What does Christ in you the Hope of Glory mean?
I call my blog Hope in Jesus because I have a simple but deep faith that we all have hope of something more than what we see before us in this life. Something not proven, but hoped for, something eternal, wonderful, and glorious.
In the letter St Paul wrote to Christian converts in the ancient town of the Collosia he included the phrase ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (Collosians 1:27).
This means that those who believe in Jesus and accept his Holy Spirit have the hope of eternal glory. And this is the hope in Jesus that I have. It is a hope of eternal glory. I understand that although I am far from perfection, I can continue to live in the hope that I can be everything God intended me to be.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came on occasion to empower certain people at critical times in their lives. Think David and Goliath, Daniel in the Lion’s Den, and Joshua at Jericho.
But the Holy Spirit did not dwell within these people beyond the time they were empowered by it.
The Holy Spirit
After Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit into the world at Pentecost to dwell within all those who would believe in Him. This was something never given to people of faith before Jesus’ death and resurrection.
St Paul said that the Holy Spirit of God seals the believer for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30)
In other words, the Spirit’s presence in the hearts of believers guarantees them salvation from death.
This means death will not claim them, as it did not claim Jesus. I means they will live (eternally) to become all that God had intended them to be; they will be emancipated from the chains of their sin and regenerated in glory.
The secret is simply this: If Christ’s Holy Spirit has been accepted within you, you can live in the hope of glorious things to come, both in this world and the next.
Christ in you the hope of Glory – 1 Collosians 1:27
