CCC #7: 1 Cor 13 - The Love Chapter - Is Not Only About You
The Love Chapter is Describing God - and the Love He has Gifted Us - It is Not a List of Requirements.
(All quoted scripture is from the BSB unless otherwise noted.)
As requested by a reader, I am working on a study of 'faith'. As you might imagine, it is a big topic and I want to do it justice. Also, my personal life is in hyper-mode right now, so there simply is not a lot of time. Thus, as I am working on it, some shorter thoughts may come along for me to share first.
I have been wanting to write about the topic of 1 Corinthians 13 being about God for awhile, as I think it is so important. But, the Spirit made it easier on me as I received one of my daily emails that covers it nearly perfectly. So, I wanted to share it word for word.
If I am being picky, I would not use the word 'heart' like he does. I believe our new heart, as described in scripture, is already established in truth. It is our minds that need to catch up to our hearts and be renewed. But that is really picky, many use heart as a synonym for mind. But, I must point out that scripture differentiates these two.
On the main topic, he hits it out of the park. For most of my life, when I read 1 Corinthians 13, I was taught and thought that it was a list of requirements for me to strive to meet. I treated it like old testament law. Of course, this caused me to use flesh power to try and do it, and I failed spectacularly. But 1 Corinthians 13 was never primarily about me - and having this mindset was destructive.
God Is Love
I finally realized that 1 Corinthians 13 is describing God, who's very being and essence is love, and that massively changed my perspective. There is much scripture that describes God's attributes - like God is all knowing or omniscient. However, there are only a few phrases or ideas in scripture that describe God's being and essence. And LOVE is one of them.
God's attributes flow from His being and essence. An all powerful God who's essence is love will demonstrate that power differently than another being who has power, but who's essence is not love. We see this constantly in history and current events.
Thus, if you want to know God at His essence, then 1 Corinthians 13 is one of the best places to start - as the author I am about to quote makes clear. He does a fascinating thing by replacing the word ‘love’ in the passage with “your heavenly Father”. Since God is love, this is entirely appropriate!
Meditate on this concept and each description. Consider the truth of this idea. How does that impact your view of God and the gospel?
Sovereignty Through the Lens of Love
One of the ideas I have been wrestling with many years, but more in depth recently, is God's sovereignty. Do we have a human perspective on that or are we following scripture? In a human way, sovereign means “absolute power”. From a human perspective, a sovereign gets their way no matter what. Is that God's type of sovereignty?
I don't have a definitive answer yet, but 1 Corinthians 13 gives us a clue. In the middle of verse 5, Paul writes that “love is not self-seeking”. Other translations say “does not demand or seek it's own way”. Remember, God is love.
As the author does that I'm about to quote, replace love with “your heavenly Father. “Your heavenly Father is not self-seeking or does not demand His own way.” Interesting. Yet, God does have a plan and His plan does happen in His timeframe. This He has promised. He also cannot break His promises. These ideas must be wrestled with.
Christ was prophesied and His death, burial, and resurrection happened. Yet, love does not seek it's own way. I will let you ponder on that one. No matter what, we truly have an awesome God. He is love. Whatever He does, it is truly always out of love. He is not selfish, He does not seek His own way. Fascinating.
God Does Not Have One Standard for Us and Another for Himself
The author makes the above statement about love, but I wanted to briefly comment on this for everything! Sometimes it feels like when we are contemplating who God is, we treat Him as if He expects us to behave better than Himself. This is a tragic error.
God is goodness. He is the standard. He is never less than any standard scripture lists for us. This is why we need to have our spirit connected to His Spirit in order for us to be good. The new creation is the only way to be good and holy, and any goodness we have comes from that source. This is the essence of the gospel. Everything else is basically fluff.
God cannot be anything other than good. Thus, this is a limitation on Him set by His very essence, being, and identity. Consider this, it is important. For example, God cannot lie. God does not break His own laws, because those laws are a weak fleshly human way to portray how God behaves. God doesn't give Himself loopholes.
As Christ demonstrated, God keeps His own Law perfectly. It is who He is. This is God we are talking about. You can take it as truth that He meets every standard of goodness. This is why we must learn to depend upon Him and the new creation He wrought within us to behave like the children of light we truly are.
Your Heavenly Father is Love
Here is the email I received from Ed Elliot called Spiritual Morning Coffee about 1 Corinthians 13. Meditate on this, it will impact you.
“When most believers read 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, commonly referred to as the “Love Chapter,” they often feel somewhat condemned or guilty when they compare it to their own walk of faith. Some believe they have fallen short of what God expects of them and this leads to feelings of hopelessness and despair.
Let's take a fresh look at “The Love Chapter” from a different perspective and allow the Holy Spirit to show us something exciting and new that we may not have seen before.
First, let me point out a few very important facts that we must keep in mind while reading this passage. In 1 John 4:8, it tells us that God is love. Love is not just what God does but it is who He is, His very essence and identity. We know that 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 is a definition of how love works or is expressed. So if God is love and the apostle Paul is teaching us how love is expressed and functions, it should be fair to say that this is how God, who is love, is treating us 24/7. God does not have one standard of love for Himself and another standard for us. The love described in 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 is God's kind of love. We are required to walk in that kind of love because we are to be like God.
With that in mind, let me help you see a truth that will empower and transform your walk of faith. I am going to tweak this chapter a little to help emphasize the point by replacing the word “love” in the text with “Your Heavenly Father.” Read it slowly and keep in mind this is how God is treating you at this very moment.
Your Heavenly Father endures with patience and serenity. Your Heavenly Father is kind and thoughtful and is not jealous or envious. Your Heavenly Father does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. Your heavenly Father is not rude; He is not self-seeking. He is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; Your Heavenly Father does not take into account a wrong endured. Your Heavenly Father does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. Your Heavenly Father bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. Your Heavenly Father never fails [He never fades nor ends]. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 AMP)
When you begin to meditate and embrace this biblical view of how God loves you, it will help you experience the reality of His love that He has always had for you. Let's not forget; it was shed abroad in your heart when you first believed, and it hasn't left you, according to Romans 5:5.
1 John 4:19 tells us that we love God because He first loved us and our ability to love Him comes when we can receive His love first. You cannot give what you do not have, and you cannot lead or bring others into an experience that your heart does not believe is true. Fear can modify your behavior but only love can change your heart.
I would encourage you to copy the above-tweaked passage; keep it with you during the day, and read it a few times daily as a reminder this is how God is treating you right now. Watch what happens in your heart and emotions as your heart gets established in this awesome truth.”
How did reading that passage in that way impact you? I know it impacted me greatly. As always, would love to read some comments if this impacted you. This is just so profound. Even though I realized this was mostly about God many years ago, putting it this way was quite a revelation.
The enemy loves to try and mar the face of God. It is his main objective. And as he proved when he tempted Christ, he will use scripture in his schemes. He will use incomplete old testament revelation about God to tempt us to doubt God's goodness, or think it is a fake goodness - that God has a double standard - one for us and then one for Himself.
He uses religion, “-isms”, sermons, books, etc., in his attempts to mar the face of God for humanity. Unlike God, who takes the bad the world dishes out and turns it for good, the enemy uses good things like scripture to try and harm our view of God. We must take great care to rightly divide the truth in order to avoid these schemes.
Of course, as John 1 and Hebrews 1 makes clear, we have a clear standard to judge all previous scripture revelation: Jesus Christ. What does the sovereignty of a God who does not seek His own way look like? The cross!
Romans 5:8 - “But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
The Trinity is not schizophrenic. The Father is love; the Son is love, and the Holy Spirit is love.
The author of Hebrews goes out of his way to indicate in chapter 8 that “the Lord” and in chapter 10 that the “Holy Spirit” will forgive the iniquities and remember their sins no more of those who have faith in Christ through the new covenant.
He wanted his audience to know that the Trinity is in total agreement because they are the same being and essence. In the same way, one manifestation is not less 'LOVE' than the rest.
God Is Love
God is ultimately like the description above. He is, of course, far more than human words can describe even in scripture; however, He is never less than that description of love in 1 Corinthians 13. We must allow this truth to impact our view of Him in all things.
I have written enough, I don't want to take away from your meditation on the adjusted passage above. Please go back and read it. As Ed says, copy it and read it multiple times every day. I pray along with Paul that God would:
“…strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love, will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. - Ephesians 3:16b-19
For most of you, Christ does dwell in your heart by faith. You have already been strengthened in your “inner being”. You are rooted and grounded in God's love (Romans 5:5). That is the foundation you have been given by the Holy Spirit through your great salvation.
Now, I hope and pray, this meditation on 1 Corinthians 13 will help with the rest - knowing and growing in that love that resides within you. Only then will you be filled with the fullness of God every single day. And that is a marvelous thing!
Walk in love and light, they are your inheritance. Open the treasure box! God is love - and He has given His love to you - what a treasure indeed.