we were saved. But hope [the object of] which is
seen is not hope. For how can one hope for what he already sees? (Amplified
Bible - Lockman)
NLT: Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this
freedom. For if you already have something, you don't need to hope for
it. (NLT
- Tyndale House)
Phillips: We were saved by this hope, but in our moments of
impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for
something that we haven't yet got. (Phillips:
Touchstone)
Wuest: For we were saved in the sphere of hope. But hope
that has been seen is not hope, for that which a person sees, why does
he hope for it? But if that which we do not see, we hope for, through
patience we expectantly wait for it. (Eerdmans)
Young's Literal: for in hope we were saved, and hope beheld is
not hope; for what any one doth behold, why also doth he hope for it? |
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ROMANS ROAD
to RIGHTEOUSNESS |
Romans
1:18-3:20
|
Romans
3:21-5:21 |
Romans
6:1-8:39 |
Romans
9:1-11:36 |
Romans
12:1-16:27 |
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SIN
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SALVATION
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SANCTIFICATION |
SOVEREIGNTY |
SERVICE |
NEED
FOR
SALVATION |
WAY
OF
SALVATION |
LIFE
OF
SALVATION |
SCOPE
OF
SALVATION |
SERVICE
OF
SALVATION |
God's Holiness
In
Condemning
Sin |
God's Grace
In
Justifying
Sinners |
God's Power
In
Sanctifying
Believers |
God's Sovereignty
In
Saving
Jew and Gentile |
Gods Glory
The
Object of
Service |
Deadliness
of Sin |
Design
of Grace |
Demonstration of
Salvation |
|
Power Given
|
Promises Fulfilled |
Paths Pursued |
Righteousness
Needed |
Righteousness
Credited |
Righteousness
Demonstrated |
Righteousness
Restored to Israel |
Righteousness
Applied |
God's Righteousness
IN LAW |
God's Righteousness
IMPUTED |
God's Righteousness
OBEYED |
God's Righteousness
IN ELECTION |
God's Righteousness
DISPLAYED |
|
Slaves to Sin |
Slaves to God |
Slaves Serving God |
|
Doctrine |
Duty |
|
Life by Faith |
Service by Faith |
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Modified from Irving
L. Jensen's excellent work "Jensen's
Survey of the NT" |
FOR IN HOPE WE HAVE BEEN SAVED: te gar elpidi esothemen
(1PAPI): (Ro 5:2;
12:12; 15:4,13; Ps 33:18,22; 146:5; Pr 14:32; Jer 17:7; Zech 9:12; 1Co
13:13; Gal 5:5; Col 1:5,23,27; 1Th 5:8; 2Th 2:16; Titus 2:11, 12, 13;
Heb 6:18,19; 1Pet 1:3,21; 1Jn 3:3)
For (gar)
introduces an explanation of the preceding.
Denney
writes that
This sentence explains why Paul can
speak of Christians as waiting for adoption, while they are nevertheless
in the enjoyment of sonship. It is because salvation is essentially
related to the future. ‘We wait for it: for we were saved in hope.’… Our
salvation was qualified from the beginning by reference to a good yet to
be... Hope, the apostle argues, is an essential characteristic of our
salvation; but hope turned sight is hope no more, for who hopes for what
he sees? We do not see all the gospel held out to us, but it is the
object of our Christian hope nevertheless; it is as true and sure as the
love of God which in Christ Jesus reconciled us to Himself and gave us
the Spirit of adoption, and therefore we wait for it in patience.
(Nicoll, W Robertson, Editor: Expositors Greek Testament: 5 Volumes. Out
of print. Search Google)
Saved
(4982)(sozo
[word study]) has the basic meaning of rescuing one from
great peril. Additional nuances include to protect, keep alive, preserve
life, deliver, heal, be made whole.
Sozo - 106x in 99v
- Matt 1:21; 8:25; 9:21f; 10:22; 14:30; 16:25; 19:25; 24:13, 22; 27:40,
42, 49; Mark 3:4; 5:23, 28, 34; 6:56; 8:35; 10:26, 52; 13:13, 20;
15:30f; 16:16; Luke 6:9; 7:50; 8:12, 36, 48, 50; 9:24; 13:23; 17:19;
18:26, 42; 19:10; 23:35, 37, 39; John 3:17; 5:34; 10:9; 11:12; 12:27,
47; Acts 2:21, 40, 47; 4:9, 12; 11:14; 14:9; 15:1, 11; 16:30f; 27:20,
31; Rom 5:9f; 8:24; 9:27; 10:9, 13; 11:14, 26; 1 Cor 1:18, 21; 3:15;
5:5; 7:16; 9:22; 10:33; 15:2; 2 Cor 2:15; Eph 2:5, 8; 1 Thess 2:16; 2
Thess 2:10; 1 Tim 1:15; 2:4, 15; 4:16; 2 Tim 1:9; 4:18; Titus 3:5; Heb
5:7; 7:25; Jas 1:21; 2:14; 4:12; 5:15, 20; 1 Pet 3:21; 4:18; Jude 1:5,
23. NAS - bring...safely(1), cured(1), ensure salvation(1), get(1), get
well(2), made...well(6), made well(5), preserved(1), recover(1),
restore(1), save(36), saved(50), saves(1), saving(1).
We have been
saved is aorist tense which records the saving act as a past
event, a historical fact. The we is all who have accepted
salvation in Christ. We now possess salvation "past tense", each of us
having been saved at a certain point in time in the when we confessed
with (our) mouth Jesus as Lord, and
(believed) in (our) heart that God raised Him from the dead (Ro 10:9-note)
Regarding the phrase in hope, A T Robertson
comments that...
We were
saved in hope, by hope, for hope (of the redemption of the body).
Hope (1680)(elpis)
is defined as a desire for some future good with the expectation of
obtaining it. Hope is confident expectancy.
Hope
in
Scripture is not the world's definition of "I hope so", with a
few rare exceptions (e.g., Acts 27:20)
Elpis - 53x
in 48v - Acts 2:26; 16:19; 23:6; 24:15; 26:6f; 27:20; 28:20; Rom 4:18;
5:2, 4f; 8:20, 24; 12:12; 15:4, 13; 1 Cor 9:10; 13:13; 2 Cor 1:7; 3:12;
10:15; Gal 5:5; Eph 1:18; 2:12; 4:4; Phil 1:20; Col 1:5, 23, 27; 1 Thess
1:3; 2:19; 4:13; 5:8; 2 Thess 2:16; 1 Tim 1:1; Titus 1:2; 2:13; 3:7; Heb
3:6; 6:11, 18; 7:19; 10:23; 1 Pet 1:3, 21; 3:15; 1 John 3:3
Hope as the
world typically defines it is a desire for some future occurrence of
which one is not assured of attaining. The ancient world did not
generally regard hope as a virtue, but merely as a temporary
illusion. Historians tell us that a great cloud of hopelessness
covered the ancient world. Philosophies were empty; traditions were
disappearing; religions were powerless to help men face either life or
death. People longed to pierce the veil and get some message of hope
from the other side, but there is none outside of Christ.
Hope is the
looking forward to something with some reason for confidence respecting
fulfillment. And so in this same chapter Peter encouraged the suffering
saints writing
Therefore (on the basis of the
salvation and the "living hope" they now possessed) (to) gird your
minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope (elpizo -
verb form of elpis) completely on the grace to be brought to you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ." (see note
1 Peter 1:13)
Click
in depth study of Biblical hope: chart summarizing the definition
of, source of, stabilizing effect of and sanctifying effect of hope.
G K Chesterton
said that
Hope means hoping when things
are hopeless or it is no virtue at all...As long as matters are really
hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude. It is only when everything
is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength."
What hope? “That blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the
great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13-note). The best is yet to
come! The believer does not get frustrated as he sees and experiences
suffering and pain in this world. He knows (his hope = a certainty) that
the temporary suffering will one day give way to eternal glory.
In other words if you had received ALL of your salvation already, what
are you hoping in? You've just received the earnest "money" or down
payment of your inheritance (see notes
Ephesians 1:13;
1:14).
Ro 5:5
(note) teaches us that this
hope will not disappoint. The Holy Spirit living in us now assures us of
that certainty (Ro 8:15, 16-see notes
Ro8:15;
16). From the outset we have looked forward to full
and final deliverance from sin, suffering, disease, and death
(1Pe 1:5, 13-see notes
1Pe 1:5;
13). If we had already received these blessings, we wouldn't be
hoping for them. We only hope for what is in the future. In other words,
in this life we cannot expect to experience the reality of our
glorification but only the hope of it. But since the believer's hope is
based on God's promise, the completion of his salvation is more certain
by far than anything he sees with his eyes. Because of this future HOPE
in (Titus 2:13-note) Paul says that our present attitude should be one of
LOOKING (with an attitude of
expectancy) for the blessed HOPE and the appearing of the glory of our
great God and Savior, Christ Jesus
BUT HOPE THAT IS SEEN IS NOT HOPE
FOR WHY DOES ONE ALSO HOPE FOR WHAT HE SEES: elpis de blepomene (PPPFSN) ouk estin
(3SPAI) elpis o gar blepei (3SPAI) tis
elpizei (3SPAI): (2Corinthians
4:18; 5:7; Hebrews 11:1; 1Peter 1:10,11)
Sees (991)
(blepo) means perceive with your eyes. Blepo can denote
simple voluntary observation and so mean to look at, behold. Many NT
uses convey the sense of becoming aware of or taking notice of
something, of perceiving or discerning or understanding.
Paul refers to our hope of salvation as a helmet,
symbolizing our divine protection from the blows of doubt that Satan
sends to crush our hope (1Th 5:8-note).
From the outset we looked forward to full and final deliverance from
sin, suffering, disease, and death. If we had already received these
blessings, we wouldn’t be hoping for them. We only hope for what is in
the future.
In other words, in this life we cannot expect to experience the reality
of our glorification but only the hope of it. But since the believer’s
hope is based on God’s promise, the completion of his salvation is more
certain by far than anything he sees with his eyes. As we shall see
later, the believer’s salvation is so secure that his glorification is
spoken of in the past tense (Ro 8:30-note).
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When you are “living in the future tense,” it is difficult for the
things of the world to ensnare you. In this section, Paul teaches us
that when we are tempted to be downcast by our suffering &
circumstances, to try the "uplook".
BUT IF WE HOPE FOR WHAT WE DO NOT SEE: ei de o
ou blepomen (1PPAI) elpizomen (1PPAI):
We hope
(1679)
(elpizo from
elpis) means to look
forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial. The
present tense
pictures this attitude as the believer's lifestyle, which is one of
hope, where hope (see word study on
elpis) is defined in the
NT as the absolute assurance that God will do good to us and for us in
the future.
Elpizo -
31x in 31v - Matt 12:21; Luke 6:34; 23:8; 24:21; John 5:45; Acts 24:26;
26:7; Rom 8:24f; 15:12, 24; 1 Cor 13:7; 15:19; 16:7; 2 Cor 1:10, 13;
5:11; 8:5; 13:6; Phil 2:19, 23; 1 Tim 3:14; 4:10; 5:5; 6:17; Philemon
1:22; Heb 11:1; 1 Pet 1:13; 3:5; 2 John 1:12; 3 John 1:14. NAS =
expect(1), expected(1), fix...hope(2), fixed...hope(2), hope(13),
hoped(3), hopes(1), hoping(4), set...hope(2), trust(1).
W E Vine
writes that...
The future fruition of present
suffering and toil in service faithfully rendered is fully assured in
the hearts of those who engage in it; they know their God will fulfill
His promises, and accordingly God Himself is the firm foundation of
their hope. It is not merely a trust in God but a hope that rests upon
Him. (Vine,
W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson)
What is our present hope of
future good in context? It is clearly that our mortal bodies will one
day be redeemed in the twinkling of an eye (1Cor 15:51,52) and we shall
receive our glorified bodies, free from even the presence of SIN.
Paul is saying that since we have a certain hope even though we don't
yet see it, that this very certainty should prompt a specific attitude &
behavior - such a person can persevere or bear up under whatever their
circumstances are because they have a fixed confidence that knows what
is coming. One who has this hope is willing to persevere. In Php1:6 Paul
says "I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work
in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus", (cp note
2 Timothy 1:12)
which is the day when glory is revealed to us. Peter says a similar
thing in (see note
1 Peter 1:13)
Set your sights on this glorious future grace & allow the Holy Spirit to
change your perspective on the present suffering you are experiencing.
Live in the light of who you are
in Christ (note)
and in light
of who God is going to reveal you to be some day when this "season of
suffering" is over.
WITH
PERSEVERANCE WE WAIT
EAGERLY FOR IT: di hupomones apekdechometha (1PPMI): (Ro
8:23; 2:7; 12:12; Ge 49:18; Ps 27:14; 37:7, 8, 9; 62:1,5,6; 130:5, 6, 7;
Isa 25:9; 26:8; La 3:25,26; Lk 8:15; 21:19; Col 1:11; 1Th 1:3; 2Th 3:5;
Heb 6:12,15; 10:36; 12:1, 2, 3; Jas 1:3,4; 5:7, 8, 9, 10, 11; Rev 1:9;
13:10; Rev 14:12)
With
perseverance - Literally through (the instrumentality) of
perseverance.
Paul
commends the church in Thessalonica for their perseverance writing that
he, Silas and Timothy were...
constantly bearing in mind your work
of faith and labor of love and steadfastness (hupomone)
of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father
(1Thes 1:3-note)
(Note two things - [1] Hope buoys up and encourages perseverance
[2] Hope is turn ultimately is not in a doctrine per se but in a Person,
our Lord Jesus Christ, cp 1Ti 1:1).
Perseverance (5281)(hupomone
[word study]
from hupo = under
+ meno = stay, remain, abide) is literally abiding under. The
root idea of hupomone is that of remaining under some discipline,
subjecting one’s self to something which demands the acquiescence of the
will to something against which one naturally would rebel. It portrays a
picture of steadfastly and unflinchingly bearing up under a heavy load
and describes that quality of character which does not allow one to
surrender to circumstances or succumb under trial. Hupomone is
the constancy which belongs to and characterizes hope in dark days.
It has in it a forward look,
the ability to focus on what is beyond the current pressures (eg Jesus
Who for the joy set before Him
endured [verb form hupomeno] the
Cross despising the shame" (Heb 12:2-
note).
In short hupomone does not
describe a grim resignation or a passive "grin & bear" attitude but a
triumphant facing of difficult circumstances knowing that even out of
evil God guarantees good. It is courageous gallantry which accepts
suffering and hardship and turns them into grace and glory.
Hupomone -
32x in 31v - Luke 8:15; 21:19; Rom 2:7; 5:3f; 8:25; 15:4f; 2 Cor 1:6;
6:4; 12:12; Col 1:11; 1 Thess 1:3; 2 Thess 1:4; 3:5; 1 Tim 6:11; 2 Tim
3:10; Titus 2:2; Heb 10:36; 12:1; Jas 1:3f; 5:11; 2 Pet 1:6; Rev 1:9;
2:2f, 19; 3:10; 13:10; 14:12. NAS = endurance(7), patient enduring(1),
perseverance(21), steadfastness(3).
With steadfastness
bearing up not simply with resignation but with absolute assurance of
vibrant hope -- it is not a passive waiting. (1Th 1:3-note
Rev 13:10-note
Rev
14:12-note)
The writer of Hebrews alludes to the
importance of Christian perseverance...
For you have need of endurance
(hupomone),
so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was
promised. (He 10:36-note)
Morris describes perseverance as
the attitude of
the soldier who in the thick of battle is not dismayed but fights on
stoutly whatever the difficulties.
We are in a battle but can be
confident that the Victory has already been won! No literal earthly
soldier could have had such confidence as we can.
Hupomone is the ability to
endure when circumstances are difficult - not a passive sitting down and
bearing things but a triumphant facing of them so that even out of evil
there can come good, a bearing up in a way that honors and glorifies our
heavenly Father.
The difficulties in
our lives,
The obstacles we face,
Give God the opportunity
To show His power and grace.
This great section
on our present possession of the first fruits of the Spirit (like a
pledge cp Ep 1:14
[note]) and our future hope (certainty) of the
redemption of our decaying mortal bodies in which we currently wage
daily war (with the still co-existent enemies
Sin and the
flesh) is truth
that should give us encouragement to bear up under the circumstances (cp
"suffering" - Ro 8:17, 18-notes
Ro 8:17;
18). We're not home yet. The best is yet to come.
Eagerly wait (553)
(apekdechomai
[word study]
from apó = intensifier [see Vincent below] +
ekdechomai [word study] = expect, look for <> from ek = out +
dechomai [word study]
= receive kindly, accept deliberately and readily) means waiting
in great anticipation but with patience (compare our English expression
"wait it out"). To expect fully. To look (wait) for assiduously (marked
by careful unremitting attention) and patiently.
Apekdechomai
- 8x in 8v - Rom 8:19, 23, 25; 1Cor 1:7; Gal 5:5; Phil 3:20; Heb 9:28; 1
Pet 3:20. NAS = awaiting eagerly(1), eagerly await(1), eagerly
wait(1), wait eagerly(1), waiting(2), waiting eagerly(1), waits
eagerly(1).
Kenneth Wuest
explains that apekdechomai is...
a Greek word made up of three words
put together, the word, “to receive,” (dechomai)
which speaks of a welcoming or appropriating reception such as is
tendered to a friend who comes to visit one; the word “off,” (apo)
speaking here of the withdrawal of one’s attention from other objects,
and the word “out,” (ek)
used here in a perfective sense which intensifies the already existing
meaning of the word. The composite word speaks of an attitude of intense
yearning and eager waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus into the air
to take His Bride to heaven with Him, the attention being withdrawn from
all else and concentrated upon the Lord Jesus." (Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
Apekdechomai
is in the
present tense
indicating this is a heavenly citizen's continual mindset (Do
you frequently contemplate His return beloved?)
and the
middle voice which indicates the
subject is the beneficiary of the waiting. Wuest picks up on this nuance
of the middle voice with the translation "eagerly
waiting to welcome the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and to
receive Him to ourselves" where "to ourselves" is the reflexive
aspect of the middle voice. What a beautiful picture of the Bride, His
Church, waiting to receive Him to herself! A waiting, welcoming mindset
will motivate the bride to keep herself pure and holy.
Marvin Vincent
writes that...
"the compounded preposition apo
denotes the withdrawal of attention from inferior objects. The word is
habitually used in the New Testament with reference to a future
manifestation of the glory of Christ or of His people." (Vincent, M. R.
Word studies in the New Testament Vol. 3, Page 1-453)
A T Robertson
adds that apekdechomai is a...
"Rare and late double compound
(perfective use of prepositions like wait out) which vividly pictures
Paul’s eagerness for the second coming of Christ as the normal attitude
of the Christian colonist whose home is heaven." (Robertson, A. Word
Pictures in the New Testament)
Apekdechomai
pictures waiting in great anticipation but with patience. Awaiting
eagerly and expectantly for some future event and so to look forward
eagerly. Note that seven of the eight NT uses of apekdechomai are
related in some way to our "blessed
hope", the return of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Stedman writes:
I thought of old Caleb, back there in the Old Testament, who, after 40
years of marching with the children of Israel in the wilderness, looked
at the land from Mt. Hebron, and at the giants, and said to Joshua, at
85 years of age, "Joshua, give me this mountain for I am as strong yet
as I was in the day when Moses sent me into the land" {cf, Josh 14:11, 12}. He saw that land 40 years before when Moses sent him in as a spy.
He saw the mountain, and he wanted it. Hebron means "fellowship" and he
claimed that mountain as his own, and, for 40 years, as they wandered in
the desert, Caleb, by faith, lived in Hebron -- in the place of
fellowship. In appropriating faith, he was there already, and, at last,
there came the day when he actually entered into it and possessed it --
even though he was 85 years of age. All through that account we are told
the secret of that man's strength, and hope, and faith. It is given in
these words: "He wholly followed the Lord his God," {cf, Nu 32:12 14:24}.
(The
Joy of being Grown Up) |
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