1 Corinthians 13:13

Applebury's Comments

Text

1 Corinthians 13:13. But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Commentary
Things That Abide (13)

But now abideth.There was no reason for the church at Corinth to feel insecure simply because they were in the childhood period of the church so far as spiritual gifts were concerned. While they were looking forward to the completed revelation of the Word of God, they were reminded that there were things that did abidefaith, hope, love.

faith.Faith as an abiding thing is not to be confused with faith which is listed as one of the spiritual gifts, for that was a thing that would be done away. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ whom God raised from the dead is an abiding faith. Paul said, I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed unto him against that day (2 Timothy 1:12).

hope.Hope that is based solidly on the fact of the resurrection will abide until He comes with the clouds and every eye shall see Him (Revelation 1:7).

love.This is the most excellent way; it was permanent; it was the greatest of the three abiding things. The apostle's advice is: Follow after love.

Summary

In many ways, chapter thirteen is the high point in First Corinthians. Even taken alone, it is a wonderful message of practical value. The most excellent way should be followed by all Christians of all ages. But, like all Scripture, it should not be taken out of its context if it is to be understood. We should remember that Chapter s twelve, thirteen, and fourteen are a unit and should be studied together. This is seen in the closing statement of chapter twelve and the opening words of chapter fourteen. Paul closes the twelfth chapter by saying, And moreover a most excellent way show I unto you. Then in chapter thirteen he shows the importance, the meaning, and the abiding nature of love. This he does over against the wrangling that was going on in the church at Corinth over the possession of spiritual gifts, particularly, the gift of tongues. The climax of his appeal is: Follow after love.
In a series of conditional statements, Paul raises the question of the value of spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues or possessing the gift of prophecy or having faith to remove mountains. He boldly declares that without love he is ineffective as a noisy gong; he is nothing; he gains nothing.
The description of love that follows is sufficient to show the church that this is the solution to their problem of strife, for love is long-suffering and kind. It possesses all those characteristics that nullify jealousy, arrogance, selfishness, irritability, and desire to repay evil for evil. It has no pleasure in wrongdoing; it rejoices with the truth. Love covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. This was the divine remedy for a church that was sick because of it was torn by strife and jealousy over possession of miraculous powers, disrupted by pride in their leaders, and discredited before the community because of unchristian conduct.
The apostle then presents an explanation of the transitory nature of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge in contrast to love that abides. Three of the nine spiritual gifts are used as examples of the whole group. These, although not complete in themselves, served to bring about the completed revelation of God's willthe Bible. When the completed revelation came and was confirmed by the accompanying miraculous demonstration, the incomplete things were done away. They are likened to the things of childhood that are put away by the grown man. They were like seeing an imperfect reflection in a mirror in contrast to the complete revelation in the Bible that is like seeing face to face. They gave incomplete knowledge, but the completed revelation enables one to know all things that pertain to life and godliness with nothing more to be added, for God fully understands the needs of His people and has completely revealed His will in the Word.
As the church faced the fact that these things which were causing strife and division among them were, after all, only transitory, they were reminded that there are things that abide. Faith, hope, and love would abide long after the spiritual gifts had given way to the completed revelation of God's Word. Therefore the apostle urged them to follow after love.