Other Translations For 1 Corinthians 1: 13
And now abideth faith, hope, charitie, these three, but the greatest of these is charitie.– King James Version – View 1611 Bible ScanBut now faith, hope, love, abide these three but the greatest of these is love.– New American Standard Version But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three and the greatest of these is love.– American Standard Version But now we still have faith, hope, love, these three and the greatest of these is love.– Basic English BibleAnd now abide faith, hope, love these three things and the greater of these love.– Darby BibleAnd now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three but the greatest of these is charity. – Webster’s BibleAnd so there remain Faith, Hope, Love–these three and of these the greatest is Love.– Weymouth BibleBut now faith, hope, and love remain–these three. The greatest of these is love.– World English BibleAnd now dwellen feith, hope, and charite, these thre but the most of these is charite.– Wycliffe Bibleand now there doth remain faith, hope, love — these three and the greatest of these love.– Youngs Literal Bible
Faith Is A Prerequisite
As believers in Jesus Christ, it is essential for Christians to understand the meaning of this verse. There’s no doubt that each of these virtues faith, hope, and love has great value. In fact, the Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:6 that, “…without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God, must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
The value of faith cannot be disputed. Without it, there would be no Christianity. Without faith, we couldn’t come to Christ or walk in obedience to him. Faith is what motivates us to move forward even when the odds are against us. And faith is closely related to hope.
What Is Love According To Scripture
So, what is love? In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, it says:
Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not conceited, does not act improperly, is not selfish, is not provoked, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
It says in God’s Word that God is love . But it also says that if you do not love, then you do not know God. God created us out of His love, and that love is from God alone. His love is incomprehensible to the human mind, but we do know this:
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
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Breaking Down The Key Parts Of 1 Corinthians 1: 13
#1: And now these three remain Paul had just finished telling the Corinthians in the preceding verses that the spiritual gifts of prophecy would fail, tongues would cease and knowledge would vanish. The Bible does not tell us when these gifts will end. There are two major views on the timing of cessation of these gifts. One is that it is when the Lord returns. The other is when all the books were added to the Bible, and no more could ever be added. Some refer to this as the closing of the canon or the completion of the canon. It is commonly believed that all churches in the West accepted the New Testament canon as closed after the Damascene Council of Rome in A.D. 332 and the Third Council of Carthage in A.D. 397. Churches in Greece then accepted it by the year 500.
#2: faith Faith is the belief in the divinity of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and the living of ones soul in Him.
#3: hope Hope is the expectation of future happiness through ones reliance on God .
#4: and love. Love in this context is a choice to be truly devoted to God and other humans, and show kindness toward other Christians that grows out of that love. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud .
Bible Commentary For 1 Corinthians 1: 13
Wesley’s Notes for 1 Corinthians 13:13
13:13 Faith, hope, love – Are the sum of perfection on earth love alone is the sum of perfection in heaven.
People’s Bible Notes for 1 Corinthians 13:13
1Co 13:13 But now abideth faith, hope, charity. These three shall survive. They are eternal. They continue to exist in the church, and shall not fail in its glorified state. As long as the redeemed saint shall have future ages before him, so long will trust in God and hope give them brightness, while love itself is the very atmosphere of the divine life. The greatest of these is charity. Love is the greatest because it glorifies both faith and hope, sanctifies every faculty and Christian grace, is the very moving impulse of the gospel, and is the one quality that is divine. “God is love” .
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What Else Does The Bible Say About Love
Love can be found throughout the pages of the Bible, in various stories and verses. Some verses talk about placing love on everything to bring everything into perfect harmony other verses share about loving your fellow brother and sister in Christ . Some celebrate the romantic love that connects a man and a woman together . Some recognize the love one feels from God .
Love is also exemplified through stories of the Bible, such as Ruth and Boaz, Jesuss parable of the prodigal son and the father who welcomed him back, Jesuss love for His disciples and people, and the fatherly love and guidance Paul displayed to Timothy.
Lets just say if you are a romantic at heart, the Bible is filled with examples of love that could put any Hallmark movie to shame.
Words For Further Study
Vs. 1: Tongues, Men, Angels, Gong, Clanging Symbol
Vs. 2: Gift, Prophesy, Mysteries, Knowledge, Faith, Mountains
Vs. 3: Poor, Surrender, Flames
Vs. 4: Patient, Kind, Envy, Boast, Proud
Vs. 5: Rude, Self-seeking, Angered, Record of Wrongs
Vs. 6: Evil, Truth
Vs. 7: Protects, Trusts, Hopes, Perseveres
Vs. 8: Prophesies, Tongues, Knowledge
Vs. 9: Prophesy
Vs. 11: Child, Man, Ways
Vs. 12: Reflection, Mirror, Face, Know/Known
Vs. 13: Faith, Hope
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Love Is The Greatest Commandment
When the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test Him: Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest? He said to him, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands” .
How can you love with all your heart, soul, and mind?
It is not easy to express love all the time. We get tired, frustrated, angry, and many other emotions and expressions. Our sin and our flesh try to rule over our spirit. Our spirit, which is the Holy Spirit within us, begins to transform our lives when we receive salvation. Salvation itself isn’t easy either. We have to go through sanctification. Sanctification is to be set apart or consecrated according to Strong Hebrews Concordance. There are many verses in the Bible that help us understand how God sanctifies us. But one of my favorites is Galatians 2:20,
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
How does the process of sanctification help us in understanding why love is the greatest? Lets take a look at verses on sanctification:
Sanctify them in the truth your word is truth .
Observations And Interpretive Questions
- Was Paul speaking from personal experience, possibly from observing specific individuals when it came to him discussing the poor, and that they should not give to the poor unless they had love in their hearts?
- Is the love being talked about metaphorical in any sense?
- In such a way that not only are the descriptions given personified, but they described situationally as well?
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Faith Hope And Love In The Bible
Let’s look at Bible verses that describe the meaning of faith, hope, and love:
Faith – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
Hope – “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Love – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
“Jesus answered, The most important is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.
Corinthians 1: 13 Context
10But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12For now we see through a glass, darkly but then face to face: now I know in part but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three but the greatest of these is charity.
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But The Greatest Of These
The most important element in a happy Christian home is love, but what many people think is love is really not the highest form of love at all. It is either eros, a feeling inspired by something attractive in its object, or philia, a sense of comradeship and friendship. These sentiments can sustain a relationship for awhile and may even bring a degree of happiness, but if a couple aspires to an abundant and abiding joy in marriage they will need agape, Gods kind of love. Agape does not grasp after what it can get, but pursues only what it can give, and it keeps giving even when it gets nothing in return.
When the Holy Spirit controls our lives and expresses agape through us, certain elements of eros and philia will still be present in our marital relationships. We will still appreciate the attractiveness of our loved ones and the physical expressions of love with them. We will derive great satisfaction from a sense of togetherness, an intimacy of mind, emotions, and will. But our love will no longer depend on the attractiveness of our mates, nor will the continuous expression of our love depend on the pleasure we experience. The source of our ever-growing love will be God Himself. He sanctifies the eros and philia and makes them meaningful and precious. Life becomes balanced and beautiful, and Gods happiness reigns supreme in our homes.
64 1 Corinthians 13:13.
Theological Implications And Application To Today
1 Corinthians 13 is a chapter that is accessible and applicable to generations of any time frame. It is one that addresses the core characteristics of what it means to be a Christian, and these things will never change no matter the generation. To be a follower of Christ is to take a stand on the values of faith, hope and love, with love prevailing above all else. This chapter of Corinthians is addressing themes of integrity, and of the heart. Paul is saying that we need to use love as the driving characteristic of what motivates our actions. Actions without love, are meaningless. The definition of love in this passage takes on many forms, and ultimately the reader can take from it that with Christ in our lives, our behaviours will naturally take on positive characteristics that reflect Christ through us.
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The Role Of Faith Hope And Love
Faith, hope, and love are discussed individually at several points in the Scriptures. In the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul mentions the three virtues together and then goes on to identify love as the most important of the three:
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three but the greatest of these is love.
This key verse is part of a longer discourse sent by Paul to the Corinthians. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians aimed to instruct and correct young believers in Corinth who were struggling with matters of disunity, immorality, and immaturity.
Since this verse extols the supremacy of love over all other virtues, it is very often selected, along with other passages from the surrounding verses, to be included in modern Christian wedding services. Here is the context of 1 Corinthians 13:13 within the surrounding verses:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
And The Greatest Of These Is Love
And the Greatest of these is Love
Just a few short weeks ago, I had the incredible privilege to see my first-born marry the love of his life. I had been asked to be present a year prior for the proposal. My son had orchestrated a scavenger hunt, sending his soon to be fiancé, on a trip to each special place in their dating life from the place they first met, to the place they had their first date. Each place had a family member waiting for her with a white rose and a clue for the next meeting place.
At the end of the hunt was my son, with a bouquet of flowers and a ring for this incredible woman God brought into his life. Along with other immediate family, I was given the gift of hearing and seeing him ask her to marry him. What a joy it was to be present for this proposal.
That was one of the happiest days of my life. When my son spoke those seven words, I not only gained a daughter, I welcomed her and gave her the number one place in his life and I gave her my son. He isnt perfect. But, he has one of the biggest, kindest, and most genuine hearts of anyone I know! And boy does he love her! And truly, the same can be said of her. What a beautiful person she is inside and out. As a parent, don’t we feel joy unspeakable to see our children happy?
1 Corinthians 13: 1-13
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.21
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What Does It Mean That Love Is The Greatest
As readers get to the verse of focus, found in 1 Corinthians 13:13, they will have found that they have learned in this chapter what is, and is not, considered love in the eyes of God. Verse 13 shares the truth to conclude the chapter overall: And now abide faith, hope, love, these three but the greatest of these is love.
If someone were to ask you what is most important out of faith, hope, and love, would you find the question easy to answer? I know I wouldnt, as each of the three equally impact a persons life and relationship with God. If you didnt have faith, it would be hard to trust God and stay committed to anything and anyone. If you didnt have hope, everything would be meaningless to you and you would become pessimistic.
But Paul here states that the greatest of the three is love, so how could love be greater than hope and faith?
If we were to truly look at what has been learned so far from 1 Corinthians, we can see that everything stems from love, most importantly Gods love for us and our equal love to Him and His children. If we didnt have love, it wouldnt build our faith, as faiths foundation is that of love . If we didnt have love, we wouldnt have hope, as hope is also only found in the love of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
So, love is the greatest of the three. But without love, faith and hope wouldnt be possible.