However hackneyed the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians may have become to some readers through much use, nothing can dim the beauty and simplicity of its language or obscure the spiritual meaning which shines through the words. It remains one of the most wonderful statements and analyses of spiritual love ever written. In this chapter love—which is now the generally accepted version of the Greek word "agape," translated "charity" in the King James Version—is summarized as being greater even than faith and hope. "And now," concluded Paul, "abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
Such a conclusion does not minimize the importance of faith and hope. Rather, it strengthens them by placing their abiding quality in the same category with that of love. Faith remains an essential element of spiritual understanding, and hope remains an essential element of spiritual expectancy and assurance. As we progress spiritually, faith grows into understanding, and hope grows into absolute assurance. Hope is always an ingredient of radical reliance, for hope is desire with expectation. Faith and hope abide.
Hope is the expectancy of good in some form, even if accompanied by uncertainty, for there is always a possibility of more good unfolding, since good, God, is infinite. God's creation, the spiritual reflection of His allness, is perfect and complete now, needing nothing because it reflects all good; yet, from the human standpoint, there is always spiritual expectancy because creation forever unfolds. There is no uncertainty in the absolute sense of divine unfoldment, and through this understanding the fallible human sense of hope yields to divine assurance.
