Paul's Presentation Of Love example essay topic

The Theme of Love in 1 Corinthians 13: Content and Technique What is love? Is it a warm, fuzzy feeling- a pleasant sensation, which to experience is a matter of chance, something we 'fall into' if we are lucky? This definition may not be accurate but it seems to be the idea our society gets from the media today. If nothing else, the endless numbers of movies about happy and tragic love stories we watch and the hundreds of trashy love songs we hear every day prove that people today are starved for love.

Yet, how many of us can claim to really know what true love is? While some people seem incapable of receiving love, others have trouble giving it. This could be because we have been led to believe love in the romantic sense (Eros) only. Therefore, when it comes to the topic of love, most people would just try to seek the right object to love - or to be loved by. At the end of the day, if we are honest with ourselves we realize that often to us love is not much more than self-gratification. What really matters now is how it makes us look and feel good.

Sad, but it's true. So then, what is love really about? 1 Corinthians is a letter written by the apostle Paul. It is specifically addressed to the church in Corinth whom he had founded during an eighteen-month visit there. This was a young church full of energy but lacking in love, wisdom and sound judgment.

Paul was concerned about their division and their constant arguing. Tucked between two chapters on spiritual gifts in the church is a description of 'real' love. In chapter 12, Paul gives evidence of the Corinthians' lack of love in practicing spiritual gifts. Chapter 13 defines real love; and chapter 14 shows how love works.

Paul interrupted himself by saying, .".. eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way" (12: 31). Then he explained how love is more than a feeling - he spoke of what love does and doesn't do, what it endures, and how it lasts. Paul's presentation of love is without sentimentality, sensuality and sexuality. He describes a love that is pure, holy and divine in nature; as expressed in the verse, "For God so loved the world... ".

(John 3: 16). This unconditional love or 'godly love' is embodied in the Greek term 'agape' which means either God's love for Man or Man's love for God. Through 1 Corinthians 13, Paul gave us the most original description of love. More than that he also shows us the noblest object of desire; the ultimate gift to covet. He does this by illustrating "the values of love in the first three verses. Then, ... he shows the 'virtues of love' in verses 4 to 7, ending with the victories of love (vs. 8-13) " (Morgan, pp. 161,162).

Love contrasted In the first three verses of this chapter, Paul begins by contrasting love with other things that the Corinthians in those days regarded highly. "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal" (vs. 1). He uses the example of the gift of 'tongues' which the Corinthian church possessed (or were seeking) so they could easily relate to his message here. Paul was basically highlighting the fact that "tongues without love leave only a hollow reverberation" (Blomberg, 1995). We know why. Many of us have come across people who are very convincing in their speech, they are able to play with our emotions; they make empty promises to persuade us to act in their favour.

They are eloquent, but the saying 'action speaks louder than words' rings true. As Paul points out, without love (agape) as our main motivation, we can say great things and yet we are merely like an echo or noisy pieces of brass and tinkling cymbals. Next, Paul refers to the gifts of prophecy, knowledge and miracle-working faith in contrast to love. "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have faith that can move mountains, but not love, I am nothing" (vs. 2). The phrase 'remover of mountains' in those days was common among the rabbis and was one of the titles for a great teacher (Beckham, 2002).

If one was a 'mover of mountains' he is said to be one of 'great faith in God'. It is obvious why Paul uses the examples of great knowledge and faith here to highlight the importance of love. The Corinthians probably held all these gifts in high esteem and it was dangerously easy for someone then to prophesy, teach and work miracles without having the right attitude of loving-kindness. Therefore, Paul again reminds us that even if we possess the greatest gifts but our heart lacks love, we are 'nothing' - not a prophet, nor a teacher but 'nothing'. His use of this word is very appropriate because it is simple, direct and is effective in stating his point. From the gift of knowledge and power, in verse 3 Paul moves on to use the acts of charity and sacrifice to illustrate the value of love.

Paul maintains that even in giving "all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames", without love, one "gains nothing". Instead of the body being burned, some translations have " that I may glory". Charity is only a small part of love, but the sad fact is that sometimes we give with the wrong motives and we endure outward suffering for the wrong reasons. For example, in Italy today there are statues all over of men who became philanthropists and apparently gave simply so that statues would be built in their honour. Rev. Hurndall, an English theologian said, "Men who give without love, do not give; they INVEST.

It is not a spiritual act; it is a commercial speculation. They invest and expect a large return - a return of distinction or applause from others". Paul obviously witnessed this type of mock charity in the Corinthian church and was prompted to remind them that if a man gives away everything he has, even to the point of suffering a painful death he would still not benefit himself anything if he does not do it out of genuine love. To sum it up, the first part of 1 Corinthians 13 is about Paul's implication that these gifts of the Spirit - prophecy, knowledge, miracle-working faith and charity mean nothing if they are not directed by love in their practice.

Therefore, he contrasts great powers and gifts with something so simple, true and unpretentious yet essential. Thus, in this way, the value of love is shown to us. Love analyzed The second part of this chapter (vs. 4-7) continues with the theme of what love is and what love is not. The tone shifts to a more positive one, compared to the more serious, negative tone in the verses before these. The virtues of love are the highlight here.

First of all, love is "patient, love is kind" (vs. 4). Patience denotes 'long-suffering' and a great deal of endurance which is more towards people than circumstances. Some people may endure, but they " re not patient and kind while enduring. They endure long out of necessity perhaps, but they make sure others know that they are enduring. Genuine love is not only patient, it is also kind. Kindness is about good will and graciousness to others.

It does not repay evil with evil but overcomes evil with love. "Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud". Here envy conveys a strong sense of jealousy which is the opposite of rejoicing with other's happiness. Boasting is closely related to pride. Both care only about the self and seek to assert their own superiority rather than the goodness of others. Continuing on the virtues of love in this chapter, Paul gives us the negative aspects of love in verse 5, .".. not rude, ... not self-seeking, ... not easily angered, ... keeps no records of wrongs".

The Amplified Bible says", Love does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking". Here Paul is saying that divine love (agape) is not selfish. It does not put itself and its own interests first. It does not say things like, "I've got my rights and I'm going to make sure I get them!" Love reacts in a proper manner - with grace, honour, and decency.

By "keeps no records of wrongs", Paul was probably referring to Jesus' instruction to "forgive seventy times seven times", if someone wrongs us. That also means that love does not retaliate with anger or punishes. Evil can have nothing to do with the truth. This is because evil seeks to deceive, to hide while truth is sincere and undisguised. Therefore, Paul says in verse 6 of this chapter "love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth". The idea is that the person delights in hearing evil coming upon others or delights in evil which others do.

As one commentator puts it, "it's much easier to weep with those who weep than to rejoice with those who rejoice", (William Barclay). Sometimes it is tempting to be secretly happy when we hear of bad news about someone we do not like and to have a 'serves-them-right' attitude. However, Paul reminds us that "love rejoices with the truth", and it is happy when others are happy, not when others go wrong. Finally, Paul sums up the enduring qualities of love in verse 7. He uses the repetition of the word 'always' four times, to describe the final four virtues of love.

"Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres". These good and positive descriptions of the characteristics of love serve to show us that "love knows no limits to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope, it can outlast anything" (Philips). It can be said that the love that Paul describes is one with a strong foundation of faith. No matter what happens, it continues to believe in the best of everything. It is not easily disappointed, but it continues to look forward with hope. Our society today may have confused love with lust.

But in this chapter, especially in verses 4 to 7, Paul again states that the love we should strive for is an unconditional love. Unlike lust, this Godly kind of love is directed outwards - toward others, not inwards - toward ourselves. The descriptions of selfless love given here by Paul challenge our attitude towards love. It is such a perfect, ideal concept that invites us to set aside our desires and above all, seek the good of others. This chapter is very appropriate to be addressed to the Corinthian church; not only does it remind them about the importance of having love, it serves as a letter of encouragement to provide direction.

The permanence of love While the second part of 1 Corinthians 13 is about the virtues of love, the third and final part (vs. 8-13) of this chapter portrays the victories of love. Besides that Paul also describes the temporary nature of spiritual gifts. Verse 8 begins with a short and positive statement. "Love never fails". It is wonderful to note that love will not perish, but it is permanent. This is God's kind of love and God is love (1 John 4: 8).

Therefore, love is eternal. Moving on, Paul contrasts permanence of love with the gifts of the Spirit. He says that these will "cease... stilled... pass away". Once again, Paul refers to the gifts of power (as in verse 1) but here he uses them like a backdrop to highlight the permanent nature of love. While love will remain, prophecies, 'tongues' and knowledge will be replaced with better things. They will then no longer be necessary because love brings on greater things in the future.

The following verse describes partial and imperfect knowledge. According to Leon Morris (1976), this verse "probably means that God does not reveal everything, so that the prophet, no less than the sage, gives but a partial glimpse of truth". It could also be interpreted as our knowledge which is not whole; it is incomplete. Hence, the need for prophecy to reveal what is from God. But even prophecy is only partial because we will never fully understand God's ways. "But when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears" (vs. 10).

Here Paul could probably be referring to the gifts of the Spirit as mentioned before and the imperfect compared to the perfection found in heaven because the gifts are for the church. In heaven, these gifts will no longer be needed, as we will then be complete. Both verses 9 and 10 are an introduction to the following verses (11-12) where Paul stressed the idea of immaturity, imperfection, and temporality. To demonstrate this, he uses three illustrations - a child, a reflection and knowledge. Paul refers to childhood as a time a man, I put childish ways behind me". By this he refers to the transition from childhood to adulthood and the change involved.

But he most probably meant the maturity of Christians in Corinth regarding their "present understanding and expression of spiritual things and the perfect understanding and expression he or she will have in heaven" (Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary Vol. 2). The structure of this verse is somewhat similar to that of verse 9 and 10. In both verses, Paul first mentions the partial, imperfect, and immature, then he brings in the idea of perfection and maturity in the later parts. This is to emphasize the different qualities of each aspect. Moving on to verse 12, Paul now uses the reflection on a mirror as a metaphor of perfection because it gives us the picture of a blurry, unclear image. This article explains why- "A mirror in Paul's days was fashioned of polished metal and at best gave a very imperfect reflection, so one saw only indistinctly", (Sunday School Times, October 12, 1965, p. 9).

Although now "we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face". This could possibly mean that our understanding of spiritual things while we are still on earth is limited and unclear. But Paul adds that "then" as in probably heaven, the Christians will see Christ "face to face". The image will then be much clearer than it is now.

The second part of this verse is about knowledge. Paul illustrates the idea of temporality here. As in verse 9, Paul again maintains that all ear? that love does not retaliate with anger or punishes. This is because evil see kst God fully knows us.

Verses 8 to 12 clearly tell us what Paul way trying to say to the Corinthian church. He extols the virtues of love here to remind them that at the end of the day, love is more important than any of the gifts of the Spirit that they were so proud of. Love defended Finally, in the last verse of this chapter, Paul simply but directly concludes by stating the three gifts that will remain eternally: "Faith, hope and love". Faith is the basis and content of God's message.

Even belief in God comes through faith. Hope on the other hand, is the attitude and focus. Without hope, faith would not exist. According to the Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary, "Paul means that trust in the Lord begun in this life will continue for ever and that hope in the Lord begun now will expand and issue into eternal expectation... for eternal existence with Him (cf. Rev 22: 3-5). With faith and hope, we are able to love completely because this love partly comes from an understanding of how God loves us unconditionally.

However, Paul at the end stresses, "The greatest is love". We can see why. Love is the very attribute of God and also one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5: 22). Paul is emphasizing the importance of having love even in the practice of spiritual gifts among the Corinthians. Thus, through illustrating the values, virtues and victories of love, this chapter of Paul's letter is to urge them to seek love as the "most excellent way" (vs. 1).

The message is that having these gifts is secondary to having the right attitude in exercising those gifts.

Bibliography

Blomberg, Craig. The NIV Application Commentary. Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995.
Hagin, Kenneth E. Love: The Way To Victory. USA: Faith Library Publications, 1994.
Morris, Leon. The First Epistle of Paul To The Corinthians. Michigan: The Tyndale Press, 1976.
Peace, Richard. Learning To Love. Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1968.
NIV Life Application Bible Studies: 1 Corinthians. Ed. Lucas, Daryl J., Galvin, James C., Veerman, David R., Berton, Bruce B., Marcey, Mike. Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary Vol. 2: New Testament. Ed. Barker, Kenneth L., Kohlenberger, John R.. The Bible For Today's Christian Woman. Contemporary English Version. Ed. Carolyn Nystrom. USA: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998.
Beckham, Ron. Commentary On 1 Corinthians Chapter 13.9 Sept. 2002 Gregson, John W.
Love-The Greatest Gift Of All Gifts. 9 Sept. 2002 Works Cited Blomberg, Craig.
Morris, Leon. Peace, Richard. Learning To Love. Ed. Ed. Ed. Carolyn Nystrom. Beckham, Ron. 9 Sept. 2002.