That is, the hope made possible through righteousness. Paul does not imply that those who have received the Spirit must wait for righteousness. They “wait for the hope” imparted by righteousness, the hope of the completion of the plan of salvation at the return of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead (Rom. 8:23; Titus 2:13). Paul consistently speaks of justification as a completed work in the life of the Christian (Rom. 5:1; etc.; see on Matt. 5:48).
Wait for.
Gr. apekdechomai, “to wait patiently for.” In all the six other instances where this word appears (Rom. 8:19, 23, 25; 1 Cor. 1:7; Phil. 3:20; Heb. 9:28) it is used of waiting or looking for the coming of Jesus and the resurrection.
Through the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit was commissioned to carry on the work Christ had begun (John 14:16), and it was through the operation of the Spirit that men were to enter into salvation by faith in Christ (ch. 16:7-9). The presence of the Spirit in the lives of believers is a continual reminder, a guarantee, that God will fulfill all His promises (see on 2 Cor. 1:22). In particular this is true of promises concerning the return of Jesus and the inheritance of the saints (Eph. 1:13, 14; cf. Col. 1:27; Titus 2:13). The gift of righteousness is communicated to men through the agency of the Holy Spirit (see John 16:8). Herein lies the difference between the ineffective righteousness man seeks through works and the effective righteousness that comes through faith. In the former the Spirit has no part, for the effort is purely human and thus independent of divine grace.
For we
. The word “we” is emphatic—“we” who seek righteousness by faith in contrast with those alluded to in vs. 1-4, who seek it by works of law (see on ch. 2:16).