A Love That Is Grounded in Faith and Hope Is a Love That Never Ends—Rethinking 1 Corinthians 13

A Love That Is Grounded in Faith and Hope Is a Love That Never Ends—Rethinking 1 Corinthians 13

Alexander MAK

Faith, hope and love are often seen as three important pillars of Christian faith and spirituality. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul argues for the importance of love, but he does so by relating love to faith and hope. However, the connection love has with faith and hope in 1 Corinthians 13 is often neglected by New Testament scholars. This paper argues that a proper understanding of this connection is able to provide a better understanding of the nature of the love that Paul is teaching in 1 Corinthians 13. It does so by giving a detailed exegesis of verses 4-7 and by explaining verses 6-7 in light of 1:7-9.

1 Corinthians 13 shows that a Christian's ability to love his brother does not ultimately stem from himself. Rather, it is soteriological and eschatological in nature in the sense that it is based on faith and hope in the salvific work of Christ for the whole Christian community . We are able to love and continue to love our brothers because God is faithful. In Christ God will sustain all believers – including those whom we have difficulties loving – to the end, making them blameless in the day of Christ (1:7- 9).