1 Corinthians, Chapter 13

~
This is probably the most well-known chapter in the Bible because it is so often used in weddings. However, when Paul wrote it, he was not talking about the love between man and woman. He was referring to love on a much broader sense, heavenly love; the kind of love Jesus showed us when He walked the earth. People were drawn to Him because of His immense love for mankind. His love was a manifestation of God’s Power. Love is the church’s most effective weapon. Without love, all of the various gifts of the Spirit are worthless. Love is the essence of God’s nature. Love is the perfection of human character and ultimately the most powerful force in the universe.

The Corinthians were using the gifts given them by the Holy Spirit to show their importance rather than using them in love. They were boastful and fought among themselves about which gifts were the most important. Paul explains to them why love is more important than all the gifts. Although people have different gifts, love is available to everyone.  

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

If we give everything we have to feed the poor, but do not have love, it means nothing. Even if we possess all the gifts such as speaking in other languages of men or in the language of the angels, or the gift of prophesying, or the gift of possessing all knowledge, or have the faith to move mountains, or even if we give up all earthly possessions, or even martyrdom, it is all worthless unless we have the spirit of Christian love. Love should be our motivation in all things.

The Greek word for this kind of love means ‘a selfless concern for the welfare of others, irrespective of the lovableness in the person loved, but the product of a will to love in obedience to God’s command.’ It is like Christ’s love manifested on the cross.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Humans tend to confuse love with lust. We love chocolate, or we love sports. We see love as a way of fulfilling ourselves. But God’s kind of love is directed outward toward others, not inward toward ourselves. It is unselfish, going against our natural tendencies. We can only practice this type of love by setting aside our own desires. True Godly love is given without expecting something in return. The more we become like Christ, the more love we will show toward others.

⁸Love 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. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹When 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. ¹²For 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.

We are given spiritual gifts for our lives on earth to build up, serve, and strengthen fellow Christians. When we leave this world and enter into the presence of God, we will be made perfect and complete with no need for those spiritual gifts. They are to be used on earth for the advancement of the Church, to make it stronger and help spread the message of Christ.

Paul gives us a glimpse into heaven. He says we don’t have all the answers now, but when we see God face-to-face, we will fully understand everything for we will see things from God’s perspective. This truth should strengthen our faith and resolve.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Faith is the foundation and content of God’s message to mankind. Hope is the attitude and focus we obtain through our faith. Love is the action we express when our faith and hope are in line.

Not only is love the greatest because of its importance in making everything else worthwhile, but long after all of the spiritual gifts are no longer necessary, love will remain the governing principle in everything God and His redeemed people are and do.

In morally corrupt Corinth, love had become an overused term without meaning. Today, we still overuse and misuse the word, diminishing its significance. Love is the greatest of all human qualities. It is the essence of God. If our faith and hope are aligned, we understand how God loves and are free to love completely.