1 Corinthians 13 is commonly known as the “love chapter,” and its last verse is one of the most famous verses in the Bible: “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Love is an action and a decision, not an emotion. Since Paul placed it above faith, some might say that works are more important to salvation than faith. So it would seem, if we did not look at the context.
Verse two in the same chapter is similar to verse thirteen—maybe not at first glance, but certainly when you study it. “If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”
First, Paul addresses hope. If one had the gift of prophecy and knew all mysteries and all knowledge, they would be certain of the future. Hope, according to Dr. Keith Krell, is a “confident expectation based upon God’s promises.” If one knew the future or had knowledge to understand God’s promises fully, they would have even more sure hope than the average Christian.
Second, Paul addresses faith, “so as to remove mountains.” This is a reference to Matthew 17:20; 21:21; and Mark 11:23f when Jesus told his disciples that if they had even a little faith, they could cause mountains to be cast into the sea. In the context of these verses, it is clear that Jesus is speaking about faith to work miracles, not faith in him, initial faith, by which we receive grace, by which we are saved (Ephesians 2:8). It is important to make a distinction between these two kinds of faith—or perhaps, more aptly, these two instances in which one must use faith—because one is essential to salvation and the other is not.
Lastly, in verse two, Paul addresses love, saying that without it, prophecy and knowledge (hope) and faith (“so as to remove mountains”) are worthless. Now we can see the similarity to verse thirteen—faith, hope, and love, but love is the greatest.
One thing in verse two is clearer than in verse thirteen, however: the type of faith. According to the context, the faith about which Paul writes in verse thirteen is faith to work miracles, not faith as it pertains to salvation. So we can see that faith to work miracles and love are still not essential to salvation, whereas faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ is. One can be saved through the grace of God without having faith to move mountains.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLEÒ, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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