This article originally appeared in Biblical Illustrator.
Hope, along with faith and love, form the great triad of Christian virtues (1 Cor. 13:13). Love is the greatest of the three, and without faith it is impossible to please god (Heb. 11:6). Hope also describes an essential component of the believer's life in Christ. Paul summed up the present motivation and future expectation of the Christian life when he said, "we have fixed our hope on the living god" (1 Tim. 4:10, NASB).
The purpose of this article is to provide a word study for the Greek verb elpizo ("to hope") based on occurrences in secular Greek, the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), and Paul's letters. The focus will be on determining the specific meaning of hope based on biblical concepts and usage.
Human hope is integrally linked to the dimension of time. Hope involves a present perspective based upon a future expectation. Secular Greek writers used elpizo to describe man's anticipation of future events both good and bad. Philosophers like Democritus (lived in the 4th–3rd centuries B.C.) saw the benefits of hope to comfort people experiencing difficulties. Writers such as Pindar (also 4th–3rd centuries B.C.), though, warned of the uncertainty of hope.1 First-century Gentiles familiar with secular religious and philosophical Greek literature had no basis for a certainty regarding a future salvation and were, according to Paul, "without hope and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12, HCSB).
A proper understanding of Paul's use of elpizo does not come from secular Greek usage but Septuagint usage. Septuagint translators used elpizo to translate a number of Hebrew verbs meaning "to hope," "to trust," and "to endure."2 In contrast to usage in secular Greek, elpizo in the Old Testament is never neutral, anticipating either a good or evil result. Hope in the Old Testament is always positive (Eccl. 9:4).3
Hope can be disappointed when placed in an unreliable source. In Isaiah 20, God warned Judah against putting their hope for protection against Assyria in the nations of Cush and Egypt (Isa. 20:5). The lesson the Old Testament repeatedly emphasized is that hope and faith are effective only if they are placed in the Lord. Placing our hope in someone or something else is vain and destined to fail.
Hope for the righteous is certain in the Old Testament because God is the object of hope. Jeremiah described the Lord as the "Hope of israel" (Jer. 17:13). The Book of Psalms frequently promises blessings for those who put their hope in the Lord (Ps. 31:23-24; 37:9; 38:15; 42:5).
Faithful believers who obey the Lord can be assured of His help in the future, and this faith sustains them in the present. Hope is certain because God is faithful and always keeps His promises (deut. 7:9).
The concept of hope takes an unusual turn in rabbinic thought leading up to first-century Judaism. Old Testament promises of a Messiah create a strong anticipation of His coming, but individual hope of salvation dissolves in uncertainty. Rabbinic sources recount how leading rabbis expressed uncertainty about their salvation on their deathbeds.4 This was a natural result of the casuistry or belief in salvation by works. The problem with salvation by works is we can never be sure if we have done enough to be saved. Into this type of religious environment Jesus Christ appeared.
The verb elpizo and the related noun elpis occur rarely in the gospels. Matthew 12:21 (a quotation based on Isa. 42:4) contains a significant use of elpizo. Following the Jewish religious leaders rejecting Jesus, Matthew quoted isaiah 42:1-4, which promises the Messiah will bring hope to the gentiles. Matthew identified Jesus as the promised Messiah and the focus of hope for all who put their faith in Him. All other New Testament references to hope in salvation focus on the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ and His future return.
In the New Testament, Paul used the verb elpizo and related noun elpis more than any other writer. We will now consider the different nuances of the word group in his letters. With Paul, as in the Old Testament, God is the Source of the believer's hope.
First, according to 1 Timothy 4:10, to "put our hope in the living God" (HCSB) is the equivalent of placing our faith in Him for salvation (see also 1 tim. 1:1). The hope of salvation is not uncertain because, unlike the legalistic salvation many of the religious leaders of Jesus' day taught, salvation is by grace through the finished work of Christ. We do not have to wonder if we have done enough to be saved, but we rejoice that Jesus' death guarantees salvation for believers. In this grace we stand (Rom. 5:2).
Second, for the believer, hope then becomes a distinctive Christian virtue related to faith. Hope, like faith, is based on belief in the yet unseen promises of God (8:24). Hope provides strength for the believer facing present difficulties. Paul encouraged the suffering Christians in Rome to study the Scriptures to gain hope that would lead to perseverance (15:4). Just as the author of Hebrews encouraged believers to remember the outcome of faithful believers in the old testament (Heb. 11), Paul encouraged believers to do the same based on hope.
Third, hope also plays an important role in Paul's understanding of the end of the age. He referred to Christ's return as "the blessed hope" (Titus 2:13). Creation and believers will be gloriously transformed when Christ appears. Paul stated that "the creation was subjected to futility . . . in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of corruption" (Rom. 8:20-21, HCSB). This refers to the removal of the curse placed upon creation following the sin of Adam (Gen. 3:17-18).
Paul also linked the return of Christ to the acquisition of resurrection bodies by believers. He told the Thessalonians that they were not to grieve concerning loved ones who died as believers in Christ, in contrast to those who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). He promised that the dead in Christ would rise with resurrection bodies and those alive at Christ's return would then be caught up and transformed (vv. 14-17). This hope of resurrection provided great comfort for believers as they faced their own deaths or the deaths of loved ones.
Hope in Paul's writings focuses on the future blessings that believers obtain by faith in Christ and the realization of His love for us in salvation. Paul wrote to believers who had experienced various kinds of losses. The loss of health, a loved one, and persecution are just some of the challenges that may have led some in Paul's day and may cause some presently to question God's love. In the wake of all of these losses, believers maintain a hope that rejoices despite the tribulations of this life (Rom. 12:12). Hope is linked to the essential characteristic of endurance (1 Thess. 1:3). Hope willingly and patiently endures suffering, convinced that present suffering is not to be compared to future glory (Rom. 8:18). By grace through faith, we are saved and walk daily with our God. In love we grow in our knowledge and relationship with God and others. In hope we endure hardship and keep our eyes fixed on God. "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word" (2 Thess. 2:16-17, NASB).