Our Ultimate Hope

What is the ultimate hope of the Christian? I’ll give you a hint; it’s not heaven. Now hear me clearly: I’m not saying that we don’t look forward to heaven (a term that will be fleshed out in later blogs); we do indeed. But the ultimate hope of the Christian is more than just the idea of heaven-- it is inextricably tied to Christ and His work. The ultimate hope of the Christian is resurrection. Consider Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:20-28:

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death…. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

Paul here is saying that Christ is the type or model of every Christ follower. He is the first fruits. You’ll recall from the Old Testament that the practice of giving the first and best crop to God in thankfulness for his provision is always followed by the harvesting of the entire crop. In the same way, just as Christ (the first fruits) has been resurrected and glorified bodily, so shall we (the entire harvest) be resurrected bodily. Our hope is not that we will someday enjoy eternal disembodied bliss, floating around on clouds in the presence of God. Our hope has to do with the final and eternal defeat of sin and death, and the resurrection of all creation! I would like to emphasize here the point that eternity will not be less physical, it will me more physical. Let us not forget that God created the heavens and the earth, and everything therein, and it was very good. And when Christ returns, not only will we be resurrected, but there will be a redeemed heaven and earth. One way you can think about this is that not only do Christians get to go to heaven, but creation gets to go too.

In his book entitled, The Resurrection of the Son of God, N.T. Wright says of this text, “Paul is trying to teach the Corinthians to think eschatologically… of the way in which the future has already burst into the present, so that the present time is characterized by a mixture of fulfillment and expectation, of ‘now’ and ‘not yet’, pointing towards a future in which what happened at the first Easter will be implemented fully and the true God will be all in all” (333, Italics added).

May we be inspired by the truth that we are living between the First and Second Advent of Christ. May our prayer be that of Jesus; that His kingdom may come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. May our hope be the resurrection.