Yes, love is the greatest because it is the very foundation of the Christian faith and the predominating factor in the believer's life.
Les Feldick teaches that while faith and hope are absolutely necessary, love stands as the greatest because it is what prompted Christ to the cross and what motivates the believer's relationships. Without love, even the most dramatic acts of faith and sacrifice are nothing. Love never fails, whereas other gifts and even faith and hope have their limitations in this present age.
1 Corinthians 13:13 — This verse directly states that faith, hope, and love remain, but the greatest is love, answering the question explicitly.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul concludes his description of love by saying, 'And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.' The context shows that while spiritual gifts such as prophecy and tongues will fail and cease, love never fails. Love is described as patient, kind, not envious or boastful, and it 'beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.' Love is set above even faith and hope as the enduring, greatest quality.
Les Feldick emphasizes that love is the very foundation of the entire Christian faith. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul places love at the center, and Les explains that love is what motivated Christ to go to the cross and what motivates God's dealings with mankind. For the believer, love is the predominating factor in every relationship—whether in marriage, with family, or with neighbors. Les defines this love not as the erotic or sentimental love of the world, but as agape love, which is God-centered and seeks the other person's highest good. He stresses that without this love, everything else—even giving all goods to the poor or sacrificing one's body—amounts to nothing. Furthermore, Les shows that love is the basis of our faith, because faith rests on the love of God displayed at the cross. He also notes that love should govern how believers deal with those who disagree, responding with explanation rather than anger.
Les Feldick teaches that love is the very foundation of our whole Christian faith. He explains that love is what prompted Christ to go to the cross and what prompted Him to save us by simply believing. Love is also the other side of the coin: it is the predominating factor in the life of the believer. Whether in marriage, with children, or with neighbors, everything boils down to how much we love them.
Les Feldick defines the love Paul speaks of as seeking the other person's highest good. He clarifies that it is not erotic love or Hollywood's idea of love, but the agape love that is God-centered. Only a true believer can really have and exercise this kind of love; the unsaved world cannot comprehend it.
Love is to be the basis for all our dealings with others. Les teaches that in the spirit of love, we should bring people around to the truth rather than putting them down. We should not become upset or angry when people disagree with us; we should explain how the Lord has opened the Scriptures to our understanding. Love never fails and will never let us down, even if people take advantage of us in the short term. Over the long haul, love perseveres and is profitable.
Les Feldick interprets this phrase as referring not to seeing Christ face to face, but to the fact that at the time Paul wrote, the revelation was not yet complete. Paul saw through an opaque glass, meaning he could tell there was more to come. But when the full revelation became complete—as we now have it in the Word of God—the steam would be wiped off the mirror, and he would see himself as he really is, without an enigma.
Les explains that love never fails, but faith and hope are also essential. Faith is absolutely necessary because without faith it is impossible to please God. Yet love is likewise indispensable for pleasing God. He connects these by showing that faith is based on love—the love of God shed abroad on the human race when Christ went to the cross. Thus, while love is the greatest, faith and hope are also continuing qualities that abide alongside it.
Seeing Through a Glass Darkly
Les explains that Paul's 'through a glass darkly' refers to the incomplete revelation at the time, not seeing loved ones or Christ face to face, which shows that love is part of the complete revelation.
Love in Dealing with Others
Les says that even in correcting others, we must do so in the spirit of love, bringing them to the truth without putting them down, and that love remains the greatest in God's dealings with man.
Love Is Everything
Les teaches that without love, even giving all goods to the poor or sacrificing one's body is nothing, and this agape love is only possible for true believers.
Love Is the Foundation
Les says love is the very foundation of our Christian faith, since it prompted Christ to the cross and is the predominating factor in the believer's life.
Faith Based on Love
Les explains that faith is based on love, as the work of the cross was the love of God showered on mankind, and true love thinks no evil and believes all things.
What the Bible Really Says About Love vs Spiritual Gifts
It should. But what made Lincoln what he was? He knew this whole attribute of godly love. And a man like Stanton never phased that love. He continued to work with him, appointed him, and so forth. And I think this is what we have to understand. That a lot of times, we don't get the immediate gratification. But in the long run, what goes around, comes around.
True Definition of Love
Les defines the love Paul speaks of as seeking the other person's highest good, distinguishing it from erotic or Hollywood love.
Love Never Fails
Les says love never fails and will not let us down, even when people take advantage, and love perseveres over the long haul.
1 Corinthians 13:4: Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
This verse begins Paul's description of love, showing its patient and kind nature.
1 Corinthians 13:7: Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
This verse connects love with faith and hope, showing that love believes and hopes.
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 verse contrasts the permanence of love with the temporary nature of spiritual gifts.
1 Corinthians 13:12: For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
This verse refers to the incomplete revelation before the New Testament was completed, which Les explains in relation to 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 directly answering the question: love is the greatest of the three.
1 Corinthians 8:1: Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we have all knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
Les quotes this to show that love builds up, unlike knowledge which puffs up.
Romans 13:8: Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Les uses this verse to define love as seeking the other person's highest good.
Love is greater because it is the foundation of the Christian faith and the predominating factor in the believer's life. Faith is necessary to please God, but faith itself is based on the love of God shown at the cross. Love never fails, while other things pass away.
Les Feldick explains that Paul is not talking about erotic or Hollywood love, but agape love that is God-centered and seeks the other person's highest good. Only true believers can exercise this kind of love.
We should respond in the spirit of love, bringing them to the truth without putting them down. We should explain how the Lord has opened the Scriptures to our understanding, rather than becoming upset or angry.
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