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Commentary
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 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 Here we have a really good example as from the metamath section of the application of a Klein four group. In fact, the Galois field of four elements, together with its cyclic multiplicative group of three elements. Note the presence of the identity element! Paul shows this passage as a more excellent way. I like to think of these following things as charity - that we should consider that unless we are reciprocated with charity our works to others are pointless. (We hope for charity) without charity, our faith is pointlessly exercised in a like manner. Unless we have charity our faith and hope is vain and become empty. All these are taken in the context of spiritual gifts being exercised to bring the whole body of Christ into eternal life by ministry to the weaker consciences or weaker faith of believers to believers. (v1-v3) Charity then is like an identity element by which our faith and hope are grounded to each other - (v4-v8) The product of faith and hope in/to eternal life requires that amongst ourselves we show charity to each other, (as we would hope for charity from others.) For one person believes and another hopes to believe - the strength of the weaker is ministered to with a spiritual gift charitably, as an underlying principle. Charity is the result of both he who is ministered to, and he who ministers. (Thus we can consider a cyclic groups product: faith in product with hope makes charity. charity in product with either faith or hope leads to sure faith, or sure hope respectively as were charity the identity of the group C3. I also expect that there is an additive group of K4. because human faith can die, human hope can die, even human charity can die and pass away. However charity remains from God. We prophesy in part - because God prophesies through us principally. So, from our own ministering of faith, and to the hope of our faith we are concerned with our own charity only if we are childish; yet we act only in part (v9), for the underlying charity as identity of C3 is better replaced with the charity of God, who acts by all. Charity as an identity of K4 as addition's zero compared to the multiplication C3's unity. Then "faith x hope = charity" for three individual believers in those capacities is a more excellent way. (The perfect that is come) (v10) We can assume then that there is either a third person with the spiritual gift of prophesy, wisdom, blessing etc who shows charity to two others, one who instructs and one who is taught. Or that there are only these two, one ministering faith one hoping for truth, and Christ is a third. Then, the product is Christ's will: the individual's charity can be replaced by Christ's spiritual gift therefore that will accomplish the job. We can consider this as a child, where we are only concerned with our own charity (as identity of C3) (v11), or as an adult where we are aware we should be concerned with others. As children we do not realise the responsibilities of our parents. (v12) Thus we attain the structure of K4. (And with any two individuals and a spiritual gift.) Likewise then from charity, there is a spiritual gift for each ministering of the truth. Then through the Lord's charity we are provided the ministering of faith, the requirement of hope, and the spiritual gift appropriate; the Lord's charity likewise acts as an identity element of the K4 group that provides the gift. (v13) But the structure is now known in full - and it is that spiritual gifts be ministered with our charity and provided by the charity of God. Therefore the greatest of these is charity. And God's charity extends to the perfect! |
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