<p>1:7 <i>And our hope for you is steadfast- </i>The Greek idea of <i>elpis</i>, &quot;hope&quot;, is not a hope for the best, a kind of optimism that perhaps all might turn out all right. The idea is rather of a confident expectation; and considering the apostasy of the Corinthians, that is quite something. Paul refuses to condemn anyone who has been baptized into Christ and is therefore a partaker in His death and the Spirit-comfort which He makes available. And because Paul will not pre-judge the final judgement, his hope / expectation for them was &quot;steadfast&quot;&nbsp;</p><p><i>Knowing that, as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also are you of the comfort</i>- The idea may be that <i>if </i>or <i>insofar</i> as they shared in the Lord's sufferings (:5), willingly understanding their experiences as part of His- then they would share in &quot;the comfort&quot;, the Comforter, the gift of the Spirit, His life now mediated into the hearts and lives of those open it. If we share in His death, we share in His life. That is the basic significance of baptism, but the principle is ongoing throughout our lives. The association with His life is not simply in that we have hope of a future bodily resurrection, but in that His living, His life, becomes manifest in our mortal flesh right now (2 Cor. 4:11); we live in new<i>ness</i> of life after baptism (Rom. 6:4).</p>