I had some difficulty understanding these few versus, and spent time researching it and understanding it. Document here so I won't forget.
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
- in civil law, a person is considered justified and proclaimed guiltless if he has been defended well in a court of Law and has produced sufficient proof to prove his innocence.
- likewise, we have been justified before God and proclaimed guiltless, through our faith in Jesus Christ, who bore the punishment for all our sins.
- because we're now proclaimed guiltless before God, through Christ, we can now have peace with God.
2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.
- We are presently standing in a state of grace before God, i.e., we stand in God's good graces, because of Jesus Christ.
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
- Because we're now in God's good graces, we rejoice in the hope of enjoying God's glory in heaven.
- This teaches us several things. Firstly, the reason Christians can rejoice here on earth, is because of our hope, of enjoying God's glory in heaven.
- Secondly, the reason heaven is heaven, and the reason we long to go to heaven, is not because of the things in heaven, nor the streets of gold nor the gates of pearl nor any other thing that heaven affords, but because of the glory of God.
- The glory of God is what makes heaven, heaven. It is the infinite nature of the glory of God alone (i.e. we would never get to understand or fully enjoy it even after an eternity of eternities), whichs allows us to enjoy heaven for eternity.
- Extrapolating from this (my thoughts only), we would go mad and insane if we had to spend an eternity pursuing "things" in heaven. We'd go mad with boredom because we'd soon tire of it!
3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope.
- Here lies the secret to a Christian's ability to rejoice in the midst of suffering and persecution! What a great secret!
- We are able to rejoice when we suffer, because when we suffer, it produces perseverance (or patience).
- Perseverance (or patience) develops our character.
- And character gives us hope. Hope in what? Hope in the promise that we'll get to enjoy the glory of God for eternity soon! Hope in our reward in heaven!
5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
- Our hope does not dissapoint us. Why? The answer comes in the next verse.
- It does not dissapoint because God has, through the Holy Spirit, shown that He loves us, by pouring His love into our hearts.
- Thus God gives us assurance that He loves us, by filling our hearts with His love by the Holy Spirit, and because of His love, we can be assured that our hope of spending eternity enjoying His glory, is never in vain!
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