1 Corinthians 13 – 2019-12-13
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1 CORINTHIANS 13 – COMMENTARY
Introduction:
“More important than all the gifts is love (12:31b). First Corinthians 13:1-3 makes the point that without love the gifts are worthless. Verses 4-7 describe the nature of love, in language designed to point out how little the Corinthians are measuring up. Verses 8-13 highlight the temporary nature of all gifts, contrasting with love’s permanence.”[1]
“If it is more excellent than even the greater gifts, then love itself cannot be a spiritual gift. Rather it represents the cardinal Christian virtue, the first on the list of the ‘fruit’ of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), which must be present with all the gifts if they are to be used in ways that will please God and have eternal value. The key to understanding chapter 13, then, is to keep it in its context. Whatever inspiration it may have as a self-contained poem or hymn to love, Paul intended it to be used to help solve the specific problem of the destructive manner in which the Corinthians were using their spiritual gifts.”[2]
v.1 “tongues of men and of angels. Paul uses hyperbole. Even if he could speak not only the various languages that human beings speak but even the languages used by angels—if he did not speak in love, it would be nothing but noise.”[3]
v.2 “All mysteries and all knowledge. Again Paul uses hyperbole to express the amount of understanding possessed. Even if he is gifted with unlimited knowledge—if he does not possess and exercise that knowledge in love, he is nothing.
Faith that can move mountains. A special capacity to trust God to remove or overcome overwhelming threats or insurmountable obstacles. Again Paul uses hyperbole.”[4]
v.3 “Surrender my body to the flames. A reference to suffering martyrdom through burning at the stake, as many early Christians experienced. Even the supreme sacrifice, if not motivated by love, accomplishes nothing.”[5]
vv.4-7 “Taken together, verses 4-7 clearly portray love as selfless, seeking the good of the other first and foremost. ‘Love is what God in Christ has shown and done for “others” in their helpless plight and hapless estate as sinners. In love we take God’s side, share his outlook and implement his designs; and we treat our neighbors as we know God has treated us (see Rom. 15:1-7).’”[6]
v.6 “Love does not delight in evil. ‘It might be better to translate this that love finds no pleasure in anything that is wrong. It is not so much delight in doing the wrong thing that is meant, as the malicious pleasure which comes to most of us when we hear something derogatory about someone else. It is one of the[…] traits of human nature that very often we prefer to hear of the misfortune of others rather than of their good fortune. It is much easier to weep with them that weep than to rejoice with those who rejoice. Christian love has none of that human malice which finds pleasure in ill reports.’”[7]
v.7 “always trusts. ‘This characteristic has a twofold aspect. (i) In relation to God it means that love takes God at his word, and can take every promise which begins “Whosoever” and say, “That means me.” (ii) In relation to our fellow men it means that love always believes the best about other people. It is often true that we make people what we believe them to be. If we show that we do not trust people, we may make them untrustworthy. If we show people that we trust them absolutely, we may make them trustworthy.’”[8]
“The other two claims of v.7—‘love believes all things; hopes all things’—tie faith and hope to love in anticipation of v.13. It is not surprising that faith (the same Greek term for the verb ‘believe’) and hope should appear here together; they are inextricably tied in Paul’s thoughts (cf. Gal 5:5-6; 1 Thess 1:3; 5:8). Faith, right relationship with God, is the basis on which one has hope regarding the future, because, through faith, one knows God’s redemption in the present, one can hope—that is, one can confidently look to the future in anticipation of God’s completing the work that God has begun in the present (cf. Phil 2:12b-13).
“Love’s believing all things describes neither a willing disregard for reality nor naïveté nor gullibility. It is probably best to take this statement as a posture of openness along the lines of 2 Cor 5:7: ‘We walk through faith, not through sight.’ Certainly, to hope all things must be grounded in this confidence in God toward the future, a confidence whose basis is neither visible nor directly knowable, a theme to which Paul returns in 13:12.”[9]
vv.8-13 “Verse 8 states the thesis of verses 8-13. Again, Paul makes the point with sample gifts that were of particular importance in Corinth. Whereas faith, hope, and love endure, spiritual gifts prove temporary[…]
“Why will the gifts cease? It is because they are imperfect provisions for an imperfect world, rendered unnecessary when perfection comes (vv.9-10). But to what does ‘perfection’ refer? The other main biblical meaning of the word (Gk. teleios) is ‘maturity’ (cf. the metaphor in v.11), but neither perfection nor consistent maturity has yet come to the church of Jesus Christ.”[10]
v.10 “God gives us spiritual gifts for our lives on earth in order to build up, serve, and strengthen fellow Christians. The spiritual gifts are for the church. In eternity, we will be made perfect and complete and will be in the very presence of God. We will no longer need the spiritual gifts, so they will come to an end.”[11]
v.12 “Paul offers a glimpse into the future to give us hope that one day we will be complete when we see God face to face. This truth should strengthen our faith—we don’t have all the answers now, but one day we will. Someday we will see Christ in person and be able to see with God’s perspective.”[12]
[1] Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 258
[2] Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 261.
[3] The NIV Study Bible, Study Notes (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002) 1793.
[4] The NIV Study Bible, Study Notes (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002) 1793.
[5] The NIV Study Bible, Study Notes (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002) 1793.
[6] Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 259
[7] William Barclay, 1 Corinthians, Daily Study Bible Series, Rev.ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975) 122-123.
[8] William Barclay, 1 Corinthians, Daily Study Bible Series, Rev.ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975) 123.
[9] Paul J. Sampley, “The First Letter to the Corinthians,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. X (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2002) 953-954.
[10] Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 260
[11] Quest Study Bible, notes on v.10 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994) 1585.
[12] Quest Study Bible, notes on v.12 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994) 1585.
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BIBLE TEXT: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (ESV)
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 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. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
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God [What truths about God’s person, activity or character does the text reveal?]
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Lessons/insights
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Apply and obey [How does today’s text apply to me? How will I obey or respond to the truths from today’s text?]
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Prayer