NO CHRIST – NO HOPE

“That at that time you were WITHOUT CHRIST, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having NO HOPE…” – Ephesians 2:12a

The reality of life on earth is that of ‘NO CHRIST – NO HOPE’: “That at that time you were WITHOUT CHRIST, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having NO HOPE and without God in the world” (Eph.2:12). Peter – the apostle of Hope – states that it is the “new birth” that provides our living hope: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1Pet.1:3). In other words, salvation is a gift from God. Just as an infant does nothing to be born, we experience the new birth not because of who we are or anything we have done to merit it.

We are born of God through faith in Christ Jesus: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jh.1: 12-13). Regeneration became real through Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Salvation transforms us: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2Cor.5:17). We become dead to sin and alive to righteousness in Jesus Christ (Eph.2:5). This new birth serves as our reason for living hope – the assurance of salvation.

Living Hope is not the wishful thinking that the world usually associates with the word hope: “I hope it doesn’t rain,” or “I hope I pass the test.” This is not the kind of hope Peter had in mind. He was addressing Christians who were suffering persecution in Asia Minor: encouraging them in their troubles; assuring them that their future was secure because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Their hope was in His victory over death and His resurrection life. Whatever they would face in this world could not compare to the blessings of the future resurrection and the life to come in eternity.

The Greek term for “hope” means “an eager, confident expectation,” which is not only “LIVING” but “LIVELY” – a hope that lives on. Unlike world’s empty, dead hope, “living hope” is energizing, alive, and active in the believer’s soul. Living Hope originates from a living, resurrected Saviour – Jesus Christ. Without Him, life is empty, hollow, and hopeless. This Hope in Christ enables us to live without despair amidst suffering and trials in this present life: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2Cor.4: 16-18).

This Living Hope is all about Jesus Christ! This Hope is anchored in the past – He rose from the dead: “He is not here: for He is risen…” (Mt.28:6a). It continues in the present – Jesus is alive: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God” (Col.3:1). It endures throughout the future – Jesus promises eternal life: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jh.3:16); “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (Jh.4:14).

No Christ – No hope! In Christ there is living and lively Hope – an eager, confident expectation of everlasting life!