Ep 286 – 1 Corinthians 13

The lasting legacy of love. That's the title for this episode as we dig into 1 Corinthians chapter 13, a very well-known and often-quoted portion of Scripture, especially in wedding ceremonies. But for us to get the full impact of what Paul has to say in this chapter, we must keep in mind the context of all that has been going on in the church there in Corinth. Pride, arrogance, self-centeredness and a demand for individual rights, within the local church body, had resulted in an unhealthy atmosphere of disunity and division. They had spiritual gifts, given to them by the Holy Spirit for the building up of the body of Christ, but they were using them with selfish motives in mind. They had become badges of honor and points of dispute. So, in the midst of all the problems Paul is attempting to address, he writes this incredible treatise on love. For Paul, love was the glue that held the body of Christ together. Without love, the church is nothing more than just another man-made organization with little or no power to truly change lives. Even the use of the gifts of the Spirit, if done so without love, is wasted energy, amounting to nothing in the end. Selfless love for others is not an option for the believer, it is essence of what it means to be a believer. We love because He first loved us.