Faith, knowledge, and hope

“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness – a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time...” Titus 1:1-2
Here we have three key words: faith, knowledge, and hope.
Faith is the Greek pistis, meaning persuasion or conviction. It speaks of our reliance on Christ for salvation.
Knowledge here is epignosis, meaning recognition or discernment, to be thoroughly acquainted with by experience.
Hope is elpis, meaning to anticipate with pleasure, to expect, to have confidence in.
We read here that our hope of eternal life is based on a promise that God gave before time began. This is not a wishful hope, but a confidence that God will keep His promise (because He does not lie, and always keeps His word). It is upon this hope, or confidence, that our faith and knowledge can rest. As we grow in the Lord, we become more sure of the hope that we have, and we become throughly acquainted with “the truth that leads to godliness”, by experience. Our faith becomes stronger.
So these three things are linked; they are similar, but not the same. They are things that can develop, and they are things we can rely on. Do you have the faith of God’s elect – those He has chosen? Do you have the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness? Do you have the hope of eternal life?