Chunks: 1 Corinthians 13

In this final episode, we’ll explore two common misconceptions that might affect how we understand and apply Paul’s teaching. The first is that the Greek word agape means “Christian love”; the second is the idea that love is an action and not a feeling. And to correct both these ideas, we need the idea of transformation, both in how Paul transforms language, and how love is meant to transform us.

As I suggested earlier, to say that love is “patient” and “kind” is not only a correction to our own unloving behavior, but a reminder of the character of God. Something similar could be said about Paul’s statement that love “never fails.” In one sense, that statement points back to what he’s said about endurance and perseverance. But it also points forward to what he says immediately after about a future in which only a godly love remains.

As I suggested earlier, when Paul says in verse 7 that love “trusts” and “hopes,” I take this as a reference to the virtues of faith and hope he mentions at the end of the chapter. But what does he mean when in the same verse he says that love always “protects” and “perseveres”? In this episode, I’ll argue that with both words, Paul is pointing to a love that endures despite the many challenges it faces.

At the end of the chapter, Paul mentions faith, hope, and love together. In church history, these three have been known as the “theological virtues.” But Paul declares that love is greater than the other two. Why? Paul is encouraging the Corinthians to have a forward-looking perspective, anticipating the day in which faith and hope will no longer be needed, while the love of God remains.

In verse 6 of chapter 13, Paul teaches that “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” Again, he’s making a distinction between what love doesn’t do and what it does instead—but what should we make of his contrast between “evil” and “truth”? And is it true that we “delight in evil”?

Peter once asked Jesus how many times he was obligated to forgive someone who offended him. But Jesus didn’t give him a number; he didn’t want Peter to resentfully keep a mental record of offenses. Similarly, Paul teaches the Corinthians that love “keeps no record of wrongs.” In this episode, we’ll explore how being “self-seeking,” being “easily angered,” and keeping track of offenses all feed and reinforce each other.

When Paul first visited the city of Athens, he was cut to the quick by the rampant idolatry he saw there. The word Luke uses to describe Paul’s reaction is the same one Paul uses himself to say that love isn’t “easily angered” in verse 5 of First Corinthians 13. What Paul seems to be describing is how the Corinthians’ quick temper with each other isn’t tempered by love.

In a highly individualistic culture like the United States, we're used to looking out for number one. And to some extent, it's human nature to protect ourselves and our interests. But Paul teaches that it's more loving and godlier to look out for number two. As we’ll see, he teaches this not only in First Corinthians, but in his letter to the Philippians.

In verse 5 of chapter 13, as we’ve seen, Paul says that love doesn’t act inappropriately. To this, he adds that love is "not self-seeking,” or literally, that it “doesn't seek its own things.” Loving people aren’t merely concerned about what’s best for them; they’re willing to make sacrifices for the sake of what’s best for others. We’ll explore that idea using a situation Paul describes earlier in the letter. 

Paul continues his description of what love doesn’t do by saying that love doesn’t “dishonor others.” That’s the New International Version; other versions say that love isn’t “rude” or doesn’t “act unbecomingly.”  What does that mean? His language suggests that Christians shouldn’t behave in ways that even people outside the church would consider socially inappropriate.

Most of us, at one time or another, engage in what psychologists call social comparison: we evaluate our success in life by comparing ourselves to others. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But often, it leaves people feeling envious or resentful, proud or boastful. This is what was happening between the believers in Corinth, and Paul’s teaching about love addresses it directly.

When Paul describes love, he begins with what love does. But then he quickly turns to describing what love doesn’t do—and this is probably meant as a description of the Corinthians themselves. The Corinthians are a zealous bunch; but what Paul says suggests that their zeal is pointed in the wrong direction.

Have you ever found yourself in an aggravating situation and praying for patience? It would probably be better to pray for humility instead—the humility to remember how patient and kind God has been to us. That’s where Paul begins his teaching about what a godly love does: with a reminder of the character of God.

When Paul says begins his description of love, he says that love is both patient and kind. This is not just a description of human love, but first and foremost a description of God’s love, who declares himself to be compassionate, gracious, and “slow to anger.” But what does patience and kindness look like in practice for us humans. In this episode, we begin with one of my favorite stories of one man’s kindness to a stranger.

In the opening and closing verses of First Corinthians 13, Paul repeatedly trumpets the primacy of love over spiritual gifts, even over the virtues of faith and hope. He does this to stimulate their imaginations: the high road of love is part of God’s eternal purposes. If they understand this, they should move away from the low road way in which they've used spiritual gifts to suit their own purposes. 

In chapter 12 of First Corinthians, Paul teaches that all the believers in Corinth are one body in Christ; he says this to correct the selfish way they’ve been thinking and arguing about spiritual gifts. He wants them to take “the high road,” by following the more excellent way of love. And in this episode, we’ll briefly explore how that metaphor may even apply to a neurophysiological understanding of the conflict. 

Paul’s words about love are famous. Unfortunately, they’re often quoted out of context, as if Paul were writing about love in the abstract. As a pastor, Paul is trying to correct the attitudes and behaviors of a very contentious group of Christians. And to read his words rightly, we have to appreciate not only what he says verse by verse, but the structure of how he says it overall.

Many Christians, if asked what the New Testament teaches about love, will think of 1 Corinthians 13. But to understand what Paul teaches there, we have to read that chapter in its context, both social and literary. Paul was answering a question the Corinthians had asked about spiritual gifts, and right in the middle of his answer, he begins speaking about love. Why?