If you’ve ever been to a Christian wedding, you’re sure to have heard the verses in 1 Corinthians 13 read aloud. It’s a beautiful, poetic passage. Written to the Church in Corinth, Paul penned the letter that would become 1 Corinthians in response to some concerns he had after hearing from the household of Chloe that issues had arisen with the church.
Corinth was known as an intellectual center, a shining example of Greek culture and sensibility. Wisdom was highly valued there, and this colored both the values of the city itself and those of the newly created Christian church there. It was also a center of pagan religion, host to 12 or more temples dedicated to Greek gods from Apollo to Aphrodite—and, it was known for its immorality, particularly sexual immorality.
So how did a letter to this particular church become a staple at weddings around the world? Although the passage (1 Corinthians 13:1-13) does beautifully address the type of love celebrated at weddings, its meaning goes far deeper than that. Its popularity as a wedding verse may have even done us a disservice, as it can be easy to think of it only in that context—missing out on the deeper meaning that Paul intended.
It’s About More Than Your Gifts
The first part of the passage addresses the fact that no matter how gifted you might be, if you don’t have love those gifts are used in vain.
Remember that Corinth was an intellectual center that prided itself on achievements, wisdom, and abilities. That made it natural for those who made up the church in Corinth to place great value on abilities and giftings—like the gift of tongues and prophecy. It also made it natural for these new Christians to act in ways that accentuated their “Christian-ness,” bringing attention to their acts of kindness and sacrifice:
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
The word for love that’s used in these verses is “agape,” which is a word that stands for selfless, sacrificial, and unconditional love. The Greeks had words for other types of love: Eros (sexual, passionate love), Philia (friendship), and Philautia (love of self) to name a few. But Agape (as Paul writes in the last sentence of chapter 12) is the highest form of love.
The Corinthians were guilty of using their gifts in a self-serving way, rather than out of genuine unselfish love. Paul admonishes them, telling them that no matter how impressive their spirituality might be, and no matter how sacrificial their giving might look, if they are not doing what they are doing out of love they are acting in vain.
In fact, doing things for the wrong reasons—even good things—doesn’t cut it in the Lord’s eyes. He sees beyond our actions to our hearts, and while our actions might benefit others even when our motives are not good, God judges us on more than what the world sees.
Not only that, but when we act out of selfish ambition rather than in love, even good deeds are reduced to garish, meaningless noise. Have you ever heard a child beating the lid of a pot with a wooden spoon? That’s the sort of harsh, empty noise that good works without love will create. Paul calls it a “resounding gong or a clanging cymbal,” brash and repetitive sound that has no heart or meaning behind it.
What Does Agape Love Look Like?
In the next section of verses, Paul goes on to explain what agape love does—and does not—look like:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Why does the concept of love need to be explained this way? It’s likely that the Corinthians were missing the mark a bit. If you think about the way arrogance can come off, you’ll see why there might have been a need for an explanation as to the nature of love. Boasting, envy, pride, and dishonor are all earmarks of someone who is more concerned about their own image and position than the wellbeing of others. Prideful people are self-seeking, quick to anger, and slow to forgive.
On the other hand, those who are acting out of selfless love are kind and patient, even when things are difficult. They are happy when the truth is being honored, and the love they have for one another leads them to be protective, trusting, and hopeful—over the long haul.
Love Lasts—and Everything Else Pales in Comparison
Wrapping up the passage, Paul becomes almost carried away by his passion. The remainder of the chapter is poetic, beautifully written and profound:
“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Here, Paul points out that the things of this world—even God-given gifts—are temporary and fleeting. While the world may value knowledge, wisdom, prophecy and success, and while those things are of value, they pale in comparison to agape love.
God Himself is love, as 1 John 4:8 points out:
“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
All the things of the world will pass away, but the Love of God will always stand! Everything we value here on earth, except for God’s love, will eventually pass away. When we hang our identities on our gifts, accomplishments, and appearances, we are relying on a temporary and unstable identity—
When we find our identity in God’s perfect love, we find security.
Children don’t have the maturity to realize that there is something far greater and more important out there than self. By nature, children are selfish and lack the maturity to act in a way that benefits others with no concern for their own needs or comfort. It is with maturity that we develop the ability to act in agape love, selflessly giving of ourselves and setting the example of the sacrificial love of Christ.
All of the gifts, joys, blessings and accomplishments that life has to offer are empty and meaningless without love. And even the very best examples we have of agape love here in the world will pale when compared to the astounding, all-encompassing, and everlasting love that awaits us as we spend eternity with Love Himself!
Indeed, the greatest of these is love.
– Christ Revealed