To stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy)
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Meno means to remain, abide, stay, dwell, continue, or endure. It is one of Johns most important discipleship words, though it also appears across the New Testament for ordinary staying and enduring realities.
Reader summary
Full entry for μένω (G3306) · Open the biblical lexicon
Meno means to remain, abide, stay, dwell, continue, or endure. It is one of Johns most important discipleship words, though it also appears across the New Testament for ordinary staying and enduring realities.
The BSB source-word alignment has 118 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include remains (16), remain (12), Stay (7), abides (6), He stayed (4).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 10:11. Its strongest book concentrations include John (40), 1 John (24), Acts (13), 1 Corinthians (8).
This entry includes 7 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Meno means to remain, abide, stay, dwell, continue, or endure. It is one of Johns most important discipleship words, though it also appears across the New Testament for ordinary staying and enduring realities. John the Baptist sees the Spirit descend and remain on Jesus. Jesus says the one who feeds on Him remains in Him and He in that person. In the vine discourse, disciples must remain in Christ as branches in the vine, and they must remain in His love.
Paul says faith, hope, and love remain, with love the greatest. John tells believers that the anointing they received remains in them, and they are to remain in Him. Meno therefore joins union with Christ, perseverance, love, Spirit-given life, and continuing faithfulness without making abiding a technique detached from Christ.
Meno can describe staying, remaining, enduring, or abiding. In John and 1 John it becomes central for life in Christ: the Spirit remains on Jesus, believers remain in Christ, His words and love shape fruitfulness, and the anointing remains in believers.
Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him.
The Spirit descends and remains on Jesus. Meno marks Jesus as the Spirit-anointed Son.
Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.
The one who feeds on Christ remains in Him and Christ in him. Abiding is tied to receiving Christ by faith in the bread-of-life discourse.
Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
Jesus commands disciples to remain in Him as branches in the vine. Fruitfulness depends on union and continued dependence.
As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love.
Jesus tells disciples to remain in His love. Abiding includes continuing under His love and commandments.
And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.
Faith, hope, and love remain, with love the greatest. Meno can describe enduring theological realities.
And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.
The anointing remains in believers, and they are to remain in Him. The word supports perseverance under true teaching.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. Abiding presence in relationship with God; enduring union rather than temporary coexistence.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 120 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
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Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
How this verb appears across 112 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 8 selected witnesses from 118 lexical occurrence verses.
μένω is a primary verb - no further derivation.
Describes enduring indwelling presence. 1 John 2:24-27
Describes continuous relational union. 1 John 2:28-29
Christ's sovereign will over lifespan. 1 John 2:3-6
Describes ongoing union with Christ. 1 John 2:7-11
Describes persevering faith and covenant loyalty. 1 John 3:19-24
Defines continuous dependence on Christ. Wuest and Mounce help clarify that abiding is ongoing relational dependence, not passive inactivity. 1 John 4:13-16
Defines authentic discipleship as enduring loyalty.
Describes persevering union with Christ that produces conformity to His life.
Describes the enduring presence of God’s word as the source of spiritual strength.
Contrasts fleeting worldly systems with enduring participation in God’s will.
Describes covenant perseverance in the Son and the Father through ongoing loyalty to the gospel.
Describes ongoing relational union with Christ that shapes both present conduct and future assurance.
Describes mutual indwelling between God and believers sustained by the Spirit.
Christian perseverance is defined as remaining in Christ and in the apostolic message about Him.
Present perseverance directly shapes future confidence at Christ’s return.
Christian obedience flows from sustained union with Christ. Abiding is the root; Christlike walking is the fruit.
Abiding in the light produces stability and clarity, preventing spiritual stumbling.
Obedient faith sustains abiding fellowship with God.
Abiding language underscores ongoing fellowship rather than momentary experience.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Meno gives the New Testament one of its richest words for continuing life with Christ. It can mean ordinary staying, but John uses it to speak of the Spirit resting on Jesus, believers remaining in Christ, Christ remaining in believers, and disciples remaining in His love. That means abiding is not a mystical slogan. It is covenantal, relational, doctrinal, and obedient.
Branches bear fruit only as they remain in the vine. Believers continue because Gods anointing remains in them and teaches them to remain in Him. Pauls use in 1 Corinthians reminds readers that some realities endure. Meno therefore helps teachers speak about perseverance and communion with Christ as a continuing life rooted in Him.
John.15.4
Meno can mean stay, remain, abide, continue, dwell, or endure. In John, the relational and theological context often makes abide the best sense, but ordinary staying remains part of its range.
Scripture speaks often of dwelling with God, remaining in His word, and enduring in covenant faithfulness. Meno gathers those themes around Christ, the Spirit, and persevering life in the new covenant.
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Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain