In the First Letter of John, the word "remain" in some form occurs so many times that it is worth paying special attention to it. In his Letters, St. Paul frequently speaks in some way about faith hope and love. Sometimes, instead of "hope" he prefers the word "constancy" This word "constancy" is a noun based on the verb "remain". We cannot always use St. Paul's writings to help us understand St John better. But since both are Apostles writing about God's love for us in Christ, there are certainly times when their writings are mutually enlightening. Perhaps, then, we can extrapolate from St. Paul's occasional use of the word "constancy" for "hope" to suggest that in his use of "remain" St John is teaching us something about Christian hope: If we remain closely associated and united with Jesus through grace, then we have a more certain hope of attaining to eternal life.

Our constancy in our relationship with God is based on God's constant affection for us: "I have loved you with an everlasting love and so I am constant in my affection for you" [Jer 31:3]