A CHRISTIAN’S HOPE IS LAID UP IN HEAVEN
By Dan Goddard
“We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel” (Colossians 1:3-5).
Paul gives thanks to God because of the hope which was laid up in heaven for the saints. “Hope” (elpida) denotes a confident expectation of receiving something in the future. A Christian’s hope of eternal life
(Titus 1:2, 3:7)
is confident because of God’s promises—not because of himself (Hebrews
But, if it (i.e., hope) is certain, why is it called hope? Paul explains in Romans 8:24-25 that it is hope because it is not seen—it has not been received.
But how can we be certain of receiving something that has not been seen? Hebrews 11:1 says: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” So our hope of eternal life is hope because it has not been seen or received, and is confident because of faith.
Paul told the Colossians that their hope was laid up for them in heaven (Colossians 1:5). Laid up (apokeimeun) denotes: laid away, reserved, stored up. Nothing on earth illustrates a certain hope. But, it is similar to a young child who has a certain expectation of eating tomorrow. He has not received the next days’ food, yet he is confident that the food will be there to eat. And, it is similar to reserving a hotel room with a credit card—the room is reserved and awaiting the traveler; it cannot be given to anyone else and cannot be canceled except by the one who has reserved the room. The traveler has not seen the room, the traveler has not received the room, but the traveler has a confident expectation of receiving the room.
“Laid up” is also used of the crown
of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8),
death (Hebrews
Jesus says: “In My Father s house are many mansions; if it
were not so, I would have told you. I go
to prepare
Think about this: If you are a Christian, you have a mansion in heaven laid up for you, reserved for you, and awaiting your arrival. Metaphorically: Your mansion in heaven has your name on it; it cannot be taken or occupied by anyone else. You are the only person that can cancel your reservation—if you don’t cancel it, you’ll receive it after your brief pilgrimage on earth.
Do you have an earnest expectation
and hope (Philippians