1 CORINTHIANS 13 — THE WAY OF LOVE

Chapter 13 stands between two chapters on spiritual gifts (12 and 14), and it is sometimes read as an independent poem. Its literary beauty is undeniable, and the chapter has a carefully balanced structure: the necessity of love (verses 1–3), the character of love (verses 4–7), and the permanence of love (verses 8–13). But it is not an interruption. It is the heart of Paul's argument. The Corinthians were gifted but loveless: they were proud of their gifts, jealous of one another, and indifferent to the weak. Almost every characteristic Paul ascribes to love is the opposite of a Corinthian failing, which is why the chapter reads as a quiet rebuke as well as a hymn. Paul does not set love against gifts; he insists that gifts must be exercised with love, and that love will outlast the gifts. The chapter is a window into the character of God, who is love (1 John 4:8), and the character of Christ.

The ethic of love described in this chapter represents a distinctive element of early Christianity. The Greek word agapē was rare in secular writing before the New Testament, and Christians gave it a rich meaning drawn from the character of God and the self-giving love of Christ. The practical outworking of this love was visible in the early church's care for the poor, the sick, and the abandoned. Ancient observers noticed it. The second-century writer Tertullian reports that pagans said of Christians, "See how they love one another." Even critics such as the emperor Julian in the fourth century complained that the Christians were outdoing pagans in charity. A movement that began with a crucified teacher and spread across the empire in part because of the quality of love shown by its members offers a powerful testimony to the transforming power of the gospel.