1 Corinthians 13:4-8

How True Love Is Revealed (13:4-8a).

This definition of love covers all angles. Because it portrays the essentials of love looking from our point of view, it gives us a totally rounded view of what true love is. It thus covers what God's love to us is like. It covers in depth precisely what Jesus' love was like. It covers what our response to Him should be like. It covers how we should behave towards those we love, and especially to our fellow believers. And finally it covers what our behaviour should be like with regard to spiritual gifts, both in their use and misuse. Thus we would need to expound these verses a number of times, and more, if we wished to draw from them the fullness of their meaning. It is primarily a picture of true and genuine godly love, both God's and ours.

1 Corinthians 13:4 a 'Love suffers long, and is kind. Love envies not. Love does not behave conspicuously like a braggart, is not puffed up, does not behave itself disgracefully, seeks not its own, is not provoked, does not take account of evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.'

This is the evidence of true love. Firstly as an overall idea this depicts God's love for those whom He has chosen, although it is not all directly applicable. His love is longsuffering and kind. It is true and righteous. It seeks only our good. He is never like a jealous man or a braggart, nor is He easily provoked. Rather He rejoices in the truth found within us. His love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things endures all thing. It is constant and true. And it will not fail in the end. And it is our consciousness of this love which will enable our true response in love, for it is when we behold His love that we know what love is like.

But this also describes the love that was revealed by Jesus and what God's love for us should produce in our hearts. And that alone fully satisfies all the facets described in the words. And it does so as regards life in general, and as regards spiritual gifts in particular. For it is the attitude of heart described here which is what results in a free and open channel of blessing through which the Spirit can manifest Himself, so that the fruit of the Spirit is love (Galatians 5:22). And there is no doubt that Paul picks his words carefully here as a rebuke to some of the Corinthians, for these failings appear elsewhere in the letter.

The love that is truly from God is longsuffering and patiently enduring. It is kind and compassionate. (Compare here Romans 2:4 for both these ideas). It never feels envy, for it wants others to be blessed. It is not jealous, because it seeks the good of others and delights in their happiness. It rejoices in what others have in their prosperity, unless that prosperity is harmful, and in their blessings and gifts. It does not try to push itself forward or seek credit or admiration for what it does. It is not proud and boastful for its thought is only of others. It never behaves in any way that is unseemly, for it is fully thoughtful and considerate of others, and is clean and pure. It does not seek things for itself, for it is totally unselfish. It does not insist on its own way, it does not constantly demand its own rights, its thoughts are not concentrated on its own advantage. It does not react to provocation, or become irritated. It behaves well even to those who have behaved evilly towards it, for it does not take their evil into account in its response The point here is that it will not let its behaviour towards someone be affected for the worse by the memory of those wrongs. It will, of course, unselfishly keep in mind what people are in making its decisions, for the good of the whole, but it will not allow it to affect personal regard.

It is sad at the bad behaviour of others because it knows what the consequences of that bad behaviour will be for the person concerned, and it gets no joy from their weakness and failure. It wishes well for those who behave badly. It rejoices when the truth is at work because aware that it will bring blessing and deliverance to many. It rejoices when it sees truth operative in men. And it always rejoices in truth however manifested because it knows that in the end truth will help to bring all to rights. It puts up with anything thrown at it, with any insult or bad behaviour towards itself. NEB puts it, 'there is nothing love cannot face'. It covers up in others everything that might badly affect its own response. (Stego can mean to bear, to endure, to cover). It always believes for the best, without thereby being foolish, for it is also thinking of the good of all. It always trusts that God will act in all situations for the fulfilment of His own will, and acts accordingly. It always hopes for that which is best, for what is for the good of all. It endures through thick and thin. We could speak of the tenacity of love. It is unfailing in all its ways, and is itself unfailing. For 'love never fails'.

So is presented in microcosm the full orbed Christian life, the basis of true spirituality, the evidence of God working within, the consequence of walking with Christ, the result of His life being lived through us, the essence of what God is. Without at least the beginning of this springing up in our hearts we cannot call ourselves Christians, for this is the result of God working within us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13), and of our knowing God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:8).

And when it comes down to the question of spiritual gifts exercised in the church that love will be revealed in the same way. It is longsuffering with those who use the gifts unwisely or amateurishly, it is kind in its attitude to such situations and to those involved. It does not envy those who have greater gifts. It does not push itself forward because of the gifts it has. It is not puffed up if it has the greater gifts. It does not use its gifts in an unseemly way, or respond in an unseemly way to the way others use their gifts. When it seeks gifts it does not seek them for its own benefit, but for the benefit of all. It does not allow itself to be provoked, either by what is done or what is said. It does not respond badly because the user of the spiritual gift has behaved badly towards it previously.

It does not rejoice at those whose wrong use of spiritual gifts leads them astray, although it may seek lovingly and in gentleness of spirit to put the situation right. It rejoices whenever the spiritual gifts result in the truth being known and enjoyed. It bears with love every manifestation of gifts whether it approves or not, it believes, unless it has knowledge to the contrary, that those using the gifts are probably doing so with the best intent and reacts accordingly. It hopes and longs that any problems will be sorted out so that the user comes into full blessing. It puts up with and endures even that with which it is sometimes unhappy. Thus it is not always passing judgment on those whose lack of true knowledge makes them immature in using the gifts. And it will always do what it can to help such people, for it never fails.

This does not mean that such love demonstrates a lack of concern for any misuses, for, where it has responsibility for the control of the church meeting, it will play its full part in controlling the use of those gifts, and will use discernment where it has a duty to do so, but it will always do so compassionately and tenderly, with the thought of the good of all, even the perpetrator, in mind. Otherwise it will leave matters to be dealt with by those responsible in the proper way without passing judgment. So the one who loves ensures the continuation of the use of spiritual gifts while looking to God and the eldership to enable them to be used for the best. That is why Paul later gives the guidance that he does.

And by taking up these right attitudes that love will ensure that the one who is himself revealing that love can himself use his spiritual gifts to the full benefit and blessing of the whole of the church, for his heart will be right and he will be a true channel for the Spirit's blessings.

In contrast some of the Corinthians do envy (1 Corinthians 3:3); do boast (e.g. 1 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 8:2); are puffed up (1 Corinthians 4:6): some of their women do behave disgracefully (1 Corinthians 11:5); they are self-seeking (1 Corinthians 10:24; 1 Corinthians 10:33), and so on. They need to look to their beginnings.

This description of love, which lays it bare to its foundations, must for one brief moment surely cause us to put all else aside, firstly as we bask in God's love for us, and then as we bask in the love that should flow from us to others. But then having done so, we must move on to see its importance and its permanence