Day By Day - 1 Corinthians 13

By Darryl Flaherty

Introduction:
1 Corinthians 13 is often called the love chapter. Verses 4 to 7 are without a doubt one of the most popular portions of scripture in the Bible. It’s often read at weddings, as the relatively short section of scripture, written by the Apostle Paul, perfectly summarises the power, characteristics and importance of love.

“Love” is a topic that is at the core of the Christian Gospel. John 3:16 tells us, “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God’s love for mankind is evident, and Christ’s call for believers to replicate that love is also at the core of living an authentically gospel-driven life.

My thoughts:
Chapter 13 begins by stating, “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.” That is so correct, without Love it is nothing but empty noise.
People, without Christ, are always noisy. If we look at the massive changes that we have seen in recent years; same sex marriage, gender change operations and gender choice abortions.  If you look at these changes along with many more, it is the noisy minority that are making the demands and the quiet majority allowing it.

Paul continues by explaining about having and doing for self-gain instead of through love. “If 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. If 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.” Prophecy, knowledge and faith are irrelevant without love. 

The Corinthian Christians missed the motive and the goal of the gifts, making them their own goal. Paul draws the attention back to love. Paul, quoting the idea of Jesus, refers to faith which could move mountains (Matthew 17:20). What an amazing thing it would be to have faith that could work the impossible! Yet, even with that kind of faith we are nothing without love.

The next part, verses 4 to 7 and the beginning of verse 8 are the complete Love verses. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 

My challenge to you, today, is to substitute your name in place of the words ‘Love’ and ‘It.’ Read it out loud, is this still a true statement?

Final Thoughts:
Chapter 13 finishes with verse 13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” In this verse, Paul wasn't making a comparison to love to dismiss the importance of faith and hope. And his comments weren't meant to discredit those who were operating in the gifts. His sole purpose is to illustrate the value of love, not for us to minimise the importance of faith and hope, nor disregard the gifts of the Spirit.

A person who lacks faith will not be able to love in the present because of an inability to forgive the hurts and sins of the past. And if a person lacks hope, they will also have difficulty with love in the present. Why? Because of worries and concerns about the future. 

Therefore, the only person who can truly love in the present is the one who has put their past behind them through the power of the Cross (faith) and looks forward to their future because of the promise of heaven (hope). Power and promise equals faith and hope. 

Is any part of that equation missing in your life? How do you know? Are you having difficulty loving? If you are, take another look at Chapter 13. What aspect of Paul's teaching do you need to embrace?