THE PORTRAIT OF LOVE – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on September 8, 2019 under 2019 |

Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; September 8, 2019 from 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Theme: Love—when rightly described—is a portrait of Jesus Christ.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

There are lots of portions of 1 Corinthians that deal with unpleasant and difficult things. But I feel particularly blessed this morning. I get to share with you from one of the most wonderful passages in 1 Corinthians. In fact, it’s a passage that gives us the greatest description in all of literature of one of the greatest subjects that we can think of. It’s a passage that I suspect is very dear to many of us here today.

It’s the passage that gives us the Bible’s authoritative definition of love.

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, the apostle Paul wrote these words:

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a).

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These words are almost poetic; aren’t they? But when the apostle Paul wrote them, he wasn’t simply trying to write poetry. The Holy Spirit led him to write these words in order to solve a problem.

Paul had been writing to the Corinthian Christians about their use of the spiritual gifts that the Lord Jesus had given them. These are the special endowments that the Holy Spirit gives to each believing member of Jesus’ church, so that we are enabled by them to bless and serve one another in Jesus’ love. But the Corinthian Christians were misusing these gifts—exalting some gifts above others, and serving themselves with them rather than one another.

And as we saw in our last time in 1 Corinthians, the problem was that they were using these gifts without regard to the essential ingredient of love. Paul wrote to them about a particular kind of love—agape, as the word is in the original language. This word describes a self-giving, self-sacrificing kind of love that seeks the good of the other person at the cost of one’s own personal rights. In verses 1-3, Paul wrote;

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing (vv. 1-3).

Love was the essential ingredient that was missing in their use of the spiritual gifts. Paul wanted to encourage them to let God’s commandment of love become the guiding principle in how they determined which of the gifts were best to use in certain situations—and how best to use them toward one another. And in order for them to do that correctly—in order for them to truly make agape love the guiding priority in their use of the gifts—they needed to know what that love really is.

And so, Paul gives them the authoritative definition of that kind of love that we find in verses 4-8.

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Now; this morning, I would like for us to walk—point by point—through Paul’s beautiful definition of agape love. I would like for us to look at every affirmation that is made in it. But before we do, we need to consider some remarkable things about this passage as a whole.

Do you notice, first, that it gives us a definition of ‘love’ as a thing in and of itself—and not merely a description of people who are behaving in a ‘loving’ way? Paul doesn’t say, “People who are loving are ‘this’ or ‘that’.” Instead, he writes, “Love is ‘this’,” or “Love is ‘that’”.

So often, when the people of this world seek a definition of love, they look to the example of the other people. It’s not necessarily wrong to understand ‘love’, to some degree, by looking at what people do. But the problem is that such a definition cannot be ultimately authoritative. People are fallible; and any definition of this very important thing called agape love that is drawn from fallible people cannot help but—itself—be fallible. We need a truly authoritative definition of agape love; and so, the Holy Spirit led Paul to write these words with respect to love as an objective and absolute thing in and of itself—“Love is ‘this’,” or “Love is ‘that’.” This makes this passage, then, a very bold and authoritative definition that is given to us from above rather than one that we come up with by merely looking at ourselves.

A second thing that’s interesting to notice—although you can’t see it in the English translation—is that it is speaking, not just any ol’ agape love; but rather of ‘the’ agape love. The word agape is mentioned four times in this passage; and each time, it is prefaced with the definite article. It is not simply a description of agape; but rather ‘the’ agape—not simply a definition of one type of self-sacrificing love among many kinds of potential self-sacrificing love, but rather ‘the’ self-sacrificing love that is the standard of all. It is a description of the ultimate agape love—the true agape love—the agape love that has its source in God Himself.

That’s important to notice; because that means that this description isn’t meant to flatter us; but rather to teach us and inspire us. When we read it carefully—and let it speak to us as we should—it shows us where we have fallen short in our own expressions of love to one another. It certainly inspires us; but it also—in a way—rebukes us because it shows us how we may not be exercising our ministries to one another in the body of Christ in the way we should. It convicts us at the same time as it instructs us. Let’s agree together, though, to let that personal sense of conviction happen. Let’s let the Holy Spirit show us through this definition how He wants us to repent and change in our love toward one another.

And there’s a third thing that I would like to point out to you about this description of love. It’s the most important thing of all for us to know about it. And that is that it is—above all else—a picture of Jesus.

You see; we cannot measure up to this definition of agape love in our own power. If we were to try to look over this list, and then develop our own ‘agape love self-improvement program’, we will fail. But if you consider this definition of love carefully in the light of the rest of Scripture—and especially the Gospels—you make a wonderful discovery. You find that it is really a description of the Lord Jesus Christ in action. He is the one who loves us in all these ways; and He does so perfectly. Agape love—when rightly understood in the ways that this passage defines it—is nothing less than a portrait of Jesus Christ Himself.

This means, then, that the more closely-aligned we are with Jesus Christ—the more dependent we are upon Him, and the more we let Him live His life in and through us, and the more we faithfully walk in His footsteps and follow His example; and the more we depend upon His grace—then the more we will really be loving one another in the ways that Paul describes in this passage.

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So then; how does the Holy Spirit lead the apostle Paul to define love in this passage? What does ‘the’ agape love look like in action?

Paul tells us, first, “Love suffers long”. To ‘suffer long’ means to be patient. Literally, the word itself means to be ‘far off from anger’. It means to have a ‘long fuse’ with people. Sometimes, we are rather ‘short-fused’; aren’t we?—especially when we feel inconvenienced or imposed upon. We easily get impatient with people. But true agape love doesn’t get impatient with others. Such impatience is actually an expression of too much self-love.; and the true love that Jesus exemplifies to us is one that is willing to sacrifice self for the needs of others.

The Lord Jesus demonstrated this kind of ‘long-suffering’ love perfectly. There was a time when He received some sorrowful news. John the Baptist had been put to death. Jesus called His disciples to Himself; and they went away for from the demands of ministry in order to have some quiet time. They needed some time away in the light of this terrible and grievous news. But when Jesus and His disciples arrived at the place of rest, they found that the multitudes had gotten word that He was there, and had gathered together to meet Him. And the Bible tells us, in Matthew 14:14, that when Jesus saw the multitudes, “He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.” That’s how our Lord loves people. He is never angry or impatient with the way that the needs of people imposed upon Him. He never expresses that they are imposing on Him. He loves them with long-suffering and patience. So should we.

Paul goes on to tell us that love “is kind”. It is gentle in its manner; and is not harsh with people. We sometimes talk about showing ‘tough love’ to some people; and there certainly may be a place, at times, for firmness. But I suspect that many times, it’s not ‘tough love’ we’re really showing—but rather, just ‘toughness’.

Jesus was gentle and kind in the way He showed love to people. Remember how kind He was to the woman who was caught in adultery? Others were ready to stone her. She was a guilty sinner. She was humiliated and ashamed and traumatized. But Jesus protected her from her accusers. In John 8, when they were all gone, He asked if anyone was left to accuse her. And when she said no, He told her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11). How gentle He was toward her! Jesus loves people—even sinful people who are brought to shame by others—with tenderness and kindness. May we love others more like He loves them!

Paul goes on to tell us that “love does not envy”. And perhaps, when Paul wrote these words, he had the Corinthians very specifically in mind. Many of them were envious of one another’s spiritual gifts, and were jealous of each other’s ministries. To be jealous of others is the very opposite of agape love; which is a love that seeks the blessedness of others. I think here of how free from any envy or jealousy our Lord is with us. He holds nothing back for Himself; but freely gives all that He has to us. Did you know that in John 17, when He prayed to the Father for us, He said, “And the glory which You gave Me I have given to them …” (John 17:22)? Think of that! He is the Possessor of all glory; and yet He withholds none of His glory for Himself. He shares all of His glory with us; so that we will be glorified together with Him forever! How completely free from all envy and jealousy our Lord is in His love for us! We need to be like Him—with love free from all jealousy and envy—in the way that we love others.

Paul goes on to say that “love does not parade itself”. Other translations have it that love does not “brag” or “boast”. To seek to draw attention to ourselves, or to seek the applause of others, is the very opposite of the others-centered focus that characterizes true agape love. Agape love doesn’t draw attention to itself—not even in order to show everyone else how ‘sacrificially loving’ it is. Jesus did not behave this way in His love toward people. He would often withdraw from the crowds that wanted to applaud Him. He testified that He was “meek and lowly of heart” (Matthew 11:29).

And along with this, we should also notice that love “is not puffed up”; which means that it does not inflate itself with pride or try to make itself out to be more than it is. Just think of the great example the Lord Jesus sets for us in the way that He loved us. In Philippians 2:5-11; the apostle Paul writes;

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:5-8).

Far from parading Himself or inflating Himself in pride, our Savior—the Son of God; the King of glory—went to the lowest possible level in humbling Himself for us. That’s how we should love one another.

Paul says that true agape love “does not behave rudely”. Sometimes, we think that the more familiar we are with others in our love for them, the more careless we can be in our conduct around them. But Paul says that true love does not behave in a way that is ‘unbecoming’ or that is ‘ill-mannered’. I don’t think, of course, that this means we have to be overly concerned with the rules of etiquette. Those rigid rules can, themselves, be rather unloving! Instead, I believe this simply means that when we are truly loving other people as we should, we are courteous to them and are thoughtful in our conduct toward them. It means that we behave with sanctified ‘good manners’ toward others; because to do so is loving toward them. It simply means that we behave in a way that is consistent with true love and true respect. It means that we treat the one we love with a sense of their God-given dignity.

The Bible tells us that, as our Lord walked upon this earth, He “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). If I may put it this way, Jesus was truly “gentlemanly” toward others. He was never a slave to ungodly customs, of course; but He was also never rude or insensitive toward people. And if we are loving people as Jesus did, then we too will have a reputation for behaving properly toward others—living as people who grow in favor with God and men.

Very much in keeping with this, Paul says that love “does not seek its own”. The Bible commands us, “Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being” (1 Corinthians 10:24). In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul wrote, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” It is the opposite of agape love to place one’s own interests above that of others. In showing love toward us, the Lord Jesus did not seek that which was His own; but freely gave up His all for us. We’re told to love each other as He did;

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Paul also says that agape love “is not provoked”. The word that Paul uses here basically means to be made “sharp” or “swift” toward someone. The New International Version has it that love is not “easily angered”. And you know how this can be; don’t you? You can do the things that love calls for—but do it with a bit of an attitude. A little rolling of the eyes. A little ‘sigh’. A little muttering under the breath. A little griping about it. A little snippiness. I’m very guilty of this, I’m afraid. Sometimes we can spoil God’s desire to bless us, in our otherwise good work of love, by allowing ourselves to be ‘provoked’ in our spirit while we’re doing it. True love does not do this. James 1:5 tells us that our Lord graciously gives to all “liberally and without reproach”. He never made people feel bad for coming to Him for anything that they needed. Let’s seek to be more like Him in this.

Paul goes on to say that love “thinks no evil” toward the one being loved. If I am truly loving toward someone, I don’t keep an accurate, up-to-date accounting of the wrongs they may have done to me. I don’t rehearse in my mind all their faults and recollect all their failures.

We need to understand this carefully. This does not mean that we ignore evil as its going on. Our Lord taught us to carefully and faithfully deal with unrepentant sin in one another’s lives. But once that sin is repented of and put in the past, we are to forgive and forget and move on. Jesus even taught us to be ready to forgive 70×7 times; and not continue to hold the past against one another. We are truly obligated to do this; because in love, this is how Jesus has treated us. As the Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). If this is how He loves us, then it’s how we ought to love one another.

Now; I believe that the next two items are meant to be understood together. Paul says that agape love “does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth”. And I also believe that this is something that speaks very especially to the times in which we’re living. We are often told today that love means putting away all concepts of ‘sin’ or ‘iniquity’, and to be completely accepting whatever someone wants to do. But this is not true love at all. True agape love always seeks God’s very best for the one who is being loved; and such love, therefore, can never ‘rejoice’ in someone doing that which God says not to do. Rather, Paul puts the matter in an unusual way in the original language; and says that love “’rejoices-with’ in the truth”. We might translate the idea in this way: “Agape love rejoices right alongside the truth of God’s word.” It never rejoices in the kind of things that made it necessary for our Lord to go to the cross; but instead always rejoices in that which the cross was meant to accomplish.

Our Lord did not love us in a way that set the truth aside; but rather, only in a way that accomplished the Father’s saving will for us. As it says in 1 John 4:9-11;

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:9-11).

Paul goes on to say that love “bears all things”; and this actually speaks of the idea of covering something up, and of keeping to ourselves that which it is not necessary for others to know about one another. Love doesn’t gossip. Instead, as the Bible tells us, “He who covers a transgression seeks love” (Proverbs 17:9). Doesn’t Jesus do this for us? I love what it says about Him in Micah 7:19; that He casts all our sins “into the depths of the sea”. And there’s no fishing it back up to show it to others. May we love one another in that way!

Paul also tells us that love “believes all things”. This means that, when we truly agape love someone, we believe the best about them—and are not skeptical about God’s prospects for them or His promises toward them. We whole-heartedly believe in what God can do for them—even when they struggle and fail. Do you remember what Jesus told Peter, just before Jesus went to the cross? He knew that Peter would deny Him—that Peter would fail. But He told him;

“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:31-32).

Think of that! “… when you have returned to Me …”! Jesus loves us, not just with a view to what we are right now, but with a view to what He will make us to be. We should love each other with a love that ‘believes all things’ that Jesus can do for each other.

Paul says that love “hopes all things”. We may not be much to look at right now; but we—as fellow believers in Christ—are destined for eternal glory. True agape love doesn’t droop its shoulders in despair over one another’s faults and imperfections; but rather remembers the transforming power of Jesus in one another’s lives and ‘hopes’ all things with a sure and confident expectation. We’re told that this is how Jesus loves us. We’re told in Ephesians 5 that He

loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27).

And if we’re loving each other as we should, we will be loving each other with that same kind of expectation of hope for one another.

Paul goes on to say that love “endures all things”. This speaks of how true agape love resists the temptation to give up on one another. We don’t quit loving when loving is hard to do. We remain true to our commitment to one another. We stay faithful to one another. This is how Jesus loves us; because as Paul wrote, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

And finally; Paul says, “Love never fails”. Do you know why it will never fail? It’s because, as it says in 1 John 4:8, “God is love.” Agape love is the essence of God’s own being; because our God is triune. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And these three divine Persons exist forever in a relationship of eternal love. Love can never fail, because love is what God Himself is in His essential being.

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Now; let’s replace the word “love” in this passage with the word “Jesus”. Tell me; does this ring true to you?

“Jesus suffers long and is kind; Jesus does not envy; Jesus does not parade Himself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek His own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Jesus never fails”

Of course it rings true! That’s how our Lord behaves. This description of love that Paul has given us is nothing less than a description of how Jesus Himself loves us. It is a description of what Jesus Himself is like. And so; how is it that we can show such love for one another? It’s by letting Jesus live His life in and through us. As Paul put it in Galatians 2:20;

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

Paul’s words are really nothing else but a portrait of Jesus’ own love. By drawing close to Him, then, may we live in this world as copies of His portrait of love toward others.

EA