What Does ‘the Hope of Glory’ Mean in Col. 1:27?
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“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” – Colossians 1:27
The essence of our Christian walk is centered around hope. We receive Jesus at salvation, which allows us to partake of God’s forgiveness and that produces in us the hope of eternal life. In Colossians we find a term that defines this hope, it is called the hope of glory. This verse paints a picture of a living and active hope that should be present in every believer. The hope that we carry is a byproduct of a reality that happens at salvation, Christ comes to dwell in your heart. It is this indwelling that produces this hope and is at the heart of what this verse means.
What does the “hope of glory” verse mean?
There are three aspects of this verse that I would like to bring to your attention. They are the Gentiles, Christ in you, and the hope of glory.
The Gentiles – As Paul is writing to this church in Colossae, he is making known to them a truth, the Gentiles are now included. Paul was a missionary sent to the Gentiles and now both Jews and Gentiles are partakers in this mystery that was revealed. Prior to these times the mystery and understanding of the coming Messiah and the revelation of who God is, was held primarily within the Jewish nation. These were the people God chose to use as the lineage the Messiah would come through. However, after Jesus came, the complete plan came to light because God was not just interested in the Jews but in all nations. This was hinted at in various places in the Old Testament, but this was made clear in the New Testament.
Christ in you – What the Gentiles were able to share equally with the Jews was this idea or reality of Christ in you. I want to share with you a thought I read on this portion of the verse which I think you will find interesting.
The content of the mystery is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (1:27). This particular statement does not occur in the parallel passage in Ephesians. Three interpretations have emerged. Some take the expression to mean “Christ within you.” These interpreters equate this to a statement about the indwelling Christ who is resident in the hearts of believers. While this truth is clearly taught in Scripture, the context does not develop the theology of the indwelling Christ. Others, therefore, have understood this text to mean “Christ among you (Gentiles).” Understood this way, the passage speaks to the blessings of Israel—specifically the Christ—promised to all the world through the work of Christ. These blessings are available to non-Jews because the Christ was actually among them. Paul could have had both ideas in mind so that the Christ actually in-dwelt the Gentiles!1
When you think of Christ in you both opinions are true and are available to everyone who believes Jew or Gentile. Christ is among you to offer salvation and he is within you after receiving salvation. This verse is another confirmation Gentiles now had access to salvation because of the work of Jesus Christ.
Hope of Glory – Ultimately the hope of our salvation is not just for this life but for the one to come. The reason we have this hope is because of Christ in us. This is the treasure we carry in our earthen vessel (2 Cor. 4:7). We can hold onto this truth with confidence knowing the risen Christ dwells within our heart. Because of him, we have the hope of glory which we hold onto now and will become a reality for all eternity.
What is the context of Colossians 1:27?
The book of Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul while he was in a Roman prison. One of the main reasons he wrote this letter was to address some of the false teaching that had crept into the church in Colossae. On a side note, we should not be surprised when we see false teaching in the church today, because it has been happening since the church began. An area of false teaching in the Colossian church was regarding the deity of Christ, attacking his divine nature, and the sufficiency of the work Jesus had done. Again, this should not be a surprise because this still happens today. In this first chapter Paul begins to clearly define who Christ is, leaving no doubt about his divinity while also attempting to solidify in their hearts the nature of what Jesus accomplished for them. Because we know false teachings about Christ still exist, it behooves us to be convinced of who Christ really is and the finished work of the cross, because Jesus is our hope of glory. Satan knows if you miss Christ, then you miss it all and that is why the person and work of Jesus are constantly under attack. We must be confident in what we believe and ready to defend why we know he is the hope of glory.
Why does Paul say this is a mystery?
When you think of a mystery you may often think of a puzzle or crime that needs to be solved. That is not what Paul is referring to here. The mystery is simply God making known what his plan was all along. Two translations that highlight this is the NLT and AMP:
"For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory." (NLT)
"God [in His eternal plan] chose to make known to them how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in and among you, the hope and guarantee of [realizing the] glory." (AMP)
The mystery again points back to God’s original plan and design all along. God may have used the nation of Israel as the conduit for his plan, but Gentiles were always going to be included.
How can we share this hope of glory with others today?
As Christians, we have been given a calling and a responsibility. We are all called to share this hope. While most of us know this, we often struggle with doing it. Let me give you one way to share this hope with others…build relationships. If you look at Jesus’ ministry when he walked the earth one thing you notice is he wasn’t afraid to get close to people. He would routinely sit and have conversations or dinner with people who were sinners, I guess we would use the word unsaved. In doing this he was building a relationship and creating an opportunity to offer them hope. This is a great model to follow. Let’s stop treating people like projects and start treating them like people. If we are willing to build relationships and allow people to get close to us, they should see the hope of glory in us, and we should be ready to give them a reason for this hope. It may feel like the longer, slower road but it produces great results.
As you go through your day, keep your head up because you have a living hope inside you. Regardless of what happens in this life it can never take away from you the hope of eternal life found in Christ. Rejoice today because Christ is in you and that means you have the true hope of glory.
Note:
1. Melick, R. R. (1991). Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (Vol. 32, pp. 241–242). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
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