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Labor (2873) (kopos from kopto = chop, hew, cut down, strike; figuratively to lament which apparently came from the idea of striking one's breast) (See also study of related verb kopiao) is strictly a smiting as a sign of sorrow, then sorrow itself. Kopos thus describes a state of discomfort or distress, trouble, difficulty, transferring the sense of the primary meaning which is beating.
A good example of kopos with this sense is found in Psalm 107 where we read...
He humbled their heart with labor (LXX = kopos). They stumbled and there was none to help. (Ps 107:12) (Comment: "In eastern prisons men are frequently made to labour like beasts of the field. As they have no liberty, so they have no rest. This soon subdues the stoutest heart, and makes the proud boaster sing another tune. Trouble and hard toil are enough to tame a lion. God has methods of abating the loftiness of rebellious looks; the cell and the mill make even giants tremble." Spurgeon's note)
Kopos referring to labor conveys the sense that the labor involves toil, fatigue, suffering, weariness and sorrow. It thus speaks of an intense effort which can be united with trouble. In short kopos conveys the idea of arduous toil involving sweat and fatigue and emphasizes the weariness which follows as a result of the straining of all of one's powers to the utmost.
Kopos is used 18 times in the NAS -- Matt 26:10; Mark 14:6; Luke 11:7; 18:5; John 4:38; 1 Cor 3:8; 15:58; 2 Cor 6:5; 10:15; 11:23, 27; Gal 6:17; 1 Thess 1:3; 2:9; 3:5; 2 Thess 3:8; Rev 2:2; 14:13) and is translated: bother, 3; bothers, 1; labor, 7; labors, 4; toil, 2; trouble, 1. Below are some representative uses that convey different nuances of kopos.
Mt 26:10 But Jesus, aware of this (the indignant attitude of the disciples over the woman "wasting" perfume - equivalent to about a year's salary for a rural worker - anointing Jesus' head - as done to kings in the OT), said to them, "Why do you bother (kopos) the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. (Kopos has same meaning of "bother" in Mark 14:6, Luke 11:7, 18:5)
John 4:38 (Jesus addressing His disciples who had just brought Him food to eat) "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored (related verb - kopiao); others have labored (related verb - kopiao), and you have entered into their labor (kopos)
1Cor 3:8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor (kopos - spiritual benefits for spiritual labor in the power of the Spirit of Christ) (Comment: Beware! Don't fall into the trap of believing you can earn rewards by your self effort, no matter how strenuous and exhausting such efforts are. Any reward believers receive in the future is a result of pure, amazing grace, given to those who have done the work God prepared for them, in a humble, properly motivated, Spirit filled and God glorifying manner, all apart from self effort or self aggrandizement).
1Cor 15:58 Therefore (This is a term of conclusion - based on what the truths he had just taught about the firm foundation of our future resurrection, believers should have ample incentive to carry on, even in exhausting service), my beloved brethren, be (present imperative - calls for the following traits to be our lifestyle) steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil (kopos) is not in vain in the Lord. (Comment: Paul's point is that no matter how great the temptation to compromise, do not yield! No matter how demanding and difficult may be the work to which God has called us, do not quit! There will be a day of resting and reward, but not yet - see notes on Hebrews 4:9, 4:11; 6:10. As an aside when you are serving the Lord, exhausting, wearying toil does not mean you are out of the will of God. As someone has said when you are in His perfect will He may well "wear you out")
Revelation 2:2 (Jesus addressing the church at Ephesus - see note) 'I know your deeds and your toil (kopos) and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false (see note)
Kopos is used 25 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Gen. 31:42; Deut. 1:12; Jdg. 10:16; Neh. 5:13; Job 4:2; 5:6f; 11:16; Ps. 10:7; 25:18; 55:10; 73:5, 16; 88:15; 90:10; 94:20; 107:12; 140:9; Jer. 20:18; 45:3; Hos. 12:3; Mic. 2:1; Hab. 1:3; 3:7; Zech. 10:2; Mal. 2:13)
In secular Greek writings kopos meant "beating," "weariness as though one had been beaten," and the "exertion" or "trouble" which causes this state. In prose kopos is the proper word for physical tiredness induced by work, exertion or heat. Expressing severe labor, it is synonymous with ponos, (4192) which signifies the most tense or strenuous effort, e.g., of the soldier in battle, or the exertions of messengers or manual workers. Ponos is the express term for the strenuous wrestling of the hero.
TDNT has a discussion on the Secular and OT uses of kopos and the derivative verb kopiao writing that....
In secular Greek kópos means a. "beating" or the "weariness" caused by it, and b. the "exertion" (e.g., of manual work) that brings on physical tiredness. kopiao [word study], then, means "to tire," "to wear oneself out." The Septuagint (LXX) uses it for tiring in battle (2Sa 23:10), for exertion in work (Josh 24:13), and for the groans of the afflicted (Ps 6:6).
Kópos is the human lot in the OT (Job 5:7 - For man is born for trouble [Lxx = kopos], as sparks fly upward.; Ps. 25:18 - Look upon my affliction and my trouble [Lxx = kopos], and forgive all my sins.). Present toil is contrasted with future rest (Isaiah 65:23). God, who never wearies (Isaiah 40:28ff.), will grant rest to the righteous (Isaiah 33:24)... Kopos has a general sense in Mt. 14:6 and an eschatological reference in Rev. 2:2. Paul as an apostle accepts troubles as normal (2Cor 6:5; cf. Mt 5:11, 12-notes notes). His special troubles strengthen his assurance (2Cor 11:23); kopoi (plural) take precedence in his appeal to things that show him to be a true servant of Christ (loc. cit.). (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans)
Your labor prompted by love is the toilsome, laborious activity that is prompted and sustained by love when the going gets hard. The stress in the word labor is on the cost, exertion, fatigue, and exhaustion that it entails. Work (ergon) may be pleasant and stimulating, but labor implies toil that is strenuous and sweat‑producing. Had there been no love (agape) they would not have persisted in carrying on the hard and difficult activities now being performed. This love is not romantic love (eros), nor the love of personal affection and warmth drawn forth by the attractiveness and desirableness of the object of love (phileo), but distinctively Christian love, the love that springs from an unconquerable good will and persistent desire for the welfare of the one loved. Such love found its supreme expression on Calvary. Such a divinely imparted and sacrificial love prompted the toil of the Thessalonians.
Maclaren adds that...
Love labours. Labour is more than work, for it includes the notion of toil, fatigue, difficulty, persistence, antagonism. Ah! the work of faith will never be done unless it is the toil of love. You remember how Milton talks about the immortal garland that is to be run for, ‘not without dust and sweat.' The Christian life is not a leisurely promenade. The limit of our duty is not ease of work. There must be toil. And love is the only principle that will carry us through the fatigues, and the difficulties, and the oppositions which rise against us from ourselves and from without. Love delights to have a hard task set it by the beloved, and the harder the task the more poignant the satisfaction. Loss is gain when it brings us nearer the beloved.
And whether our love be love to God, or its consequence, love to man, it is the only foundation on which toil for either God or man will over permanently be rested. Do not believe in philanthropy which has not a bottom of faith, and do not believe in work for Christ which does not involve in toil And be sure that you will do neither, unless you have both these things: the faith and the love. (1 Thessalonians 1:3 - Faith, Love, Hope and Their Fruits)
Hiebert comments on their labor of love writing that...
Just what form this love-prompted toil took is not indicated. Alford thinks it was "probably towards the sick and needy strangers."" Certainly conditions in the persecuted church at Thessalonica offered opportunities for such activities. But Hendriksen, in the light of 1 Thes 1:6-10, holds that Paul is "thinking especially of the work of making propaganda for the gospel, and doing this even in the midst of bitter persecution."' That the toil, whatever its precise form, was ultimately Godward is certain from 1 Thessalonians 1:9 (note) ("to serve the true and living God").
Barclay gives us an example that illustrates to some degree what is meant by their labor of love writing that...
Bernard Newman tells how once he stayed in a Bulgarian peasant's house. All the time he was there the daughter was stitching away at a dress. He said to her, "Don't you ever get tired of that eternal sewing?" "O no!" she said, "you see this is my wedding dress." Work done for love always has a glory." (Barclay, William: New Testament Words:. Westminster John Know Press, 1964)
Now specifically what form this love‑prompted toil took is not indicated.
A T Robertson adds that the phrase means the
labour that love prompts, assuming gladly the toil.
Where love is the motive, the labor is light.
Someone has said that the sign of true consecration is when a man can find glory in drudgery.
Spurgeon calls the labor of love "Heaven's Cement"...
“Love is a grace that will make us industrious for the good of others, and therefore we read of the ‘labor of love’ (1Th. 1:3). It is gluten animarum, the glue of souls, the cement and solder of the church; the jointing that runneth throughout all the living and squared stones (Col 3:14). By this souls are mingled, and all mutual offices are cheerfully performed.”
O for more of this sacred cement. The walls of many churches gape with huge cracks for lack of it. Building with untempered mortar is an ancient fault, but nowadays some build with no mortar at all. Professors seem to be piled together like a load of bricks, without life, love, or living truth to unite them; and the promise is forgotten, “I will lay thy stones with fair colors.” Will not our reader, if he be a believer, endeavor to furnish his portion of the sacred cement of love, which is the perfect bond? This will be far more useful than complaining of the lack of unity, for this complaint often creates the evil which it deplores. Critics pick out from between the stones the mortar, of which there is little enough already; but loving hearts fill up the cracks, and do their best to keep the structure whole. “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
How am I acting? Am I a bond in the building, or do I, like the foolish woman in the Proverbs, pluck down the house with my hands? O Lord of peace, make me more and more a lover of peace. (Flowers from a Puritan's garden, distilled and dispensed).
Practice perseverance. Remember that if you have the work of faith and the labor of love, you must complete the trio with the addition of the patience of hope. (1Th 1:3.) You cannot go on without this last thing. (When Christ Returns)
Ray Stedman writes that...
The first sign of love at work is a changed attitude. Instead of wearisome complaining about their afflictions, the Thessalonians found "joy given by the Holy Spirit" (1Th 1:6-note). Not that there wasn't good reason to complain! These young believers were ostracized at their work, hounded out of their homes, arrested, and put into prison because of their newfound faith. But, says Paul, they had learned to see these afflictions in a new way. They saw them as privileges, given to them for Jesus' sake. The result was joy!
They responded to God's love by loving Him in return and welcoming the opportunities to bear suffering for His name's sake. Jesus taught us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God. But there is always something that must come before that, something many people do not seem to understand. God asks us to love Him only because He first loved us. When trials, pressures, and hardships come along, we are able to see for ourselves what kind of solution God can work out. The Thessalonians had stopped complaining and started rejoicing because they saw God working through their trials. If only we could understand that afflictions are opportunities for God to demonstrate His sustaining grace and show His work in our lives today, we could experience the same joy they knew. (Changed Lives)
John writes
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. (1John 5:1, 2, 3)
Comment: The point is that love is shown to be authentic by keeping God's commandments. One who says "Sure I love God and the brethren" should have substantiation of that declaration.
What does this labor of love look like practically speaking? In 1Corinthians Paul teaches clearly that this love is not a warm, fuzzy, sentimental thing but is an active verb, manifest as a volitional choice and necessitating enablement of the Holy Spirit...
Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails... (see notes 1Corinthians 13:4; 13:5; 13:6; 13:7; 13:8)
Comment: Note that the "action" verbs (eg, is patient, is kind, is not jealous, not brag, not arrogant, etc are all in the present tense which calls for this to be the believer's lifestyle!) Continuous action and habitual practice is the idea! Try to carry out these instructions for a godly living in your own strength! We cannot do this on our own, but only as we abide (Jn 15:5), are filled (Ep 5:18-note), deny (Mk 8:34), are not conformed but transformed (Ro 12:2-note), live by faith (2Co 5:7, 4:18, Heb 11:1-note, Gal 2:20-note), walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16-note, be led by Gal 5:18-note, keep in step with Gal 5:25NIV-note). Only as we submit and surrender and yield our "rights" to our Master, allowing Him to rule and reign and live through us, can we truly begin to experience the "victorious Christian life". The next time you have a divine "pop test" (someone you don't want to forgive, to speak to, to go see, etc or something that you don't really want to do because you are selfish to the core [as am I!]), make the conscious choice to yield your "rights" to Christ your Lord (realizing that even the desire to want to do so is a manifestation of amazing grace - Php 2:13-note, Ezek 36:26, 27 - Is this "mysterious"? Sure it is, but it is our Father's desire for us to experience this "Christ life" [Gal 2:20-note] in a world which is progressing deeper and deeper into the the depths of depravity of self [2Ti 3:1, 2ff-note.)
Vine sums up labor of love writing that first in 1Th 1:9 (note) it is expressed as service to God ("to serve a true and living God"). He goes on to explain that...
Labor, kopos = toil resulting in weariness, cp. John 4:6, 38; and see note at 1Th 5:12 (verb kopiao). Work (in "work of faith") refers to what is done, and may be easy and pleasant; labor refers to the doing of it, the pains taken, the strength spent.
Where love is the motive,
labor is light.
The supreme expression of love is the Cross, Ro 5:8 (note), where “commendeth” = proves (demonstrates)... This is the type to which our love is to be conformed, 1John 3:16 ("We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren"). Love to God is expressed in obedience, John 14:15 ("If you love me, you will keep my commandments.") John 14:21, 23; 1John 5:2, 3; 2John 6; to man in considering the interests of others rather than our own, Php 2:4 (note), cp. Ro 15:2 (note). The latter is exhaustively described in 1 Corinthians 13.
Love is contrasted with selfishness.
See also at 1 Thessalonians 3:12 (note). (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos)
AND STEADFASTNESS OF HOPE IN OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST: tes hupomones tes elpidos tou kuriou hemon Iesou Christou: (Ro 2:7; Ro 5:3-5; Ro 8:24,25; Ro 12:12; Ro 15:13; 1Co 13:13; Gal 6:9; Heb 6:15; Heb 10:36; Jas 1:3,4; Jas 5:7,8; 1Jn 3:3; Rev 3:10) (Torrey's Topic Hope)
STEADFASTNESS
OF HOPE
your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (NIV),
the steadfast endurance that is inspired by true hope (Hiebert)
the endurance of the hope (Literal translation)
your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ (NLT)
steady looking forward to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ (TLB)
and your patient endurance under trials which finds its source in your hope which rests in our Lord Jesus Christ (Wuest)
Vine commenting on the phrase steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ writes that this phrase is further explained in the last verse of chapter 1...
waiting for His Son from heaven. (1Th 1:10-note) Patience is more than waiting, cp. Ro 2:7 (note), and Heb 12:3 (note), where the corresponding verb (hupomeno) is translated “endured.” Thus patience (steadfastness) of hope is that endurance under trial which is the effect of waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. That the Thessalonian saints had shown this endurance is seen in 1Th 1:6 (note) ("having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit"); 1Th 2:14 (note) (" For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews"); 2 Thessalonians 1:4 ("therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.")...
Hope has to do with the unseen, Ro 8:24 (note), and the future, Ro 8:25 (note) ("For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.").
Hope may be objective, as 1Timothy 1:1, or subjective, as Ro 15:4 (note). These uses must be distinguished, the latter preponderates in the New Testament. In Ro 5:4 (note) the order is reversed; “patience, through probation, i.e., trial or proving (cp. 2Cor 8:2; 9:13) works, i.e., accomplishes, results in, hope.” Both are true; hope encourages patience: patience strengthens hope.
Faith, love, hope recur at 1Thes 5:8 (note), 1 Corinthians 13:13 ("But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love"); Col 1:4 (note); Col 1:5 (note), ("since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel") and, with “patience” instead of “hope,” 2Th 1:3,4 (We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.);1Ti 6:11 ("But flee from these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness."); Titus 2:2 (note). ("Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.") Hope is contrasted with worldliness.
THE HOPE OF THE COMING OF THE LORD
by Daniel W Whittle
A lamp in the night, a song in time of sorrow;
A great glad hope which faith can ever borrow
To gild the passing day, with the glory of the morrow,
Is the hope of the coming of the Lord.
Refrain
Blessèd hope, blessèd hope,
Blessèd hope of the coming of the Lord;
How the aching heart it cheers,
How it glistens through our tears,
Blessèd hope of the coming of the Lord.
A star in the sky, a beacon bright to guide us;
An anchor sure to hold when storms betide us;
A refuge for the soul, where in quiet we may hide us,
Is the hope of the coming of the Lord.
Refrain
A call of command, like trumpet clearly sounding,
To make us bold when evil is surrounding;
To stir the sluggish heart and to keep in good abounding,
Is the hope of the coming of the Lord.
Refrain
A word from the One to all our hearts the dearest,
A parting word to make Him aye the nearest;
Of all His precious words, the sweetest, brightest, clearest,
Is the hope of the coming of the Lord.
Refrain
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