[Transcript]
Chapter twelve concludes by saying that there is a more excellent way. The discussion of spiritual gifts and how the Corinthians had started to envy each other’s gifts, or believed that some thought their gift was so excellent that others’ gifts were unnecessary, opened a wide door for Paul to write his most famous words. 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, has become most commonly associated with weddings, and that’s a fitting use for it.
But is that all? Is that what Paul had in mind when he wrote these words? When you take the time to read the entire letter, it is sandwiched between two chapters on spiritual gifts within the section that addresses our conduct when we gather together for worship. Why is this chapter here, and what do we miss by mainly reading this at weddings?
“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.” – 1 Corinthians 13:2
The Corinthians’ unloving behavior toward each other has been evident throughout this entire letter. But now that Paul had addressed the topic of spiritual gifts, it was a fitting moment to discuss love. As we saw in the previous chapter, people’s gifts were being minimized, which perhaps contributed to the gift envy that had crept into their hearts. One of the mistakes we make in the church is judging someone’s maturity by their gifting. It was happening in Paul’s day, and it still happens.
A gifted teacher quickly captures people’s attention, and an enthusiastic preacher can certainly draw a crowd. However, those qualities don’t gauge someone’s maturity. Paul will say in the next chapter that he spoke in tongues more than anyone, but in verse one, he emphasized an enormous point. If I’m not a loving person, I’m just a noisy gong. If you’ve been a Christian long enough, you’ll see it. A teacher who can break down a text effortlessly but lacks a heart for his students’ personal lives. A pastor who can preach passionately but doesn’t spend time with his flock outside the church walls. Love is what truly makes it work. You can impress people with your gifts for a while, but eventually, showing your love and concern becomes necessary for them to keep listening.
I should be clear that this is something that I have to keep on the front burner. We’re not a mega church, but we’re a large church for our community. On any given Sunday there’ll be 400 people in the room with us. It’s really hard to make sure that 400 people know that you love them. In fact, I’ll go ahead and say it’s not really possible. We have four other pastors, and it still feels like we barely accomplish this. You can profess your love again and again, but you won’t be getting up close and personal with everyone in the room, so all you can do is say it loud and often, and try to love really well whenever you do get among the sheep.
Paul made it clear: there is no reward, in this life or the next, if you don’t love well. You can have the longest list of converts, a file full of rich teachings, and a pristine reputation for your moral excellence and giftedness, but if you didn’t love well, you gain nothing. Love is the essential ingredient for following Christ.
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another.” – John 13:35 (LEB)
“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” – 1 Corinthians 13:7
The most helpful thing you can do right now is to forget about weddings. Paul didn’t have weddings in mind here, so we should focus on understanding his meaning. The application of this definition of love goes beyond husbands and wives. It extends into the relationships we share with one another in the body of Christ. This is basic Christian love for each other, the kind that Jesus said would identify us as His disciples. So, look at the qualifiers that Paul listed in verses 4-6.
- Are you a patient and kind person?
- Are you envious or jealous?
- Are you arrogant and rude?
- Do you insist on your own way?
- Do people irritate you?
- Do you hold resentment easily?
- Are you a “they got what they deserved” kind of person?
- Do you rejoice in the truth?
Here’s the thing. Paul never assumed we’d succeed right from the start. Not at all. His own confessions in Romans chapter seven show he faced the same struggles we do. He, too, wrestled with loving people like this. But, despite the imperfect way that he would love others, he never backed down from striving toward the goal. Neither should we. We will miss this mark frequently, but we should never give up.
I am challenged by this definition of authentic love. I find myself failing constantly. People do irritate me. I find within myself an inexhaustible well of impatience. I don’t know what’s worse: the fact that I’m impatient, or the ways that I try to cover my impatience because I don’t want to be perceived as such. Now, I must also admit that the Lord has grown me in this area, and I’m not nearly as impatient as I once was, but the fact is, I still have bouts with it. Impatience is usually a clue that I need rest. So I try to rest well so that I can continue loving others well because, especially as a leader and teacher, it’s important that I don’t ruin my rapport with others by being a grumpy church curmudgeon.
Apply Paul’s description of authentic love to Jesus. This shows how He loves. His love for us is always patient and kind. Even though He is Lord over all, He is not arrogant toward us. His love doesn’t demand an equal return, although we should strive to love Him as He has loved us. He doesn’t want anyone to perish and doesn’t take joy in others’ destruction. He rejoices when truth is embraced and treasured. If indeed it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us, then this kind of love will be evident in our lives.
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13
In verse eight, Paul stated, “Love never ends.” What follows is a contrast. All these gifts that the Corinthians were fighting over have an expiration date. Why should we squabble over temporary things? The contrast wasn’t meant to reduce the importance of spiritual gifts, but to elevate love above them. Love must be supreme, or the gifts won’t be effective. Love must be first, or regardless of the gifts, the church will crumble.
In no uncertain terms, Paul described the Corinthians’ attitude toward spiritual gifts as childish. They were competing with each other, dismissing the value of one gift versus another, and missing the entire point. These gifts are meant to unite us, not divide us. They are temporary empowerments of the Spirit that help us grow until Christ returns and perfects everything. Fighting over them is like siblings arguing about who gets to play with dad’s tools when the real prize is spending time with dad.
I believe the infighting that happens within the church surrounding spiritual gifts is little more than an effective ploy of Satan to keep us arguing internally instead of cooperating in the spread of the Gospel. Period. You’ll never convince me otherwise. Are there genuine disagreements on how to interpret the Scripture? Yes, there are. Should any of those disagreements amount to hard lines of division in the sand? Absolutely not. Now, I’m saying that the denomination of the church that have formed around these differences are necessarily bad things. I understand the need for brothers and sisters to worship together in unity. But, the attitudes that I’ve heard from the different camps toward one another often stray into slanderous territory that is sinful and should be called out. There are abuses in every camp. None of them are worse than the other. I consider them equally damaging in their own ways. I refuse to participate with believers who engage in this kind of slanderous behavior toward brothers. When I hear it, I call it out. I love the body enough to do what I can to call out unloving, unhelpful behavior.
Since love never ends, we should make it paramount in our gatherings. Love should be more vital in our meetings than the expression of any spiritual gift, including teaching, prophesying, or any other spoken gift. When we come together for worship, Christ’s love should permeate the atmosphere. It should season our conversations. It should temper our responses to criticism. It should soften our honest critiques. When we gather, His love should create space for and empower the expression of spiritual gifts. The reason we need the gifts is that, for now, we only know and prophesy in part. We have not yet been perfected and glorified. Until then, love should unite our gatherings and give substance to the gifts we receive so that the church will flourish and the gospel will advance.
“but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” – 1 Corinthians 13:10
As mentioned earlier, spiritual gifts have an expiration date. Prophecy, tongues, administration, and helps—no matter which gift you think of—there will come a time when they have fulfilled their purpose and will cease. Although it isn’t a calendar date, Paul informed us when this would happen: “when the perfect comes.”
What does that mean? Herein lies an old discussion that deserves some attention. While not every cessationist believes this way, some interpret “the perfect” as the completion of the Biblical writings. If this were true, then the implication would be that spiritual gifts – particularly the ones mentioned in verse eight – would have ceased once all New Testament Scripture had been written. There are numerous problems with this interpretation of “the perfect.”
First and foremost, the most clearly present idea here is the return of Christ. Verse twelve makes it abundantly clear that Paul’s thoughts were focused on His second coming. It makes little sense for verse ten to mean something entirely different from verse twelve when they are part of the same train of thought.
Secondly, an examination of church history reveals that all spiritual gifts continued after the completion of the New Testament writings. Some cessationists argue that, instead of an immediate cessation, there was a gradual decline in the miraculous spiritual gifts. However, that argument is selective because other historical accounts show that the gifts indeed never faded.
Finally, there is ample contemporary evidence that the Holy Spirit continues to manifest all spiritual gifts to the present day. Cessationists will often discount, downplay, or outright deny the efficacy of contemporary examples, pointing to frauds, charlatans, and false miracles. There’s no doubt that those fakes have occurred, and it is well documented. However, the existence of counterfeits should not be a reason to cast shade on the genuine manifestations. Even in the first century, Paul urged the Thessalonians to “test everything.” Why bother testing if there’s no chance of fakes?
“but test everything; hold fast what is good.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:21
