Faith Hope Love

Faith, Hope, Love (1 Cor. 13:13)

1 Corinthians 12 talks about spiritual gifts, which are distributed by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4). Thus one Christian may receive one type of gift while another receives a different gift. Chapter 13 goes one step further and mentions the three gifts that are common for all Christians: faith, hope, and love. Then, verse 13 says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” This verse provides the most straightforward synopsis of the three qualities that define a follower of Jesus. 

What Do These Terms Mean?

Faith is an obedient trust and confidence in the Lord. It is the “assurance [substance, KJV] of things hoped for, the conviction [evidence, KJV] of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). The source of our faith is the word of God (Romans 10:17). The Hebrew writer explained that “without faith it is impossible to please [God]” (Hebrews 11:6). We are “justified by faith” (Romans 5:1), which means that faith is the basis by which God declares us to be righteous. However, while we are “justified by faith” (Romans 5:1), James indicated that this justification is “not by faith alone” (James 2:24). True faith includes not just belief, but also obedience. “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).

Hope is more than just a desire or a wish; it is the expectation of something good. We are “saved” by hope (Romans 8:24) as it provides us with the motivation to keep moving forward and “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Christians have “a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3), which is “the hope of eternal life” (Titus 1:2). This hope is “an anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19), providing us with stability in a world of uncertainty. Peter said we must be “ready to make a defense…for the hope that is in [us]” (1 Peter 3:15), indicating that our hope is something that we can articulate and not just a vague wish. Even if our lives on earth never improve, we have hope for something better after this life. As Christians, even if we die, we still have hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).

Love is from the Greek word agape and is about putting God and others ahead of ourselves. There are different Greek words for love, but agape is the one used primarily in the New Testament. This chapter helps define this type of love. Paul wrote,

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

“God is love” (1 John 4:8) and we are to be like Him (Matthew 5:48); therefore, we are to “love one another” (1 John 4:7). Loving God also means that we will obey Him. John wrote, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). Many like to talk about love, but we are to do more than just talk about it. John admonished us, “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18).

In stating that faith, hope, and love remain, Paul does something interesting and unexpected: he uses a singular verb for a compound (and therefore plural) subject. His statement in 1 Corinthians 13:13 could be literally rendered “faith, hope, and love remains.” Paul’s point is that, essentially, faith, hope, and love are united; what happens to one happens to all. And what happens is that they “remain.”

The fact that faith, hope, and love remain must be understood in light of the broader context. Paul had just listed another set of three gifts that would not remain: “Where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away” (1 Corinthians 13:8). So, the passage contains a contrast: three gifts of the Spirit that will cease, and three gifts that will never end. Faith, hope, and love will always remain.

The Corinthian church members were priding themselves on the fact that they could speak in tongues and demonstrate other attention-getting gifts. Paul reminds them of “the most excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31)—the way of love. The gifts that the Corinthians so desired were but temporary; faith, hope, and love, the foundational gifts, are permanent and therefore more to be desired.

Faith, hope, and love are gifts in the present age, and they will still be gifts in the age to come. The NLT translates the promise this way: “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love.” It’s easy to see how love will last forever, since love is an essential part of God’s nature (1 John 4:16). But what about faith and hope? Those two gifts will likewise last forever. Faith in the Son of God will not cease in the eternal state; we will not stop trusting Jesus just because our faith has become sight. If anything, our trust in Him will grow greater. Similarly, our hope will not cease just because our blessed hope has come. Our lives will continue in the eternal state, as will our expectation of other things in an infinite sequence of adventure.

Faith, hope, and love are the three gifts that will be ours throughout all eternity. And agape love is the ultimate gift. God in His goodness gives us the privilege of possessing these gifts today, and we look forward to having them remain with us forever. 

Hence, as we go through life, let us “walk by faith” (2 Corinthians 5:7), “rejoice in hope” (Romans 5:2, KJV), and “let all that [we] do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14).

Sources: https://www.gotquestions.org/faith-hope-love.html; https://plainbibleteaching.com/2020/11/18/faith-hope-love/