“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil…” Hebrews 6:19
The eternal hope of the believer is not a philosophy, an imaginary expectation with a margin of error to be accepted. It is a certain truth, based upon the word of the Eternal God who is immutable, and who, according to the Scriptures, cannot lie. (Heb. 6:18) What is this hope but the absolute, full realization of one’s salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, where one is totally forgiven of all sin, clothed with the perfect righteousness of Christ, with the certain expectation beyond the grave, of knowing perfect fellowship with the Eternal God, being absolutely filled with His goodness, knowing perpetually the fulness of His love. It is the full realization, and manifestation of God’s glory in the life, which occurred at the moment when the saved sinner became a new creation in Christ. It is that certainty of stepping out of all the shadows and influences of this world, into the limitless presence, and blessing of God. It is the realization of the promise that “…to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord,” when mortality shall give way to immortality, and the full realization of one’s blessed union with Christ, the Father, and Spirit is seen. One with the Everlasting God, in Christ Jesus, the believer shall not die. He shall be forever, according to Jesus’ prayer, where Jesus IS. This is a glimpse of the hope set before the believer. How then are we to live in regard to it?
We know from the Scriptures that “…the just shall live by faith.” The believer is called upon to believe God, the immutable God, whose words are the very expression of His absolute commitment to accomplish and work perfectly, faithfully according to them. The faith that we are to live by is that of Christ, a gift, concerning which the capacity should ever be expanding and deepening. In this process there is a truth that must be always embraced, accepted, and lived by. Faith is based uniquely upon the faithfulness of God to manifest Himself, His glory, and the accomplishment of His will and purposes, all according to His word. His word and His work are in separable. Both are as immutable as He is, rendering Him perfectly trustworthy. Indeed, He stands alone as the sole, and perfect object of faith, for He alone is holy, good, love, mercy and wisdom. How then is faith to grow, and the limits of it, extended, spread forth, where its stakes are firmly planted, where the bedrock for all actions, works, and thoughts of the believer are founded upon the eternal, solid foundation of Christ, the eternal Rock. It is there that faith deepens with the increased revelation of Christ in His word.
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews spoke of God’s revelation to mankind, Him “speaking” through the prophets in Old Testament times. The writer then goes on to say that in these last times, God has spoken to us through His Son, who is declared to be the heir of all things, the object of worship by all the angels, and revealed to be God…forever and ever. He is the One who has “…laid the foundation of the earth,” the heavens being the works of His hands. It is to this one we are to look, who has been lifted up from the earth on a cruel cross, to taste of death for all men, that all might be saved. He is the Author and Finisher of faith. The believer is called upon “…to see Jesus,” to look unto Him. It is as we worship Christ, and the Father by the Spirit, that faith deepens, for the deepening reality of who He IS grips the heart and soul.
Prayer also is essential to faith, for in response to it God gives His strength to live, and to overcome. Overcoming faith lays hold of Christ’s faithfulness to perfectly fulfill His words.
Dear Father, Make us see Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen.