Soap Box 53-WHY 'LOVE' IS THE GREATEST

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he majored on two great familiar themes, as we find them in chapters 13 and 15. So, when we ask, where is the 'Resurrection Chapter', those in the know, answer, I Corinthians 15 !! Then, when we ask, where is the 'Love Chapter' in the Bible, we anticipate in hearing, I Corinthians 13.

The world says in song, "What the world needs now, is Love, Sweet Love" and "Love makes the world go round".( Then, someone pipes up and says, "But money greases the wheels".) The following is the last verse of a song by F. M. Lehman, The Love Of God.

(Could we with) ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made;
Were ev'ry stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade;

To write the Love of God above, would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, tho' stretched from sky to sky.

When Paul finishes that great chapter on love, ( I Corinthians 13 ), The last verse says,

"And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

Paul often associates this trilogy of faith, hope and love as he writes in his epistles to the churches.

To the Thessalonians he says, ( 1:3 ) : Remembering without ceasing
your work of faith
and labor of love
and patience of hope
in our Lord Jesus Christ , …..

This theme is found in 1:9,10 where their work of faith is seen as:
'how ye turned to God from idols'
their labor of love is seen as:
'to serve the living and true God'
their patience of hope is seen as:
'to wait for his son from heaven'

To the Romans he wrote: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace
in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God
………………………and hope maketh not ashamed because
the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit who is given unto us. Romans 5:2, 5

To the Galatians he wrote: For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness
by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth
anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love
( Gal. 5:5,6)

To the Philippians he wrote: ..that your love may abound yet more and more..(1:9)
..for your furtherance and joy of faith ( 1:25)
..for our citizenship is in heaven, from which we
look ( in hope ) for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ(3:20)

I must confess, I added 'in hope' in this last verse, because the look was a look-of-hope.

To the Ephesians he wrote: Wherefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus
And love unto all the saints…………………( 1:15 )
Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in
my prayers:…..that ye may know what is the hope of his
calling (1:18 )

To the Colossians he wrote: Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus
And the love which ye have to all the saints;
For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven..( 1:4-5 )

And, so, why is love, the greatest ? Why is love the greatest, even when compared to the gifts ? Why is love the greatest, when compared to faith and hope ?

Paul ends chapter 12, which deals with spiritual (matters) or spiritual ( gifts ), with an exhortation to covet/desire earnestly/eagerly the best/greater gifts; and yet shew I unto to you a more excellent way. Paul ends chapter 13, with the thought that of the three abiding things ( faith, hope and love ) the greatest of these ( three ) is love. So, his best teaching is that these Corinthians should look to attain the greatest gift or gifts, but there is above and beyond these, the more excellent way, the way of love.

So as he shows in chapter 13:1-3, one may have the good gift of tongues, the gift of prophecy, the gift of knowledge and/or the gift of faith and lack the more excellent way of love. Paul then shows in these verses, that :

Gifts without love is like much noise, as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.
Gifts without love is like "I am nothing".
Gifts without love is like feeding the poor and sacrificing my body even to be
burned, but it is hollow and without heart ( the source of love ),
and I have no profit in this, I have not attained any goal or purpose or fulfillment.

But

Love without gifts, is possible, for love never fails/falls. 13:8
Love without gifts is possible, because a gift like prophecy will be eliminated
Love without gifts is possible, because a gift like tongues will cease to be given.
Love without gifts is possible, because a gift like knowledge will be eliminated.
The times of the existence of the gifts is 'part' time. Paul says ( 13:9 ) that we know from the gift of knowledge, partly but not fully. He states that we gain knowledge also from the gift of prophecy, but this too is a 'part' here and a 'part' there. This is limited vision or revelation.

The times of the existence of the gifts is like the span of growth of an individual, such as Paul himself. 13:11 Paul likens these times of the existence of gifts as being an infant..

Paul says, "When I was an infant ………..these things happened……………
I spake as an infant
I understood as an infant
I thought as an infant
BUT
"When I became a man……….these things happened……………
I no longer spoke as an infant
I no longer understood as an infant
I no longer thought as an infant
BUT
I put away/eliminated the things of an infant

The times of the existence of the gifts was like looking through a mirror in a riddle.
The times of the existence of the gifts was like childhood, as we look back as adults.
The times of the existence of the gifts was like partial knowledge, understanding and vision.

Paul is making a long contrast concerning the passing ( things )/ (gifts ) and the permanent, the better, the abiding. This is what makes love the greatest.

Love is the greatest, because Paul said so. Paul says it more than once.

Love is greater than faith and hope because, viewed historically, love is for NOW.
Faith looks back to the historical facts of the Gospel. Faith latches on to the facts of the past.
Hope reaches out to the future.
Love is for the present, the NOW.

Love is larger, in a sense than faith and hope. Love encompasses faith and hope.
Love embraces faith and hope so that they become part of love and function within love..
Paul states it this way : Love….."believeth all things, hopeth all things" 13:7
Faith will turn to sight, its final fulfillment.
Hope will burst into realization.
But what about love ? Love is the greatest. Love is permanent. Love is abiding, through time. Love never changes. Love just keeps on loving. Love is for NOW. Love is for the future Love is the greatest.

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