#27 Top 40 New Testament Passages: The Love Chapter (1st Corinthians 13:1-13)

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. 

But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (1st Corinthians 13:1-13)

The thirteenth chapter of Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, Greece is one of the most beloved passages in the entire Bible. What has become known as the "Love Chapter" is most often heard read publicly during wedding ceremonies. In over 25 years of ministry, I have wed many couples. Most choose the Love Chapter to be read on their special day. Even for the most secular of people, who know nothing of the Bible, these words have an attraction. And why not? All scripture is God-breathed! (2nd Timothy 3:16)

John Wesley, the founder of my tradition in Christianity, once said that if one were to faithfully and obediently live out the teachings in the Love Chapter and Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, then that person would be a true Christian.

The Love Chapter wasn't written as a piece of poetry to be read at weddings, though it is remarkably beautiful and poetic. Paul surely must have been seized by God's agape love when he wrote these words to a struggling church. The circumstance is quite the opposite. Rather than bubbling over with affection in a marriage just getting started, Paul writes to a faith community that is suffering division and poor leadership. They are falling apart, not coming together in covenant!

Read how Paul, the apostle who planted the Corinthian church, confronts their infighting.

For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human? (1st Corinthians 3:3-4)

He tells them that they are still in the flesh, meaning they are behaving out of sinful and base motivations. The Corinthians know Christ, and have received the Spirit, but have fallen back into the old unsaved ways, as if Christ had not transformed their lives. Paul reminds them of who they are right at the beginning of his letter in the greeting.

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1st Corinthians 1:2)

Notice that Paul acknowledges them as made holy in Jesus Christ. He will delve into this idea when he discusses proper observance of the Lord's Supper, a remembrance meal where bread and wine are consumed representing the body and blood of Jesus sacrificed on the cross, atoning for our sins. Those who participate in the meal participate in the sacrifice and are made holy. (1st Corinthians 10:14-18)

Paul also acknowledges their unity with Christians everywhere. They belong to Christians in other towns and other nations because they call on the name of the Lord. Paul will use the human body as a metaphor for the unity meant for the church, the body of Christ. (1st Corinthians 12:12-27) 

Finally Paul's greeting acknowledges the Corinthians vocation. It is the vocation of every Christian. We are called to be God's holy people. So not only is the Church made holy in Christ, the Church is to behave as God's holy people are to behave.

Holiness means to be set apart as vessels for God's sole purpose. In our sanctuary we have a marble baptismal font. We use it for one holy purpose, the baptism of members. We would never think to fill the baptismal font with hooch and throw a drunken party in the space where we worship. The sanctuary is holy, set apart from all other rooms. The font is holy, set apart for one holy purpose, to celebrate the inclusion of souls into the body of Christ, his Church.

Have you thought of your life as a holy vessel, set apart 100% for God's sole purpose? That is your calling in Christ. I know I don't behave as God's holy people all the time. At times I fall into the old ways of my former corruption. Paul reminds us that we are holy because of Christ's sacrifice, and we are called to live lives worthy of His self-sacrificing love.

The Love Chapter describes self-sacrificing, self-emptying, other seeking love. It's called apage in the Greek. Agape was a word used mostly to describe the pagan worshiper's love for the gods. The New Testament writers use the term in a completely different way. Agape is best understood in the sacrifice of Jesus. John tells us that God so agapaō the world (that's us) that He gave His only begotten Son (that's Jesus dying on the cross) that whoever would believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (That's the Church). (John 3:16) In fact, John wrote in his first letter to the Church the very definition of agape love. 

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. (1st John 3:16)

Notice the reciprocal nature of love. Jesus gave his life for us. We give our lives to each other. Christ makes us holy. We behave as God's holy people.

One of the things that was causing division in the church in Corinth was spirituality. These former pagans brought with them pagan ways. In fact, the Western Church has never shaken off the influence of paganism from our shared life together. We celebrate Easter with chocolate bunnies and eggs, pagan fertility cult symbols celebrating the rebirth of spring and life. The Church christianized pagan festivals with Christian meaning, but the pagan holdovers remain to this day. Jesus was not likely born on December 25th. Rather that date coincides with Yuletide. Greenery, candles, colorful ornaments and feasting fireside are all hallmarks of a good pagan festival celebrating food stores from an abundant harvest (before is all rots) and entry into the long dark of winter. 

In Paul's day there were mystery cults that sought secret wisdom and transcendent mystical experiences. Many practices were used to stir up emotions in order to open one to the spiritual world. Alcohol, sexual pleasure, feasting are but a few. Some chose a path of self-denial like fasting, or self-abasement like flagellation and cutting themselves. Paul saw elements of these pagan ways in the church at Corinth. But really the Corinthians were just behaving as unsaved humans still caught up in the cravings and urges of the flesh. Pride was at issue.

Some felt that certain members of the church should be revered and heeded more than others because of the spiritual experiences they could boast, or more precisely how remarkably God had gifted them. Some could speak in an unknown tongue under the sway of the Spirit. Others were spiritually enabled to interpret the unknown tongue spoken by another. The practice of glossolalia, or speaking in tongues, is a featured part of the charismatic tradition in Christianity. Mainstream churches like my own, don't have anything to do with that sort of spirituality. As Paul said, 

In church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. (1st Corinthians 14:19)

The issue with spiritual gifts is that they became a source of pride, and division. Paul wants the Corinthians to recognize that spiritual gifts, while they may vary and some are remarkably mysterious, all of them come from one source, God. All spiritual gifts, no matter how remarkable, are for one purpose, to build up the Church.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1st Corinthians 12:4-7)

If I were to pray for someone who was sick or ill, and they got well, I might get some good press within the church. If I prayed for the sick and injured and they all got well, I might become known as a healer. I might feel pretty good about my star status in the church. I might even have a following who think of me as the most spiritual, a man close to God. They might hang on my every word, and that popularity might go to my head. I may begin to believe I am special, a super-Christian. And it's that kind of thinking that put the church in Corinth in turmoil.

The one who is gifted to help, cook in the church kitchen, clean tables or serve food, is as important as the one who can preach with God's divine authority and move hearts. The one who leads administrative efforts in a church committee, is just as important to the body of Christ as one who can miraculously heal. And we don't choose our spiritual gifts, the Spirit of God does. And spiritual gifts are not for our glory, but for building up the Church and God's glory.

And so Paul illustrates the point.

Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. (1st Corinthians 12:14-18)

No member of the Church, no matter how gifted or skilled, is more vital than any other. All are interdependent through the body of Christ, which is held together in Christ, our head. (Ephesians 4:15-16) And Paul would have the Corinthians know that agape love is what builds up the body.

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him. (1st Corinthians 8:1-3)

Love is the most excellent way. It's not gifts of healing, or oration, not skillful leadership or great generosity, not tongues and mystical experiences; It's agape love that matters most. 

Without agape love motivating our behavior, we are noisy gongs and clashing cymbals when we preach or speak. Without agape love, we gain nothing if we give everything away in charity. Without agape love our prayers are empty, even if our faith in God is strong. God is agape love. (1st John 4:8, 16)

Agape love is long-suffering, not quick to anger. Agape love is not proud, nor boasts. Agape love does not insist on having its own way, but yields to the needs of others.  Agape love is not irritable, arrogant or rude. Instead the love that builds up is kind, hopeful, rejoices in truth, and carries on in the perseverance of faith. 

Love never fails! Literally, from the Greek, pipto, agape love never "falls". God's love will always have the highest position among Christians. Love is our zenith, the pinnacle of faith. For to live in God's love, to be motivated by God's love in all our thoughts, words. and actions, is to share God with the world. God is love. Love builds up. Love fulfills the Law. 

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)

Sometimes we overlook the latter part of the Love Chapter. Once struck by the prose of Paul's thoughts on agape, we stop and enjoy. But reading on we find even more treasure as Paul points the reader to hope in the future. We might take pride in all sorts of good things, spiritual gifts notwithstanding. But all the nice things of life on this earth are coming to nothing. We die. Mortal life ends. But God's love never dies! God's upbuilding, life-saving love will always be with you, even in death. And because Jesus Christ, the perfect one, lives, you will also live forever in God, who is love. (John 14:19)

There is much in life that disturbs us. This current health crisis with the Coronavirus is startling and causes many to panic. Fear and hopelessness leads to all manner of discord and unrest. In some cases violence occurs in grasping for a hold on security through stockpiled goods. But the Bible calls us to let go of this world and our life in it. If we would save our lives, then let them, metaphorically speaking, die, so that we might be freed to serve Christ and the coming new creation. 

I don't understand why this pandemic is happening. I don't understand why God hasn't rushed to save us when we pray for help, though I trust that God is helping in countless ways beyond my purview. Paul said that in this mortal life we only understand a poor reflection of true reality. Scientists can lack humility in that regard. We only see a small portion of the whole. As some had said, God is weaving his will like an ornate tapestry. Our lives are but a single thread. Our limited perceiving is from the underside. But not knowing all that is to come is not a terrible fate. We know how this story ends and its wonderful!

Let agape love fill you with all hope in believing (Romans 15:13), for faith, hope, and love are all that truly last.