In his conclusion to this most beautiful poem, Paul concludes by establishing a contrast between the gifts he’s previously mentioned and now, faith, hope and love. Those mentioned earlier are temporal, earth-bound, they will pass away when the Lord returns. What Paul is assuring us is faith, hope and love will abide, they are eternal. 

Paul is very careful to instruct us firmly that the greatest of these gifts is love. Why is that? The first reason is because faith and the resulting hope are rooted in love. Love for the Lord begets faith through grace from the Holy Spirit. The second reason is because faith benefits ourselves, love is beneficial to others. We have only to see Christ on the cross to understand beneficial sacrificial love.