1 Corinthians 13:4-13 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 13:4-13. Let’s go!
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
On verses 4-7: In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, one of the most famous passages in the Bible, Paul paints a picture of what love is really like. Since God is love, we can say that 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is a picture of what God is really like. If you ever wonder what God is like, you can think of Him this way:
God is patient. God is kind. God does not envy. God does not boast. God is not proud. God is not rude. God is not self-seeking. God is not easily angered. God keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. God always protects. God always trusts. God always hopes. God always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:8-10 (NIV)
8 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.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
On verse 8-10: To a church in Corinth that tended to glorify and overhype certain spiritual gifts, Paul emphasizes that love is greater than the gifts. Love will last forever, whereas these gifts that the Corinthian Christians tended to hype are only for our time on earth, for when we get to heaven (“when perfection comes” – v10) it will be a whole new ballgame when it comes to the gifts we’ll be able to enjoy.
1 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV)
11 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 childish ways behind me.
On verse 11: Here Paul is encouraging the Corinthian church to leave their childish ways of glorifying and overhyping gifts that will not last while ignoring the one thing that lasts forever, which is love. What can we learn from this? Part of growing up and maturing is leaving our childish ways, whether those childish ways are in relation to how we treat God, how we treat others, or how we see ourselves and what God has entrusted to us.
1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)
12 Now we see but a poor 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.
On verse 12: Earlier in this passage Paul mentions prophecies, tongues and knowledge, which are all spiritual gifts that can seem quite impressive to others. Yet Paul identifies one thing that these gifts all have in common – they are all based on limited understanding, on knowing only “in part” (v12), like seeing a poor reflection as in an unclear mirror (v12). In contrast, one day when we see Jesus face to face, it will no longer be partial revelation or partial knowledge that we will receive, but full revelation and full knowledge. Praise God that what we only know in part today, one day we will understand and know fully in heaven.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
On verse 13: As important as faith, hope and love are, why does Paul say that love is greater than faith and hope? Perhaps it is because where you find love, you find Christian faith and Christian hope. For example, verse 7 says that love “always trusts” (i.e. has faith) and love “always hopes”. In other words, find love and there you’ll find faith and hope as well.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for showing us what true love really is, and also what God is really like. Every day may You make us more and more like You, that we would put our childish ways behind us (v11), and mature into the men and women you made us to be – people who are known for our faith, hope, and love. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
