(a chapter from my book, Facing Change)
Hope is the confident expectation for things set in the future. [Hebrews 6:19 NLT]
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. [Hebrews 11:1 NLT]
Faith, hope and love operates in the spirit of a born again Christian. These three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. [1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT]
1 Corinthians 13:12-13 NLT teaches us about how we can see everything with perfect clarity. In both the NLT and NIV, verse 12 says “Now … , but then …” I examined it closely and asked the Lord to reveal when “then” was, because I always thought that perhaps “then” meant in eternity. The Lord revealed to me that the verse is in the context of the chapter. First Corinthians chapter 13 is teaching us about love, about how (godly, unconditional) love was all important. And “then” meant that “But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.” [1 Corinthians 13:9-10 NLT] “But when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.” [1 Corinthians 13:9-10 NIV] “Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever.” [1 Corinthians 13:8 NIV] “Three things will last forever—faith, hope and love—and the greatest of these is love.” [1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT] This is what the Lord means when He said that the furnace of holiness is more than enough to remove the dross of unrighteousness. And after all that the Lord considers to be unrighteous has been removed, then all that remains is faith, hope, and love, which last forever. For a born again Christian, the confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and that Jesus Christ is Lord, and the belief in our hearts that Jesus was raised from the dead, means that we are saved. “Saved” here means receiving eternal life, that our spirit is born again and now lives forever. So, all of these three, faith, hope, and love operate in the life of a born again Christian.
We can all share these human attributes or characteristics or qualities—faith, hope, and love—and at the very same time that we have individual and unique identities and personalities.
Feelings are in the soul and are transient and unreliable. Thinking is also in the soul (the mind). Intellectualism, academia, and scholarship are thinking disciplines. They distrust feelings and rely totally on reasoning of the logical mind. Faith, hope, and (godly) love engage the spirit of a born again believer. The spirit of a born again believer is higher than the soul. Sometimes, looking at natural world events or my natural circumstances, I feel fear, for just a brief moment. Fear is a feeling. To overcome fear, faith, hope, and love are required. To overcome our feelings and our flesh, we need to feed our spirit on the Word of God (for the spirit to triumph over the flesh) and to confess God’s Word. 1 John 4:18 NIV tells us “… perfect love drives out fear. …” 1 John 4:12 NIV says “… if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” 1 John 4:19 NIV teaches that “We love because he first loved us.”
In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Thank You, Abba Father, Lord Jesus Christ.
Desert Springs
Living Water keep on flowing
I will do the will of the One who sent me
Food I have of which you do not know
Daily Bread From Eternal Hands
Desert springs break forth
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Desert springs break forth
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
You will reap what you sow
As long as Earth remains
Seedtime comes before the harvest
I believe! I believe!
Now I know when joy is full
Fruitfulness is for all
Fruitfulness is fantastic
So very thankful You are God
May the grace and peace of Abba Father the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Thank You, Abba Father, Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Word Sabre, scribe for Abba Father, LORD GOD, Lord Most High, Lord Jesus Christ.