1Corinthians 13:1-7

The Bible Description Of Love

1 Corinthians 13

• The congregation at Corinth was established by the Apostle Paul in about 54 AD.

• Paul had spent about a year and a half at Corinth preaching and teaching the Gospel towards the end of his 2nd missionary journey.

• Paul wrote this letter to the Church at Corinth in about 57 AD from Ephesus while he was on his 3rd missionary journey.

• This congregation was located in one of the most wicked cities in the world.

1 Corinthians 13

• This was also a congregation with a lot of problems that the Apostle addresses in this letter.– There were divisions in the Church.– One man in the Church was committing fornication

with his father’s wife– Christians were taking each other to court– They were offending some by eating meat offered to

Idols– They had turned the Lord’s supper into a drunken

feast.

1 Corinthians 13• I want us to notice the Apostle Pauls solution to the

problem they were having with the Lord’s Supper.• 1Co 11:34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home,

lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.

• The Lord’s Supper was not intended to be a common meal for the fulfilling of hunger.

• These type common meals were not to be a part of the worship of God! They were to be done somewhere else.

• If we eat these meals at Church we are coming together for condemnation.

1 Corinthians 13

• Towards the end of this letter to this Church with all of these problems Paul writes a wonderful description of Love.

• We may wonder why Paul would include this section on love to this Church with all of these problems.

• I believe the answer is simple. True love as defined by the scriptures is the answer to most if not all the problems these Christians faced.

1 Corinthians 13

• Remember what Jesus said when he was asked which was the greatest law?

• Mt 22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

• 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

• 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

1 Corinthians 13

• Mt 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.

• 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

• 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

• Jesus was speaking in particular about the Law of Moses but the principle taught here still applies today.

1 Corinthians 13

• If we love God with all of our heart, soul and mind then we will obey all of His commands.

• Joh 14:15 ¶ If ye love me, keep my commandments.• If these Corinthian Christians loved God as they

should then they will quit involving themselves in these sins and obey Him.

• If we love others as we are commanded to then we will treat them like we want to be treated ourselves.

• Lu 6:31 "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

1 Corinthians 13

• If these Corinthian Christians had loved each other as they should then they would not have been having the problems they were having with each other.

• As we have already mentioned, love was the answer to most if not all of their problems.

• In my opinion this is why Paul includes this great chapter on love in his letter to this troubled Church.

• Let’s begin a verse by verse study of 1Corinthians 13.

1 Corinthians 13

• 1Co 13:1 ¶ Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

• 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

• Paul starts off this chapter describing just how important love really is.

• We learn from chapter 12 that many of these Christians had supernatural gifts.

1 Corinthians 13

• It seems that some of them may have been held in high esteem because of their gifts and others looked down upon because they did not have them.

• He explains to them that all of the supernatural gifts are of no value to them if they don’t have love.

• 1Co 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

• They can do all these wonderful works but without love these works are worthless.

1 Corinthians 13

• He begins in verse 4 a description of how we conduct ourselves when we truly love someone.

• As we study this description we need to be thinking in our own mind “does this describe how I treat those that I love?”

• 1Co 13:4 ¶ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

1 Corinthians 13

• Love suffers long: – are we patient with the ones we love?– Do we snap at them over little things?– Do we fuss and gripe when things don’t get done on

our schedule?• Love is Kind:– Webster’s definition of “Kind”:having or showing a

gentle nature and a desire to help others : wanting and liking to do good things and to bring happiness to others

– Do we have this “gentle nature” when dealing with those we love?

1 Corinthians 13

• Love does not envy:– Are we happy when those we love do well or have good

things happen to them?– Or does it upset us when a brother or sister seems to be

doing better than we are?– We can’t have the attitude of Cain or King Saul and be

pleasing to God.• Love doesn’t “parade itself” nor is it “puffed up”– This is the opposite of envy. When we are doing well

and things are going our way then we don’t flaunt it or rub it in the face of those we love who may not be doing as well

1 Corinthians 13

• Paul continues his description of love in vs 5• 1Co 13:5 does not behave rudely, does not seek

its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;• Love doesn’t behave rudely.– Webster’s defines rude as: not having or showing

concern or respect for the rights and feelings of other people : not polite

– I see this more in the things we may say. – Do we just blurt out what is on our mind without

considering what affect it may have on those we love?

1 Corinthians 13

– How often have the feelings of those we love been hurt unnecessarily by things we should not have said?

• Love does not seek its own.– This is a big part of love.– If we love someone we are looking out for their best

interest and not our own.– How many marriages have failed because one or both

spouses are only looking out for themselves.– This is also known as being selfish.– “I want what I want and I don’t care what you think

about it.”

1 Corinthians 13

• Love is not provoked– If we love someone we will not fly into a rage but

rather will control our temper– How difficult it would be to maintain a healthy

loving relationship with someone who will not control their temper.

• Love thinks no evil– If we love someone we do not immediately think

the worst of their actions– Or assume that their good actions motivated by evil

1 Corinthians 13

• The description of love continues in vs 6• 1Co 13:6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but

rejoices in the truth;– Love doesn’t rejoice when those we love are

involved in sin.– Instead we should be greatly saddened when

those we love choose to disobey God.• Love does rejoice in the Truth– How happy it should make us when those we love

learn and then obey the Truth of God’s Word.

1 Corinthians 13

– I can’t think of anything that should bring a Christian more joy than to hear their spouse, child, parent or anyone that we hold dear have obeyed the Gospel

– This is how the Apostle John felt– 3Jo 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my

children walk in truth.• 1Co 13:7 bears all things, believes all things,

hopes all things, endures all things.• Love bears all things– Sometimes those we love will hurt and injure us.

1 Corinthians 13

– Just as we have hurt and injured those we love on occasion.

– When someone we love injures us in some way then we will bear it patiently and refuse to return evil for evil.

– We will not attack and try to do harm to them in return.

– Even when we are hurt, we should continue to show the characteristics of kindness and looking out for the best interest of those we love.

1 Corinthians 13

• Love also believes all things– If we love someone we are going to believe those things

they tell us until they give us reason not to.– A suspicious and untrusting mind will find a way to destroy

a relationship.• Love hopes all things– We should not give up hope on those we love.– For those who currently living as God would have us to we

hope that they continue on that wonderful path.– For those we love who are living apart from God we

continue to hope for their return to God– That hope is sometimes difficult to maintain.

1 Corinthians 13

• Love endures all things– This is closely related to bearing all things– If we love someone we will be willing to endure all

types of trials and persecutions in order to truly help them.

– When we begin to waiver on this then we need to consider what all Christ endured for us because he loved us.

– Ultimately it is the love of Christ we want to try and imitate as we deal with others

1 Corinthians 13

• Paul points out so many wonderful characteristics of love in these few verses.

• Now that we have studied each of these characteristics lets go back and read thru them and try to incorporate them into our dealings with those who are dear to us.

• 1Co 13:4 ¶ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

1 Corinthians 13• 1Co 13:5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its

own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;• 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;• 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,

endures all things.• All of us fall short in some of these areas from time to

time.• But we need to continue strive to include all of these

characteristics of love when dealing with others• And never be to proud to say we are sorry when we

fail.