1 Corinthians 13:4 Commentary and Bible Study

Then you come to the meat of the passage, and you are now talking about the action of love: how it acts and reacts. ‘Charity suffereth long.’ It patiently bears minor problems in the church. You may have been offended by somebody. Yes, but in the context of life, in the context of our calling and our Christian service, in the context of all that we are called to be and do together, it is nothing; it is a small scratch perhaps to our pride or our dignity: some small offence. Love for the cause will brush it off, overcome it, and forget it. It bears up, it tolerates, it mortifies the angry reaction, the hurt, or the proud reaction, always. It is very slow to resent. You love somebody – and we should love one another, and particularly husband and wife – and you bear with every conceivable aggravation. We think of the Lord’s patience with us, how much you have received, snd it helps you to be ashamed of bad reactions, resentments and foolish things. ‘And is kind.’ Love acts; the Greek word translated kind means it is useful. Love is not just an emotion. It acts, and is always looking for some kind, supportive, encouraging, peacemaking thing to be done. It is ready to convey benefit. It wants to ease burdens. It is endlessly helpful. It expresses itself, love. It cannot be dormant. If it is only affection, it is not New Testament love. Love expresses itself. If your husband does something which is making the house untidy, or not pulling his weight in some respect, maybe you need to tackle it with him. But before you do, thank God for him. If she does something which is mildly offensive, yes, perhaps you should raise it, but before you do, thank God for her. Praise and thank God. Look upon all that the other person means to you and all the other person’s virtues, contribution, labour of love, and mellow up first, and then take it up properly. Love is always looking for a good outcome. Some Christian people are so conspicuous in this. They seem to be entirely selfless, and they are always outgoing and noticing, just quietly getting on with being a support to others, and to help. Then there are eight ‘not’s’, eight negatives. ‘Charity envieth not.’ Love is not self-seeking, self-projecting, self-protecting, self-assertive. ‘My opinion is the one you must hold. I will not consider your contribution to the subject.’ Terrible! It is not jealous of other people. It is self-love that is jealous. ‘Why couldn’t I have that advantage, or that opportunity? Why can’t that be mine?’ – almost resenting that other person. ‘Number one is everything to me’ – self-love. But love, outflowing love for others, does not envy. It focuses on the other. ‘How can I contribute, assist, comfort, relieve?’ It cannot envy. It is not struggling to be number one in the church, in the marriage, in the department of service. ‘[Love] vaunteth not itself.’ It isn't saying, ‘Look at me, my way, what I like, my tastes.’ It doesn’t work to get applause, or to get noticed, to get supremacy. It doesn’t hunt for praise. It rather gives honour to the other person, and gives place to the other person. It prefers the other before self. ‘[Love] is not puffed up.’ It isn’t pompous. It isn’t conceited. It isn’t unapproachable. It isn’t disdainful of other people. It knows how to apologise. It knows how to climb down. The puffed up person is preoccupied with self. But love isn’t interested in self. It comes out, and it looks for others; and it prays for, and witnesses to, and helps others. That is love, love in the fellowship. Love is all these things. The passage is so searching. 1 Corinthians 13 constitutes a bath for our behaviour, if ever there was such a thing.