ἐλπίς

In everyday English “hope” often means uncertainty (“I hope it doesn’t rain”). The New Testament’s elpis is the opposite: a sure and steadfast expectation, “an anchor for the soul” (Hebrews 6:19), grounded not in optimism but in the trustworthiness of God.

Christian hope has a concrete basis — the risen Christ — and a concrete object — the promised future of resurrection and renewed creation. That is why Paul can speak of rejoicing in hope even in suffering: it does not “put us to shame,” because it rests on God’s proven love.