So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

 1 Corinthians 13

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

I resume my study of 1 Corinthians, moving on to an assisted review of 1 Corinthians 13 using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary volume for this book.  From the commentary for this text:

Main idea: "No spiritual gift, no natural ability, no human achievement is greater or more important than love."

Key excerpts from the introduction: 

• Per Richard Hays, 'The purpose of chapter 13 is to portray love as the sine qua non of the Christian life and to insist that love must govern the exercise of all the gifts of the Spirit” (Interpretation, 221).'
• "In the context of all of Paul’s writings concerning the Holy Spirit, certainly one principle we can derive from this chapter is that the fruit of the Spirit, namely love, is more important than the gifts of the Spirit[.]"
  

Divisions from the commentary: 

1. The Matchless Value of Love (13:1-3): "In other words, you may have knowledge bursting from your head, but if you do not have love bursting from your heart, you are just a big bust....You may have mountain-moving faith that you can go out and accomplish great things for God, but if you do not have love, you are just one big molehill....Even should you offer the ultimate sacrifice of your life for a cause or a belief with the goal of being able to boast about yourself (apparently in eternity) or to give others reason to boast about you, you gain nothing if you are not also motivated by love." 
   
2. The Marvelous Virtues of Love (13:4-7): "Paul is not deprecating or depreciating the importance of spiritual gifts. His point is that any and all spiritual gifts are dispensable, but love is indispensable[.]"
   
3. The Majestic Victory of Love (13:8-13): "As necessary, as profitable, as needed are spiritual gifts, they are temporary. The gifts most highly valued by the Corinthian church, such as tongues, knowledge, and prophecy, will all cease to exist...Love can never end, for if God is love and God cannot end, then certainly love cannot end either. The moments each of us arrives in heaven will be the first time that we will experience perfect love—not just a perfect love from God but a perfect love for God and a perfect love for each other....The reason that love is the greatest is because love is the one virtue of the three mentioned that we will take into eternity. Faith becomes sight in heaven, hope is completely fulfilled in heaven, but love, again, never ends. Love never ceases." 
   

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who loved me and saved me while I was still hostile to You.  You continues to love me every single day...I am not deserving of this love and grace.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.