1 Corinthans 13

The hymn of love in 1 Corinthians 13 may be the single most exquisite composition in the New Testament. It’s appearance in 1 Corinthians is startling by way of contrast, for no church gave less evidence of love than the Corinthian church, which was rife with strife, lawsuits, schisms, jealousies, immoralities, and pride. If any church needed teaching on love, it was Corinth.
Students of this chapter generally see a three-fold division. In vv 1– 3, we learn about love’s necessity; in vv 4–8, the theme is love’s fruit; in vv 9–13, Paul concludes stressing love’s permanence. “A study of the 13th chapter of First Corinthians,” wrote G. Campbell Morgan, “must inevitably produce in all of us a sense of failure. If this indeed be love, how far we come short.” And yet, we thank God for what little we do know of love’s value, virtues, and victories. It’s curious that the King James Version used the word charity instead of love, especially since older versions, such as the ones by Tyndale and Cranmer, used the word love. The KJV transliterated the Latin word for love—caritas—rather than translate the Greek word agapē. The word charity, I think, impairs the force of Paul’s message; it doesn’t rise to the height of Paul’s argument. Charity suggests a kindly, benevolent interest in others—which is good but falls far short of the ardent, active, and energetic portrait of love Paul describes. The love of 1 Corinthians 13 is kind and benevolent, but it is much more. It’s a love that suffers, hurts, and endures heartbreak for the sake of the one love. A love that is like the love Christ had for us. ~Kenny Chumbly