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1 Corinthians 13, often referred to as the "Love Chapter", is a seminal passage in the New Testament that powerfully underlines the primacy of love. Penned by Paul, this chapter succinctly portrays love's enduring and eternal nature, underscoring its preeminence over all spiritual gifts.
- A. The Supremacy of Love.
- B. The Description of Love.
- C. The Permanence of Love.
1. (1-2) Love is superior to spiritual gifts in and of themselves.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the giftof prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. a. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels: The Corinthians were enamored with spiritual gifts, particularly the gift of tongues. Paul reminds them even the gift of tongues is m...
2. (3) The most dramatic renunciations of self are, in the same way, profitless without love.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. a. Bestow all my goods to feed the poor: This is what Jesus told the rich young ruler to do (Matthew 19:16-30), and he refused. But even if the rich young ruler had done what Jesus said, yet had not love, it would have been of no profit. b. Though I give my body to be burned: Even if I lay my life down in dramatic martyrdom, apart from love, it is of no profit....
“Lest the Corinthians should say to the apostle, What is this love you discourse of? Or how shall we know if we have it? The apostle here gives thirteen notes of a charitable person.”(Poole)
1. (8-10) Love will outlive all the gifts.
Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there isknowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. a. Love never fails: Paul addresses the over-emphasis the Corinthian Christians had on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He shows they should emphasize love more than the gifts, because the gifts are temporary...
2. (11-12) Illustrations of the temporary nature of the gifts and the permanence of love.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. a. When I was a child: Childish things are appropriate for children, and the gifts areappropriate for our present time. But the gifts of the Holy Spirit will not be appropriate forever. i. Paul is not trying to say that if we are sp...
3. (13) A summary of love’s permanence: love abides forever.
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these islove. a. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three: The three great pursuits of the Christian life are not “miracles, power, and gifts”; they are faith, hope, and love. Though the gifts are precious, and given by the Holy Spirit today, they were never meant to be the focus or goal of our Christian lives. Instead, we pursue faith, hope, and love. i. What is your Christian life focused on? What do you really want more...
In summary, 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 is a powerful call to Christians to prioritize love above all else. It serves as a reminder that the exercise of spiritual gifts and the pursuit of knowledge must be rooted in love to have any real value.
Love is not arrogant, convinced of one's superiority over others. Love is not rude, meaning that it does not act indecently, sinning and breaking cultural norms to bring attention to one's self. Those who love like this have given up on seeking their own status and satisfaction first and foremost.
God does not reveal all things at one time to us. But there is a promise that “when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be done away.” Though some spiritual gifts will cease, there is always a need for love.
Sep 13, 2013 · Paul’s famous chapter on love, 1 Corinthians 13, tells us. The Corinthian church was emphasizing a good thing, spiritual gifts, to the neglect of the best. They were using their gifts apart from love. Paul makes the point that the use of their God-given gifts would amount to nothing if the Corinthians did not make love their priority.
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Feb 11, 2021 · Love as described in 1 Corinthians 13 is best understood as a way of life, lived in imitation of Jesus Christ, that is focused not on oneself but on the “other” and his or her good. Love is about action, how a person lives for the Lord and obeys him and how a person lives for others and serves them. Yet it is also about being.
