~ A Triad of Christianity ~
Most
Christians can recite 1 Corinthians 13:13 which reads, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these
is love.” Consider this triad of faith.
In the
Scriptures we have many examples of individuals who displayed faith, hope, and
love. Consider three:
Moses left all in faith ~ Moses gave up his earthly privileges to
follow God by faith (see Hebrews 11:24-29).
Joseph endured all in hope
~ While the story of Joseph in
the book of Genesis does not use the word hope, it is clear that Joseph
maintained a clear and persistent hope that he would be one day be united with
his family (Genesis 37-50).
Jonathan surrendered all in love ~
Jonathan loved David and would do anything to help his friend (i.e., 1
Samuel 18:1-4).
1
Thessalonians 1:2-10 provides another glimpse of our triad:
(2) “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of
you in our prayers,
(3) “remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love,
and patience of hope in our Lord
Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,
(4) “knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.
(5) “For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in
power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of
men we were among you for your sake.
(6) “And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having
received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
(7) “so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia
who believe.
(8) “For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only
in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say
anything.
(9) “For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of
entry we had to you, and how you turned
to God [the work of faith in verse 3]
from idols to serve the living and true
God [the labor of love in verse 3],
(10) “and to wait for His
Son [the patience of hope in verse 3]
from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the
wrath to come.”
The triad of faith, hope, and love is
also found in 1 Thessalonians 5:8. “But let us who
are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a
helmet the hope of salvation. For
God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus
Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together
with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also
are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:8-11).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
