1 Corinthians 13: 1-13

¹ 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. ² 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. ³ 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.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love

Introduction

In the previous chapter of 1 Corinthians (chapter 12), we studied about different spiritual gifts among Christians in Corinth. Apostle Paul emphasized to the Corinthian Christians that all spiritual gifts stand in equal footing with each other, just as each part of the human body is to the entire body, in promoting the well-being of the whole body. He corrected the understanding of some that speaking in tongues or prophesying makes a believer more spiritual than those who do not use these spiritual gifts. Apostle Paul urged the Corinthian believers to desire the higher gifts of apostles, prophets, and teachers to strengthen and serve the church body.

In verse 31 of chapter 12, Apostle Paul however, concluded that there is a most excellent way to serve each other. At a glance, we may observe that it seems that 1 Corinthians 13 topic veered off from the flow of thoughts of Paul regarding utilizing spiritual gifts because in Chapter 14, he again mentioned about using spiritual gifts in relation to the proper decorum in worship. I am convinced, however, that apostle Paul intentionally did this change in course to put more weight on the importance of the topic of today’ message – love.

I.  Indispensability of Love

¹ 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. ² 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. ³ 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.

Here, Apostle Paul pointed out the uselessness of spiritual gifts when applied apart or out of the context of love. Speaking in tongues, prophesying, and supernatural knowledge maybe impressive, but they are nothing if not utilized according to God’s purpose and out of love for Him and fellow believers. Even sacrificing one’s life for the sake of others is worthless if not offered in love.

If you may recall, last Sunday’s message was about “Under the Sun – All is Vanity” which dealt about the meaninglessness of everything under the sun. Whatever plans, endeavors, and labor people do equate to nothing in this life. Even acquiring much wisdom does not gain anything and is just an exercise in futility. Everything that happens is just a part of an endless cycle of useless things, a repetition of what happened in the past. The only thing that matters is to fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of every human being (Eccl. 12:13). And to fear God, one must love Him first and foremost because God is love (1 John 4:8).

Meaning of Love

Before we go any farther into our study, let us first examine the meaning of this popular word in English language: love. In my grandfather’s Batangas dialect, “Ano ga ang ibeg sabihen ng salitang pag-ibeg?”

Oxford dictionary defines love as an intense feeling of deep affection. Merriam-Webster however, defines love as: 1) a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties; 2) attraction based on sexual desire; affection and tenderness felt by lovers; 3) affection based on admiration, benevolence or common interests.

Those definitions are somewhat general or condensed. In today’s computer age, it is in compressed or “zipped” form and you would not know the true meaning unless you break it up into component parts. Logically, by tracing the etymology of the word love, we will be able to get more clearly its true meaning.

New Testament

Let us travel back in time when the New Testament was written. The common language then was Greek. It follows that during that time, the New Testament had to be written in the language being used in communicating with each other, and in recording onto scrolls the events and happenings of which 1 Corinthians was one of them. Hence, it is logically prudent that we interpret love in the way Greeks did define it then. The Greek language was more specific in defining something compared with modern English, perhaps to avoid confusion. Hence love in Greek means four things to be understood separately and clearly.

Greek Words for Love: philia or phileo, eros, storge, agape

1. Philia or phileo – refers to the love between close friends or brothers. It shows a personal attachment and has more to do with a person’s feelings and emotions. This is brotherly love.
2. Eros – refers to the love found in romantic relationships. It refers to passion and intimacy. It is connected with our idea of “falling in love” and “being in love.”
3. Storge – refers to the love between family members. It is the strong bond shared by parents, children, siblings, and those close enough to be considered family. Storge love is a protective love that can withstand hardships and trials.
4. Agape – It is unconditional, sacrificial love and biblically refers to a love that God is and that what God shows. It is a love of choice, a love that serves others with humility. It is selfless love, the highest form of love. It is the love described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

     II   Description of Love (Agape)

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

In these verses. Apostle Paul used fifteen (15) statements to define what love is: seven (7) statements are what love does do, and eight (8) statements are what love does not do.

1. What love does do:
   • Love is patient (v. 4);
   • Love is kind (v. 4);
   • Love rejoices with the truth (v. 6);
   • It always protects (v. 7);
   • It always trusts (v. 7);
   • It always hopes )v. 7);
   • It always perseveres (v. 7).
2. What love does not do:
   • It does not envy (v. 4);
   • It does not boast (v. 4);
   • It is not proud (v. 4);
   • It does not dishonor others (v. 5);
   • It is not self-seeking (v. 5);
   • It is not easily angered (v. 5);
   • It keeps no record of wrongs. (v. 5).
   • Love does not delight in evil (v. 6).

In all of those statements, genuine Christian love (agape) is simply about setting one’s self aside for the good of other believers.

Positive Actions

When we say love is patient, it means we will be able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or sufferings without becoming annoyed or anxious or stressed out. It is opposite to the present worldly norms that require instant action to get satisfaction. That is the reason why in food business nowadays, products labeled with “instant” word proliferated and still adding up more in different line of products. We have the likes of instant coffee, instant seasoning, instant noodles, skip the dishes, door dash, take home packages, instant photos, and so forth where the virtue of patience is eliminated.

Being kind means we can be generous, considerate, or have concern for others without expecting praises or reward in return. To be kind to someone is to offer help to the needy without demanding remuneration or return favor in exchange for it.

A Simple Act of Kindness

A specific incident I personally experienced three years ago illustrated a simple act of kindness. It was winter time then when Dave and I went to our church to explore the situation of piles of snow left by the City of Winnipeg’s snow removal contractors after the usual Winnipeg snowfall the day before. At the church entrance way, we had difficulty passing over the mounds of snow. We were quite sure many of us would not get through these snow mounds come Sunday worship service.

We imediately got hold of snow shovels and started pushing away the snow mounds towards the church front lawn to clear the entrance way. After about 10 minutes of snow shoveling and pushing snows in minus 20-degree-Celsius temperature, we were able to clear a quarter of the entrance. Suddenly, a big front loader snow clearing equipment stopped by our side, then the driver motioned to us to unload the spare tire lying on the steel front shovel, which we did. The driver without saying a word pushed the hardened snow mounds towards the church vacant lawn until the entire entrance way was cleared. It took him about less than three minutes to finish the job. Had Dave and I done the clearing, it would take an hour for us to do it. After reloading the spare tire onto the front shovel, we saluted the driver and said thank you to him, to which he quietly smiled and went his way, probably to help more others also like us.

To rejoice in truth means a true Christian enjoys the presence of the “truth” with other believers. John 14:6  says  “Jesus answered, “ I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Since our Lord Jesus Christ is the Truth and God is love, agape love becomes inherent in us by virtue of association with Him. His love induces us to love others also with joy.

Always + verbs

The verbs protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres preceded by an adverb “always” are positive deliberate actions denoting limitless frequency (at all times; on all occasions) expected from genuine Christian believers in the context of their relationship with other believers. We all know that all truly born-again believers are sinners but saved by the grace of God.

We know also that while we are still living in this world, we are still susceptible or prone to commit sins or misgivings because of our sinful nature and environments, so much so that we may not see sometimes from our brothers and sisters in Christ “the should be” or “best of” in genuine Christian living. In such a case, agape love teaches us to always accept him/her as he/she is, with the belief and hope and perseverance that sooner or later, the best of him/her will come out for the glory of God.

Preventive Actions

Apostle Paul teaches us also that to become a “bona fide agape lover”, one must shun envy because agape love does not show discontented longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or blessings. While envious people see others as a threat to their ego and self-esteem, agape lovers are happy for the someone’s success, qualities, or blessings of the brethren.

IMMM (I Mine My Me)

Neither a believer should talk excessive pride and self-satisfaction about his/her achievements, possessions, or abilities to declare himself/herself the greatest person ever existed. He/she should also not have or reveal an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities as if he/she is the most valuable person in the world.

Agape lover does not insist on its own way to the point of dishonoring others for him/her to be exalted. He/she does not have or tendency to be easily annoyed or made angry, nor express bitterness or indignation at having treated unfairly.

Grievance Procedures with Love

In every organization, whether for profit or for non-profit purposes, a set of rules is formulated as guidance in administering grievances between the organization and its employees. The rules are based normally on what is most beneficial to the organization.

Similarly, in our church setting, we have set of rules to follow in addressing problems in the congregation. We follow the principles set forth in Matthew 18:15-17 in resolving offences and discipline as specifically cited in Article V, Section 6, Paragraph B of our Church By-laws as follows: “B. The purpose of the admonition and discipline of the church is to maintain the honour of God, to restore the erring members to fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and to remove offence from the church. Love and firmness must be shown in the performance of this duty.”

It is noteworthy that our church adopted love and firmness as the basis in dealing offences in the church. This love is that agape love we pray for to grow, mature, and stay permanently in the midst of our congregation .

    III     Constancy or Permanence of Love

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Apostle Paul cited love never fails at the beginning of verse 8. Note that it is expressed in present tense, which means it commenced from time immemorial and still continuing up to the present. Its term is indefinite and will continue on an on.

Prophecies will cease, speaking in tongues will stop, and knowledge will pass away because these spiritual gifts have completion time in the near future. Apostle Paul reasoned out that his knowledge during his era was only a part of the entire knowledge and that his prophecies were just a part also of a big picture of what will happen in the near future. When the near future shall have been turned into eternity, no more prophecies or predictions will be forthcoming henceforth.

Apostle Paul used the metaphor of a child and grown-up man to paint stages of maturity or completeness. When he was a child, he talked, thought, and reasoned like a child. But when he became a man, he put away those childhood ways because they are no longer relevant in his status as a matured man. Apostle Paul’s talking, thinking, and reasoning were just part during his childhood. However, when he reached manhood, his talking, thinking, and reasoning matured or completed.

Apostle Paul concluded 1 Corinthians 13 with an assertion in verse 13 that among faith, hope, and love, the greatest is love. Love is the greatest because when the whole Body of Christ, [we are included], the Bride shall live with Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, in New Heaven and New Earth where only love abounds forevermore!

Are we getting ready to be at that great Wedding Day by practicing agape love now?

Have we confirmed already with the Lord Jesus Christ that we will surely be there at the wedding day?

May God continue bless us all always as we await His coming soon!

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