"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor. 13:13).
While spiritual gifts such as prophecy, tongues, and knowledge are useful only in our present, temporal circumstances, faith, hope, and love abide, or are considered to be permanent. This understanding of Paul’s use of faith, hope, and love can be confusing because it is evident from other verses that faith and hope will not continue in the heavenly realms. Romans 8:24; 2 Corinthians 5:7; and Hebrews 11:1 represent faith and hope as pertaining only to our present state of existence, and as being hereafter merged, faith into sight and hope into fulfillment or fruition. Given these verses, how can Paul say that faith, hope, and love all continue? “This apparent inconsistency arises from the comprehensiveness of the terms,” Hodge wrote. “The state of mind indicated by faith and hope as now exercised will not continue in the future life; but the state of mind, so to speak, of the saints in heaven may be designated by these same terms because confidence (faith) and expectation (hope) will continue forever. Faith in one form, ceases when merged in sight; but in another form it continues; and the same is true of hope.… Certain it is that there will always be room even in heaven for confidence in God, and for hope of the ever advancing and enlarging blessedness of the redeemed.”
In what sense, then, is love greater than faith and hope? Some say that love is superior to faith and hope because the latter belong to the present only, and love continues eternally. But, according to the true interpretation of the verse, all three are declared to abide. The explanation, therefore, can be found in how Paul uses the word greater. In 12:31, he exhorts his readers to seek the best (or greater) gifts, or the more useful ones. He defines best according to usefulness. We see this in his treatment of prophecy in chapter 14, when he declares it to be more useful than tongues. “Throughout that chapter the ground of preference of one gift to others is made to consist in its superior usefulness,” Hodge wrote. “This is Paul’s standard; and judged by this rule, love is greater than either faith or hope. Faith saves ourselves, but love benefits others.” We are to continue in faith, hope, and love, but because love is more helpful to others, it is considered the greater gift.
Jesus defines love in terms of action, laying down one’s life for another, obeying His commands, etc. While love certainly involves feeling, how has our culture so redefined love as to make it no longer active and beneficial to others, but sentimental and selfish? Make a list of ways you can truly, biblically, actively love others in your life.
