Spiritual Formation based on 1 Corinthian 13
It
has been said that 1 Corinthians 13
is classified as “the hymn of love” in the New Testament as it is one of the
books with the most discussions of love. It also shows a relationship with
chapter 12 in which Paul addresses people's spiritual gifts while in chapter 13,
he hopes to drown out the Corinthians mounted level of competitiveness that
they hold with one another.
The
Corinthians are pondering on whose spiritual gifts are greater and better than
others to establish some sort of superiority, and so in chapter 13, Paul leads
them to focus on their motives and questions them by saying to them that they
need to love one another, and not just one another, but they should love
everyone else as well because we are all children of God.
This
chapter addresses the connection of our spiritual gifts with the love of God
and our relationship with Him. These actions of love in Chapter 13 are a
representation of the presence of God Himself. And so, Love as described in 1
Corinthians 13 is best understood as a way of life, lived in imitation of Jesus
Christ, that is focused not on oneself but on the “other” and his or her good.
Paul
declares love as the greatest power in a community that seems to be lacking in a
lot of it. This moment is a far cry from an adoring couple standing at the
altar declaring unwavering devotion to each other. The members of the
Corinthian church, to whom chapter 13 is directed, are nowhere near a love
fest.
The Countercultural Love
Countercultural has been
the description of Paul by the action and behaviour produced by love. It talks
contrary to envy, pride, and self-centeredness to the Christians in Corinth which
also speaks to our current generation.
We
are living in a time where we are more of “self” rather than living for each
other, and so to present a way in which a person lives for others would be
highly provocative. Christ must remain the example. In Paul’s description of
love, he gives no space for love to be less than serving others.
The gifts of the Spirit, as useful as they were for the assembled people, were meaningless when executed for individual glory or greedy dreams. Paul’s depiction of the role of love begins by his mentioning two constructive qualities: patience and kindness. Paul follows that by comparing love to negative qualities; he contends that love is not “envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its way; it is not irritable or resentful” (1Corinthians 13:4-5). In the end, Paul states positively that love “rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1Corinthians 13:6-7).
Love is Not Soft
It is believed by many that love is an attitude of ‘niceness’. This means that any dispute, or any firm tone over important matters, and any strong spiritual discipline or disciplining of another is to be regarded as unloving. And so, in some churches, this has even led to the dilution of the Christian faith being preached with little emphasis on holiness, lest some should feel condemned or unloved.
A
modern myth is that love will tolerate all things, promote all things, and deny
nothing. The Bible defines love beautifully for us where God is love, and the
perfect demonstration of that love was shown by Jesus to all of us. In this
chapter, Paul goes further down to earth about love when he said in 1 Corinthians 13:6 that “It
does not rejoice at evil” and so certainly, love is not soft. It will
always seek to build up the other, but that does not mean turning a blind eye
to sin or not calling out evil in another person.
True
love is supremely seen in the gospel of Jesus Christ and will often separate people
and so this is what happens when the gospel has been preached and lived out.
While Paul can urge patience and insist on kindness when he says “Love
is patient, love is kind”, he sees no contradiction between this and
possibly bringing a “rod” to the Corinthian church. In 1
Corinthians 4:21, he writes: “Shall I come to you with a rod of
discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?” Neither
does he see a conflict between God’s love and God’s severe discipline of his
people; Hebrews 12:6, for example,
tells us that “the Lord disciplines the one he loves”. It is critical when
presenting the love inherent in the gospel of Jesus Christ that it is not
reduced to meaningless platitudes and the “smiley face” of yesteryear. Love is
not soft (ZA Blog, 2011).
Christ-like Love
Love
is a way of thinking, acting, living, and a way of being as a person, in other
words being Christ-like. And so, Paul's letter to the Corinthians shows what
this looks like in his own life in the ninth chapter. He said to them that “Though
I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win
as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those
under the law, I became like one under the law (though I am not under the law),
to win those under the law. To those not having the law, I became like one not
having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law),
to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I
have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save
some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its
blessings”.
Love
in its completest and most extensive meaning is the true love of God and man, a
compassionate personality of the mind towards our fellow Christians, growing
out of sincere and fervent dedication to God. He also tells them that they
should imitate him (Paul). The idea of “love,” in contrast with “knowledge” and
grace gifts, is introduced earlier in the letter, in 1 Corinthians 8: “We know that we
all possess knowledge, but knowledge puffs up while love builds up”.
The argument in 8:1 that “love builds up” reminds the reader that when Paul
speaks of “building up” the church or the body, he thinks of love in action in
the community. The focus of love here is thus predominantly the believer or the
church, the understood object of “to build up” (ZA Blog, 2011), (Bible Study Tools, 2022).
Love is the key
In his love poem, Paul makes a decisive shift, diminishing the allure of spiritual gifts and functions. Tongues, prophecy, knowledge, miracles, and servanthood to the point of death are important, but they still do not qualify as the “more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). Love is the key. Because of the popularity of 1 Corinthians 13 in our modern context, it is easy to miss the flexibility Paul exercises concerning the triad of faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Paul underscores the importance of love in 1 Corinthians 13 because it is the spiritual resource the Corinthians want most. Paul describes “the work of love” in both encouraging and bad terms. On the encouraging side, Paul says love is patient, kind, and selfless. It involves truth-telling, courage, constancy, and tolerance (1 Corinthians 13:4-5,7).
Love surpasses our self-imposed status systems and personal preferences. It forms whole and holistic people, who are secure in the well-being of others. Love will not let us down if we truly live in it together (1 Corinthians 16:14) (Luther Semi
Misconception of Love
Paul
exposes the folly of the misguided Corinthian Christians: they were taking
pleasure in entirely temporary things. Will there be prophecy in heaven? Of
course not! (Why not?) Will there be tongues in heaven? Will there be faith or
hope in heaven? No! There will be no need for any of that! For example: what
should we treat with greater honour: honour jewelry or an heirloom diamond?
The diamond, of course, because it is of greater importance and greater
solidity. That’s exactly what Paul is saying about spiritual gifts and love.
Which of those things will last forever? Love. That’s the value.
Now,
we only see some of “the big picture”, but when we are with God, we will
finally be complete and know everything that we could ever know. Paul is saying
that the Corinthian Christians were behaving like children. They had no
perception, they were being childish, and they had no sense of true value and
significance. And so, love is not about one’s feelings or emotions, but rather an
action that should characterize all relationships between the children of God.
And
so, 1 Corinthians would be a great passage to memorize for marriages, parents,
church members, and all relationships. And so, if one could embrace this love realistically
and responsibly as Paul intends, there would be a revolution in our lives, in
our families, and in churches (First Baptist
Church, 2021).
The Practical Application of
Love
A
good context of love is to practice pursuing the needs of others before looking
at yourself. At the forefront of Paul's mind, was the application of this kind
of love happening in the daily communications with the Corinthians in the
church gathering, and relationship to twitches outside. And so, it gives
meaning to the character of God and therefore should also give us meaning. This
love will inform all relationships a Christian has in the church, at home, at
work, and at play. Paul even echoes this sentiment in (Philippians 2:1-11) where he calls on the church to do nothing out
of selfish motivation but instead humbly consider others before oneself. In 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Paul was
addressing the use of gifts when the church assembled. This chapter falls
between chapters 12 and 14, where Paul addresses “the gifts of the Spirit.”
The
personal expression of gifts or abilities had created interpersonal tensions in
the church body, and the Corinthian followers had begun to personalize worship
at the cost of the corporate grouping. They were fascinated with glossolalia,
the Spirit’s gift of “speaking in tongues” (speaking in dialects unknown to the
assembly. Paul recognizes the usefulness of the gifts in the opening verses
starting with the tongues, prophecy and ending with giving to the poor, but he
is quick to note that when done without love they are empty. Paul hoped to
prove that the Corinthian church (which was full of separation and strife)
could change and be a substantially better place if members chose the path of
love (Society of Biblical Literature,
2022).
The Transforming Love
When
we allow God to transform us with his love, he changes our hearts. He removes
all the sin, all the self-seeking, all the guilt, and all the self-loathing. We
become captivated first in our hearts by his great love. Then he begins to work
on our minds. He changes the way we think about things and people. He enables
us to love unconditionally just as he loves! Our attitudes change. Compassion
and forgiveness replace judgmentalism and retribution. When our attitudes and
thoughts change our actions follow close behind (Wolstenholm, 2022).
Paul
states in 1 Corinthians (13:4-8)
that “Love
is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, hopes, and always
perseveres. Love never fails”. And so, a major theme of 1 Corinthians,
therefore, is the transforming power of Christ’s love for the individual and
the church. Paul wrote about the love that is put into practice. More than just
a feeling or emotion, Paul writes less about what love is and
more about what love does.
Transformed by the love of Jesus Christ, this kind of love should be a natural overflow of the believer’s heart and evident in everything they do. The words used in 1 Corinthian 13 to describe love are the kind of active verbs Paul was challenging the Corinthian church to adopt: patience, kindness, humility, forgiveness, trust, hope, and perseverance. Love, Paul argued, was the greatest outward testimony of their inward transformation.
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