The Greatest Gift of All
"But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (ASV)
Paul was writing to the Congregation at Corinth when he said these words. Some of the brethren mistakenly thought that each spiritual gift was given by a different spirit but Paul showed that all the spiritual gifts came from Almighty God through the one Holy Spirit. Paul went on to explain that while all the spiritual gifts were to be desired, that not all the brethren would be gifted each with every gift. He went on to tell them that while some would be blessed with healing and tongues or other gifts that there was yet three other gifts which all must possess and that without them all the other gifts would be ineffective. Faith, Hope, and Love are the greatest of all gifts and the basis of all true worship and belief. We must not only possess them but they are to develop to maturity in our own lives.
Faith
The first of the gifts is Faith. Paul describes it as, "the assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1 ASV) The faith that Paul referred to is an implicit faith and trust in our Heavenly Father and in Christ Jesus, and in all of God's promises which affect the way we live our lives today. Faith that He will guide us and carry us through every problem and crisis, knowing that when we have faith, God will never let us down. It is a Faith that God will sustain and strengthen us each and every day of our lives. Faith is all essential to our existence now and our firm conviction that all God's promises for the future will find fulfillment..
Hope
Along with our gift of Faith is the gift of Hope. While today we have Faith, our hope stands along with our faith for the future. Hebrews 6:19 says, " which we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil." (ASV)
The hymn writer has written:
"My Hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus' blood and righteousness,
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' Name.
All our hopes rest on Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, who bought all of mankind with His precious blood. What a wonderful hope we have, all based on God's sure promises.
Love
Then Paul tells us of an even greater gift, Love. There have been many more songs written about love than any other subject, and yet that small word is probably the most misunderstood word in any language. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word "a-havah' " is the word which is mostly translated as love. In the Koine or Common Greek of the New Testament, three words are translated into love. They are "Eros", "Phi-lia" and "A-gape". Eros describes physical love between the sexes and is not used in the Bible. Philia describes personal affection, brotherly love, and a friendship usually to an individual. It is a strong and wonderful affectionate love and can include sentiment and a closeness sometimes with emotion. When Jesus asked Peter if he had love (agape) for Him, Peter replied that he did love (philia) him. Peter was expressing the strong affection he had for the Lord. It is a warm and beautiful love.
The love which Paul speaks of in 1 Cor. 13:13 as the greatest gift is Agape. It is a love which goes beyond personal friendships. It is a love not bounded by personally knowing someone. it is governed by righteous principles and includes an empathy which moves one to sacrifice one's own needs for others including those who one has never seen or met. While Agape love may be without sentimentality or emotion, this is not necessarily always the case. It is a love which has inspired to sacrifice position and wealth to go to troubled lands such as many have done in Romania, Bosnia, and Africa to help the needy. It is a love which makes one look for those less fortunate and to secretly give help. It is the kind of love which God had in giving His Son for the Salvation of man, and the love that Jesus had In leaving Heaven and becoming a lowly man who suffered and died a terrible death for us. It is a strong unrequited love which can even move us to forgive and to love those who would make us their enemies. Agape is not only a feeling but a motivating, practical love and is the inspiration of all that a true believer will think, say, and do.
The whole basis of the Bible and of the Christian Life must be love. Without it, we have nothing. It is a shield against anger, hurt, and wrong doing. Love can overcome all opposition. Out of Love, God sent His only begotten Son, His most precious possession to die for you and me. Out of Love for the Father and His creation, Jesus accepted joyfully a painful and shameful death on the cross, again for you and me. Love is kind, forgiving and generous. Without love all the study, prayer, doctrine, and knowledge is totally ineffective. We must ask God to work in us so that love will increase. Love must be in our words to others. It must express itself in kind thoughts towards all. Love must show itself in a practical way not only towards our brethren and those with whom we meet, but also towards those who we have never met and may never meet. Love must grow and develop. When we have this greatest Gift of all, then everything else will come in its own time. May our Heavenly Father bless us all through the Lord Jesus as we seek this greatest gift of ...Love.
God bless you, Bro. Eric Williams