First Corinthians chapter thirteen is the famous ‘love chapter’ that speaks of love being the principal characteristic of Christian life. For many people the words of the chapter create a desire to conjure up more love for God and others around us.
Yet, as we read the context found in chapter thirteen, and the chapters surrounding it, we can see a different idea emerge. The typical perception focused on mans’ efforts begins to fall away as we see that the writer is more focused on a different subject.
Today we explore what it means to have love, and find a source of strength that we may have never known existed.
Love Is the Principal Thing
First Corinthians chapter thirteen begins with a straightforward statement that without love nothing else matters. The first three verses make it absolutely clear that all of the other spiritual gifts and powers pale in comparison to love— not that the other things aren’t important, but that one particular gift must come first and have preeminence.
It’s vital to recognize that love is a gift. Love is not something that you can conjure up within yourself or work to demonstrate. Love, like any other spiritual attribute is given by God.
Take a look at the first three verses:
“1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing.”
What we see in these verses is that although other gifts are good and useful, they are upheld and supported on the foundation of love… but what kind of love is this?
One of the prime areas of confusion is thinking that the love being spoken of here is worldly human love. However the word for ‘love’ used in these verses agape which refers to the divine love of God. This detail tells us that the love of God is what upholds and supports true Christian living and gifts. Without the divine love of God, prophecy falls flat. Without the divine love of God, knowledge, wisdom, and faith come to nothing.
But why? The key to understanding the reason why the divine love of God is crucial comes from realizing that this is God’s love for you and not your human love. Notice the detail in these verses— the verses aren’t referring to doing love, but having love.
You should have the love of Christ and receive that love first personally for you before you can share that love with others. 1st John 4:19 makes it abundantly clear that we love, we agape, because God first agape’d us. If we don’t receive His divine love for us, then quite simply, we have no divine love to share with anyone else.
Characteristics of Divine Love
Now, in verses four through eight we see a description of divine love— and again, please resist the urge to read this description of love as a checklist of things that you need to do. The performance-minded person sees the details of love in these verses and thinks that they need to work on. However, as we examine definition of divine love, we notice some interesting points worth considering. Take special note of verse eight, because this verse says something that can greatly expand our perception of God, His Spirit in our lives, and the gifts that He gives to us:
“Love never fails: but whether there be prophecies, they shall pass; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.”
This verse is often used as a proof text to tell us, that love is the only gift still in operation today. However, if that was the case, then most of chapters twelve and fourteen which are the surrounding context, would be pointless. There would be no need to educate us about any of the other gifts if none of them were available today.
As we look at verse eight and examine it plainly for what it says, without any preconceptions we cam see that it’s talking about the eternal consistency of the divine love of God— not in the sense that the other gifts will cease to be available, but that the others are not in 24/7 use.
For example, a prophecy has a start and end date. There’s a time when a prophecy is first proclaimed, then a time of waiting, and then and end time when the prophecy is fulfilled. After that that, the prophecy is passed.
Another example is tongues, which is the most obvious. Take my words right now. I’m not speaking in one continuous monotonous stream of words, there are pauses, and breaks, and eventually that player below this video is going to reach the end, and this weeks video will be concluded. This conclusion doesn’t mean that I will stop speaking forever! It simply means that I’m not speaking continually 24/7 without some pause time in-between.
Probably the most striking of all is the third example from verse eight, which is knowledge. Could you imagine if the gift of knowledge had ceased to be in operation today as some people claim?! No-one would understand anything spiritual!
Yet, I think it is becoming clear that as with the other two examples, the verse is not speaking of a permanent halt to the gifts of God, for indeed His Spirit permanently and actively indwells us, but rather it speaks of partial knowledge, or temporary knowledge, versus the perfect knowledge of God that will be gained in the future at His return; verses nine through twelve make this clear:
“9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
The Superiority of God’s Love
The point of these verses is not to communicate that the other gifts are useless, or ceasing to function, but rather to encourage us in the total dependability and permanent never-ending presence of God’s love for us.
Why is this important to know? Why spend so many verses to explain that God’s love is reliable, dependable, never leaves and never fails? Good question! having His love for you, is the proper foundation for everything; and as we have already read in the first three verses, without having His love for you first, everything else is meaningless and empty.
So to answer the question of whether you have God’s divine love for you, we must first understand what it actually means to have His love; and 1st Corinthians 13 doesn’t leave us guessing about this either. Take another look now at verses 4-7:
“4 Love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love brags not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not its own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil;
6 Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
What we see in these verses is a description of ἀγάπη love, the divine love of God for you! So let’s take a look at these descriptors. First we have Love suffers long, which is basically way of saying that the divine love of God is extremely patient. This is actually an important point, because there are quite a few people who have this picture and idea of God being very short-tempered… They see Him as being very volatile, and capable of smiting you at any moment.
However we see here that you needn’t be afraid of an angry and short-tempered God, because He is actually extremely patient. I know that He has been and continues to be that way with me! So if I am still around and He hasn’t wiped me out yet – you’re in good shape!
We also see that love is kind. This goes hand-in-hand with love being patient, and again, many don’t see God as being kind. As we look at these things, I want you to see that the common image and idea of God does not fit the description listed here, so either God is a liar, or we have been believing a lie about Him. And it’s time that we start believing the truth instead of what man-made doctrines, ideas and religion have told us.
Look at the next few items… Love does not envy. Which means God isn’t going to look at you or your things and be resentful. Good news since He could take it all away if He wanted to (and some people accuse God of doing that!)
How about Love doesn’t brag itself? That one seems obvious, but then stop to consider that this means none of what God has said about Himself has ever been a brag or a boast! All of His generosity, all of His goodness, all of His faithfulness, justice and mercy, all of His compassion and care, all of it has been absolutely one-hundred-percent accurate and on-point. That’s worth some rejoicing, isn’t it?
Love also isn’t puffed up. God does not have an inflated idea of who He is. Again if He says something about Himself, He can do it, He can back up His promises. This again is a wonderful truth for us to latch onto.
Love doesn’t behave unseemingly. God will never act in a manner which is unbecoming. This really doesn’t need much explanation does it? Some very strange things are done in the name of God, but this verse make it clear that it is not really of Him; because love never behave unseemingly.
Next we have Love does not seek its own, and this is a big one. The ἀγάπη love of God is a love that is entirely selfless. The divine love of God needs no reciprocation. This is a giant departure from the way human love is. Human love says “I need you”, human love has conditions, and if the conditions aren’t met we can get hurt and offended. Not so with God. His divine love does not seek anything for itself.
I know that many people today think that God’s love does indeed have conditions, but it does not. His love was perfectly demonstrated by Christ on the cross (Romans 5:8, 1st John 3:16, 1st John 4:9-10).
Love also is not easily provoked. How many times do you think God gets irritated at your day-to-day life and behaviors? A lot of people think that He does, and that He scoffs at and scorns them. And while it may seem a bit of a small thing, it’s important to understand what is written here, that God does not actually do that. Because while you may realize it or not, dear friend, if you believe that God is easily irritated at your life, it will begin to erode the relationship that you have with Him, and it will drive a very subtle wedge between you and God that you might not even consciously detect at first. And this connects perfectly with the next item on the list…
Love thinks no evil. And this requires some explanation, because the English translation here is a bit blind to us regarding the meaning. The literal Greek for “thinks no evil” here is does not impute any evil, bad or wickedness. In other words, God does not record your sins! And this is another huge item on the list because there are many people who think that God is keeping a laundry-list of all of their sins, and that when they get to Heaven he’s going to play all the embarrassing parts of their life back on His 60ft projector.
No my friend, the reason why all of these things are true, especially the last two items about Him not getting irritated and not recording your sins, is because Jesus already handled the sin problem! Jesus already paid the full price and punishment for every single one of your sins, for your entire life! There’s nothing left to pay for! All of God’s wrath against sin has been spent on Jesus! There’s nothing left to record, because it has all been paid for and removed!
Now we see in verse 6 that Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. And again when people read this, they typically have sin on the brain and all they are thinking about is their sinful behaviors; but that was already dealt with in the previous verse. But look at this truth the lens of Grace and in-line with what we just read… It is iniquity (or injustice) for anyone (including yourself) to claim that you are still a sinner, still dirty, still unrighteous, in light of the fact that you are in Christ today.
For a believer in Christ, someone who has received His divine cleansing, to think or to be told that they are still unrighteous, is the greatest injustice in all of history… and it happens behind pulpits and in quite a few churches every single week.
God doesn’t rejoice in that injustice, but He does rejoice in the truth. Jesus is the truth. And His truth is that He has washed you completely, leaving nothing unfinished.
You see my friend, Love bears everything, believes everything, confidently expects everything, and endures everything. And God certainly does that for each of us.
And returning to verse eight again, Love never fails.
Now, we have a clear picture, and a better understanding of what divine love is, and why having love is much bigger and better than we ever imagined.
Be blessed.