![]() In 1 Corinthians 13:8-13, Paul draws to a close. Furthermore, the Spirit helps them to bear all things, to believe all things, to hope in all things, and to endure all things.Īt the same time, love means that they should not envy, not boast, not be arrogant or rude, not seek their own way, not be irritable, not be resentful, and not rejoice in wrongdoing. If the Corinthians are led by the Spirit and informed by the Lord, they can follow examples of love as shown by Christ and participate in his work, rejoicing in the truth. Rather, love is a concrete action that comes with all action verbs, as in 13:4-7: makrothymeo (“to be patient”), chresteuomai (“to act kindly”), zeloo (“to be jealous”), perpereuomai (“to brag”), physiomai (“to be proud”), aschemoneo (“to behave indecently”), zeteo (“to desire”), paroxynomai (“to be upset”), logizomai (“to reckon”), chairo (“to rejoice”), synkairo (“to rejoice with”), stego (“to bear”), pisteuo (“to believe”), elpizo (“to hope”), hypomeno (“to endure”).Īs we see above, seven out of the fifteen action-verbs have to do with what love must do: “To be patient,” “to be kind,” “to rejoice in the truth,” “to bear all things,” “to believe all things,” “to hope all things,” and “to endure all things.” Then, the rest (eight of them) has to do with what love should not do: “Not to envy,” “not to boast,” “not to be arrogant,” “not to be rude,” “not to seek its own way,” “not to be irritable,” “not to be resentful,” and “not to rejoice in wrongdoing.” He does not romanticize it with abstract language. In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Paul describes what love must do or not do rather than what love is. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” Likewise, he goes on to say in 13:2-3: “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. But if there is no love, it is nothing, as he says: “I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” that would hinder community work. Speaking in tongues may be regarded as one of the superior gifts by the Corinthian community. In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Paul speaks in the first-person-singular and explains why love is foremost. This verse must be understood not in terms of kinds of spiritual gifts, as in 12:6-10, but in terms of a different focus of work in the church: “Works of love,” which is “a more excellent way.” In this sense, “greater gifts” ( charisma means a gift or grace) refer to all love-related works, which is the topic of 1Corinthians 13. ![]() However, now he insinuates that there are superior gifts, asking them to “strive for the greater gifts.” And I will show you a still more excellent way.” Readers feel perplexed a bit about this verse because earlier in 12:1-26 he told the Corinthians that all gifts are different yet important. In 1 Corinthians 12:31 Paul says: “But strive for the greater gifts. But we need to put this chapter in the Corinthian context. ![]() 1 Corinthians 13 is considered one of the most frequently-cited chapters.Įven those who do not like Paul, for whatever reason, still love this chapter because love is good.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |