Faith, Hope And Love (Intro)

The words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19 leave no doubt that the Godhead is a Trinity - three in one - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There are other instances in Scripture where God uses the triune of something as a holy threesome. Some examples are the three days He is dead before rising again. Jesus answered Satan’s threefold temptation by citing three scriptural passages (Matt 4:1-11). Paul experienced three shipwrecks (2 Cor 11:28) and prayed three times to the Lord for the removal of his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor 12:7-8). The list of the uses of three in the Bible are many, but one trinity in particular, taught by Paul and known by Christians world-over is the trio of Faith, Hope and Love.

The Scripture is 1 Corinthians 13:13 and it reads - "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

This line-up of concepts - Faith, Hope and Love - is not by accident. There is a divine order that is established in listing this holy trinity in this fashion. 

Faith points to Hope in Hebrews 11:1 -

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

Faith points to Love in 1 Corinthians 13:2 -

"If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."

Hope points to Faith in Romans 15:4 -

"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope."

Hope points to both Faith and Love in Colossians 1:3-6 - 

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you."

Love points to Hope in 1 Corinthians 13:7 -

"It [Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (brackets and emphasis mine)

Love points to Faith in Galatians 5:6 -

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

However, even this triad has a favored point and Paul states "the greatest of these is Love". In this arrangement, all points of this holy triangle exist in perfect unity but Love was before it, created it, is a part of it and will be at the end when Faith and Hope are fully manifested in the glorified bodies of believers and physical encounters with Jesus. Colossians 1:16-17 begins the Scriptural support of this by stating -

"For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

1 John 4:8 continues this support by saying -

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

With Love manifesting in human form - Christ Jesus - God's love sets-up this holy triad by giving His life as a sacrificial love gift for all. Anybody willing to accept His gift, believe in Him as Lord and Savior and live a Christ-like life has now established in their lives this holy trinity of Faith, Hope and Love.