1 Corinthians 13:11-13 - Faith, hope and love

13:11,12

We need to realise what we were, what we are and what we will become. A child has a very different perspective on life than an adult has. Now, there are many things we eulogise about being childlike, but we are not meant to be childish, and we are meant to grow up. So it is spiritually. The thinking of the Corinthians was childish, rather than childlike. Man in his sin is very childish, we can see this sometimes in ourselves, and certainly in others and the world in general. When we come to Christ we start to become what we are meant to be, so we should give up childish ways. But at the present we only see in part, we see dimly, but we should know where we are going, and in that future the gifts will no longer play a part, but love will.

13:13

So these three remain: faith, hope and love. Now why do faith and hope remain? Will we need faith and hope when we see Christ face to face? Will we any longer need hope? Perhaps it is because we do not appreciate what faith and hope really are. Faith is the language of communication with God. If we want to communicate with Him, if we want to hear from Him, we need faith. Then we will have complete trust and security in God. We will be 100% confident in every word He says. Hope in this life is often a very uncertain thing, but hope in God is a sure thing. Then we will know that every plan and purpose of God will work out. “But the greatest of these is love”. Faith and hope on their own could conceivably be evil, if there was an “evil God” (this is a philosophical idea, don’t worry, I have not gone off the rails). The Nazis had hopes, but they were utterly evil hopes. But there isn’t an evil God, God is love, so faith and hope are faith and hope in a God of love.