Three Ways to Read 1 Corinthians 13

1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most powerful and profound passages of Scripture describing love. In particular, with verses 4-7 the Apostle Paul writes one of the most succinct statements about the nature and activity of love.

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. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

But there are different ways to read this passage, and let me suggest three different ways that can be helpful for us. We can read these words as exhortation, as prayer, and as encounter.

1 Corinthians 13 as Exhortation

The most straightforward way to read this passage, particularly in light of the entire letter of 1 Corinthians, is as exhortation. Paul is calling the believers in Corinth to reflect God’s love in their love and relationships. Paul tells the Corinthians, and through them us, that this sort of love is to increasingly be active in who we are and how we act. Love is to become the developing distinctive of the individual Christian and the Christian community. And so, we can read these verses as an exhortation that that questions us or searches through us. We can let the God search our lives in this way: 

Are we patient? Are we kind? Do we envy? Do we boast? Are we proud? Do we dishonor others? Are we self-seeking? Are we easily angered? Do we keep no record of wrongs? Do we delight in evil, or do we rejoice with the truth? Is it true that we always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere?

Consider with me our real character the last day or week. Ponder with me our most important relationships and those we interact with daily. How do our attitudes, words, and actions reveal our love or lack thereof? 

1 Corinthians 13 as Prayer

Maybe, if you’re like me, after letting God search through you with that text, you find that you need great help. Perhaps there are specific things you or I have done or failed to do that we need to confess as sin to God and ask Him to grow us.

We aspire to the sort of love described in 1 Corinthians but often fall short. Outside of grace this can be utterly defeating. But inside the gospel, inside the grace of God found in Jesus Christ, we find that God meets us in our failure and grows us there. We are stretched by God to become more like God, better image-bearers of God as we run into our limitations. For it is there that God wants to teach us, to train us, to develop within us a love that increasingly reflects divine love. In light of that, perhaps it is good to read the words of 1 Corinthians 13 more like a prayer:

God, make us patient. God make us kind. God set us free from envy, from boasting, from pride. God help us not to dishonor others or be self-seeking. God help us not to be easily angered and to keep no record of wrongs. God, deliver us from delighting in evil and grow us to rejoice with the truth. Based in Your love, God, help us to always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere.

1 Corinthians 13 as Encounter

All of this leads us back to an encounter with the God of the Bible revealed in Jesus the Crucified Messiah. The Greek word agape used in this passage, while not entirely unique to the Bible, is radically deepened in its meaning by Paul. Disconnecting love from the prevailing cultural notions of his day rooted in emotional, ecstatic, or sexual experiences, Paul reinterprets love as the force that leads God to break into earth with the stamp of heaven. This divine love is utterly focused on the good, the regard, and the welfare of others. 

Based on what we see throughout 1 Corinthians, Paul offers here a distinctly Christological definition of love. We see what true love is, Paul suggests, through Jesus the crucified Messiah. And through Jesus the crucified Messiah we see that self-giving love is the central characteristic of God. In Jesus and in the love described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, we are led into an encounter with God. So, let’s re-read these verses one more time slightly differently:

God is patient, God is kind. God does not envy, God does not boast, God is not proud. God does not dishonor others, God is not self-seeking. God is not easily angered, and God keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Have you and I encountered this sort of God, the God of the Bible, the God revealed in Jesus the Messiah? And if we have encountered this God, have we taken in the character of this God in a personal and transformational way.

Perhaps today we could spend further time reflecting on these words and how they reveal who God is. Perhaps this coming week or two we could let just one phrase from 1 Corinthians 13 per day sink in about who God is and what that means for us. 

1 Corinthians 13 is a Scripture that opens to us in many ways, including these three readings of exhortation, prayer, and encounter. All through it we come to see that love is the central characteristic of the God revealed in Jesus the Crucified Messiah and love is also the developing distinctive of the individual Christian and the Christian community.