1 CORINTHIANS 13
Read 1 Corinthians 1-13
This passage is one of the best known in the Bible especially among non-Christians. It is often used as the reading at a wedding because it is about love. But we should always be careful about taking a biblical passage out of context. The overall context is the church, so we need to recognise that this is about how we behave in the Christian community. And the chapter before was all about the use of spiritual gifts and if we look ahead to Chapter 14 we see that it, too, is concerned with spiritual gifts. Thus we can see that this chapter about love is in the context of the use of spiritual gifts within the church.
Paul has already established the principle that love builds up (8:2), and he re-emphasised that regarding the use of spiritual gifts in the previous chapter. The point is that when spiritual gifts are exercised in love, and not in the competitive spirit that the Corinthians were accustomed to in their pagan lives earlier, then the community of believers is built up and strengthened. Pagan worship was accompanied by clashing cymbals and gongs, and what Paul is saying is that if you don’t have love in your worship and exercise of spiritual gifts there is nothing else but the discordant notes of these instruments.
The lack of love is a poor witness for the church, it repels people. But worse than that, it repels God. Christian life is characterised by love; love for one another but most of all, love for God, or, as Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind; and love your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27).
Spiritual gifts, and especially the more supernatural ones such as prophecy and speaking in tongues, were evidently highly valued by some in the church at Corinth. This seems to be a hangover from the days of the pagan religions that they followed before coming to Christ. What Paul is saying in this passage is that, yes, these are important, but if they are not underpinned by love, if they are not exercised for the benefit of the church as a whole, then they are useless.
Furthermore, Paul says that all these things which the Corinthians rejoice in and value so highly are not of their own doing, there is nothing for them to boast about. They are gifts from God the Father bestowed by the Holy Spirit and God gives these gifts for a purpose; to build up the church, not the individual. A mature Christian knows this, which is why Paul speaks of putting away childish things when becoming a man. They have moved from the ‘immaturity’ of a pagan religion to the ‘maturity’ of Christianity so they should put away those childish pagan practices.
These ‘elite’ church members might major on speaking in tongues and prophecy, but Paul draws attention to what is more important; faith, hope and love. These are the three important qualities which have lasting value.