Giving Meaning to Christian Behavior, Part 2

1 Corinthians 13: The Love Chapter for the Church

1 Corinthians 13 is often called the love chapter, commonly read at weddings. But it is not exclusive to marriages or relationships. In the context of chapter 12, it addresses how Christians should function within the church. Every believer has been gifted by the Holy Spirit to minister to others, building them up and aiding their sanctification. Everyone has the capacity and responsibility to serve one another.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not 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 have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Paul concludes chapter 12 by affirming that spiritual gifts are important for building up the church, yet there is a better way: love. This transcendent love is how Christians should operate within the church.

Without Love, Great Acts Are Meaningless

Even the most impressive spiritual gifts, like healing or great faith to move mountains, are pointless without love. A legitimate healing of a terminal illness benefits nothing if done without love. The same applies to any great act—if there's no love behind it, it improves no one's life. Praise from the world means nothing if the church isn't loving.

With Love, Great Attributes Are Made

Paul defines love precisely, not settling for any lesser form, but the transcendent love Christ expressed in laying down His life for sinners. This love accomplishes salvation, enabling believers to live as Christ lived.

Love is patient—free from being easily disturbed, tranquil amid provocation. Love is kind—merciful, withholding deserved negative responses. Love rejoices with the truth, not falsehood. Love bears all things, covering vulnerabilities to prevent harm, like patching a hole in a ship. Love believes all things, hopes all things—always seeking improvement, never pessimistic. Love endures all things, persevering through insults, criticisms, and hardships.

With Love, Great Adversities Are Missed

Love avoids self-inflicted adversities like envy, which is intense negative feelings toward others' success—rejoicing in their downfall. Envy breeds internal turmoil, bitterness, and unloving actions that defile others.

Love does not boast or demand praise. False humility, like denying compliments to elicit more, draws in praise manipulatively. True love doesn't thrive on flattery; it endures unrequited love contentedly.

Love is not arrogant—without undue self-importance. Love is not rude—avoiding disgraceful, indecent behavior that shocks others.

Love does not insist on its own way, seeking others' benefit over self. In a starving scenario, love yields the food. In relationships or church, prioritizing others means everyone benefits. Selfishness leads to envy and conflict; others-focus glorifies God.

Love is not irritable—not quickly angered or resentful. It has no short fuse, enduring criticism patiently.

Love is not resentful—it does not keep a record of wrongs. Unlike bitterness that tallies offenses to weaponize them, love forgives. As in Romans 4:8:

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity.

God, through Christ's righteousness, does not count our sins against us. Love mirrors this—no records, no eggshells, creating safety in relationships and church despite inevitable sin.

Love does not rejoice in wrongdoing but in truth. Love despises sin, cannot thrive in it, and can even be unhappy amid wrongdoing—missing well-being without righteousness.

Key Applications

I cannot be loving if I find value in my activities apart from love—sports, jobs, games are pointless without it. Anything done with love has transcendent meaning.

I cannot assign my own definition to love; it must align with Scripture, not personal feelings or "love languages" tainted by sin. Unconditional love is not approval of sin.

I cannot consider myself adequate to love on my own; sin corrupts it. Reference 1 Corinthians 13 often, practicing patience, endurance, and truth now—not waiting for opportunities.