In writing to the Thessalonians, Paul speaks of the work of faith, the labor of love, and the endurance of hope. What has he got in mind?
Elsewhere, he places these three virtues in a different order when he enumerates faith hope and love. It would seem that the last of the three is the one that he is emphasizing, the other two building up to it.
If that is so, in this letter, he is emphasizing hope. And rightly so. There was confusion in the Thessalonian church about death and the resurrection. Evidently, as the second letter clarifies, some rumor had reached them to the effect that no Christian would die before the Lord’s coming. Presumably, some of their loved ones had died, and this caused confusion and consternation among them. So hope was the uppermost quality they needed.
At Corinth there were many unloving things happening among members of that church—lawsuits, rivalry, unloving use of their gifts, selfishness at the Lord’s table—you name it, they had it! Naturally, then, in writing to them, he would stress love. He does so by putting it at the apex when writing to them.
Now, having settled that, let’s look at the
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