What Love Looks Like According to 1 Corinthians 13
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It's no secret that the Apostle Paul considered love a vital topic. He often used it as a theme in his teaching and writing. Although Paul touched on different types of love, such as phileo (brotherly fondness) and eros (romantic affection), his main focus was on agape love, which is characterized by devotion and selflessness to others. His letters to the young churches mention how God models this for us, and how we are to follow His example.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14).
Many of us have read or have heard a sermon on the 13th Chapter of Corinthians. But actually, the whole book talks about showing this agape kind of love. For even when Paul is addressing specific issues like lawsuits between Christians, eating meat sacrificed to idols and marriage vows, he is making a larger point – that a lack of agape within the church causes all sorts of dysfunction and disorder.
At the end of Chapter 12, Paul writes this, “And yet, I will show you the most excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). He then launches into a thoughtful exploration of Godly love: what it is and is not, as well as how to build our lives around showing it to others.
To start unpacking Chapter 13, I want to take us to the very end of it, where Paul gives a short and clear conclusion to his teaching.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
God Equips Us for Agape Love
In Paul’s definition of agape love, those three items are connected together. Because of our human state, we are unable to sustain selfless love. In our own strength, we will run out of energy. With our earthly mindsets, we will eventually lose our motivation and focus, growing impatient or even resentful. That is why Paul reminds us often that God must be our Source of grace. When we ask, God equips us for agape by providing three crucial things:
1. Faith - defined as complete trust or confidence in someone or something. Our faith as Christians is founded on God’s message, the Gospel, which holds amazing promises for us.
- Our Salvation through Jesus’ death on the cross
- God’s unconditional and eternal love for us
- Our holy call to serve the world and point all to The Lord
- The eternal future we have with God
As we grow in understanding and acceptance of the truths of God, our foundation becomes stronger, and we stand firmer. This kind of faith gives us great cause to hope.
2. Hope - an attitude of positive anticipation. It not only leads us to look ahead optimistically, but colors our daily life now. We know that God delights in each of us and gives us special work to do. Receiving God's acceptance and affection softens our hearts, and serving Him awakens us to the needs and potential of others. When we are confident of what we hope for, a deeper sense of love is ignited. We’ll seek out ways to put our passion and gratitude for God into action.
3. Love - our highest goal, according to Paul. So, it makes sense that he would want us to more fully understand it and embrace it. This chapter can be divided into 3 short sections, all full of valuable insights for us as we seek to live in agape love.
Section 1: The Importance of Christ-like Love
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 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 have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
Paul often gave testimony to the change that knowing Jesus made in his life. In Philippians 3, he writes about his success as a Pharisee, but how any accomplishments he had were “garbage” compared to living for Christ. Part of his new life was learning about giving up selfish ambitions and reaching out to others.
What Paul realized was that love for God and for other people must be the motivating force behind what we do. Otherwise, our actions will end up glorifying us, and won’t show Jesus to the world. They will be a clanging noise that will not lead anyone closer to Christ and won’t amount to much of anything for His Kingdom.
Section 2: How Christ-like Love Looks
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
Paul puts together a list for us here that serves two purposes:
1. To show the comparison between a heart that reflects Godly love and one that lacks it
2. To highlight the inward attitudes and outward actions that result from each
In some ways, Paul’s list here resembles his list of the fruits of the Spirit. The fruits, “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,” (Galatians 5:22-23) actually start with love. The others flow out of that heart and mindset. Here in Corinthians, Paul gets specific – how one who has agape love will behave toward others, as opposed to someone who doesn’t. The difference is quite clear.
Section 3: Christ-like Love is Eternal
“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. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 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 childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor 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” (1 Corinthians 13:8-12).
One way Paul was able to remain steadfast in agape love was finding a balance between his present and his future. In other words, as he aimed to be an impactful witness for Christ during his earthly life, Paul kept his gaze on what awaited him afterwards. This encouraged him and ignited a desire to learn and grow in knowledge about his Lord.
Paul desperately wanted us, his readers, to get just a glimpse of Heaven, so that a desire to be more like Christ would be ignited. Though we will always be imperfect in this life, we can do our best to love as Christ loved. As our hearts become aligned with His, serving Him will become a natural lifestyle, and our joy in serving others will abound.
After all this, it may seem like Paul is giving us a wonderful, but impossible, goal. His aim is not to discourage us, though, but to remind us of the blessings that await us and others when we decide to love this way.
These kinds of passages lead me to check my own heart, and 1 Corinthians 13 definitely leaves me with some questions:
- How much time do I spend thinking about God’s love for me?
- How aware am I of the needs of others around me?
- How often do I pray for others as opposed to myself?
- How determined am I to use my talents and time to serve others?
And, maybe most importantly,
- How willing am I to be changed by God to have a heart full of agape love?
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/ThitareeSarmkasat
