Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)

Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)

1 CORINTHIANS 13

1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Application Notes

13:1-13 In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul gave evidence of the Corinthians' lack of love in the utilisation of spiritual gifts; 1 Corinthians 13 defines real love, and 1 Corinthians 14 shows how love works. Love is more important than all the spiritual gifts exercised in the church body--love demonstrates the ultimate purpose of human existence. God's love is the reason this world exists and why he wants to spend eternity with us. We have the wonderful opportunity to love him in return and love others because we understand how love changes everything for good. Great faith, acts of dedication or sacrifice, and miracle-working power produce very little without love. Love makes our actions and gifts useful. Although people have different gifts, everyone can have a huge amount of love. 

13:4-7 Our society confuses love and lust. Unlike lust, God's kind of love is directed outward toward others, not inward toward ourselves. It is utterly unselfish. This kind of love goes against our natural inclinations. It is impossible to have this kind of love unless God helps us set aside our own natural desires so that we can love without expecting anything in return. We can't manufacture this kind of love when we don't feel it. We gain it only through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). We never love perfectly; only Jesus can. Thus, the more we become like Christ, the more love we will show to others. 

13:5 Paul says that love ·is not easily angered.· Sometimes we're irritated or angered by others, and we don't know why. Not all irritability stems from sinful or selfish motives, although the irritable treatment of others is surely wrong. Much irritability comes from a love of perfection, a deep desire for programs, plans, meetings, and structures to be run perfectly. A desire to run things perfectly can erupt into anger at those who get in the way or ruin an outcome. When we get easily irritated, it helps to remember that perfection exists only in God. We need to love him and our fellow Christians, not the visions we have for perfection here on earth. 

13:7 Before we trivialise these words about love by assuming they can easily fit us, we should pause to consider that they actually describe God· s character. These are not sugary claims. They are substantial descriptions of the way God perfectly relates to us. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write a breathtakingly beautiful description of the nature of God. Only God can put his character in us and help us love like this. 

13:9-12 What if we do a poor job of loving others? Paul gives us hope: (1) Right now we have only partial and incomplete knowledge; we can't do anything perfectly (13:9). (2) We are immature, like children, in how we love others. As we grow closer to Christ, we will learn to love others better (13:11}. (3) We lack clarity about the right way to love. Like a cloudy mirror, we don't perfectly reflect Jesus to others (13:12). (For more from Paul on how we are being transformed, see 2 Corinthians 3:16-18.)

13:10-12 When Paul wrote of knowing ·tully, even as I am fully known; he was referring to when we will see Jesus Christ face-to-face. God gives believers spiritual gifts for their lives on earth in order to build up, serve, and strengthen fellow Christians so that they can be better encouraged and equipped to share the love of God with the world. Spiritual gifts are given only to believers. In eternity, we will be made perfect and complete and will be in the very presence of God. We will no longer need spiritual gifts, so they will come to an end. Then, we will have a full understanding and appreciation for one another as unique expressions of God's infinite creativity. We will use our differences as a reason to praise God! Based on that perspective, let us treat each other with the same love and unity that we will one day share. 

13:13 Paul wrote that love endures forever. In morally corrupt Corinth, love had become a mixed-up term with little meaning. Today, people are still confused about love. Love is the greatest of all human qualities and is the very essence of God himself (1 John 4:8). Love involves unselfish service to others. Faith is the foundation and content of God's message; hope is the attitude and focus; love is the action. When faith and hope are in line, we are free to love completely because we understand how God loves. Does your faith fully express itself in loving others? 

Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)