Christian > Sermons > Christ in You – The Hope of Glory

Christ in You – The Hope of Glory

At first glance we could easily understand this phrase to mean that because we believe in Jesus, we can look forward to receiving the reward of being let into heaven. But if we properly grasp Paul’s understanding of these words, we will see that there is something much more astounding behind these words.

Bible Readings

  • Ephesians 1:3-14
  • Colossians 1:15-20, 25-27

What does the phrase “Christ in you” mean?

Where does God dwell?

  1. God is separate from his creation and it would be true to say that he doesn’t dwell anywhere. However, …
  2. Mt Sinai
    • After the Exodus, the Israelites journeyed to Mt Sinai to meet God. Moses ascended the mountain to represent the people and to bring God’s message back to the people.
    • After spending 40 days with God, Moses’ face shone so brightly that no-one could bear to look at him.
  3. Tabernacle
    • God chooses to travel with his people
  4. Temple
    • A permanent house for God so that all nations could see that he was still present with his people
    • But the prophets looked forward to the time when God would not only speak through prophet’s but would put his spirit in all the people (eg Jer 31)
  5. Jesus
    • Reread Col 1:15-20
    • The visible expression of the invisible God:
    1. Col 1:15, 1:19, 2:9
      • Phil 2:6
      • Heb 1:3
    •  Christ is supreme – in him all things hold together (v17)
  6. In the hearts of his people
    • We are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16-17)
    • The HS is a deposit which guarantees our inheritance (Eph 1:14)
    • “Christ in you” is equivalent to “the HS in you” since the Christian belief is that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are alternate expressions of the One God. (Rom 8:9)
    • This Christian concept of Christ dwelling in us is quite separate from the pantheistic or Eastern mystical understanding that God dwells in us all.
    1. For them, the whole universe is part of God and our spiritual journey involves us recognising the innate God within us.
    2. But for us, God is a person, totally separate from the created universe and it is nothing short of miraculous to contemplate God living inside us.
    3. We tend to miss the awesomeness of this claim because it is so familiar to us, but it should be virtually unbelievable; it should stun us into absolute humility and gratitude and amazement.

What does the phrase “the hope of glory” mean?

  1. Hope
    • The normal English use of the word means little more than “wish”
    • In contrast, the Biblical writers use the word to mean the sure knowledge that the thing hoped for will come to pass
    • Often used in the Psalms and the Prophets
      • Psalm 25:3 “No-one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame”
      • Psalm 146:5-6 “Blessed is he whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them – the Lord, who remains faithful forever.”
    • Not in the Gospels, but frequently in Paul’s writings
      • 1Tim 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant not to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
      • Heb 10:23 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
    • Note that the power of hope lies not so much in the strength with which we believe it, but in the faithfulness of the one in whom we hope
  2. Glory
    • What is the most glorious thing you can think of?
      • The glory of a driver at the victory ceromony after a Grand Prix
      • The praise a football player receives at the end of a grand final after just scoring the winning try
      • The throne room of a great king
      • A bride, hidden from her groom on the morning of their wedding, who suddenly appears in all her glory at the wedding ceremony
      • Blinding white light
    • Glory is primarily the manifestation of God’s nature : his radiant splendour, his complete justice, his mercy and compassion, his absolute faithfulness, his inherent beauty and goodness, his perfection.
    • The glory we experience on earth is only a shadow of God’s glory. God is the source of all glory. All glory rightly belongs to God
    • No person could look on the face of such a God without being totally overwhelmed.
    • What is the most common response of people when God appears to them in the Bible? They fall flat on their face!
    • (A good topic on which to do a word study)
  3. The astounding claim of Christianity is that we can share in God’s glory!
    • Phil 3:21 – our bodies will be transformed so that we will be like Jesus’ glorious body
    • The church is being prepared as the bride of Christ.
    • Rom 8:18 – our present sufferings cannot be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us
    • Rom 8:16-17 – we are God’s children and therefore co-heirs with Christ. We will share in his glory.
    • 2 Peter 1:4 – Through God’s own glory and goodness he has made it possible for us to share in God’s essential nature

Summary

“Christ in you – the hope of glory” means more than the fact that believing in Jesus gains us a place in heaven.

The hope of glory is the sure knowledge that we will share in Christ’s inheritance, in fact we will share in God’s essential nature.

And the guarantee that this is true is the inconceivable truth that Christ now dwells in us.