The Greatest of These Is Love
Love surpasses all spiritual gifts and remains eternally as the supreme Christian virtue.
Paul's hymn to love in 1 Corinthians 13 declares that without love, spiritual gifts are nothing. Faith and hope will pass away when fulfilled, 'but the greatest of these is love.' Love is defined not by feeling but by action: patience, kindness, humility, forgiveness. This love is the fruit of the Spirit, not human achievement. The early church was known for radical love across social boundaries—caring for orphans, plague victims, and enemies. This love is Christianity's most compelling apologetic.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Jonathan Edwards argued that 'love is the sum of all virtue' because all other virtues express love in different forms.
First Epistle to the Corinthians
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- What Christianity says about love
Paul ranks love above every spiritual gift, and above faith and hope as well. He then defines it by conduct, patience and kindness and not keeping score, rather than by feeling.