FOR IN HOPE WE HAVE BEEN SAVED: te gar elpidi esothemen (1PAPI): (Ro 5:2; 12:12; 15:4,13; Ps 33:18,22; 146:5; Pr 14:32; Jer 17:7; Zech 9:12; 1Co 13:13; Gal 5:5; Col 1:5,23,27; 1Th 5:8; 2Th 2:16; Titus 2:11, 12, 13; Heb 6:18,19; 1Pet 1:3,21; 1Jn 3:3)

For (gar) introduces an explanation of the preceding. Whenever you encounter this "term of explanation", pause and ponder "What is being explained?"

In hope we have been saved - That is, when we were saved, we were graciously given Christian hope. Outside of Christ there is no hope, whereas salvation brings us a great hope that God will do good to us in the future. Our subjective hope has its objective basis, (the object of our hope) in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope (1Ti 1:1). Ultimately our hope (assurance) is that Christ will return to take us home, and we will be made like Him (another aspect of our future hope). And so when the Spirit regenerated us in the past by grace through faith, He also placed in our hearts a supernatural hope. It is a hope that can waver and vacillate, but it is a hope which is strengthened by the Word of Christ, especially those passages that remind us that allude to His Second Coming. The Second Coming is mentioned either directly or indirectly in approximately 1 out of every 20 verses in the New Testament. Clearly our Teacher, the Spirit, desires for us to read and be encouraged by this truth which serves to reinforce and undergird the invaluable attribute of Christian hope.

Hope is used in a similar sense in Colossians 1:5

(Read the context - Col 1:3,4) because of the hope laid up for you in heaven (Note well - our hope is not in this passing world), of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the Gospel (Note this excellent "definition" of the Gospel - "The Word of Truth"!)

Marvin Vincent rightly reminds us that "In the New Testament the word (hope-elpis) always relates to a future good."

Octavius Winslow

"We are saved by hope." The phrase, as employed by the Apostle, does not imply the instrument by which we are saved, but the condition in which we are saved. The condition of the renewed creature is one of hope. Salvation by the atonement of Christ- faith, and not hope, being the instrument of its appropriation (Romans 8:24-25 Saved by Hope)

The writer of Hebrews uses hope in a similar way writing...

(God interposed with an oath - Heb 6:17) in order that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us. (Heb 6:18)

Paul prayed for the saints at Ephesus to get an understanding of this hope...

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, (Eph 1:18)

Denney writes that

This sentence explains why Paul can speak of Christians as waiting for adoption, while they are nevertheless in the enjoyment of sonship. It is because salvation is essentially related to the future. ‘We wait for it: for we were saved in hope.’… Our salvation was qualified from the beginning by reference to a good yet to be... Hope, the apostle argues, is an essential characteristic of our salvation; but hope turned sight is hope no more, for who hopes for what he sees? We do not see all the gospel held out to us, but it is the object of our Christian hope nevertheless; it is as true and sure as the love of God which in Christ Jesus reconciled us to Himself and gave us the Spirit of adoption, and therefore we wait for it in patience. (Romans 8 Expositor's Greek Testament)

Saved (4982)(sozo [word study]) has the basic meaning of rescuing one from great peril. Additional nuances include to protect, keep alive, preserve life, deliver, heal, be made whole.

Sozo - 106x in 99v - Matt 1:21; 8:25; 9:21f; 10:22; 14:30; 16:25; 19:25; 24:13, 22; 27:40, 42, 49; Mark 3:4; 5:23, 28, 34; 6:56; 8:35; 10:26, 52; 13:13, 20; 15:30f; 16:16; Luke 6:9; 7:50; 8:12, 36, 48, 50; 9:24; 13:23; 17:19; 18:26, 42; 19:10; 23:35, 37, 39; John 3:17; 5:34; 10:9; 11:12; 12:27, 47; Acts 2:21, 40, 47; 4:9, 12; 11:14; 14:9; 15:1, 11; 16:30f; 27:20, 31; Rom 5:9f; 8:24; 9:27; 10:9, 13; 11:14, 26; 1 Cor 1:18, 21; 3:15; 5:5; 7:16; 9:22; 10:33; 15:2; 2 Cor 2:15; Eph 2:5, 8; 1 Thess 2:16; 2 Thess 2:10; 1 Tim 1:15; 2:4, 15; 4:16; 2 Tim 1:9; 4:18; Titus 3:5; Heb 5:7; 7:25; Jas 1:21; 2:14; 4:12; 5:15, 20; 1 Pet 3:21; 4:18; Jude 1:5, 23. NAS - bring...safely(1), cured(1), ensure salvation(1), get(1), get well(2), made...well(6), made well(5), preserved(1), recover(1), restore(1), save(36), saved(50), saves(1), saving(1).

Hope (1680)(elpis) is defined as a desire for some future good with the expectation of obtaining it. Hope is confident expectancy.

Hope in Scripture is not the world's definition of "I hope so", with a few rare exceptions (e.g., Acts 27:20)

Elpis - 53x in 48v - Acts 2:26; 16:19; 23:6; 24:15; 26:6f; 27:20; 28:20; Rom 4:18; 5:2, 4f; 8:20, 24; 12:12; 15:4, 13; 1 Cor 9:10; 13:13; 2 Cor 1:7; 3:12; 10:15; Gal 5:5; Eph 1:18; 2:12; 4:4; Phil 1:20; Col 1:5, 23, 27; 1 Thess 1:3; 2:19; 4:13; 5:8; 2 Thess 2:16; 1 Tim 1:1; Titus 1:2; 2:13; 3:7; Heb 3:6; 6:11, 18; 7:19; 10:23; 1 Pet 1:3, 21; 3:15; 1 John 3:3

Denney writes that

Hupomone is the constancy which belongs to and characterizes hope in dark days. In the pastoral epistles (1 Tim. 6:10; Tit. 2:2) instead of the pistis, agape, elpis (faith, love, hope), of earlier letters, Paul writes pistis, agape, hupomone (faith, love, perseverance), as if he had discovered by experience that in this life “hope” has mainly to be shown in the form of “patience”.  (Romans 8 Expositor's Greek Testament)

What hope? “That blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13-note). The best is yet to come! The believer does not get frustrated as he sees and experiences suffering and pain in this world. He knows (his hope = a certainty) that the temporary suffering will one day give way to eternal glory.

In other words if you had received ALL of your salvation already, what are you hoping in? You've just received the earnest "money" or down payment of your inheritance (see notes Ephesians 1:13; 1:14). Ro 5:5 (note) teaches us that this hope will not disappoint. The Holy Spirit living in us now assures us of that certainty (Ro 8:15, 16-see notes Ro8:15; 16). From the outset we have looked forward to full and final deliverance from sin, suffering, disease, and death (1Pe 1:5, 13-see notes 1Pe 1:5; 13). If we had already received these blessings, we wouldn't be hoping for them. We only hope for what is in the future. In other words, in this life we cannot expect to experience the reality of our glorification but only the hope of it. But since the believer's hope is based on God's promise, the completion of his salvation is more certain by far than anything he sees with his eyes. Because of this future HOPE in (Titus 2:13-note) Paul says that our present attitude should be one of

LOOKING (with an attitude of expectancy) for the blessed HOPE and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus

Albert Barnes...

Hope is a complex emotion, made up of an earnest desire, and an expectation of obtaining an object. It has reference, therefore, to what is at present unseen. But when the object is seen, and is in our possession, it cannot be said to be an object of hope. The Word hope here means the object of hope, the thing hoped for. (Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible)

Hope is seen with the eye of faith. Charles Simeon has a great word to encourage us to develop this "supernatural vision"...

To a man who has heaven in his eye, nothing is impossible. Behold Moses, when at the summit of human grandeur and power: an alternative was before him, “to suffer affliction with the people of God, or to enjoy the pleasures” and honors of the court of Pharaoh: and which did he prefer? He chose “the reproach of Christ, esteeming it to be greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt.” And what guided him to this strange decision? it was hope; “he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.” (Heb 11:24, 25, 26) In like manner St. Paul “pressed forward with incessant ardor in his heavenly course, forgetting what was behind, and reaching forward to what was before.” (Php 3:13) And, if we inquire into the principle which animated him to such exertions, we shall find that it was precisely that which is mentioned in our text,—the hope and prospect of securing “the prize of his high calling.” (Php 3:14) We may even say that our blessed Lord Himself, as a Man, was actuated by the same divine principle; since it was “for the joy that was set before him, that he endured the cross and despised the shame, and rested not till he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2) And we too, if we would “run our race with patience,” (Heb 12:1) must imitate Him in this respect (1Pe 2:21, 1Jn 2:6, 1Cor 11:1); we must keep our eye steadily fixed on Him (Heb 12:2), and continue without intermission “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13) Then shall we “be steadfast, unmoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord," when we are convinced in our mind, “that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.” (1Cor 15:58)....

Rejoice in the exalted privilege to which God has called you; and endeavor to render to the Lord according to the benefits he has conferred upon you. It is said by St. John, that, “he that has this hope fixed on Him, purifies himself even as Christ is pure.” (1Jn 3:2,3) Take care then that your hope operate in this way: let it stir you up to the utmost possible exertions in the way of holiness. Rest not in low attainments: think nothing yet attained, whilst any thing remains to be attained. Keep your evidences clear: let them not be clouded by any unmortified lust (cf Col 3:5KJV), or secret neglect: and then shall you “hold fast the rejoicing of your hope firm unto the end.” (Heb 3:6) This is the way to be both holy and happy: and, thus living, you may be well assured, that your “hope shall never make you ashamed. (Ro 5:5) (The Office of Hope - Ro 8:24-25)

William Newell

There is a longing for and expectation of something better, no matter what spiritual blessing comes to the believer. This that is longed for, is, of course, “the liberty of the glory,” that belongs, by God's grace, to the children of God (verse 21). Creation will share this “liberty.” Therefore we have a double feeling toward creation: sympathy with its suffering, and joy in its prospect of sharing the “liberty of the glory” into which we shall shortly come. (Newell's Commentary on Romans)

BUT HOPE THAT IS SEEN IS NOT HOPE, FOR WHY DOES ONE ALSO HOPE FOR WHAT HE SEES: elpis de blepomene (PPPFSN) ouk estin (3SPAI) elpis o gar blepei (3SPAI) tis elpizei (3SPAI): (2Corinthians 4:18; 5:7; Hebrews 11:1; 1Peter 1:10,11)

But - Always pause and ponder this conjunction of contrast usually calling for examination of the context.

Hope that is seen is not hope - We are looking for HOPE but once it appears it is not something we have to hope for any longer. Ultimately our hope is "Blessed" (Titus 2:13). It is not an entity but it is the Person of Christ (1Ti 1:1 - Literally "Christ Jesus our HOPE!"). And when we see Him all our hopes will be fully and forever realized in Christ Jesus our HOPE! OH GLORIOUS DAY! (Oh Glorious Day - A Great Song by Casting Crowns)

Lenski

once the object of hope is seen, it ceases to be an object of hope. Once the hoped-for glory, liberty, resurrection of our body are before our eyes, hope turns to realization.

For (term of explanation) - Pause and ponder "What is Paul explaining?" Note the first "for" is a term of explanation (used in the sense of "because") but not the second "for."

Fix...hope (1679)(elpizo) means to look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial. To express desire for some good with the expectation of obtaining it.

Sees (991) (blepo) means perceive with your eyes. Blepo can denote simple voluntary observation and so mean to look at, behold. Many NT uses convey the sense of becoming aware of or taking notice of something, of perceiving or discerning or understanding. 

Writing to the saints at Thessalonica who had experienced much tribulation (1Th 1:6), Paul refers to the hope of salvation as a helmet, symbolizing our divine protection from the blows of doubt that Satan sends to crush our hope

But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. (1Th 5:8-note).

The idea is that from the beginning of our salvation we have looked forward to full and final deliverance from sin, suffering, disease, and death (especially as we were taught the truth about these great "hopes"). If we had already received these blessings, we would not be hoping for them. We only hope for what is in the future.

In this life we cannot expect to experience the reality of our glorification but only the hope of it. But since the believer’s hope is based on God’s sure Word of promise, the completion of our salvation is more certain than anything we can see with our eyes (cp 2Cor 4:17, 18, 2Cor 5:7). In fact as Paul states later in this same chapter, our salvation is so secure that our glorification is spoken of in the past tense (Ro 8:30-note)! It's as good as done!

Expositor's Greek Testament (Denney) explains

This sentence explains why Paul can speak of Christians as waiting for adoption, while they are nevertheless in the enjoyment of sonship. It is because salvation is essentially related to the future. ‘We wait for it: for we were saved in hope.....Hope, the apostle argues, is an essential characteristic of our salvation; but hope turned sight is hope no more, for who hopes for what he sees? We do not see all the Gospel held out to us, but it is the object of our Christian hope nevertheless; it is as true and sure as the love of God which in Christ Jesus reconciled us to Himself and gave us the Spirit of adoption, and therefore we wait for it in patience.

Spurgeon on Ro 8:24-25

This is our present position,-patiently waiting for “the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ,”-patiently waiting for “the manifestation of the sons of God,” for “ it cloth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

Ah! brethren, if we could be all we should like to be, there would then be no room for the exercise of hope. If we had all that we are to have, then hope, which is one of the sweetest of the graces, would have no room in which to exercise herself. It is a blessed thing to have hope. Though I have heard that faith and hope are not to be found in heaven, I very much question it. I do not think they will ever die. “Now abide these three — faith, hope, and love”; for in heaven there will be room, surely, for trust in the ever blessed God that he will never cast us out from our blessedness — room for the expectation of the second advent — room for the expectation of the conquest of the world — room for the fulfilled promise of bringing all the elect to glory; still something to be hoped for; still something to be believed. Yet here is the main sphere of hope, and therefore let us give it full scope; and when other graces seem to be at a non-plus, let us still hope. I believe the New Zealand word for hope is “swimming thought,” because that will swim when everything else is drowned. Oh! happy is that man who has a hope that swims on the crest of the stormiest billow. (Expositions by Spurgeon on Romans)

George H Morrison (renowned Scottish preacher) "The Saving Power of Hope"

It is not difficult as one looks out on life to recognize the saving power of hope. One thinks, for instance, to what a large extent it is hope which saves humanity from idleness. When a student faces an examination, it is his uncertainty that makes him toil. Were he perfectly sure that he would fail or pass, that would take all the zest out of his studies. Hope is the kindly instrument of God for rescuing mankind from inactivity, and inactivity is sister to stagnation. It is in hope that the writer wields his pen; it is in hope that the sower casts his seed. Search deep enough into the springs of action -- you always catch the whispering of hope. In a large sense, we are saved by hope from the tragedy of doing nothing in a world where there is everything to do.

Hope Rescues Us from Giving In

Akin to that is the great fact of life that we are saved by hope from giving in. For the great multitude of men hope lies at the back of perseverance. That may not be true of elect natures. It was not true of Marcus Aurelius, for instance. Never was there a more hopeless man than he, yet how magnificently he persevered. But for the rank and file of ordinary mortals on whom the Gospel always keeps its eye, hope is essential to holding on. One thinks of the story of the little lame boy who was "hoping to have wings some day." He could not race nor leap like other boys, but he was hoping to have wings some day. It was that hope which helped him to endure and taught him to bear the burden of his lameness, and so it is largely in this life of ours. From giving in when things are very difficult, from breaking down just at breaking point, from losing heart when all the lights are dim and the clouds return after the rain, in deep senses we are saved by hope.

Hope Saves Us from Losing Faith

Equally true is it of life, that we are often saved by hope from losing faith. Think, for instance, how often that is true of our Christian hope of personal survival. When his friend Arthur Hallam died, Tennyson was plunged into the depths. It seemed as if the foundations were destroyed and the moral universe had fallen in ruins. And then, as one may read In Memoriam, morning broke with the singing of the birds through the shining Christian hope of immortality. Nothing could be more dreary than the inscriptions on old pagan tombs, but pass to the catacombs and everything is different: they are radiant with trust in God. What millions have been saved from loss of faith in the hour when the heart was desolate and empty by the burning hope of a blessed immortality. "My soul, hope thou in God." His name is love, and love demands forever. "Forever" is engraven on the heart of love as Calais was engraven on the heart of Mary. When life is desolated by the hand of death so that faith in Fatherhood is very difficult, multitudes have been upheld and comforted by the saving power of hope.

Christ Inspired Hope

Now, it is very beautiful to notice how our Savior utilized that saving energy. Think how often He began His treatment by kindling the flame of hope within the breast. One might take the instance of Zacchaeus, that outcast from the commonwealth of Israel. He had been taught there was no hope for him, and he believed it till the Lord came by. And then, like the dawn, there came the quivering hope that his tomorrow might differ from his yesterday, and in that new hope the saving work began. Often hope is subsequent to faith. The Scripture order is "faith, hope, charity." But it is equally true, in the movements of the soul, that hope may be the forerunner of faith. And our Lord, bent on evoking faith, that personal trust in Him which alone saves, began by kindling hope within the breast. That is how He often begins still. He does not begin by saying, "Trust in Me." He begins by kindling these hopes of better things that are lying crushed in every human heart. Despair is deadly. It is blind. It cannot see the arm outstretched to help. Our Lord begins with the quickening of hope.

Christ Kept Hope Alive

One reads, too, in the Gospel story, of the pains He took just to keep hope alive. That, I think, is most exquisitely evident in His handling of Simon Peter. One would gather that Peter had a nature very prone to access of despair. He was the kind of man to climb the mountaintop and then swiftly to drop into the valley; and the pains, the endless pains that Jesus took to keep hope alive in Peter's breast, is one of the most beautiful things in history. One day he had to call him Satan. What darkness and anguish that must have brought to Peter! He would move through the crowding duties of the day saying despairingly, "The Master called me Satan." And then, within a week, when our Lord went up the Mount of Transfiguration, He said, "Peter, I want you to go with Me." It was not Peter's faith that needed strengthening. Peter trusted the Lord with all his heart. It was Peter's hope that needed to be strengthened, crushed by that terrific name of Satan. And then one remembers how on resurrection morning after the black hour of the denial, the angel (commissioned by the Lord) commanded, "Go, tell the disciples and Peter." The Lord had to wrestle with the despair of Peter. He had a mighty work to keep his hope alive. He had that same work with Luther and with Bunyan and perhaps with many a one who reads these lines. All of whom, rescued from despair by the divine hopefulness of Christ, understand what the apostle meant when he wrote that we are saved by hope.

When you are “living in the future tense,” it is difficult for the things of the world to ensnare you. In this section, Paul teaches us that when we are tempted to be downcast by our suffering and circumstances, to try the "uplook".

BUT IF WE HOPE FOR WHAT WE DO NOT SEE: ei de o ou blepomen (1PPAI) elpizomen (1PPAI):

We hope (1679) (elpizo from elpis) means to look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial. The present tense pictures this attitude as the believer's lifestyle, which is one of hope, where hope is defined in the NT as the absolute assurance that God will do good to us and for us in the future.

Elpizo - 31x in 31v - Matt 12:21; Luke 6:34; 23:8; 24:21; John 5:45; Acts 24:26; 26:7; Rom 8:24f; 15:12, 24; 1 Cor 13:7; 15:19; 16:7; 2 Cor 1:10, 13; 5:11; 8:5; 13:6; Phil 2:19, 23; 1 Tim 3:14; 4:10; 5:5; 6:17; Philemon 1:22; Heb 11:1; 1 Pet 1:13; 3:5; 2 John 1:12; 3 John 1:14. NAS = expect(1), expected(1), fix...hope(2), fixed...hope(2), hope(13), hoped(3), hopes(1), hoping(4), set...hope(2), trust(1).

What is our present hope of future good in context? It is clearly that our mortal bodies will one day be redeemed in the twinkling of an eye (1Cor 15:51,52) and we shall receive our glorified bodies, free from even the presence of SIN.

Paul is saying that since we have a certain hope even though we don't yet see it, that this very certainty should prompt a specific attitude & behavior - such a person can persevere or bear up under whatever their circumstances are because they have a fixed confidence that knows what is coming. One who has this hope is willing to persevere. In Php1:6 Paul says "I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus", (cp note 2 Timothy 1:12) which is the day when glory is revealed to us. Peter says a similar thing in (see note 1 Peter 1:13) Set your sights on this glorious future grace & allow the Holy Spirit to change your perspective on the present suffering you are experiencing. Live in the light of who you are in Christ (note) and in light of who God is going to reveal you to be some day when this "season of suffering" is over.

Sin, my worst enemy before, shall vex my eyes and ears no more;
My inward foes shall all be slain, nor Satan break my peace again.
Then shall I see, and hear, and know, all I desired or wished below;
And every power find sweet employ in that eternal world of joy.

WITH PERSEVERANCE WE WAIT EAGERLY FOR IT: di hupomones apekdechometha (1PPMI): (Ro 8:23; 2:7; 12:12; Ge 49:18; Ps 27:14; 37:7, 8, Ps 37:9; 62:1,5-6; Ps 130:5-7; Isa 25:9; 26:8; La 3:25,26; Lk 8:15; 21:19; Col 1:11; 1Th 1:3; 2Th 3:5; Heb 6:12,15; 10:36; 12:1, 2, 3; Jas 1:3,4; 5:7, 8, 9, 10, 11; Rev 1:9; 13:10; Rev 14:12)

Ps 27:14 Wait for the LORD; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.

Ps 37:7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing. 9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.

Ps 62:1 For the choir director; according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation....5 My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. 6 He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.

Ps 130:5 I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope. 6 My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption.

With perseverance - Literally (the Greek preposition) dia means through (the instrumentality of) perseverance. And remember that the key to persevering in suffering with hope (absolute assurance of future good) is to keep your eyes on the promised future glory.

William Newell

Now hope is expecting something better! The very fact that we have not seen it realized as yet, begets within us that grace which is so precious to God--patience. But note, it is not patience in the abstract that is set forth here: but patient waiting for the coming liberty of the glory of the children of God.(Newell's Commentary on Romans)

Alford

Patience (endurance) is the state, in which,—through which as a medium,—our waiting takes place:

R C Sproul

Here is the real difficulty of the Christian life. We know that when we die we are going to heaven; we know that God is going to renovate his creation; we know that he is not going to fail in the promises he has made. But in the meantime, we hurt, we suffer, we get discouraged and it is so easy for us to become impatient....But it is not merely hope and patience that make it possible for the Christian to endure the present tribulations and sufferings of this world. Paul speaks of another crucially important dimension in Ro 8:26 One very important part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to sustain us in the midst of tribulation. He is the one who stands with us in our moments of darkness and of trial. He helps us to persevere. (The Gospel of God: An Exposition of Romans)

Matthew Poole

 If we indeed hope for redemption and salvation, which is out of sight, then it is meet that we do with patience digest and bear all our present evils and sufferings; true hope is accompanied always with a patient waiting for the things hoped for; therefore you read of the “:patience of hope,” 1Th 1:3: see Heb 6:12, 10:36.

John Stott explains that...

we wait for it patiently (Ro 8:25b), that is, for the fulfilment of our hope. For we are confident in God’s promises that the firstfruits (Ro 8:23) will be followed by the harvest, bondage by freedom, decay by incorruption (1Cor 15:50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55) and labour pains by the birth of the new world (Ro 8:22). This whole section is a notable example of what it means to be living ‘in between times’, between present difficulty and future destiny, between the already and the not yet, between sufferings and glory.   ‘We were saved in hope’ brings them together. And in this tension the correct Christian posture is that of waiting, waiting ‘eagerly’ (Ro 8:23, cf. Ro 8:19) with keen expectation, and waiting ‘patiently’ (Ro 8:25), steadfast in the endurance of our trials (hupomone). The same verb occurs in both verses (apekdechomai, Ro 8:23 and Ro 8:25, as also in Ro 8:19), and includes in itself the note of ‘eagerness’, whereas ‘patience’ or ‘perseverance’ is added to it in Ro 8:25. The combination is significant. We are to wait neither so eagerly that we lose our patience, nor so patiently that we lose our expectation, but eagerly and patiently together. Yet it is hard to keep this balance. Some Christians overemphasize the call to patience. They lack enthusiasm and lapse into lethargy, apathy and pessimism. They have forgotten God’s promises, and are guilty of unbelief. Others grow impatient of waiting. They are so carried away with enthusiasm that they almost try to force God’s hand. They are determined to experience now even what is not available yet. Understandably anxious to emerge out of the painful present of suffering and groaning, they talk as if the resurrection had already taken place, and as if the body should no longer be subject to weakness, disease, pain and decay. Yet such impatience is a form of presumption. It is to rebel against the God of history, Who has indeed acted conclusively for our salvation, and who will most assuredly complete (when Christ comes) what he has begun, but who refuses to be hustled into changing his planned timetable just because we do not enjoy having to go on waiting and groaning. God give us a patient eagerness and an eager patience as we wait for his promises to be fulfilled! (The message of Romans : God's good news for the world. The Bible speaks today). (Bolding added)

Paul commends the church in Thessalonica for their perseverance writing that he, Silas and Timothy were...

constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness (hupomone) of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father (1Thes 1:3-note) (Note two things - [1] Hope buoys up and encourages perseverance [2] Hope is turn ultimately is not in a doctrine per se but in a Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, a Person Who is returning to rescue us from the coming wrath of God 1Th 1:10, cf 1Ti 1:1).

Perseverance (5281)(hupomone [word study] from hupo = under + meno = stay, remain, abide) is literally abiding under. The root idea of hupomone is that of remaining under some discipline, subjecting one’s self to something which demands the acquiescence of the will to something against which one naturally would rebel. It portrays a picture of steadfastly and unflinchingly bearing up under a heavy load and describes that quality of character which does not allow one to surrender to circumstances or succumb under trial. Hupomone is the constancy which belongs to and characterizes hope in dark days. It has in it a  forward look, the ability to focus on what is beyond the current pressures (eg Jesus

Who for the joy set before Him endured [verb form hupomeno] the Cross despising the shame" (Heb 12:2- note).

In short hupomone does not describe a grim resignation or a passive "grin & bear" attitude but a triumphant facing of difficult circumstances knowing that even out of evil God guarantees good. It is courageous gallantry which accepts suffering and hardship and turns them into grace and glory.

Hupomone - 32x in 31v - Luke 8:15; 21:19; Rom 2:7; 5:3f; 8:25; 15:4f; 2 Cor 1:6; 6:4; 12:12; Col 1:11; 1 Thess 1:3; 2 Thess 1:4; 3:5; 1 Tim 6:11; 2 Tim 3:10; Titus 2:2; Heb 10:36; 12:1; Jas 1:3f; 5:11; 2 Pet 1:6; Rev 1:9; 2:2f, 19; 3:10; 13:10; 14:12. NAS = endurance(7), patient enduring(1), perseverance(21), steadfastness(3).

With steadfastness bearing up not simply with resignation but with absolute assurance of vibrant hope -- it is not a passive waiting. (1Th 1:3-note Rev 13:10-note  Rev 14:12-note)

The writer of Hebrews alludes to the importance of Christian perseverance...

For you have need of endurance (hupomone), so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. (He 10:36-note)

Morris describes perseverance as

the attitude of the soldier who in the thick of battle is not dismayed but fights on stoutly whatever the difficulties.

We are in a battle but can be confident that the Victory has already been won! No literal earthly soldier could have had such confidence as we can.
 

Hupomone is the ability to endure when circumstances are difficult - not a passive sitting down and bearing things but a triumphant facing of them so that even out of evil there can come good, a bearing up in a way that honors and glorifies our heavenly Father.

This great section on our present possession of the first fruits of the Spirit (like a pledge cp Ep 1:14 [note]) and our future hope (certainty) of the redemption of our decaying mortal bodies in which we currently wage daily war (with the still co-existent enemies Sin and the flesh) is truth that should give us encouragement to bear up under the circumstances (cp "suffering" - Ro 8:17-note, Ro 8:18-note). We're not home yet. The best is yet to come! Maranatha! (See living with A Maranatha Mindset or see blog post with great picture of the Returning King of kings Maranatha mindset)

Eagerly wait (553) (apekdechomai [word study] from apó = intensifier [see Vincent below] + ekdechomai [word study] = expect, look for <> from ek  = out + dechomai [word study] = receive kindly, accept deliberately and readily)  means waiting in great anticipation but with patience (compare our English expression "wait it out"). To expect fully. To look (wait) for assiduously (marked by careful unremitting attention) and patiently.

Apekdechomai - 8x in 8v - Rom 8:19, 23, 25; 1Cor 1:7; Gal 5:5; Phil 3:20; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 3:20. NAS = awaiting eagerly(1), eagerly await(1), eagerly wait(1), wait eagerly(1), waiting(2), waiting eagerly(1), waits eagerly(1).

If we have a well-grounded expectation of our resurrection and final glorification, knowing that such things are necessarily future, and must for a certain time be delayed; then do we patiently wait for them, continue patiently to endure the common ills of life, and whatever tribulations we may be exposed to in consequence of our Christian profession; for we know, Faithful is he who has promised. Hope is a sort of universal blessing, and one of the greatest which God has granted to man. To mankind, in general, life would be intolerable without it; and it is as necessary as faith is even to the followers of God.
The ancients have a very instructive and elegant fable concerning it. “Prometheus having made a human body, went up to heaven, and stole some celestial fire to animate it: Jupiter, incensed at the theft, sent down Pandora, with a box full of diseases and plagues of every kind, as an ensnaring present to Prometheus; but he refused to accept it. Epimetheus took and opened it, and instantly all those diseases, etc., by which mankind have been made miserable, flew out, and spread themselves over the whole earth; and only Hope remained at the bottom of the box.” This fable explains itself, as to its main design. Men find life, with its various and unavoidable ills, only supportable by the hope they have of not only getting safely through them, but of enjoying a state of blessedness in the end. Hope is still at the bottom; and therefore man is encouraged to bear up in all the pressures of life. Take away hope, and then black despair and indescribable wretchedness would be the instant result. Hope stands justly among the highest mercies of God. (Romans 8:24-25 - Adam Clarke Commentary)

Stedman writes:

I thought of old Caleb, back there in the Old Testament, who, after 40 years of marching with the children of Israel in the wilderness, looked at the land from Mt. Hebron, and at the giants, and said to Joshua, at 85 years of age, "Joshua, give me this mountain for I am as strong yet as I was in the day when Moses sent me into the land" {cf, Josh 14:11, 12}. He saw that land 40 years before when Moses sent him in as a spy. He saw the mountain, and he wanted it. Hebron means "fellowship" and he claimed that mountain as his own, and, for 40 years, as they wandered in the desert, Caleb, by faith, lived in Hebron -- in the place of fellowship. In appropriating faith, he was there already, and, at last, there came the day when he actually entered into it and possessed it -- even though he was 85 years of age. All through that account we are told the secret of that man's strength, and hope, and faith. It is given in these words: "He wholly followed the Lord his God," {cf, Nu 32:12 14:24}. (The Joy of being Grown Up)

Barnes

Christians only have the prospect of deliverance. To them is held out the hope of final rescue, and of an eternal inheritance beyond all these sufferings. They wait, therefore, for the full benefits of the adoption; the complete recovery even of the body from the effects of sin, and the toils and trials of this live; and thus they are sustained by hope, which is the argument which the apostle has in view; Romans 8:23-24. With this view of the general scope of the passage, we may examine the particular phrases....

Hope has reference to the future; and in this state of the Christian, he sighs for deliverance, and expects it....

Ro 8:21 is  the ground of our hope, and this sustains us now. It is the purpose of God that deliverance shall be granted, and this supports the Christian amidst the trials to which he is subjected here. The hope is, that this same renewed man shall be delivered from all the toils, and cares, and sins of this state....slavery to corruption (Ro 8:21) is a condition often which destroys the peace, mars the happiness, dims the hope, enfeebles the faith, and weakens the love of Christians...

The effect stated in Ro 8:25 is one which exists everywhere.

Where there is a strong desire for an object, and a corresponding expectation of obtaining it - which constitutes true hope - then we can wait for it with patience.

Where there is a strong desire without a corresponding expectation of obtaining it, there is impatience.

As the Christian has a strong desire of future glory, and as he has an expectation of obtaining it just in proportion to that desire, it follows that he may bear trials and persecutions patiently in the hope of his future deliverance. Compared with our future glory, our present sufferings are light, and but for a moment; 2Corinthians 4:17. In the hope of that blessed eternity which is before him, the Christian can endure the severest trial, and bear the intensest pain without a complaint. (Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible)

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No Hope But God— by Cindy Hess Kasper: In his book Through the Valley of the Kwai, Scottish officer Ernest Gordon wrote of his years as a prisoner of war during World War II. The 6′ 2″ man suffered from malaria, diphtheria, typhoid, beriberi, dysentery, and jungle ulcers, and the hard labor and scarcity of food quickly plunged his weight to less than 100 pounds.

The squalor of the prison hospital prompted a desperate Ernest to request to be moved to a cleaner place—the morgue. Lying in the dirt of the death house, he waited to die. But every day, a fellow prisoner came to wash his wounds and to encourage him to eat part of his own rations. As the quiet and unassuming Dusty Miller nursed Ernest back to health, he talked with the agnostic Scotsman of his own strong faith in God and showed him that—even in the midst of suffering—there is hope.

The hope we read about in Scripture is not a vague, wishy-washy optimism. Instead, biblical hope is a strong and confident expectation that what God has promised in His Word He will accomplish. Tribulation is often the catalyst that produces perseverance, character, and finally, hope (Ro 5:3-4).

Seventy years ago, in a brutal POW camp, Ernest Gordon learned this truth himself and said, “Faith thrives when there is no hope but God” (see Ro 8:24-25).

Faith looks beyond this transient life
With hope for all eternity—
Not with some vague and wistful hope,
But with firm trust and certainty.
—D. De Haan

Christ, the Rock, is our sure hope.

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James Smith - Salvation by Hope