Faith, Hope and Love

1 Corinthians 13:13

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor
13:13)
In what ways is love the greatest of these three that remain? Each of these comes as divine
gifts. Each of these comes with blessing, purpose and usefulness in the present life. But not all
three of these gifts will remain in eternity.

Already but Not Yet

Faith trusts in the promised unseen (Heb 11:1), but faith won’t be needed when our faith turns to
sight. Hope awaits a future day, but hope won’t be needed after that great day arrives. Faith and
hope are inherently gifts given by God to His elect in the midst of the “already” while anticipating
the “not yet”.

Love is without end. While faith and hope both wait for their expiration with expectation, love
never fails. When in eternity we know fully even as we are fully known (1 Cor 13:12), faith and
hope will have passed their purpose, but love will endure and abound. All the patience of faith
and hope will find their satisfaction in the loving dwelling God of His people (Rev 21:3)