September 30

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. - 1 Corinthians 13:13.

THE apostle here speaks of three graces, and compares them with other gifts, and with each other. In a former chapter he speaks of various gifts which were bestowed upon different churches, and says, “Covet earnestly the best gifts;” and then adds, “And yet show I unto you a more excellent way.” He unquestionably means the acquiring the graces of the Holy Spirit.

These extraordinary gifts might have been possessed by those who had not received the grace of God: this is plain from the language of our Lord, who says, “Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Gifts, therefore, are no real evidence of true godliness, but the graces of the Spirit evince a change of heart and accompany salvation. “The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in them that hope in his mercy.” And he says, “To that man will I look who is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and who trembleth at my word.” It is also obvious that these extraordinary gifts were only of a temporary duration; they tended to establish Christianity, and were then to disappear. We have no substantial proof of their existence after the apostolic era; for, says the apostle, “Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” “But now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three.” These will be always first, and will always be necessary, in all ages and conditions of the church. We may here notice two things.

The first regards the meaning of the name. The word charity has now generally obtained a very defective signification, meaning alms-deeds, or the succour afforded to the indigent and afflicted. It does, indeed, include this; for “whoso hath this world’s goods, and seeth his brother in need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” But then it comprehends much more than alms-deeds: its simple meaning is, love to God and love to man. These are inseparable in their principles and exercises. “He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” “This commandment have we from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also.” And yet Paul here views charity principally with regard to our fellow-creatures, and as exercised in a way of benevolence and beneficence. This is obvious from the preceding verses. In examining the portrait, see what a painter Paul was, and how he makes the figure step forth from the canvas to display its beauty. “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoioeth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”

Secondly, we remark that the preeminence of charity, here assigned, is not universal. It is not the greatest in all respects: in some respects faith is greater than charity. We are “saved through faith,” not through charity; we are “justified by faith,” not by charity: “The life which we live in the flesh we live by faith,” not by charity. And in some respects hope is greater than charity “we are saved by hope,” not by charity. “Hope is the helmet of salvation:” this guards the head in the day of battle, not charity. “Hope is the anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus,” not charity. We do not, therefore, undervalue faith and hope. All the stars shine, but “one star differeth from another star in glory.”