Laying Hold of the Hope Set Before Us

Laying Hold of the Hope Set Before Us

“That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.”

What kind of a hope is this? It is the hope we have through the gospel. “And you . . . now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel . . . .” Col. 1:21-23; Eph. 1:4-6.

“Him we preach, exhorting every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” Col. 1:28-29. Here we can see that Paul had not only laid hold of this hope for himself, but also for those to whom he preached the gospel.

Jesus came with the gospel, and with the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world though lust.” 2 Pet. 1:3-4.

Have you ever met anyone who has laid hold of this hope? Someone who has received this knowledge about Jesus that gives us this hope? There are just a few people who have laid hold of this hope, very few people indeed who have even heard the gospel concerning this hope.

The majority of believers praise God who sent Jesus and say, “He has done everything for us; we are under the blood and are perfect in God’s eyes. We will receive divine nature in heaven.” They have never heard of being a disciple of Jesus and being conformed to Jesus’ image that He might be the first-born among many brethren. Rom. 8:29.

Neither have they heard that Jesus had received the flesh of David, and that sin was condemned in the flesh. And they have never heard that Jesus’ flesh was the veil that barred the way into the Holiest so that only the high priest could enter once a year, but not without the blood of animals. Heb. 9:7-8; Rom. 1:3, 8:3; Heb. 10:19-20.

Jesus consecrated the new way through the flesh in which all the sin that was in David’s flesh was condemned and put to death, so that His body was freed and death could not hold Him. He entered the Most Holy Place with His own blood and obtained eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12-14), “now to appear in the presence of God for us.” V. 24. He consecrated this way for us—for us who have the same flesh. Because this way is for us we also have the hope with which He came.

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Here Jesus is identified as our forerunner through the veil. The veil was His flesh, which was the same flesh as ours. Heb. 2:14. He is not a forerunner unless there are those who run after Him. If there aren’t, then He is running by Himself. And without running after Him, we cannot be set free from the works of the flesh, and such like, as we read in Galatians 5:19-21. On this way we enter into the sufferings in the flesh, bearing the dying of Jesus with us in our body, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our body. 2 Cor. 4:10-11. Then we come to the life Peter writes about concerning us: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1 Pet. 2:9.

Jesus is this anchor of the hope we have laid hold of; He is the guarantor of this salvation. Heb. 7:22. Through His resurrection this hope—our anchor—is sure, and steadfast. Acts 13:35-39.