"And now abideth faith, hope, charity [Love], these three; but the greatest of these is charity [Love]. " — I Cor. 13:12
Some years ago I was made aware of a company that manufactured rope. Their three stranded rope was distinguished by the fact that one of the three strands included a continuous stripe of red and blue, which set it apart from the other strands, and was the brand-mark of their product. As the apostle, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, concludes his remarks on this unique Love of God which is to be the hallmark of the Christian, he sets before us a threefold cord which for 'now' links the believer and God: Faith, hope and Love, and Love is the strand which marks the cord as exclusively His.
Faith is foundational to Christian experience. Of God it is said that "without faith it is impossible to please Him [Heb. 11:6]." Faith is the ground of our salvation, for it is written, "By grace are ye saved through faith … not of works, lest any man should boast [Eph. 2:8,9]." (Faith, of course, requires an object, and the object of saving faith is the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. (See, e.g., Romans 3:21-26)) Faith initiates us into the family of God; "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus [Gal. 3:26]." Faith is fundamental to the believer's walk; "We walk by faith, and not by sight [II Cor. 5:7]," and "… the just shall live by faith [Rom. 1:17, e.g.]." And, it is faith that will carry us forward to the desired goal; the apostle Peter assures us of the appearing of Jesus Christ "Whom having not seen ye love; in Whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls [I Pet. 1:8,9]."
Faith, then, "abides." And it is faith that initiates and sustains hope. Hope, in our common use of the term is associated with uncertainty. If we hope that it will not rain, we mean we are apprehensive that it may. If we say we hope we'll get new ice skates for Christmas, it means we are not sure we will. That is not the way "hope" is used in the New Testament. The "hope that is in Christ Jesus" is not called hope because it is uncertain, but because it is unseen. The Holy Spirit explains that for us through the apostle Paul's remark in Romans 8:24: "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." Indeed, hope is defined as "an anchor for the soul, both sure and stedfast [Heb. 619]." And, both faith and hope are linked by the apostle Peter in a great passage, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God [I Peter 1:18-21]."
It is, however, the divine intention that faith, generating the sure hope of eternal life, will prompt us to open our hearts to the influences of His Holy Spirit to bring us into conformity to Christ, particularly stimulating His Love in our hearts, both for God and for "one another" as believers. (See Rom. 5:5.) It is that Love which gives evidence to others and assurance to ourselves that our Christian experience is valid. And, let it be noted, this Love that God "is," and which He wills to cultivate in us, is not passive, nor is it merely a good feeling. Rather, it has moral quality. We are instructed, "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good [Rom. 12:9]." A literal rendering of the original would read, "Let Love be un-hypocritical… ," and the clear inference is that if we do not become morally discerning and discriminating, our love is mere pretense.
Faith, then, generates the believer's hope. Hope initiates Love. "And every man that hath this hope (of eternal life in Christ Jesus) purifieth himself, even as He is pure [I Jn. 3:3]." When we see Him face to face, faith will be changed to sight, and hope will be abandoned in fulfillment; but, Love will remain for all eternity. "The greatest of these is Love," for "God is love; and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God [I John 4:16b]."
"May the Love of Jesus fill me, As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing— This is victory." —K.B. Wilkinson
For God's glory and our eternal good,
"Pastor" Frasier
Some years ago I was made aware of a company that manufactured rope. Their three stranded rope was distinguished by the fact that one of the three strands included a continuous stripe of red and blue, which set it apart from the other strands, and was the brand-mark of their product. As the apostle, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, concludes his remarks on this unique Love of God which is to be the hallmark of the Christian, he sets before us a threefold cord which for 'now' links the believer and God: Faith, hope and Love, and Love is the strand which marks the cord as exclusively His.
Faith is foundational to Christian experience. Of God it is said that "without faith it is impossible to please Him [Heb. 11:6]." Faith is the ground of our salvation, for it is written, "By grace are ye saved through faith … not of works, lest any man should boast [Eph. 2:8,9]." (Faith, of course, requires an object, and the object of saving faith is the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. (See, e.g., Romans 3:21-26)) Faith initiates us into the family of God; "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus [Gal. 3:26]." Faith is fundamental to the believer's walk; "We walk by faith, and not by sight [II Cor. 5:7]," and "… the just shall live by faith [Rom. 1:17, e.g.]." And, it is faith that will carry us forward to the desired goal; the apostle Peter assures us of the appearing of Jesus Christ "Whom having not seen ye love; in Whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls [I Pet. 1:8,9]."
Faith, then, "abides." And it is faith that initiates and sustains hope. Hope, in our common use of the term is associated with uncertainty. If we hope that it will not rain, we mean we are apprehensive that it may. If we say we hope we'll get new ice skates for Christmas, it means we are not sure we will. That is not the way "hope" is used in the New Testament. The "hope that is in Christ Jesus" is not called hope because it is uncertain, but because it is unseen. The Holy Spirit explains that for us through the apostle Paul's remark in Romans 8:24: "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." Indeed, hope is defined as "an anchor for the soul, both sure and stedfast [Heb. 619]." And, both faith and hope are linked by the apostle Peter in a great passage, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God [I Peter 1:18-21]."
It is, however, the divine intention that faith, generating the sure hope of eternal life, will prompt us to open our hearts to the influences of His Holy Spirit to bring us into conformity to Christ, particularly stimulating His Love in our hearts, both for God and for "one another" as believers. (See Rom. 5:5.) It is that Love which gives evidence to others and assurance to ourselves that our Christian experience is valid. And, let it be noted, this Love that God "is," and which He wills to cultivate in us, is not passive, nor is it merely a good feeling. Rather, it has moral quality. We are instructed, "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good [Rom. 12:9]." A literal rendering of the original would read, "Let Love be un-hypocritical… ," and the clear inference is that if we do not become morally discerning and discriminating, our love is mere pretense.
Faith, then, generates the believer's hope. Hope initiates Love. "And every man that hath this hope (of eternal life in Christ Jesus) purifieth himself, even as He is pure [I Jn. 3:3]." When we see Him face to face, faith will be changed to sight, and hope will be abandoned in fulfillment; but, Love will remain for all eternity. "The greatest of these is Love," for "God is love; and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God [I John 4:16b]."
"May the Love of Jesus fill me, As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing— This is victory." —K.B. Wilkinson
For God's glory and our eternal good,
"Pastor" Frasier
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