“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
--1 Corinthians 13:13
The local church in Corinth was in serious trouble. Sad to say, the problems did not stay within the church family; they were known by the unbelievers outside the church.
To begin with, the church at Corinth was a defiled church. Some of its members were guilty of sexual immorality; others got drunk; still others were using the grace of God to excuse worldly living. It was also a divided church, with at least four different groups competing for leadership as 1 Corinthians 1:12 informs us. This meant it was a disgraced church. Instead of glorifying God, it was hindering the progress of the Gospel.
In every chapter of this Epistle, we find the apostle Paul correcting the church either in doctrine or practice. In chapter twelve Paul corrected their misunderstanding of spiritual gifts. In the final verse of the chapter he tells them that he will show them "a more excellent way".
The more 'excellent way' is the way of charity or love. The Greek word Paul uses here is 'agape' which speaks of unselfish and unconditional love for others. Chapter thirteen has become known as the 'great love chapter' of the Bible. Our text for the message is found in verse thirteen.
Paul gives us, what I believe are, three virtues that sum up what it is to be a Christian. Let's take a closer look.
The Necessity of Faith: Look at what the Bible says in Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith is indispensable to us.
The Bible declares that without faith it is impossible to please God. Brothers and sisters, we are saved by grace through faith. We are instructed to live by faith and to walk in faith. Faith involves believing and acting upon that belief.
The Importance of Hope: The Bible says in Romans 15:13, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." Hope is confident expectation.
The Biblical concept of hope is much different that the way many of us use the word today. We might talk about hoping it might not rain…but we realize that it probably will. We are certainly not confident that it will not.
What is the difference between faith and hope? Faith believes that God can do… Hope believes that God will do… It is one thing for us to have faith that God can meet our every need. It is another to believe that He will! We should be hoping for results from our witness.
The Greatness of Love: Our text says in 1 Corinthians 13:13, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." Why is charity or love greater than faith and hope? It is the only one that will last forever.
Faith will not last (remember it is the evidence of things unseen), but when we get to heaven our faith will be turned to sight. Hope is confident expectation, but when we are with the Lord all our hopes will be realized. The only one that will continue is love…we will love the Lord throughout all eternity! Jesus referred to love as the greatest commandment of all.
Look at Matthew 22:36-40, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? {37} Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. {38} This is the first and great commandment. {39} And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. {40} On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
We should love the Lord, the Brethren (other Christians), and those who are lost. Only then will we communicate God's love to this lost and dying world. Look at what Jesus said in John 13:35, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”. We cannot love others until we have personally known the love of God. Do you know the Lord today? He loves us so much that He gave His Son, Jesus, to die in our place so that we might have eternal life.
Through our faith, our hope, and our love, we can transform the world, one person at a time.
May the lord continue to bless and keep you. Love you!
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