1 Corinthians 13:4-7

1 Corinthians 13 ESV

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.

introduction

Recap

Last week we started looking at this chapter is 1 Corinthians 13

Context

Just in review of the context of this passage..

Paul the Apostle, and planter/ pastor of the corinthian church is writing to the church after he has left for another city.

Remember, Paul is writing to the Corinthians to correct them.

In Pauls absence it has become apparent that the corinthians were not behaving in the way a believer should behave

They had put an emphasis on spiritual gifts and believed those who held certain ones were better than others

In doing so, they had welcomed the social structures of Rome into the church and failed to love one another..

This was especially prevalent among the rich and the poor, or the free and the slave..

With the rich and free mistreating the poor and slaves within the church and creating division.

Paul writes here in an effort to right the ship and mend the fractured Corinthian church.

Spiritual

Last week we looked at verse 1-3

Where Paul reminds the corinthians that Spiritual nature and gifts without love are pointless

in fact, Paul concludes that love is greater than spiritual nature and gifts.

And now, beginning in verse 4, Paul is going to talk about love itself..

and he is going to define it for the corinthains.

Lets read it one more times

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 ESV

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.

What is love

In english the word love is defined as: a strong feeling or deep affection

The problem though is that the word is greatly overused..

I can say I love Krista..

Or I can say I love taco bell..

They do not mean the same thing..

We use the word to describe attraction.. to be in love..

We use the word to describe the action of showing care… give me some love..

Love, in english is very dependent upon the context

Different types of love in greek

The greek language, the language that Paul wrote this letter in..

is not like this though..

Greek has multiple words for love..

and they mean multiple things..

and through the scriptures we find these different words for love..

Phileo

First is phileo love brotherly love.. this is a warm efection and deep friendship kind of love..

It it known as brotherly love, which is why the city of philadelphia is the city of brotherly love..

Its also the root of the word philanthrophy, or love for others..

we find this word 25 times in the new testament ..

This is the kind of love the Jews said Jesus had for lazarus in John 11:36

John 11:36 ESV

So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

Jesus said its the kind of love the world has for its own..

John 15:19 ESV

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

This is brotherly love..

Eros

Then, we have the greek word Eros..

This is a romantic love..

or a sexual love..

It is where the word Erotic comes from in english..

its also the name of the greek god of love..

which tells you a lot about greek culture..

Its usage was so debased by the time of Paul

That We dont find it in the pages of the new testament

Storge

Another word for love is storge..

this is a familial love..

Its the love of a parent for a child..

While this love does not appear outright in the new testament a version appears in 2 timothy 3:3

Mania

Another non bible word is the word mania…

Which is an obsessive love that tips into maddness..

Hince where we get the world mania..

Philautia

then there is philautia

this is self love..

and it has two side..

The unhealthy such as narcissism

and the healthy.. self care.

Pragma

then there is pragma..

This is an enduring love based on commitment, patcience and reason..

Its not just a sudden spark..

we get the word pragmatic here..

Ludus

then there is the world ludus..

this is a flirtatous or light hearted love

sean in teasing or cassual relationships..

Paul

So we have all these greek words for love..

To express the various different ways in which love is expressed..

BUT PAUL DID NOT USE ANY HERE

Instead he uses another greek word for love..

Its the word agape..

Agape

During pauls time..

The word agape was not a particularly well used word..

in fact..

we dont find is much through greek history until the time of christ.

In FACT… The new testament is credited with redefining the word agape..

Root/ Meaning

it comes from the word agapeo

means affection.. good will.. benevolent love..

but because of the way in which Jesus loved the world..

and called his disicples to love one another..

scripture caused this word to take on new meaning..

This new meaning being a definition give through the actions of christ..

So we understand it to mean selfless, sacrificial, unconditional..

This love is not based on emotion..

rather it chosen..

and expressed through action.

This becomes the most important word for love in the new testment..

It is the most common type of love in the bible

We find it 116 times as a noun.. and 143 times as a verb.. for a total of 259 times in scripture

Redefined..

IN agape, Jesus radically redefines love..

Old Testament

in the old testament

The standard for love was self love..

Leviticus 19:18 ESV

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

the way in which you loved yourself..

was the way in which you were called to love..

BUT THEN JESUS CAME..

AND RADICALLY REDEFINED LOVE..

AND RAISED THE STANDARD..

BECAUSE IN AGAPE..

JESUS CALLS US TO LOVE IN A HIGHER WAY

John 13:34 ESV

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

Now the standard of the believer is Christ like love..

Definition

AND THIS IS THE LOVE IN WHICH PAUL NOW DEFINES HERE IN VERSE 4-7

Tell the corinthians, this is what your love should look like in a practical way..

And I challange you to reflect as we go through this list..

because paul is telling us.. this is what our love for one another should look like..

because this is the way we have been loved..

Verse 4

1 Corinthians 13:4 ESV

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

Patient

Paul says this love.. this agape love.. is patient.. or forebearing of others..

Agape love.. puts ups with others when you really don’t wand too..

in the same way Jesus has been patient with us..

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Romans 2:4 ESV

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

God has been patient with us..

and loving like Jesus loves us is being patient with others..

Kind

Next.. he says its kind..

This is full service to tohers, gentle, to act benevolently..

Kindness is a serve or action towards others..

Psalm 117:2 KJV 1900

For his merciful kindness is great toward us: And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.

Envy

Next it does not envy..

the greek word here is zeloo

it means to boil over.. or burn with zeal against somone..

It is to get heated, angry or resentful because somone else has something you want..

Boast..

This is to magnify ones own achievements, status or importance..

or to put the spotlight upon the self..

it is the opposite or humility..

To the corinthians.. this was something Paul refused to do..

though he said he would have any right to do..

because it was a crutch of the corinthians to baost themselfs..

They wants people to see how important they were..

and paul says..

love does not do that..

Arrogant

in the same way..

Paul says love is not arrogant..

or proud..

this is the idea of the inflated ego..

Paul is sayins that sincere love does not puff itself up, or look down upon others..

it doesnt use relationships to feed its own ego..

Again we see Jesus here..

Philippians 2:8 ESV

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Verse 5

1 Corinthians 13:5 ESV

or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

Rude

Love is not rude

the NIV says.. it does not dishonor others..

This is to be unbecoming, inappropriately, indecently, or dishonorably..

rather

love cares about how actions, words, an body language affect other people..

its acts courteously and with respect..

understanding the proper boundaries..

Does not insist on its own way..

This is self seeking or selfish behavior..

Paul says.. agape love is not like this..

instead.. love puts others first ahead of the self..

It refuses to put personal desires, pride, or convenience above the well-being of others..

and it is willing to yeild..

to be humble..

again.. like Jesus did for us..

irritable..

Genuine love does not have quick trigger.. a short fuse.. or an impatience response to the flaws and anoyances of others..

These iritations comes from expecting others to acts and perfom the way we want them too but they do not..

another way to put it is that love is not easily provoked..

Resentful

Love lets go of the past rather than nursing a grudge or tallying mistakes..

it doesnt keep a record of wrongs, as some version say it..

It keeps a clean ledger against others..

The origional greek imagry here draws from the accounting image..

to keep track in a ledger of debts..

We are to give others a clean ledger..

as christ has given us a clean ledger oursleves..

Ephesians 4:32 ESV

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Matthew 6:15 ESV

but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Verse 6

1 Corinthians 13:6 ESV

it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

Does not rejoice at wrong doing..

the niv says it does not love evil..

this is injustice.. unrighteousness, or hurt..

it does not find satisfaction or amusiment when somone falls or sins.. or suffers injustice..

…they got theres..

It rejects schadenfreude..

this is the pleasure one recieves when an enemy or rival falls into disgrace or gets hurt..

But rejoices in the truth..

it finds genuine joy in what is honest.. moral and when good prevailes..

It is a cheerleader for integrity, healing and virtue..

Verse 7

1 Corinthians 13:7 ESV

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

bears/ endures.. all things..

Believes or has faith in all things..

hopes or has expectation in all things..

endures, or stickes with.. all things..

Love does not quick.. it keeps going through thick and thin..

through the good and the bad..

the hard and the easy..

for better and for worse..

love does not give up..

it believes the best of others..

and hopes the best for them.

Conclusion

is this the love you display in your life?