1 Corinthians 13 The Greatest Is Love

Woodland Hills Church of Christ

The Greatest Is Love

1 Corinthians 13

Introduction: In our Sunday evening studies on spiritual gifts from 1 Corinthians 12-14, we briefly noted the section in chapter 13 on how love behaves. Paul’s discussion on love came in the very center of his admonition for the church to use the spiritual gifts as was intended by God – to bind the body together with each part doing its share to bring about the growth of the body.
To summarize Paul’s exhortation, if they did not actively love one another, nothing else they did would matter. The Corinthians were trying to be “something,” but Paul said that without love, they were “nothing.”
That principle is just as true today. There is no command in the Bible that is emphasized more than love. Jesus summarized all of scripture in the two greatest commandments. Just consider, all the law and prophets hang on whether we love and God and love our neighbor as ourself. That is to say, that if we do not love, every commandment we have ever kept is worth nothing. Every effort you have ever put in studying your Bible to make sure your beliefs are correct and that you are not being deceived by false teachings, is worth nothing.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, but when we actually look at how the Lord defines love, the challenge is far beyond how we typically think.

1. The Dynamic of Biblical Love
   1. Paul uses verbs, not adjectives to describe love. Therefore, love is dynamic and active, not something static. Love is not simply an inner feeling or emotion. In fact, while love is easier and more enjoyable when we have deep inner feelings, love does not originate from a feeling or emotion. It is the actions of love that produce the feelings of love. When Jesus or the apostles give commandments that we love, nothing is said about feelings. Further, it is not simply conveyed by words because words are not enough; love must be shown. “Love can only be defined by what it does and does not do.”
   2. This identifies our first hurdle when it comes to love. We put feelings before actions. We think to ourselves, “If I do not feel loving, then it is impossible for me to love!” That is unscriptural thinking. If that were true, how could we obey the command to love God? No one who loves God starts with a feeling! It starts with a choice to actively pursue him and know him and act in love toward him. Therefore, the scriptural principle is, our feelings follow our actions.
      1. Hosea 6:6, “I desire steadfast love, not sacrifice; the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Notice the parallel between love and knowing God. With knowledge comes love, and as love grows, we desire to know him even more.
         Believers all over the world have failed to understand love for God in that they would readily proclaim their love for God, and yet admit they do not pursue knowing him in the scriptures. Paul told the Corinthians that what is revealed in scripture is the mind of God.
      2. Matthew 5:43-48, How could we possibly obey the command to love our enemies if love depended on feelings? We are to love our enemies just as God loved us: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).
2. Paul’s Description of Love, 13:4-8
   1. While the design of this lesson is not a thorough study of all the actions of love in this chapter, notice a few of Paul’s descriptions that are especially easy to violate. At the very beginning are the words, “Love is patient and kind.” New Testament writers repeatedly couple these and similar words together when speaking of the relationships Christians ought to have with one another and those around them.
      1. “Patient”: Matthew 18:26, 29. The man who owed his brother pleaded, “Have patience with me and I will pay.” See 1 Thes. 5:14, “Be patient with all.” 2 Cor. 6:6.
      2. “Kind”: Eph. 4:32. “Kindness recognizes that everyone carries a heavy load.” In the second century, the kindness of Christians so surprised the pagans that, according to Tertullian, they called Christians chrestiani, “made up of mildness or kindness,” rather than christiani, Christians.
   2. “Love does not insist on its own way.” Other translations are, “Does not seek its own advantage” or “is not selfish,” or “is not self-seeking.”
      1. This may be the most obvious way love acts. Love is not putting self first. Jesus demonstrated love when he said, he did not come to be served by to serve and to become a slave of all.
      2. For example, when a husband considers a decision, his first concern must be how this will affect his wife. To know that, he must have significant conversations with her so that he acts in her best interests instead of his own. By always demonstrating that compassionate, “you are first before me” spirit, he stirs her love for him all the more deeply. That picture needs to be transferred to all of our relationships, especially leadership relationships. We may tend to especially do that in marriage or close friendships, but Christ has asked us to do that with everyone.
   3. Love does not keep a record of wrongs (HCSB, NIV, NASB): The ESV translates “resentful” with the margin “does not count up wrongdoing.”
      1. Luke 17:1-4 “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” The reason for this is seen in verses 1-2. Without forgiveness and patience with those who repeatedly stumble, we could cause them to fall away. Jesus calls them “little ones.” Yes, someone who sins against you seven times in a day is a spiritual child, but what do you do with your own children when they keep messing up every day?
      2. The challenge is quite obvious. We are not this patient, loving, or forgiving. It does not take us seven times, or even three times or two times to react to what we believe is an offense. It just takes one time, and we are miffed. And when we are miffed, we withdraw.
      3. Consider the words of the wise Preacher: “Wisdom gives a wise person more protection than ten rulers in a city. For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins. Also, do not pay attention to everything that people say; otherwise, you might even hear your servant cursing you. For you know in your own heart that you also have cursed others many times.” (Ecclesiastes 7:19–22 NET).
         1. These verses are not independent of one another. Notice that we all need “protection.” That is, there are often attacks made against us. It doesn’t have to be a physical attack; we can just feel attacked. The Preacher is telling us that with “wisdom” we can guard ourselves against these attacks.
         2. Verse 20 explains why these attacks will come: “there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins!” Now is that the first thing you think of when you feel offended? Of course it isn’t! How foolish of us!
         3. Now verses 21-22 make more sense. Let’s get practical. If no one is “truly righteous,” then every time we open our mouths there is an increased chance we will say something that will be taken in a hurtful way. Did we intend to do so? Usually not. [have you ever noticed in marriage and friendships the words we use have different shades of meaning depending on how we grew up? Further, we all just simply make mistakes, say things that we should have been more thoughtful about, or simply did not consider our listener.]
         4. On the other hand, this text is talking about wisdom on the part of the person who feels hurt, and the Preacher is warning us “you also have hurt others! So don’t take it to heart!
   4. “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” This needs no explanation, does it? How quickly we read over it and move on! Love is a permanent part of the life of a Christian. Love is the very essence of God, and therefore a constant, enduring principle in the life of a Christian.
3. Paul’s Example of Love Toward the Corinthians (2 Cor. 6:3-13)
   1. When we read this text and consider how the Corinthians had treated Paul and how Paul had treated the Corinthians, who had shown love? Paul had been terribly mistreated by the Corinthians, especially when we consider that if not for Paul they would have still been in their sins.
   2. Please notice: had Paul given up on the Corinthians? Had he cast them aside as reprobates? This is a church we would not have bothered visiting! No, instead he spoke of his confidence in their desire to serve the Lord, to repent, to truly be the saints to which the Lord called them. Paul did just what he described in love; he believed all things, hoped all things, endured all things. His love for them never failed.
   3. Look at how Paul described the way he loved them. He made amazing sacrifices of his own life in order to bring them to God and to renew the love between them.
   4. Note especially verses 11-13: “We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.” There are two important points here:
      1. Paul mirrored the principle of, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” In spite of their hurt toward him, he opened his heart freely. That is a true reflection of God and Christ.
      2. But his final plea also illustrates that though there was no fault in Paul in his attempts to renew their relationship, the Corinthians had still found fault with him. Why? Because “they were restricted in their own affections!” Their fleshly desires hindered them from opening up to Paul because they did not want to give up their own earthly pride. The passage is a reminder of Paul’s admonition in Romans 12:18, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” We are to do everything we can, by opening our hearts to all. But it should be no surprise that some will not respond. That fact is disappointing and hurtful. We all hate it when it happens. But it should never stop us from loving.

Conclusion: Most intriguing about 1 Corinthians 13 is that Paul does not speak of putting on a show of love, but actually practicing love. Men and women tend to think more about the show of love than real love. The show of love is the easy part. Pretending to love out of respect for the courtesies of the day has nothing to do with biblical love, nor the love Christ portrayed in us. We need to get that definition of love out of our minds.

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.” 1 Peter 1:22

Berry Kercheville

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