Note 34 at 1 Cor. 13:13: This whole chapter has been a contrast between God's kind of love and the gifts of the Spirit. Paul has shown the temporariness of the gifts and the eternalness of love, to elevate the position of love (see notes 24-26 at v. 8, p. 941). Now he states that faith, hope, and love will abide throughout eternity, but the greatest of these three is God's kind of love.

Note 35 at 1 Cor. 13:13: Some people have taken statements like this, and rejected faith and hope, or at least attributed them to immature Christians. That is not so. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6), and our faith is linked to our hope (see note 12 at Rom. 5:4, p. 770). These are powerful forces that will still be in operation through- out eternity. But God's kind of love is even greater.

Paul is making this comparison because no one who is thinking clearly would discard faith and hope. They would understand that he was not putting them down but lifting love up. Likewise, Paul is not discrediting the gifts of the Spirit (see note 24 at 1 Cor. 12:31, p. 936), but is stressing that operating the gifts of the Spirit in love is superior to operating them carnally.