1. Three Things That Matter Most
Three qualities are everywhere in Paul's writings … Although we may know 1 Corinthians 13:13 by heart, many do not realize how important these three qualities are in all the writings of Paul. For Paul, faith, hope and love were more than just the topics of an important section of his letter to the Corinthian church. The three qualities appear grouped together in almost every one of the apostle's letters, though we may not always perceive that.
Paul sometimes mentions only one or two of the three concepts in a given verse, so it may not be obvious that they are all present in the same chapter or letter. But the three qualities permeate almost everything the apostle wrote and are frequently found bound together in the same way we find them grouped in 1 Corinthians 13:13. Consider these three verses: "… the faith and love that spring from the hope …" (Colossians 1:5).
"… your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope" (1 Thessalonians 1:3).
"… putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet" (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
Sometimes Paul includes faith, hope and love in longer lists of spiritual qualities, and we may not connect them as we read the list. But the main reason we may not see how frequently Paul uses this great triad in his writing is that he often varies the expression by replacing one of the qualities with a related one which suggests the same thing from a specific angle. In these situations we can learn much regarding how Paul thought about faith, hope and love by seeing what other words he uses to substitute for these qualities.
Take, for example, the way Paul often substitutes "endurance" for hope (just as we see these words connected in 1 Thessalonians 1:3, above): "pursue … faith, love, endurance …" (1 Timothy 6:11).
"… your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing … we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring" (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4).
"Teach the older men to be … sound in faith, in love and in endurance" (Titus 2:2).
The concepts of hope and endurance are clearly related, and by his use of the word "endurance" in these verses, Paul stresses that particular aspect of hope. Likewise, the apostle uses "patience" (2 Timothy 3:10, etc.) as another synonym for hope.
If we look at another example: "… faith, love and holiness …" (1 Timothy 2:15), we find holiness taking the place of hope, and these two qualities are also connected, as Paul shows in speaking of the hope we have in the promises of God:
"Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves … perfecting holiness out of reverence for God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). "Purity" is used in the same way here and in other verses (1 Timothy 4:12, etc.) because when we are walking in purity, our hope is not diminished by sin (Proverbs 24:20).
So too, when Paul writes of "… sound teaching, with faith and love" (2 Timothy 1:13), he uses sound teaching in place of hope – which might seem strange at first, but right teaching of the gospel message always gives us hope, and if we look carefully at the context in which Paul writes this verse to Timothy, it is, in fact, one of hope (vs. 12).
As a final example of the synonyms Paul uses for "hope," notice the way he uses "good conscience" as the basis for hope in his letter to Timothy: "The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Timothy 1:5). Paul's point is clear in making this substitution – it is only when our conscience does not condemn us that we have true hope – and when we understand this, we see this verse is another clear example of faith, hope and love.
We have only considered variants of "hope" in these examples, but if you look for them you will find that Paul frequently varies the words he uses for each of the three great qualities of faith, hope and love. For example, Paul sometimes uses "godliness" for love (remember, of course, that God is love, and we find scriptures such as 2 Peter 1:7 associating the two concepts). In saying his own purpose was: "… to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness in the hope of eternal life" (Titus 1:1-2), we see Paul was, in essence, saying his purpose was to increase the faith, love and hope of those he served. As we see in this same verse, Paul also sometimes uses "the truth" as a synonym for our faith.
When we keep these facts in mind, many of the things Paul wrote take on additional meaning for us. The three qualities are – either directly or indirectly – everywhere in the apostle's writings.
We can learn a great deal by being aware of this fact and letting it teach us. So next time you see either faith, hope, or love – or something similar – in the writings of Paul, think about it. Ask yourself what you can learn about these vital qualities of Christian living through Paul's choice of words and how they may illuminate the context of what is being said. Often this small technique can open up unexpected insights into some key areas of Paul's teaching. It's a way we can come to better understand the three things that Paul tells us – repeatedly – matter the most.