First Corinthians 13:13 says that faith, hope, and love are the three things that last, and that love is the greatest of them. Paul wrote this near the end of his famous chapter on love, to the church in Corinth, a congregation in a Greek port city that was proud of its spiritual gifts but quarreling badly over them.
But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (WEB)
What 1 Corinthians 13:13 Means
Paul begins with “But now,” which marks a contrast with the verses before it. Many of the gifts the Corinthians prized, such as speaking in tongues, prophecy, and knowledge, were partial and temporary in Paul’s view. They would pass away when something complete arrived. Faith, hope, and love are different. They “remain,” meaning they continue into the life that is coming, not only in this present age.
Faith and hope are not dropped from the picture. Paul is not saying they become unnecessary. Faith is trust in what God has done and promised, and hope is confident expectation of what has not yet arrived. Both belong to life on this side of eternity, and in some sense they give way when sight replaces faith and fulfillment replaces hope. Love alone is described as lasting in its full form, which is why Paul calls it the greatest.
The verse does not promise that feeling loving will always be easy, or that people who love you will never fail you. It makes a claim about what endures and what matters most in God’s kingdom. Love is the quality that most reflects God’s own character, and that is why it outlasts everything else.
The Context of 1 Corinthians 13:13
First Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul, traditionally dated to the mid-50s AD, to a church he had founded in Corinth. The congregation had members from different social backgrounds, and they were divided over leaders, spiritual gifts, and how to conduct worship. Chapters 12 through 14 deal with spiritual gifts, and chapter 13 interrupts that discussion with a poem about love that serves as the center of the argument. Paul’s point is that no gift, however impressive, counts for much without love.
The verses just before verse 13 explain why the partial gifts must give way. Verse 10 speaks of “that which is complete” arriving, and verses 11 and 12 use the image of a child growing up and of seeing dimly in a mirror before seeing face to face. Verse 13 then closes the thought: whatever is partial will be set aside, but faith, hope, and love remain. That context makes the verse read less like a ranking of virtues and more like a statement about what will still be standing when everything incomplete is gone.
Key Phrases in 1 Corinthians 13:13
1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud…
(WEB)
This verse opens Paul’s description of love by saying that love is patient and kind. It shows what the “greatest” love looks like in daily behavior, which helps explain why love outlasts the gifts Paul is correcting.
Romans 5:5
And hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
(WEB)
Paul writes here that God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Reading it alongside 1 Corinthians 13:13 reminds us that the love Paul praises is a gift from God that grows in us, not something we manufacture alone.
A Short Prayer From 1 Corinthians 13:13
Lord, you are faithful, and you have given me faith to trust you when I cannot see the way ahead. Give me hope that rests in your promises, even on the days when my patience runs thin. Above all, teach me to love the people you have placed around me, the ones who are easy to love and the ones who are hard. Let my love be patient and kind, and let it reflect your own love for me. When what is partial has passed away, let love be what remains in me. Amen.
