| Christian Life and Doctrine | July 1965 |
“These Three”
AFTER pointing out the basic importance of love as a motivating influence in the Christian life, Paul wrote, “And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (I Cor. 13:13, R.V.) Paul mentions “these three” again in I Thessalonians 1:3, which reads, “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father.” In this statement Paul indicates the relationship of faith, hope, and love to the Christian life. Faith “works,” love “labors,” and hope enables the Christian to be patient, declares Paul.
Some have endeavored to establish the relative value of faith and works in the Christian life, but actually there is no relative value, for neither true faith nor Christian works can exist alone. A true Christian faith will be demonstrated by works, and the only works which are acceptable to God are those which are the outgrowth of Christian faith. James expressed a similar thought when he wrote, “Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.”—James 2:18
What Is Faith?
Hebrews 11:1 reads, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Verse 6 reads, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” The rewards which God has promised to the faithful followers of the Master are spiritual, and therefore invisible. But our faith gives substance to these things. Contrasting the temporal with the eternal, the spiritual, Paul wrote, “We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”—II Cor. 4:18
Because we have faith in the existence of God, and believe his promises, we are desirous of doing his will in order to demonstrate our faith. This has been true of the Lord’s people in all ages. Abel believed God and offered an acceptable sacrifice to his Creator in demonstration of his belief. Noah had faith in God, and when asked by him to build an ark proceeded to do so. Noah believed that a deluge would come upon the earth, although at the time there was no visible evidence to give substance to his faith. It was his faith that gave substance to the divine forecast of a coming flood of waters. Building the ark, therefore, was Noah’s work of faith.—Heb. 11:1-7
Abraham believed God, and on the strength of his belief was willing to leave his native country and go to the land of promise, although he had never seen the land, and knew little or nothing of the conditions there. Paul said that Abraham left his own country “not knowing whither he went.” (Heb. 11:8) Abraham could not “see” the Promised Land, but his faith in God and in his promises gave substance to it, and enabled him to make the necessary sacrifice, and to endure the trials involved in obeying the Lord’s voice.
Abraham’s faith also worked in his obedience to the voice of God when asked to offer up Isaac as a burnt offering. (Heb. 11:17-19) Isaac was born as a result of a miracle in response to the work of faith on the part of Abraham and Sarah. But now God asked Abraham to offer his miracle son in sacrifice. In this Abraham might well have wondered if he actually heard the voice of God, for what he was asked to do seemed so contrary to what he believed God was doing. But Abraham knew the voice of God, and his faith rose to the occasion. His faith was so great that he believed God’ would raise Isaac from the dead, so his faith worked in obedience to God, built the necessary altar, and would have slain his son; but God intervened and, as Paul says, he “received him [Isaac] in a figure” from the dead.
Moses Also
In Moses we have another outstanding example of the work of faith. Moses was raised in the court of Pharaoh, and had learned the promises of God concerning his people from his mother who had been engaged as his nurse. In Moses’ position he had every opportunity for promotion in the Egyptian government, but his faith in God and in the promises of God would not permit him to accept these plaudits of men. We quote Paul’s eloquent tribute to Moses, and his faith:
“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”—Heb. 11:24-27
As with Abel; Noah, Abraham, and Moses, so with all the ancient worthies: they demonstrated their faith by their works, and upon this basis proved their worthiness to participate in the “better resurrection.” (Heb. 11:35) And a faith demonstrated by works is likewise an essential element of Christian character if we are to prove worthy of a share in “the first resurrection” to live and reign with Christ.
What are our works of faith? Paul mentioned some of them in his letter to the brethren at Thessalonica. To these he wrote, “From you sounded out the Word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.” (I Thess. 1:8) Here the sounding forth of the Word of the Lord is referred to as a work of faith. This is a work of faith because it is in obedience to the instructions given to us by our Master, Christ Jesus.
If we fail thus to let our light shine, we would be in the same position before the Lord as Noah would have been had he failed to build the ark, or as Abraham would have been had he remained in Ur of the Chaldees when God called him to go to Canaan. With these patriarchs it would have meant faithlessness, instead of faithfulness; it would have meant a disregard for the will of the Lord, based upon a lack of faith in him and in his promises. It would have meant disobedience. And so it would mean for us should we fail to do the Lord’s will.
Other Works
Paul also recalls to the Thessalonian brethren how they had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” (vs. 9) This was indeed a work of faith. In their worship of idols there was something which they could see, but they could not see the true God. He became substance to them through their faith, a faith which enabled them to believe that he existed, that he was a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. (Heb. 11:6) They had heard the Gospel, and had responded to it. They knew that they were to depart from the unclean gods of the heathen; and, upon the basis of their faith, they were obedient
A similar test is upon the Lord’s people at this end of the age. There are many false gods in the professed Christian world from which the Lord’s people are called upon to depart. There is the torture god, for example. If, through the truth, our spiritual vision sees the true and living God of love, the torture god becomes repugnant to us, and we turn away from him in disgust. This is not difficult except as our friends and relatives often look upon us with suspicion, and sometimes accusingly.
And before we gained a vision of the true God, we may have set up idols of our own, idols of pleasure, or riches, perhaps. We may be inclined to make idols out of our hobbies. Anything which diverts our hearts and minds from full devotion and obedience to the true and living God properly can be considered an idol. To turn away from these, to give our full devotion to our Heavenly Father and to the doing of his will, is a work of faith, a faith which believes that he is a rewarder of these who diligently seek him.
Obedience to any aspect of the divine will is a work of faith. God’s will runs contrary to the desires of our fallen flesh, and unless we had faith in God and in the rightness of his will and ways, we would have no interest in doing the things which are not pleasing to the flesh. Our faith in him, on the other hand, gives pleasing substance to those things pertaining to God’s will which otherwise would seem empty and foolish.
Mountains Moved
Paul speaks of possessing mountain-moving faith. (I Cor. 13:2) This is evidently a symbolic statement denoting that which seems, from the human standpoint, to be impossible. The faith that prompted Elijah to call upon God to accept his sacrifice by fire sent down from heaven would be a mountain-moving faith. (I Kings 18:30-39) Jesus exercised mountain-moving faith when he raised Lazarus and others from the dead. Moses likewise exercised this sort of faith when he led the children of Israel through the Red Sea.
While our experiences today are not as outstanding and dramatic as many of those recorded in the Bible, nevertheless hindrances to the doing of God’s will are still encountered by the Lord’s people. These hindrances may be insignificant to the Lord, but they often appear as mountains to us. However, they are mountains which can, and will, be removed if, by faith, we go forward depending upon the Lord to help us in our every time of need.
One of the hindrances which confronts the Lord’s people today is the “mountain” of fear. We may hesitate to bear witness to the truth because we are fearful of what the results may be. We may fear our ability to proclaim the message, or fear that we might be misunderstood. There are many ways in which fear needs to be overcome by faith in God and in his promises. And if we exercise an abiding faith in him we will see these “mountains” removed again and again, for the power of God will be manifested in our weaknesses.
Labor of Love
True Christian character is not made up of faith alone. Paul emphasized this when he wrote that although we do have mountain-moving faith, if we have not love it profiteth us nothing. (I Cor. 13:3) And we recall that Paul, who complimented the Thessalonians on their “work of faith,” included in his encouragement the expression “labor of love.” Faith works, and love labors. These two thoughts are closely related, although we believe that there is a difference.
One of the differences is that faith is that quality of heart and mind which gives us the necessary courage to step out on the promises of God and do the works outlined for us in the Word of God, while love is the motive which prompts us to perform the works of faith. Paul uses both these words in Hebrews 6:10, which we quote: “God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”
Certainly to lay down our lives for the brethren is a labor of love. It is also a work of faith, because it means the sacrificing of the flesh and its interests in order that we might have time, strength, and means which can be devoted to the service of the brethren—a service which primarily is in their spiritual interests, but a service also along material lines when needed. There is no measuring the relative value of faith and love, for both are essential elements of Christian character. Without the works of faith it is impossible to please God, and without the labor of love all our endeavors would be as nothing in God’s sight.
Love Not Enough
In the 13th chapter of 1st Corinthians Paul stresses the great importance of love, and some have mistakenly supposed that he thereby discounts the importance of faith and works. But this is not Paul’s thought. He wrote, for example, “Though I speak with the tongue of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” Here is the thought of proclaiming the truth, which we are commissioned to do. And the Lord wants us to proclaim the Gospel as effectively as possible. All Paul is saying is that unless our efforts are prompted by love for God and for the doing of his will, they will be of no avail.
Knowledge of the truth and an understanding of the mysteries of God apart from love would be valueless. However, the Lord wants us to study the truth and to gain as much knowledge as we can of his plans and purposes, not for personal satisfaction or glory, but for the glory of the Lord, because we love him. But we cannot substitute love for knowledge of the divine plan.
Even a mountain-moving faith such as we have discussed, apart from love would not be pleasing to God. We know that without such a faith we cannot please God, nor would we have the strength and the courage to move forward in the doing of his will. But love must be the motive which prompts our works of faith if we are to be pleasing to the Lord.
Jesus said to the rich young ruler that if he bestowed all his goods to feed the poor he would be laying up treasures in heaven. This we should do. It is the condition upon which we walk the narrow way. But Paul explains that if we thus give our all in the service of the Lord apart from the motivation of love, it will profit us nothing—there will be no treasure laid up in heaven.
Paul invites us to present our bodies a living sacrifice, or, symbolically speaking, give our bodies to be burned. This is what consecration means. Taking up our cross and following the Master into death is a crucial test of our faith, and the works of a true faith will be manifested by faithfulness in giving “the witness of Jesus” and “the Word of God,” sacrificing our all in the service of the Lord and of the brethren. But every aspect of the Christian life must be intermingled with, and prompted by love else we will fail to make our calling and election sure.—Rev. 20:4
And how wonderful are the qualities of love! It “suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself [margin—is not rash], is not puffed up; doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth.”—I Cor. 13:4-8
“Patience of Hope”
As quoted in the beginning, not only does Paul speak of the Thessalonian brethren as being faithful in their “work of faith and labor of love,” but also of their “patience of hope.” Christian hope engenders patience. A bright and shining hope helps us to avoid becoming “weary in well doing,” knowing that “in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”—Gal. 6:9
What is hope? Hope is a combination of desire and assurance. A person might be afflicted with an incurable disease. Naturally he would desire to be cured of that disease, but since the doctors could give him no assurance that he could be cured, he would have no hope. A natural man might desire to possess wealth, and all the good things of life which wealth could procure for him; but his situation in life would be such that he would have no assurance of ever being wealthy, so likewise this man would have no hope along this line.
On the other hand, the man with the incurable disease might be convinced by the testimony of his physicians that he would soon die, but we could not say that he hoped to die. The man who desired to be wealthy might fear that he would grow old in poverty, but he would not hope to this end. If we desire something, and have an assurance from a reliable source that what we desire is obtainable, then we have hope.
Hope always relates to the future, either the near future or the distant future. Paul wrote, “We are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” (Rom. 8:24,25) The world today is without hope, although as Christians we have a hope for the world. The world desires many good things, including health and life, but has no assurance that the things desired will ever become realities. The reason people of the world have no assurance is that they have little or no faith in God, and therefore no faith in his promises.
But what a wonderful hope we have for the world! It is the hope of restitution, based on the assurances which God has given to us by the mouth of all his holy prophets. (Acts 3:19-21) In brief, these restitution promises of God assure us that a time is coming, and soon, when there will be no more war, no more pain, no more death. They reveal also that those who have died are to be awakened from the sleep of death and given an opportunity to share in the blessings which the Lord has provided for the whole world of mankind. Yes, a glorious new day is near for the suffering world of mankind, and in this blessed hope we rejoice.
Our Glorious Hope
But we have a more blessed hope for ourselves. Paul describes it as the “hope of the glory of God.” (Rom. 5:2) We are “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” This includes the hope of immortality, and partaking of the divine nature. (Rom. 8:17; II Pet. 1:4; Rom. 2:7) As natural men and women we did not desire these blessings for we knew nothing about them. But God opened the eyes of our understanding, and by his love we were led to devote ourselves to the doing of his will. As we learned of the glorious things provided for those who love him and follow in the footsteps of the Master, we desire them, and through his promises God assured us that by his help we could obtain them. Thus we were given a glorious hope.
But as Paul wrote, having this hope “we with patience wait for it”; that is, we wait for its fulfillment. This is “the patience of hope.” And we need patience, for many difficulties are involved in attaining the fruition of our hope. Paul wrote that we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ “if so be that we suffer with him.” Therefore, to attain that for which we hope we must suffer. We must be planted together in the likeness of Jesus’ sacrificial death. We must continue faithful in the narrow way of sacrifice until we have been faithful even unto death. It is only thus that we may hope to attain the “crown of life.” (Rev. 2:10) Truly we have much need for the patience of hope!
Faith, hope, and love are fundamental in the Christian life. Paul wrote that “the greatest of these is love.” (I Cor. 13:13) This does not detract from the importance of faith and hope, but reminds us that love, being one of the attributes of God himself, will be eternal. Faith in God will always be essential, although when the world of mankind are receiving the kingdom blessings of restitution, their relationship with God will be more on the basis of sight.
Hope will not then be needed once it is realized, for, as Paul wrote, when we have that which we hope for, there is no further need to hope for it. But love will always be essential. It is the opposite of selfishness, and selfishness is to be destroyed from the earth, yea, it will not be permitted anywhere in God’s great universe. Meanwhile, may we continue our “work of faith,” and our “labor of love,” while we patiently wait for the fulfillment of our hope.