1 Thessalonians 1:3
“Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father”.
Mentioned in this verse are Paul’s triplets of the New Testament: faith, hope and love. The famous reference is in 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now stays faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” Love was Paul’s emphasis, because the Corinthians were behaving in an unloving manner. In 11:21 & 22, Paul criticizes their potlucks. Some would group together, but not allow the poorer members to share their food. These needed to learn to love the “least of these”.
Another reference to Paul’s triplet is Colossians 1:4,5: “Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel”. Their faith in Christ consists of their saving faith and daily dependance on Him. Their love for one another is evidence of a healthy faith.
God gives us love for one another. However, sometimes it’s a choice of faith. We don’t feel it and we’re hurt. The Colossians were choosing love. This is a sign of maturity. They weren’t bogged down with bitterness.
The Colossians had the present hope of heaven. They were aware that Jesus’ message was real and that they would be with Him for eternity. Some of their members were probably already there. When this hope is active, the other two graces are also enlivened.
Jesus spoke of the hope of the masters return in many parables. Those that believed He was returning soon were busy about the business. The doubters were lazy. Remembrance of heaven enlivens our hope. Thus increasing our faith and love.
Another reference to Paul’s triplet is 1 Thessalonians 5:8, “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.” The breastplate covers the heart. Our emotions are there. It’s the core of our being. Our genuineness, the person we are is there. Later in Colossians (3:15), Paul says to “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts”. Faith in Christ acting as a shield makes this possible. It’s interesting that love is also seen as a defense. Instead of allowing self pity in, which is toxic, we choose love. We are to deflect the negativity and choose love.
When Paul speaks of hope, he describes it as a helmet to protect our minds. It’s the hope of our salvation. We mentally choose to feed our faith. There is always room for doubt, but The Lord will give us enough evidence and reason to put those to rest. It’s as if our minds, by choosing to contemplate our great salvation, put logs on the fire in our hearts to build our faith and love. Some choose to dwell on their doubts and are miserable.
The last place Paul’s triplet is mentioned is in today’s passage. The Pulpit Commentary has this to say, “There is a climax here; faith manifests itself by its works – its active exertion; love by its toils – its works of self-denial; and hope by its patience – its endurance amid trials and discouragements.” Work and toil are similar. However, toil gets into the unpleasant. Love is required to wade through those waters.
Lord, thanks for the faith, hope and love that You supply us. Help us to do our best to keep them alive.