As we finish up our study on I Corinthians 13 and prepare to go into the practical application of three specific manifestations of the “gifts of the spirit” in Chapter 14 we begin to see just how important and how powerful lover really is.
I Corinthians 13:13
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Before we look at charity, or as properly translated “love” lets look at the just how important the other two, faith and hope, are to our walk. We are going to take just a quick look at a couple of verse because we could, and people have written volumes of work on both of these subjects.
Regarding the subject of faith which I define as “that which we believe to the point that it affects and changes our life;” God has much to say. That which we believe and have faith in we rely to be a constant in our lives and God expects our trust and confidence in him to be a constant.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
God has said that without faith we cannot please him, yet the greatest of these is love. If we cannot please God without having faith, how much more impossible it must be to please Him without love. How can this be? God’s word does give us an answer.
Galatians 5:6
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh [is made effectual, or is energized] by love.
It is the love of God in action in our lives. The realization that God loves us, that we love him and manifested to others that energizes our faith and trust in God. We might say that love powers our faith. We have already seen that God’s nature is love. All of His actions in creating the heavens and the earth were motivated out of love. Each decision He made was motivated in the long term by His love for man and His desire to bring us back into the family. Love motivates us to have faith in Him.
Hope is that earnest expectation of a promised God. One event that we have hope for is the return of Christ. It is this hope that keeps us pure.
I John 3:2, 3
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
It is our hope that purifies us and according to this scripture it makes us as pure as Jesus. How pure is Jesus Christ? Completely pure. It is because he was so pure that he was able to be our sacrifice. Had Jesus had been in anyway impure he would have been worthy of the same death that we were. Because he was pure he was able to be our substitution on the cross and pay for our sins. Yet it was God’s love in Christ that motivated him to pay the price for our sin. It was because of God’s love for that He was willing to give His son for us.
Do you see now why love is so powerful? It is the very nature of God. It motivated Him through all time to choose us to be his children. It was because of His love for us that the Christ line was protected through all the years leading up to his birth. It is God’s love for us that continues to motivate God to bless us and help us in every way.
I Corinthians 13:13
And now abideth faith, hope, charity [love], these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity [love].
Keith Carter Ministries 