Promise thru Paul 188: Hope of Righteousness

188. Hope of Righteousness

Galatians 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

We have the promise of the Hope of Righteousness. And we wait for it by faith. Hope means present reality by faith. Hope is real and it is present; it is substantial and solid; but the hope is not yet realized in sight. We have righteousness now but it will also be fulfilled and realized in reality later. The present hope is just as real, but it may not be seen or felt yet. No one except God sees the righteousness, which we already have, but we do have the hope of it through the Spirit. The Spirit is in our spirit and He continually reminds us of the truth that we are declared righteous by faith now and that we will actually be righteous later.

Because we do not yet see it fulfilled we wait for it with hope. Faith gives us hope. Hope is the present reality of something yet to come to us in the future. Therefore, we wait for it. Waiting means waiting in faith, knowing that it will come, not just “hoping” it will be true. Hope knows; waiting is certain. Waiting is an essential part of our earthly existence. Patience is faith; faith is the certainty that what we hope for is real and true. Waiting and patience is living with confidence; waiting for a promise of God is not wishing for it or even praying for it. Waiting in hope knows for sure. We do not feel righteous, but we believe we are righteous. We have the Word of God’s promise and the indwelling of the Spirit to give us confidence while we wait. The waiting may seem like a long time from our limited point of view. If we could see from God’s viewpoint we would have no doubt. That is why we have the Word of God: to give us the solid present assurance of what we cannot yet see from our limited viewpoint. The Spirit uses the Word to give calm assurance and grant peace to the heart.