Meditation: Romans 15.13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Paul’s epistle to the church at Rome may be easily divided into two major sections. The first deals with the doctrinal content of justification by faith alone (chapters 1 through 11). The second deals with what faith looks like within the context of the body of Christ – that is, the church (chapters 12 through 15). Not surprisingly, the letter opens with an introduction and closes in chapter 16 with personal greetings, a final word of caution and a doxology. A thread running through the entire epistle is a short thematic statement of Paul’s purpose: … to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name … (Romans 1.5) and … through the prophetic writings [the gospel] has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith – to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen [so be it] (Romans 16.26).
The second section of Paul’s letter closes with the benediction: Paul prays that the God of hope will fill believers with joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit so that they may abound in hope. You will find this hope rooted in your justifying faith in Christ. The believer’s hope is grounded in the work of the triune God: peace secured through Christ, joy imparted by the Spirit, and hope flowing from the Father. Paul wrote about this earlier in his letter. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. … God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5.1-5 & 8).
The peace to which Paul refers is the same peace promised to the disciples by Jesus in the upper room discourse: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (John 14.27); and again, I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (John 16.33). Of course, as I have noted, such peace is a result of having obtained a peace with God that come through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5.1-2). Living by faith is the great theme of this epistle (The righteous shall live by faith Romans 1.17), and in concert with this theme Paul reminds his readers to continue in their faith that in the Holy Spirit they may experience joy, peace and boundless hope in Christ.
The hope of the gospel is grounded in the limitless love of God. It is a love which is evidenced in the harmony and unity of the church. Love’s action does not stem from wishful thinking; it is rooted in the sacrificial love of Christ. It is love that is at work in your life as you give voice and action to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. This is the steadfast anchor of your soul; Jesus intercedes on your behalf and secures your adoption as a child of God.
Thus, Paul’s prayer for the Christians in Rome is that they may have peace and joy. His letters are saturated with the themes of peace and joy. Twenty-one times in Paul’s letters he refers to being joyful in Christ. I suppose the modern reader might find this ironic inasmuch as he often writes from prison. Indeed, he was called to a ministry of suffering (Acts 9.15-16 But the Lord said to him [Ananias], “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name).
The end result is that you have an inner peace grounded in the love of Christ and you strive for peace in life. In this you will find contentment and joy. Not the sort of superficial lightheartedness of pursuing a life of pleasure but a joy derived from knowing you are attempting to do all things to honor Christ. After all it is Christ who is at work within you both to will and to do his good pleasure.
The second section of Paul’s letter closes with the benediction: Paul prays that the God of hope will fill believers with joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit so that they may abound in hope. You will find this hope rooted in your justifying faith in Christ. The believer’s hope is grounded in the work of the triune God: peace secured through Christ, joy imparted by the Spirit, and hope flowing from the Father. Paul wrote about this earlier in his letter. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. … God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5.1-5 & 8).
The peace to which Paul refers is the same peace promised to the disciples by Jesus in the upper room discourse: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (John 14.27); and again, I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (John 16.33). Of course, as I have noted, such peace is a result of having obtained a peace with God that come through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5.1-2). Living by faith is the great theme of this epistle (The righteous shall live by faith Romans 1.17), and in concert with this theme Paul reminds his readers to continue in their faith that in the Holy Spirit they may experience joy, peace and boundless hope in Christ.
The hope of the gospel is grounded in the limitless love of God. It is a love which is evidenced in the harmony and unity of the church. Love’s action does not stem from wishful thinking; it is rooted in the sacrificial love of Christ. It is love that is at work in your life as you give voice and action to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. This is the steadfast anchor of your soul; Jesus intercedes on your behalf and secures your adoption as a child of God.
Thus, Paul’s prayer for the Christians in Rome is that they may have peace and joy. His letters are saturated with the themes of peace and joy. Twenty-one times in Paul’s letters he refers to being joyful in Christ. I suppose the modern reader might find this ironic inasmuch as he often writes from prison. Indeed, he was called to a ministry of suffering (Acts 9.15-16 But the Lord said to him [Ananias], “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name).
The end result is that you have an inner peace grounded in the love of Christ and you strive for peace in life. In this you will find contentment and joy. Not the sort of superficial lightheartedness of pursuing a life of pleasure but a joy derived from knowing you are attempting to do all things to honor Christ. After all it is Christ who is at work within you both to will and to do his good pleasure.
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