The Nugget:
1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. (KJV, King James Version)
1Co 13:13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (ESV, English Standard Version)
1Co 13:13 And now these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. (LEB, Lexham English Bible)
1Co 13:13 So these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the best one of these is love. (GW, God’s Word translation)
1Co 13:13 But now we still have faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (BBE, Bible in Basic English)
1Co 13:13 So these three things continue: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love. (ERV, Easy to Read Version)
My Comment:
Many theologians and man-made theologies claim Sovereignty is God’s most significant attribute. I think the Bible is very clear that Love is God’s most significant attribute.
Love is not mere emotional attachment. Biblical love goes far deeper than that. Love is the focus of the greatest commandment, according to what Jesus taught (Matthew 22:36, 37, 38, 39, 40).
John 3:16 is a familiar verse to many Bible readers. John 3:16 tells us that “God so loved the world.” The grammar involved calls this a monadic construction. This means “world” is a single thing considered as not divisible but encompasses all mankind. Love for mankind as a whole is actually stated as an attribute of God in Titus 3:4.
To dig deeper into 1 Corinthians 13:13, read and study the cross references for this verse as newly expanded for the Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury:
1 Corinthians 13:13
now. FS77, +Exo 3:19. Mat 9:16.
abideth. Gr. menō (S# G3306). 1Co 3:14, 2Co 9:9, 1Pe 1:21, 1Jn 2:14; 1Jn 2:24; 1Jn 2:27; 1Jn 3:9.
faith. +*Luk 8:13, 14, 15; Luk 22:32, Gal 5:6; Gal 5:22, **Eph 4:13, 14, 15, 16, **1Th 1:3; 1Th 3:6, 2Ti 2:22, 2Ti 3:10, **Phm 1:5, 6, 7, Heb 6:12, Heb 10:23, *Heb 10:35; *Heb 10:39; **Heb 11:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Jas 2:17, 1Jn 5:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Jud 1:20.
hope. FS41, +Gen 10:1. Psa 42:11; Psa 43:5; Psa 146:5, Pro 10:28, Lam 3:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, *Rom 5:4; *Rom 5:5; +*Rom 8:24; +*Rom 8:25; Rom 12:12; +*Rom 15:4; +*Rom 15:13, *Col 1:5; *Col 1:27, **1Th 1:3; 1Th 5:8, +**Tit 2:13, +*Heb 6:11; Heb 6:18, +*Heb 6:19, 1Pe 1:3; 1Pe 1:13; 1Pe 1:21, 1Jn 3:3.
charity. or, love. 1Co 13:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 1Co 8:1; 1Co 8:3; 1Co 16:14, Psa 18:1, 2Co 2:4, **2Co 5:14; **2Co 5:15, Gal 5:6, **Eph 4:15; **Eph 4:16, **1Th 1:3, 1Th 3:12, **Phm 1:5, 6, 7, 2Pe 1:7, 1Jn 2:10; 1Jn 4:7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18.
the greatest. lit. greater. FS96E4, +Mat 13:32. 1Co 13:8, 1Co 14:1; 1Co 16:14, Mat 6:20, Mat 22:37, 38, Mrk 12:29, 30, 31, Luk 10:27, Rom 13:8, 9, 10, Gal 5:13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, Eph 5:2, Php 1:9, Col 3:14, 1Ti 1:5, +**2Ti 1:7, *1Jn 4:7, 8, 9; *1Jn 4:12, 2Jn 1:4, 5, 6.