“…which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel”
Hope is the present object of faith. It is already in existence laid up in heaven.
“which is laid up for you in heaven”
“Which is laid up for you in heaven” — The word “heaven” is in the plural, “heavens.” This is a reference to the invisible spiritual kingdom that surrounds us right now. There is hope for us right now because it comes from an invisible spiritual kingdom surrounding us presently. This is the good news that right now, as we face trouble, Jesus’ presence is available to us. He imparts his strength and enables us to stand against adversity. This is the hope of the gospel that awakens faith.
“Laid up” means to be preserved. Hope is stored up for us like a treasure. God guarantees our salvation in eternity. We can blow it down here, but we will not lose eternity there. We can never lose our salvation because we never did anything to gain it.
The Christian life revolves around our choice. In time we can choose to live based on the divine operating assets or not. In eternity everything depends on God. Jesus is there praying for us to guarantee our salvation (Heb. 7:25). He also prays that we will succeed in our work in time.
“For you” — No matter what happens in this life, we will live forever. God could take us to heaven the moment we accept Christ, but he has a plan for us in time. We are his personal representatives down here. We are ambassadors for Christ. What we do as an ambassador in time will determine our reward in eternity.
Our hope will be revealed in sight at the rapture. Hope produces faith. Faith, in turn, grows into love. Hope is the foundation.
“of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel”
The gospel awakens hope (1 Thes 1:3; 5:8; 1 Cor 13:13). Our hope rests in the truth of the gospel. The test of reality is not whether it pleases us or is comfortable, but whether it is true.
“Heard” — Lighthouses have horns as well as lights. Ship captains cannot see the light in dense fog, so they use the fog horn. There are two things involved in the Christian life: walk and talk, life and lip, and they must go together. When people come to Christ, the word will get out. Your family will hear about it first thing. God converts our tongue when we receive Christ.
Principle:
Our hope rests in the truth of the gospel.
Application:
Have both your life and lip been converted?
