Faith, hope and love in Jesus’ ministry
The familiar Christian triad of faith, hope and love occur not only in the writings of Paul but also in the ministry of Jesus himself.
Faith is prominent in passages such as Matt. 6:30; 8:10, 26; 9:2, 22, 29; 14:31; 15:28; 16:8; 17:20; 21:21; 23:23.
The idea of hope (even if not always the actual word) occurs in Matt. 9:2; 14:27; Mark 5:36; 6:50; 9:23; John 11:11, 23, 40, etc.
And love, pre-eminent of the three, is stressed in passages including Matt. 5:43–46; 19:19; John 13:34, 35; 14:15, 23; 15:12, 13, 17; 17:26; 21:15, 16, 17.
In fact, the three occur together in Jn 11. Love is mentioned in Jn 11:5,36. Hope is implied in Jn 11:4,11,25f. And faith is called forth in Jn 11:26, 40.
Another striking instance of the same combination is found in the Upper Room discourse: love (Jn 13:1, 34); faith (Jn 14:1); and hope (Jn 14:2f).
For other NT instances see Rom. 5:1–5; 1 Cor. 13:13; Heb. 10:22–24; 1 Peter 1:21, 22; Col. 1:4, 5; 1 Thess. 1:3; 5:8; 1 Peter 1:3–8; Eph. 4:2–5; Heb. 6:10–12.
(See Hendriksen on Colossians 1:4-5)