Hope is a posture of faith that faces forward. As Christ-followers, our hope looks to the future. However, the “blessed hope” that Paul speaks of in Titus 2 is based on something that took place in the past. When the apostle says that “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people” (v. 11), he is talking about the first Advent of Jesus Christ. The “blessed hope” for which we now “wait”, mentioned in verse 13, is His return and appearance in “glory.”

The Greek word that is translated as “appeared” is the one from which we get the word epiphany. It means to show or make an appearance. It was used in other Greek writings to speak of the appearance of divine beings or the intervention of higher powers. Another form of the word is used in other passages in the New Testament to refer to the first Advent of Christ (1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 1:10).

Today, we think of hope as a wish. When we say we are hoping for something, we express our desire for it to happen without being certain it will. But the “blessed hope” is filled with certainty. We know that the same Christ who appeared once and “gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own” will come again in glory for those He has purified (v. 14).

Both appearances are a manifestation of the grace of God. The first was in the form of the person of Christ and promised grace for those who place their hope in Him. The second is grace received that transforms the lives of those who have been redeemed “from all wickedness” and are “eager to do what is good” (v. 14).

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