We have listened and believed (Eph 1:13) and God has "made known to us the mystery . . . summing up all things in Christ" (:10). We have received the Holy Spirit as a pledge regarding the "richness of the glory of His inheritance in the saints" (:18). We have the "first fruits of the Spirit" (Ro 8:23) and "hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit" (5:5). "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also" (8:16-17). "We have obtained an inheritance" (Eph 1:11). It is not just a future expectation depending on performance. "The one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life" (Gal 6:18). "We through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness which is faith working through love" (5:5-6). The "kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Ro 14:17).
Many years ago there was a revival in South America. Years later I read in a missionary newsletter that many were losing interest because little had developed. We, however, are expecting "the glory that is to be revealed in us" (Ro 8:18). We wait "eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God" (:19) and "the redemption of our body" (:23). "Creation itself also will be set free . . . into the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (:21). It was done "in hope" (:20) "for in hope we have been saved" (:24) and "we hope for what we do not see [and] with perseverance we wait" (:25).