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Endure (5278) (hupomeno from hupó = under, as in under the rule of someone + méno = to abide or remain - see study of noun hupomone) means literally to remain under but not simply with resignation, but with a vibrant hope.
The idea of enduring is not just to "grin and bear it" but to remain under trials in a such a way that we glorify God as we learn the lessons the trials are meant to teach us, instead of seeking ways to get out from under (cf the prefix preposition "hupo" = under) the trials and be relieved of the pressure.
Wayne Detzler recounts an amazing true life example of Christian perseverance writing that...
True Christian perseverance is not tied to tenacity. It is rather the work of God the Holy Spirit in a believer's life. The starch in a saint's spine is shown by Scripture to be nothing less than the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Only in this way can one explain the work of Gladys Aylward, a London parlor maid. Societies scorned her missionary application. She seemed too dull to master Chinese and fulfill her vision of serving in China. Realizing this, she scoured up her own fare to China and sailed in 1930. After slogging her way across Siberia she reached her field in remote Yangcheng. When the Japanese invaded in 1940 she led 100 children on an epic journey that caught the imagination of Hollywood (Ed: Watch the movie about her life - The Inn of the Sixth Happiness or DVD). In 1947 failing health forced her back to England where she crusaded for missions until her death in 1970. That was tenacity, not just British grit. It is God's persevering grace. (Detzler, Wayne E: New Testament Words in Today's Language. Victor. 1986)
Hupomeno has the following meanings depending on the context - (1) Stay behind, to tarry behind (beyond an expected time), to remain (as in Acts 17:14, Luke 2:43). (2) To stand fast, endure or remain in the sense of persevering so that under affliction, trouble, opposition or trial one holds fast to one's belief or faith (Mt 10:22, 24:13, Mark 13:13, James 5:11, et al). The idea is to be patient under, to persevere and to do so bear bravely and calmly (from Thayer).
Another great example of a Christian who endured (persevered) under trials in a God honoring way is William Wilberforce (biography in Wikipedia or short bio in Christian History) the 19th-century parliamentarian, who was moved by the Lord to oppose the lucrative but humanly degrading slave trade. In 1807 Wilberforce brought about the banning of the slave trade in England but it was not until 1833 was slavery as an institution abolished, this news reaching Wilberforce even as he lay on his deathbed. Talk about persevering!
Spurgeon said
By perseverance the snail reached the ark.
Perseverance is also illustrated in nature for...
Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's little nut that held its ground
Coleman Cox offered another example from nature noting that...
Even the woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head and keeps pecking away until he finishes the job he starts.
Samuel Johnson claimed
Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.
William Secker put it well when he said that...
Though Christians be not kept altogether from falling, yet they are kept from falling altogether.
Hupomeno was a military term used of an army’s holding a vital position at all costs. Every hardship and every suffering was to be endured in order to hold fast.
Endurance is a critical Christian virtue. Unless we have endurance , we can never learn many of the truths that God wants us to learn, truths that will lead us into a deeper life and a more fruitful ministry. Children are usually impatient; they cannot sit still long enough to get the things done that need to be done. “How long do we have to wait?” is the stock question of the child. Impatience is a mark of immaturity. Impatience is also a mark of unbelief.
Trench defined hupomeno (hupomone) as manifesting the
temper of spirit in which we accept God’s dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting.
Hupomeno is in the present tense which marks Paul's perseverance as a lifestyle. Bearing up under was his habitual practice.
Here are the 17 uses of hupomeno in the NT...
Matthew 10:22 "And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
Matthew 24:13 "But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.
Mark 13:13 "And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.
Luke 2:43 and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. And His parents were unaware of it,
Acts 17:14 And then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there.
Romans 12:12 (note) rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, (Triumph is just umph added to try.)
1 Corinthians 13:7 (note) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
2 Timothy 2:10 (note) For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.
2 Timothy 2:12 (note) If we endure, we shall also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; (Wuest - Endure here = "persevere in and under trials and hold to one’s faith in Christ.")
Hebrews 10:32 (note) But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings,
Hebrews 12:2 (note) fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:3 (note) For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. (Comment: Jesus' example of enduring unspeakable suffering as a Man is truth that can motivate and encourage us to persevere under our trials in a God honoring way).
Hebrews 12:7 (note) It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? (Wuest - "recipients of this letter are exhorted to remain under the chastening hand of God, for the purpose of this chastening is disciplinary.")
James 1:12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
James 5:11 Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
1 Peter 2:20 (note) For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
Hupomeno is used 51 times in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) (Num. 22:19; Jos. 19:47; Jdg. 3:25; 2 Ki. 6:33; Job 3:9; 6:11; 7:3; 8:15; 9:4; 14:14; 15:31; 17:13; 20:26; 22:21; 32:4, 16; 33:5; 41:11; Ps. 25:3, 5, 21; 27:14; 33:20; 37:9, 34; 40:1; 52:9; 56:6; 69:6, 20; 106:13; 119:95; 130:4; 142:7; Prov. 20:9; Isa. 40:31; 51:5; 59:9; 60:9; 64:4; Jer. 14:19, 22; Lam. 3:21, 25f; Dan. 12:12; Mic. 7:7; Nah. 1:7; Hab. 2:3; Zeph. 3:8; Zech. 6:14; Mal. 3:2). Here are a few of the great uses of hupomeno in the LXX...
Job 14:14 "If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait (Hebrew = yachal = to wait expectantly; Lxx = hupomeno), Until my change comes.
Psalm 25:3 Indeed, none of those who wait for (Hebrew = qavah = wait for, look for, hope for; Lxx = hupomeno) Thee will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed. (Spurgeon's note)
Psalm 25:5 Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, For Thou art the God of my salvation; For Thee I wait (Hebrew = qavah = wait for, look for, hope for; Lxx = hupomeno) all the day.
Patience is the fair handmaid and daughter of faith; we cheerfully wait when we are certain that we shall not wait in vain. It is our duty and our privilege to wait upon the Lord in service, in worship, in expectancy, in trust all the days of our life. Our faith will be tried faith, and if it be of the true kind, it will bear continued trial without yielding. We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously He once waited for us. (Spurgeon's note)
Psalm 27:14 Wait (a command) (Hebrew = qavah = wait for, look for, hope for; Lxx = hupomeno) for the LORD; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.
Wait at His door with prayer; wait at His foot with humility; wait at His table with service; wait at His window with expectancy. Suitors often win nothing but the cold shoulder from earthly patrons after long and obsequious waiting; he speeds best whose patron is in the skies. (Spurgeon's note)
Psalm 33:20 Our soul waits (Hebrew = chakah = wait; Lxx = hupomeno in the present tense = continually) for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.
Here the godly avow their reliance upon Him Whom the Psalm extols. To wait is a great lesson. To be quiet in expectation, patient in hope, single in confidence, is one of the bright attainments of a Christian. Our soul, our life, must hang upon God; we are not to trust Him with a few gewgaws, but with all we have and are. He is our help and our shield. Our help in labour, our shield in danger. The Lord answers all things to His people. He is their all in all. Note the three "ours" in the text. These holdfast words are precious. Personal possession makes the Christian man; all else is mere talk. (Spurgeon's note)
Psalm 37:9 For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for (Hebrew = qavah = wait for, look for, hope for; Lxx = hupomeno) the LORD, they will inherit the land.
But those that wait upon the Lord -- those who in patient faith expect their portion in another life -- they shall inherit the earth. Even in this life they have the most of real enjoyment, and in the ages to come theirs shall be the glory and the triumph. Passion, according to Bunyan's parable, has his good things first, and they are soon over; Patience has his good things last, and they last for ever. (Spurgeon's note)
Psalm 40:1 A Psalm of David. I Waited patiently (Hebrew = qavah = wait for, look for, hope for; Lxx = hupomeno) for the LORD; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.
(Spurgeon interprets this psalm in its "Messianic light" writing) Patient waiting upon God was a special characteristic of our Lord Jesus. Impatience never lingered in his heart, much less escaped his lips. All through his agony in the garden, his trial of cruel mockings before Herod and Pilate, and his passion on the tree, he waited in omnipotence of patience. No glance of wrath, no word of murmuring, no deed of vengeance came from God's patient Lamb; he waited and waited on; was patient, and patient to perfection, far excelling all others who have according to their measure glorified God in the fires. Job on the dunghill does not equal Jesus on the cross. The Christ of God wears the imperial crown among the patient. Did the Only Begotten wait, and shall we be petulant and rebellious? (Spurgeon's note)
Psalm 106:13 They quickly forgot His works; They did not wait for (Hebrew = chakah = wait; Lxx = hupomeno) His counsel
They waited not for His counsel, neither waiting for the word of command or promise; eager to have their own way, and prone to trust in themselves. This is a common fault in the Lord's family to this day; we are long in learning to wait for the Lord, and upon the Lord. With Him is counsel and strength, but we are vain enough to look for these to ourselves, and therefore we grievously err. (Spurgeon's note)
Isaiah 40:31 (Remember although believers today can surely apply the truth of this beautiful passage in its original context it was addressed to Jews in captivity! In what captivity are you beloved of the Lord?) Yet those who wait for (Hebrew = qavah = wait for, look for, hope for; Lxx = hupomeno) the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. (Comment: Wait for the Lord "implies two things: complete dependence on God and a willingness to allow him to decide the terms" - Oswalt "This is the purpose of the strength the LORD gives us - strength to move forward and progress for Him. It isn't strength to show off, but strength to go forward in.- Guzik)
Lamentations 3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for (Hebrew = qavah = wait for, look for, hope for; Lxx = hupomeno) Him, to the person who seeks Him.
Micah 7:7 But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait (Hebrew = yachal = to wait expectantly; Lxx = hupomeno) for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
All things (pas) means "all" without exception!
FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE WHO ARE CHOSEN (the elect): dia tous eklektous: (Mt 24:22,24,31; Jn 11:52; 17:9; 1Co 9:22; 2Co 1:6; 4:15; Col 1:24)
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