<p>2:13 <i>As we look for the blessed hope- </i>Grace and faith in the forgiveness of sins teaches us to look for the blessed hope and the appearing of Jesus. The Greek <i>elpis </i>doesn&rsquo;t mean a 'hope for the best' kind of hope but rather refers to a solid certainty. If we aren't sure of salvation at His return, we can hardly look forward to it. A firm grasp of salvation- definite salvation- by a real grace alone means we can look to that day with confidence and expectation. See on Col. 1:5. The 'blessed' hope is literally 'the happy hope'; and we &quot;look for&quot; this, or as the Greek suggests, we admit it, we accept it. God's grace therefore gives us the joy of certain salvation and joyful anticipation of the return of the Lord Jesus. The good news of the Gospel really is of joy and peace and security. But too often the only real message seems to be 'Learn to read the Bible effectively, understood a package of true doctrines, then you will be responsible to judgment, and hopefully, you may be accepted for eternity'. This is a non-Gospel. It is hardly good news, which brings joy and peace along with it.</p><p><i>The manifesting </i><i>of the glory of the great God, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ</i>- The same Greek word used in :11 for 'the appearing' of God's grace. The point is that when grace appeared in our lives, we were assured of salvation at the Lord's return- in the sense that we should be able to say that if the Lord comes now, or we die now, then we shall surely be saved. If God&rsquo;s glory is to be eternally revealed, we are to live that same glory within our own minds now; in this sense we &ldquo;have eternal life&rdquo;, the kind of life we shall eternally live begins now.</p>