God is a promise-making and promise-keeping God. And so many of his promises are designed to give us strength, encouragement, and clarity to press in and press through the hard things of life. We can abound in hope as we learn, remember, and trust in God’s promises.

It would be hard to deny the importance of hope in the Christian life. Along with faith and love, Paul lists hope as one of three essential virtues (1 Cor 13:13).

Additionally, Paul calls Jesus “our hope” (1 Tim 1:1). Peter gets in on the action, reminding Christians that they have been “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

So, hope is crucial to followers of Jesus. What, then, is hope?

Basic Ideas About Hope

We use “hope” in conversation with enough frequency that we may not have a solid definition in mind. When we tell a friend that we hope they have a good day or that we hope we can cut the grass before it rains, we’re expressing a strong desire. In this usage, “hope” means something close to “wish.”

But this isn’t how the Biblical authors use the Hebrew and Greek words that come into English as “hope.”

Before we dive too deeply, let’s establish some basic ideas about hope. First, hope is forward-looking. It is about the future, events yet to come. Additionally, in almost every New Testament instance, the use of “hope” is eschatological. That fancy word just means that hope refers to “last things” or “end things.” Here are some examples.

Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” (Acts 23:6)

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Cor 15:19)

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