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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 February 2009
In 1950 a fine article appeared in SJT concerning hope in the NT. In it Allan Barr drew attention to several key aspects of hope, one of which was headed ‘The Patience of Hope’. I should like to develop this theme which was touched upon only briefly. As Barr indicated, the two terms are associated at times in the NT. In fact, in the Pauline epistles they occur in the same verse on six occasions, while in one further case they appear in consecutive verses (Rom. 5:4; 8:25; 12:12; 15:4; 1 Cor. 13:7; 1 Thess. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:6,7). These form the basis of this investigation. Nowhere else in the NT are they associated so closely.
page 313 note 1 A. Barr, ‘“Hope” (ELPIS, ELPIZO) in the New Testament,’ SJT 3 (1950), 68–77.
page 313 note 2 Outside of the Pauline writings Hebrews is the the only book where both ideas are prominent, but even here they are not explicitly brought together.
page 313 note 3 Hauck, F., ‘hypomenō,’ TDNT 4 (1968), 587.Google Scholar
page 313 note 4 Barclay, W., New Testament Words. London: SCM, 1964, 144Google Scholar, adds that it is not an attitude which passively endures or bears the situation with resignation.
page 313 note 5 Makrothymia (patience, long-suffering) means forbearance of people. It is usually considered a more passive idea, which describes the attitude of one who does not lose his temper.
page 314 note 6 Grossouw, W., ‘L'espérance dans le Nouveau Testament,’ Revue Biblique 61 (1954). 529.Google Scholar
page 314 note 7 Hauck, op cit., 582, 586. Paul's teaching corresponds to Hebrew thought where patience is the result of religious faith.
page 314 note 8 Best, E., The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians. London: A. & C. Black, 1972, 69.Google Scholar
page 314 note 9 ‘In patience the hope is sustained which sees the invisible rather than the visible’ (Schlier, H., ‘thlibō, thlipsis,’ TDNT 3 [1966], 148).Google Scholar
page 314 note 10 Notice the preceding verse: ‘we were saved in hope,’ and v. 23: ‘we wait for… the redemption of our bodies.’
page 315 note 11 cf. the previous passage and the experience of the Thessalonians.
page 315 note 12 Vos, G., The Pauline Eschatology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961, 31.Google Scholar
page 315 note 13 cf. Leenhardt, F.-J., L'épître de saint Paul aux Romains. Neuchâtel: Delachaux & Niestlé, 1957, 130Google Scholar, whose explanation of patient waiting runs: ‘c'est-à-dire avec la foi qui s'en remet à Dieu pour le choix du moment et des moyens par lesquels il réalisera ce qu'il a promis.’
page 316 note 14 Ridderbos, H., Paul: An Outline of His Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975, 272.Google Scholar
page 316 note 15 Hauck, op. cit., 587, indicates that in the NT endurance is displayed under imposed trials and spiritual temptations, not under self-imposed burdens, as it is in the Greek concept.
page 316 note 16 In contrast to the usual human hope which ‘wears thin under tribulation’ the hope that God gives is intensified by tribulation. Affliction has a beneficial effect on that hope which is the basis of joy (Barr, op. cit., 70).
page 316 note 17 Whereas the Stoic trains himself in patience by enduring fate and renouncing the future and hope (Conzelmann, H., An Outline of the Theology of the New Testament. London: SCM, 1969, 191)Google Scholar, the Christian develops patience on account of his hope.
page 316 note 18 Loane, M., The Hope of Glory. Waco: Word, 1969, 95.Google Scholar
page 316 note 19 Héring, J., The First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. London: Epworth, 1962, 138Google Scholar, effectively brings out the meaning in his translation: ‘full of faith, full of hope, full of patience.’
page 317 note 20 This is a good illustration, thinks Hauck (loc. cit.), of active endurance of sufferings in the NT.
page 317 note 21 Grossouw, op. cit., 529.
page 317 note 22 Nevertheless Grossouw's claim (loc. cit.) that perseverance ‘s'y trouve toujours dans un contexte eschatologique’ cannot be upheld. Sometimes this is so, as in the examples he gives, but it is not ‘always’ true (e.g. 1 Thess. 1:3; Rom. 15:4).
page 317 note 23 Schlier, H., The Relevance of the New Testament. London: Burns & Oates, 1968, 152.Google Scholar
page 317 note 24 Hope is so much a waiting in patience that what appears from outside to impede its fulfilment becomes a stimulus to even greater steadfastness' (ibid.).
page 317 note 25 Bultmann, R., ‘elpis,’ TDNT 2 (1964), 531.Google Scholar
page 317 note 26 This partially explains a most interesting situation that comes to light in 2 Thess. 1:3, 4;1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 3:10; Tit. 2:2. In these verses steadfastness appears to have been substituted for hope. The words ‘faith’ and ‘love’ appear, but instead of hope, which we would expect, with our awareness of this cluster of virtues, the writer names steadfastness. This is especially so in the three references in the Pastorals.
2 Thess. 1:3 records that the faith and love of the Thessalonians are growing. V. 4 adds: ‘therefore we boast of you… for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you are enduring.’ Probably this can be explained in the light of 1 Thess. 1:3 (‘steadfastness of hope’). In the second epistle Paul focuses on the outcome (steadfastness) rather than the source (hope), especially because this is precisely what is needed in the midst of persecution.
In the references in the Pastorals, faith, love, and steadfastness are linked more closely. Tit. 2:2 contains the exhortation that older men are to be sound in faith, love, and endurance. 1 Tim. 6:11 names three additional qualities and urges Timothy, to whom it is addressed, to aim at these six. 2 Tim. 3:10 repeats the same three virtues, supplementing them with patience (makrothumia), persecutions and sufferings; these, says the writer, have been observed in me.
What may we conclude from this? One obvious suggestion is that, with the growth of ‘early Catholicism’ and the fading of the hope of the Parousia, ‘hope’ has lost its prominence and has been replaced by the call for perseverance. But this is contradicted by the fact that the word occurs eight times in the Pastorals. And in Titus in particular hope is as strongly eschatological as in the Pauline homologoumena, being directed toward Christ's return (2:13) and eternal life (1:2,3:7).
More likely, ‘steadfastness’ is used because of its aptness to the situation and context. In 2 Timothy, as in 2 Thessalonians, persecution and affliction are mentioned in the same sentence. And in such circumstances endurance is exactly what is required. Similarly, it is appropriate for ‘older men’ (Tit. 2: 2), who may be tempted to give up because of age, difficulties or the emergence of younger leaders. Finally, in 1 Timothy 6 the next sentence begins: ‘Fight the good fight of the faith’ (v. 12). Again the element of conflict is present, hence the need for perseverance.
This, then, along with the close association between perseverance and hope which has been demonstrated, explains the usage. It may be granted that the combination of faith, love, and steadfastness has become a bit stereotyped in the Pastorals, but the choice of words seems deliberate and is meaningful.
page 318 note 27 op. cit., 522.
page 318 note 28 Minear, P. S., ‘Hope,’ IDB 2 (1962), 641.Google Scholar
page 318 note 29 25 times, 8 times, and 8 times respectively.
page 319 note 30 North, C. R., The Second Isaiah. Oxford: Clarendon, 1964, 91.Google Scholar
page 319 note 31 Contrast 2 Kings 6:33 where the impatient complaint is made: ‘Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?’