1 Corinthians 13:13 (AMP) And so faith, hope, love abide [faith—conviction and belief respecting man’s relation to God and divine things; hope—joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love—true affection for God and man, growing out of God’s love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.
~ And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. (kjv)~
CHARITY: Represents Benevolence and Generosity.
Corresponding Vice : GREED
In Christian theology, Charity (or Love) is the greatest of the three Theological Virtues, the other two being Faith and Hope. Charity stands for the willingness to go out of your way to help others, even at the cost of your own self. This is the purest form of love, and is the ultimate perfection of the human spirit, as it is considered to reflect the nature of God. This love is self-sacrificial and is essential for salvation.
Theological virtues - in theology and Christian philosophy, are the character qualities associated with salvation, resulting from the grace of God, which enlightens the human mind.
The three theological virtues are:
- Faith - belief in God, and in the truth of His revelation as well as obedience to Him (cf. Rom 1:5:16:26)
- Hope - expectation of and desire of receiving; refraining from despair and capability of not giving up. The belief that God will and forever be eternally present in every human's life and never giving up on His love.
- Charity - a supernatural virtue that helps us love God and our neighbors, more than ourselves.
The King James Version (1611) and the Challoner Douay Rheims Bible (1752) prefer the more theological term charity.
- Agapē. In the New Testament, agapē is charitable, selfless, altruistic, and unconditional. It is parental love seen as creating goodness in the world, it is the way God is seen to love humanity, and it is seen as the kind of love that Believers aspire to have for others.
- Philia. Also used in the New Testament, philia is a human response to something that is found to be delightful. Also known as "brotherly love".
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.