HOPE

My good friend Pastor Jim Harris is Author of this explanation.

 

 

Jim Harris

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“Looking for that happy, glad expectation, even the glorious appearance of the great God, even our Savior Jesus Christ.”

Titus 2:13 (Harris Translation)

 

There are certain words and certain constructions in the Greek text that should thrill our hearts. The word that is translated “hope” (here translated “expectation”) is one of them. The Greek word is “elpis” and refers to a glad expectation. It expresses the thought of the assurance of some future good. It is not “iffy,” as is often heard in our “wishful thinking,” “I hope it will be good weather today,” etc. We do not know for sure whether the weather will be good or not, but our desire is that it will be so. Instead, “elpis” expresses a certainty. We KNOW that Jesus is coming. We are assured of it. We just don’t know when it will take place. Also, there is a construction in the Greek that presents the word “and” essentially as an equal mark, showing the phrases on each side of it to be equal. That is expressed by the use of the word “even” in the above translation. Our glad expectation is the coming of Jesus, the Son, who is co-equal and co-eternal with God, the Father. “Evenso, Come, Lord Jesus.”