4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV
It is virtually impossible to read these verses without considering Paul’s description of the fruit of the Spirit found in his letter to the Galatian churches.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. – Galatians 5:22-26 ESV
It is important to keep in mind that Paul’s discussion of love in 1 Corinthians 13 follows his discussion of the spiritual gifts. Those gifts, given by the Spirit of God, would most certainly reflect the fruit that He produces, including love. Operating under the Spirit’s influence and displaying a gift He has given, but without love, would be impossible. God is love, and the same is true of the Spirit of God. When we live under His influence, our lives will reflect His loving nature, and Paul describes what that love looks like.
It is patient – it puts up with a lot, including others' offenses against us. It doesn’t seek to get even or enact revenge.
It is kind – it acts benevolently. In other words, it manifests as tangible expressions of kindness and goodness toward others. Even to those who hurt us.
It isn’t envious – the actual Greek word means to “be heated or to boil with envy.” God’s kind of love rejoices with others, rather than getting jealous of what they have.
It doesn’t boast – It is impossible to love like God and grandstand at the same time. When godly love is in operation, it is other-focused rather than self-promoting.
It isn’t arrogant – God’s love requires humility, not pride. It doesn’t exhibit an inflated sense of self-worth.
It isn’t rude – you can’t say you love someone and treat them in a disrespectful or unseemly way.
It doesn’t insist on getting it’s on way – we can know we are displaying godly love when we aren’t out for our own good. His brand of love is selfless and sacrificial.
It isn’t irritable – when the Spirit’s love is operating in us and through us, we won’t be easily provoked. We will have resilience and a resistance to the words and actions of others.
It isn’t resentful – God’s kind of love doesn’t keep score or maintain a list of wrongs suffered, and it most certainly doesn’t seek to get even.
It doesn’t rejoice at wrongdoing – when we love like God does, we won’t approve of others’ sins, and we won’t find pleasure in sinning ourselves.
It rejoices with the truth – godly love is overjoyed when others do what is right. It allows us to rejoice alongside them, rather than being jealous of them.
It bears all things – Spirit-empowered love can endure all kinds of people and circumstances.
It believes all things – when we love as God does, it allows us to maintain our faith in all kinds of situations and among all kinds of people.
It hopes all things –godly love doesn’t become hopeless or defeated by what happens to us in this life. It remains hopeful in the face of difficulties.
It endures all things –despite what others might do or say, godly love patiently and persistently weathers the storms of life without giving in or giving up.
It never ends – the kind of love Paul is describing is long-lasting, not short-lived. There will never be a time when godly love becomes non-existent or non-essential.
But spiritual gifts have a shelf life; they will not always be needed or necessary. When Christ returns and establishes His Kingdom on earth, there will be no more need for prophecy, tongues, or the gift of knowledge because all will be fulfilled. God’s plan will be complete. But love will prevail and persist, because God is love. The permanence of godly love is why it should have preeminence in our lives, and when we operate under the Spirit’s control, we will display the characteristics of God’s love. Our spirituality will be marked by love, rather than envy, deceit, or provocation.
Godly love unites and never divides. It always flows out and never turns in on itself. Paul describes a life in which God's love flows through us to others. The apostle John provides a much-needed reminder of love’s source and its significance in our lives.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. – 1 John 4:7-12 ESV
It is God’s unwavering and undeserved love for us that should motivate our love for others. Jesus told His disciples, “As I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34 ESV). All those who have been the recipients of God’s love, as expressed through the gracious gift of His Son, should reciprocate by passing that love on to others. According to John, claiming to love God while failing to love others is not only hypocritical but also a sin.
If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? – 1 John 4:20 NLT
If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him? – 1 John 3:17 BSB
According to Paul, godly love is not only practical, but it’s also practicable. With the Spirit’s help, we can love others as God has loved us because His brand of love is tangible and applicable to everyday life. But our love is more than beneficial to others; it’s educational. When we love one another as Jesus has loved us, we prove to the world that we are not only His followers, but that we are His agents of reconciliation to a lost and dying world.
“A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35 BSB
Father, if we truly learned to love as we have been loved, the world would sit up and take notice. That kind of love is in short supply and desperately needed. And You have not only commanded us to love well, but You have provided the means to do so through the gift of Your Spirit. We have the power to love and more than enough opportunities to put it into practice every day. So, light a fire in our hearts so that we might reject selfishness and embrace the selfless, sacrificial love You have showered on us and share it with all those we meet — no matter how undeserving or unloveable they may be. Amen
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.