Love - The Greatest Virtue
Christians can become immune to the meaning of familiar Bible verses. Like a vaccine, we sometimes have just enough introduction to a truth from Scripture that we miss the effect it should have on our lives. One verse in particular that I think fits into this category for many believers is 1 Cor 13:13. This verse, written by the Apostle Paul, comes to us in the context of the great chapter on love in 1 Cor 13. This passage is so familiar in Western culture, even unbelievers recognize its influence in our thinking about love.
Though the whole chapter is familiar and well-loved by many believers, let's focus on the closing thought of the chapter in verse 13, which reads, "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." We do not think of this verse as complex or difficult to understand. On the contrary, we are sure we know what it means. "Love is the greatest of all the Christian virtues because...well, I'm sure there's a good reason. Faith and hope are good too, but love is better because...it's the greatest." Maybe you have never said this or thought this. If you have been a Christian for a long time, you may have heard this verse preached in a service or referenced by other believers. You may assume you know what it means, but do you?
I hope to take us through this passage and discover why it is that love is the greatest of the Christian virtues. By virtue, I am referring to a good or admirable moral quality. Love is certainly a good moral quality to have, but why does Paul give it such preeminence? Furthermore, why does he introduce faith and hope into this discussion? What does he mean that these three virtues will "abide"? These questions and more I hope to answer in this study. Now, I do not intend to give a comprehensive answer on related issues to this chapter, like the use of tongues or other spiritual gifts in the church. I will reference these issues because they are intrinsically tied to the passage, but I will focus on the importance of love as a virtue for all believers to exhibit in their lives.
The Three Virtues in the New Testament
As you read the New Testament, you find a number of qualities and moral duties that should characterize God's people - grace, mercy, forgiveness, patience, endurance, and so on. Love is, no doubt, one that we all have familiarity with. The same is probably true of faith and hope. Before we uncover the message of this verse, let's look at some New Testament references that combine these three concepts together. 1 Cor 13:13 is an important example of this to be sure, but it is not the only one.
We have several occasions in Scripture of Paul making use of this "trifecta" of virtues. (I am using "trifecta" as a group of three desirable, noteworthy things). In two different epistles, Paul expressed his gratitude to God in prayer that the believers to which he was writing were exhibiting these virtues as a result of their salvation (1 Thess 1:2-3; Col 1:3-5). We can see the close link Paul gives to these concepts in both passages. In 1 Thessalonians, he makes use of this trifecta again at the end of the letter, exhorting believers to "put on" these virtues like pieces of armor (1 Thess 5:8).
Other NT passages also provide clear connections between these ideas (Rom 5:1-5; Gal 5:5-6; Eph 4:2-5; Heb 10:22-24; 1 Pet 1:3-8). From this, we recognize faith, hope, and love are three of the most significant qualities we should live by. They indicate the maturity and strength of our spiritual walk. An unsaved person can live by these virtues too, but once you are saved, they take on a new meaning. The cross radically changes their importance. They mark a believer as distinct from a world that is self-sufficient, presently-minded, and self-gratifying. Instead, we should find our sufficiency in God, look ahead confidently toward a future with him, and find our satisfaction in serving others.
Paul has themed this whole chapter on love for an important reason. In chapter 12, he introduces the concept of spiritual gifts and the value they add to the church. It seems that Paul had heard news that church members were abusing the use of these gifts in the assembly. They used them as an indicator of a believer's spirituality. The number of gifts you had, the kind of gifts you had, and the influence of those gifts in the church determined how spiritual you were. This kind of thinking led to strife and division in the church.
Hearing of this abuse, Paul wrote chapters 12-14 to set the record straight. Yes, spiritual gifts are important for spiritual growth both in individual believers and the church at large, but by no means are they barometers for spirituality. His message in chapter 13 is clear - love is the best spiritual barometer. By the end of the chapter, he concludes his reasoning on this matter by introducing faith and hope. In Paul's mind, these virtues also play important roles in the lives of God's people. We have seen that in other NT epistles as well. Like love, faith and hope will never fail (1 Cor 13:8, 13).
The Three Virtues "Remain"
We have looked at these Christian qualities together in the scope of the NT. Now let's draw our attention to verse 13 in particular. This verse tells us that these virtues will "abide." Another translation of this Greek word would be "remain." What does it mean that faith, hope, and love remain? Paul seems to contrast these three virtues with three spiritual gifts he mentions earlier in the chapter - prophecy, tongues, and knowledge. According to Paul, these three things have an end point, a time in which they will have fulfilled their purpose and will no longer be needed.
If prophecy, tongues, and knowledge will eventually go away, then faith, hope, and love will remain. But remain into what? He gives us several clues in verses 10 and 12. In these verses, he refers to a time or event in the future that will be "perfect." At this future time, we will see "face to face" and we will know just as perfectly as we are known. Putting these clues together, it seems Paul is talking about the believer's future with Christ. That is when all will be perfect, we will see him face to face, and we will finally know all things God wants us know.
Now, here is the question: is this talking about when we see Christ at the rapture, or after the Millennial Kingdom when we are with him forever? In both cases, we will be in Christ's presence, in a perfect moral state, and with all the knowledge we could ask for. So, which is it? In this case, I do not think there is good reason to be dogmatic about either one. The point is that when we experience eternal bliss with Christ, the gifts we used in the church will have passed away, but our faith, hope, and love will not.
Some would argue that while love will certainly continue into our eternal existence with Christ, faith and hope will not. Therefore, verse 13 cannot mean that all three continue into eternity. They argue from verses that explicitly contrast faith and hope with sight. Consider a passage like Rom 8:24. The obvious conclusion from this verse is that once we have seen Christ, our hope of seeing him and experiencing his presence ceases to be a reality. We no longer need to hope for him because we will be with him. Therefore, hope will not continue, or remain, into eternity.
Now, how about faith? Consider 2 Cor 5:7, a familiar verse. Paul is pointing out that in this life, the defining quality of our walk is faith. We live and serve as though Christ exists, even though we cannot see him or experience his manifest presence. Some argue from this that our future life in heaven will be one of sight, not faith. Once we see Christ with our eyes, faith will no longer be in the picture.
Reading these verses on the surface, I can see why some would argue that faith and hope do not continue into our future life with Christ. However, I think these arguments do not take into account the obvious change these virtues will undergo at that time. By change, I mean that these virtues will adapt to their new, perfected environment. In this life, if we experienced Christ like we will in the future, then we would cease to need faith and hope. However, once we are in his presence, the earthly chapter of faith and hope closes, and their heavenly chapter begins.
At this future time, we will still exercise all these qualities, not just love. They will just be different. In eternity, faith will be a continued dependence on God for everything we need. We will no longer struggle with self-dependence or unbelief. In eternity, hope will be an enduring confidence that our blessed experience with Christ will continue forever. We will not struggle with a temporal, earthly perspective or have anxiety about the future. In eternity, we will also love the whole family God perfectly, even as he loves us. We will not struggle with selfishness or force ourselves to love people in spite of their flaws. All these factors point to the continued, eternal relevance of faith, hope, and love - both in this life and the next.
The Unique Greatness of Love
We have seen how this trifecta of Christian character qualities are significant because of their repeated occurrences together in the NT and their continued relevance in our future with Christ. Now let's focus on the last phrase of the verse: "but the greatest of these is love." Here is one thing we can say with certainty: love is not the greatest because it is the only virtue that will be present in our eternal existence with God. Faith and hope also fall under this category. The question remains, why is love the greatest of these?
Simply put, Paul does not answer this question explicitly in the passage. Whatever his reasons for not explaining further, we can assume that he felt no need to do so. The unique greatness of love as a Christian virtue was obvious to him, and presumably, it should have been to his audience as well. How do we answer our question, then? First, we will examine the context of this passage and its relevance to our question, and then we will look at the larger context of Scripture to build on our understanding.
Remember that 1 Cor 13 comes in the context of Paul's larger discussion on spiritual gifts. In chapters 12-14, he has made the argument that the Corinthians had a misplaced trust in spiritual gifts as a measure of spirituality. He argued that the number of gifts you had, or which ones you possess, or how influential they are in the church do not determine your Christian maturity. Instead, Paul showed them what he called "a more excellent way" (1 Cor 12:31). This is followed by chapter 13, which highlights the importance of love in the Christian life. It is not spiritual gifts that mark the maturity of believers. It is their demonstration of love.
Paul argues in verses 1-3 that a Christian can exercise impressive spiritual gifts, but without the primary motivation of love, these gifts and their benefits are empty. You can exhibit the greatest speaking abilities, possess all knowledge, exercise miraculous faith, perform the greatest acts of selflessness, and even make the ultimate sacrifice, but the absence of love in your life makes any of these qualities meaningless. It is not how impressive or effectual your gifts are that determine the strength or quality of your Christian walk. Instead, we measure the quality of a Christian by the quality of his love. Faith and hope are also good spiritual indicators, but the greatest is still love.
This is further demonstrated by Paul in chapter 14. Here, he discusses the difference between the gifts of prophecy and tongues. He asserts that while both gifts are good and serve their purpose, prophecy is a better gift to have and exercise. His primary reason is because prophecy edifies the church (1 Cor 14:3-4). In the rest of the chapter, Paul stresses the proper and orderly use of these two gifts within the church worship setting (1 Cor 14:39-40). In context, love seems to be the great motivation for exercising spiritual gifts in the church. If we love our brother, then we will use our gifts to edify each other, thus building up the church. If we love God, then we will desire order when we come to worship him together. In verse 1 of this chapter, we see this as well. Before we desire spiritual gifts, we should "pursue love" (1 Cor 14:1). Spiritual gifts are important to the church, but they find their purpose and effectiveness in love.
Finally, let's consider the broader perspective of Scripture. We have seen how in context Paul argues for the supremacy of love. We find echoes of this same truth throughout the Bible. We can find it first in God's very nature. The Apostle John in his later epistle wrote this well-known phrase: "God is love" (1 John 4:8, 16). He is not equating the two, as if God is an abstract, impersonal concept like love or truth. Rather, this verse means that love is a defining quality of God as a person. He is the source and perfection of all love; perfect love comes from God, and no one has shown love more perfectly than him.
Why is this important? If love is a defining quality of God, and if he is its chief source, then it would stand to reason why Paul would consider it the greatest virtue. It is the greatest because it best captures the character of God. Indeed, we cannot find a verse in Scripture where God is defined by faith or hope. When he reveals himself, he proves himself to be a God of love. This does not mean he approves all of our sinful choices. Love is not approval. Love acts for the sole benefit of another, and sometimes that means God deals harshly with us. But in all his dealings and interactions with man, God shows himself to be loving. It is no wonder then that love is the chiefest of Christian virtues, for it best represents the God we serve.
Love not only defines God, but it defines the sum total of his message to us. From the OT and NT Scriptures, we see that the God of love commands love from his people. This love is directed first toward God, and then towards each other. When a Jewish legal expert asked Jesus about the greatest commandment in the OT, Jesus responded with two answers (Matt 22:37-40). In this exchange, he summarized the purpose of the Mosaic Law and the teachings of the prophets. When you boil down their message, both emphasized love toward God and toward your neighbor.
As we move from the OT to the NT, we see this trend continues. In his final message before his arrest and crucifixion, Jesus left his closest followers with an important final instruction: “love one another” (John 13:34-35). The Lord knew that bringing his church together from all ethnicities and backgrounds would inevitably bring problems. Love would be the only virtue that could keep his people together, especially as the church was in its beginning stages. Not only that, but love would distinguish the church from the world as a community that followed Jesus, the ultimate example of love.
Here, we come to the final reason why love is the greatest virtue. What makes love so unique as a Christian quality is that it provides the basis for the gospel. The Apostle John, again, gives us the backdrop for this all-important truth. From an evening conversation between Jesus and a Jewish Pharisee, we get the most quoted Bible verse of all time: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son" (John 3:16). Love motivated God the Father to sacrifice for a time his heavenly oneness and fellowship with the Son. Jesus came as a man in order to stand as the head of the human race, and to die as the ultimate sacrifice for all sin. John repeated this truth in his later epistle at the end of his ministry: "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God sent his only begotten Son in to the world" (1 John 4:9).
Let's put the pieces together. From the OT to the NT, from the Law to the Gospel, God has revealed himself as the God of love. There is no part of his revelation in which we do not see his love vividly displayed. Every message, every communication from God comes to us in the medium of love. Paul knew this, so it makes sense for him to place love on top of the pyramid of Christian virtues and moral duties, even above faith and hope. Love remains the greatest because it best captures God's character, but it also best captures the content of his revelation to us. Without his love, there is no gospel, no hope, no ultimate peace, no chance for restoration of fellowship with him. His love has reached out to us and made all of this possible.
What can we take away from this important verse? Well, if you began this study with the assumption that love is greatest of all virtues, then you were not disappointed. Hopefully, this belief has only been more strongly supported with evidence from Scripture. I hope you also see the value of faith and hope in your Christian life. Exercising these qualities is difficult, especially in an age of great social, cultural, and political unrest. If you have been uneasy with the news recently, then may I encourage you to put your dependence fully on the Lord. He has given us the sure hope of a future with him in a glorified body surrounded by his saints from all ages of time. We look forward to that future, away from the quagmire of this world.
Until then, let us grow in our love for God and our love for one another. Many of you know the name Ravi Zacharias. He was an Indian evangelist who traveled the world sharing the message of Christ. He passed away recently due to cancer. Though believers who knew him and his ministry mourn his loss, we also remember one of his favorite quotes: "Love is the supreme ethic." He said it often, and it marked the nature of his ministry. I do not know for sure, but I imagine that a verse like 1 Corinthians 13:13 shaped this belief. May it be our firmly-held belief as well. May it characterize our walk with God as we study his Word and worship him as our Lord. May it shape our relationships with believers and unbelievers alike. Faith, hope, and love will remain, but the greatest of these is love.