Yes, Paul emphasizes faith, hope, and love because they are enduring qualities that remain after temporary spiritual gifts like prophecy and tongues cease.
According to Les Feldick's teaching, these three virtues are highlighted because they do not pass away, unlike spiritual gifts that were needed before the New Testament was written. Faith is essential to please God, and love is the greatest, being the foundation of the Christian faith and life.
1 Corinthians 13:13 — This verse directly states that faith, hope, and love abide, but the greatest is love, supporting the emphasis.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13 that love never fails, while prophecies, tongues, and knowledge will vanish away. He concludes that now abide faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love. This passage sits within his discussion of spiritual gifts, contrasting temporary gifts with enduring virtues.
Les Feldick emphasizes that Paul's letters highlight faith, hope, and love as permanent qualities, especially in contrast to the temporary spiritual gifts like prophecy and tongues that were necessary before the written New Testament existed. He explains that love is the greatest because it is the foundation of the Christian faith—love prompted Christ to the cross and is the predominating factor in a believer's life. Les also notes that Paul's revelations came progressively, and these virtues remain as part of the full picture found in Paul's epistles.
Les Feldick explains that in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul contrasts love with spiritual gifts that were temporary. Prophecy, tongues, and knowledge were gifts needed in the early church before the New Testament was written, but they would eventually cease. Faith, hope, and love, however, remain because they are essential to the Christian walk and are not tied to a specific era.
Les teaches that love is the greatest because it is the foundation of the whole Christian faith. He notes that love prompted Christ to go to the cross and prompts Him to save us by believing. Love is also the predominating factor in the believer's life, showing in relationships with spouses, children, and neighbors.
Paul's Progressive Revelation
Les explains that Paul saw through a glass darkly, implying that his understanding of the full revelation, including enduring virtues, was progressive and not fully disclosed yet.
Follow After Love
Les points out that Paul writes 'follow after love' and that love is the greatest of all things in God's dealing with man, setting the stage for the emphasis on faith, hope, and love.
Prophecy and Mysteries Context
Les notes that prophecy was a temporary gift needed before the written Word, and love chapter sits between discussions of gifts, showing that enduring virtues like love are more important.
Temporary Nature of Gifts
Les emphasizes that spiritual gifts like prophecy were necessary because there was no New Testament, but faith, hope, and love are enduring and do not pass away.
Paul's Epistles as Full Picture
Les teaches that Paul's epistles contain the full flower of God's revelation, which includes the enduring virtues of faith, hope, and love, contrasting with the temporary gifts.
Love as Foundation
Les highlights that love is the foundation of the Christian faith, prompting Christ to the cross and being the predominating factor in the believer's life.
Love Never Fails
Les explains that love never fails, while prophecies and other gifts will fail, reinforcing that faith, hope, and love are emphasized because they endure.
Paul's Letters for Fundamentals
Les asserts that the Pauline letters provide fundamental truths for salvation and the Christian walk, which includes the endurance of faith, hope, and love.
1 Corinthians 13:13: And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
This is the key verse showing that faith, hope, and love are enduring, with love as the greatest.
1 Corinthians 13:8: Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
This contrasts the permanence of love with the temporary nature of spiritual gifts.
Paul writes that love is the greatest because it never fails and is the foundation of the Christian faith. Les Feldick explains that love prompted Christ to the cross and is the guiding principle in a believer's life, making it more enduring than the temporary gifts.
Yes, they are enduring qualities that remain after spiritual gifts have ceased. Les teaches that these virtues are part of the full revelation found in Paul's epistles and are essential for the Christian walk.
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