1 Corinthians 13:13 AMPC
[13] And so faith, hope, love abide [faith–conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things; hope–joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love–true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.
We consider the concluding part of the focus on God's version of love, as laid out in 1 Corinthians 13. We have seen what love is not as well as what it does and does not do. The verse above lays out three critical themes that are central to the Christian faith, and these are faith, hope and love. There is no way you can explain the demands and dictates of the Christian experience without highlighting the features of these three themes. The version of the verse above has helped define these themes. First, we have faith, which is the conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things. The bible also makes it clear that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Not everything about the Christian experience will make sense at the start, but as you walk with God, you get to know more of Him and His demands on you, and your life can please God the more. However, once I see God face to face, faith had met reality.
The second theme is hope, which us the joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation. This is closely linked to faith in the sense that it is tied to the earnest expectation of eternal salvation and eternity with God. Faith and hope are linked, as they keep mea focused on that which the Holy Spirit keeps reminding me of on a daily basis. As I walk with God, even when the physical around me does not look like what God has promised, the confidence and assurance in the nature of God to keep His promises help keep me grounded. There are several promises He has made, and which have come to pass, so I am sure that the hope of eternal life with God will also be secured. Again, hope is focused on that which is to come, and when that which is expected has come, what else is hope for?
We come to the third theme, which is love, and the verse above says it is true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us. This is the bit that connects God with man. Faith and hope underpin my hope in God, whilst love connects God and man. Faith and hope will also impact my relationship with man, but not like love. Why is love the greatest of all three? Love is the fruit of the Spirit that men will see and know that I am a child of God. It is the nature of God, as well as the evidence of my walk with God. Faith and hope are linked to the things I do not yet see, but love is linked to that which I can see, feel, and experience. Faith is a personal walk, and hope is also a personal decision arising from my personal knowledge and experience of God, but love is deeper. It is also the outward manifestation of my faith and hope. Men may not know what I stand for, or the quality and depth of my focus, but my words and actions will definitely leave a mark. All three are great, but love reveals the nature of God in me. God's time of favour is here.
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