“Receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls.”
receiving the end of your faith
The word “receiving” means to receive back. The secular Greek language used this word to define the recovery of debts. The tax-collector would go from place to place collecting what was coming to him. In the same way, we collect a whole life in Christ. He meets every need. He fills our soul with joy (v.8).
The word “receiving” also has the idea of acquiring for oneself. In the Greek it means to carry off for oneself, to get what is promised. We need to personally appropriate the end of our faith in order to enter the joy of our salvation.
The secular Greek language used “receiving” to refer to winning prizes in games. “Receiving” is the basis of our joy of verse 8. We rejoice with a joy that has already attained its full perfection. This is the ultimate reception of glory.
Whatever we receive from God we receive by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7; Colossians 2:6). We can develop our faith by exercise.
The word “receive” is present tense. This receiving is not the future; it is a present reality. We can receive the end of our faith right now, the blessing of our salvation. We have already received the end of our faith in the person of Jesus Christ. Joy has already attained full perfection in Christ.
The “end” is the culmination of our faith. This is not the cessation or conclusion but the goal of our faith. Here it refers to the object to which we direct our faith. This word alludes to a prize received in a game. Our salvation is the crown of the Christian life. The end of our faith is the completion, conclusion, and consummation of our faith. It is that for which we believe.
PRINCIPLE:
We can enjoy heaven now; we do not need to wait until we get to heaven.
APPLICATION:
It is foolish to wait until we have reached the heights before we view the scenery. We can enjoy future rewards now.
We can enjoy our eternal reward and can receive the goal of our salvation right now. We do not need to wait until eternity to enjoy salvation. God wants us to personally appropriate and enjoy these blessings in time.
