1 Corinthians 13:13 (ESV)
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
In the above verse, Paul states that we should allow faith, hope, and love to abound in our lives. Referring to love as the greatest. When asked Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart. Followed directly by loving your neighbor as yourself. Why does the Bible teach that love is the greatest?
Matthew 22:36–40 (ESV)
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
What Is Love?
Before we can begin to discuss why love is referred to as the great throughout scripture. We must be sure we know what love means according to the Bible. Thankfully the Apostle Paul defines biblical love in 1 Corinthians 13.
1 Corinthians 13:4–7 (ESV)
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
By reading Paul’s description we begin to see why he says it is the greatest. True love like that our Heavenly Father has for us embodies everything that we as Christians are instructed to be. In various places throughout the New Testament, we are instructed to live out each of attributes Paul lists. The only way we are able to do that is through love.
Love Fulfills The Law
Romans 13:8 (ESV)
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Paul just gave us the first key point in understanding why love is referred to as the greatest. Now he continues by explaining how it is able to fulfill the law. Which on the surface sounds kind of strange. But thankfully he goes on to explain his point in the next couple of verses.
Romans 13:9-10 (ESV)
9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
As you can see love is able to fulfill the law because simply put the way you break the law is by wronging someone else. But when you are living in it you are not willing to wrong a fellow brother or sister. This gets more interesting when combined with First John 3:4.
1 John 3:4 (ESV)
4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
As you can see there is a direct connection between sinning and breaking the law. Which shows that since love fulfills the law. Love also keeps us from sinning.
That’s what so great about love. It keeps us from wanting to sin because of how much you care about God and our fellow man. For instance if a man loves a wife the way the Bible says he should. He will never commit adultery because of what that would do to her. Also, you’ll never murder someone if you truly love all other people as yourself.
Love Covers Sin
Not only does love have the ability to keep us from sinning. But it also has an effect on how we react to being sinned against. Because as Peter taught love convers a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8 (ESV)
8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Which in turn helps us to easily forgive others. It’s that same love that covered our sin in the eyes of God. Which lead to Him to make a way that we would be able to be forgiven even though we didn’t deserve it.
Love Truly Is The Greatest
Love truly is the greatest! Love imposes us to be who God wants us to be. Fulfills the la and keeps us from sinning. Makes it easier for us to forgive others. And brought salvation to all mankind through Jesus Christ. Nothing is greater than that!
John 3:16 (ESV)
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
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