Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians is aptly placed between
chapters 12 and 14. Often read at weddings or to speak
about “What love is”, the chapter is regularly read alone
and therefore out of context. The theme of 1 Corinthians is
consistent throughout the whole letter, but if we are going
to try to divide it into paragraphs or chapters, then the
immediate comment of chapter 13 begins, at the very least,
at the beginning of chapter 12 and continues to the end of
chapter 14. If we compare 1 Corinthians 12, 13 and 14
with Ephesians chapter 4, which we looked at earlier, there
are remarkable similarities. It begins with the Church
being brought together in unity through baptism in water
and the Spirit into one Lord, one faith and one body. The
building up by the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, towards
the one goal, which is perfection and maturity in the love of
God as portrayed in Jesus, becomes, in a more realistic
way, loving and preferring one another.
As we look at 1 Corinthians chapter 13 in relationship with
its adjoining chapters, what we are seeing is not a chapter
about human love which is to be read at weddings, but a
focus on the bond of perfection for every gift, ministry,
service and servant in the Kingdom of our God. We see a
dynamic of the Holy Spirit which, when we grasp it,
focuses our hearts on the real purpose of gifts of the Holy
Spirit. It reveals the platform for their operation, and
becomes the unfailing, abiding, ceaseless embrace of their
continuity and the sole and valid reason why they can be
stopped or withheld. It tells of why we should have such
gifts and yet speaks of something overwhelmingly better,
towards which the church is moving: agape, the love of
God which is in Christ Jesus – our aim, most excellent, all
consuming, all embracing, the bond of our perfection and
that which caused the only begotten Son of God to live and
die and rise again for us.
A brief look at the three chapters will give us an indication
of where the church begins and where it is expected to
change. We see the direction marked out. In chapter 12,
the church is a body with many different parts, but
fragmented and disjointed. There are contentions
concerning gifts and ministries, and disunity is rife. Paul
exhorts people to be one, while acknowledging the
differences of gifts and ministries as necessary if the people
are to be different parts of a whole body.
In chapter 13, he looks at the way of love which will bind
all of these gifts and people together to create that
functioning body of which he speaks. Gifts are the
manifestation of the Holy Spirit in a fragmented,
dysfunctional, immature body for its growth; a gift to men
from God who is from age to age, unchanging love. Gifts
then, without this love, are nothing. Without love as their
aim they are aimless and pointless, a noisy gong or a
clanging symbol.
At the opening of chapter 14, Paul says we should follow
the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts. He gives
the impression that the building which is being created is
called love and that the bond which holds it all together is
love, but the tools of our trade are gifts and ministries,
services for the completion of the work. Ephesians 4 says
that gifts are the equipment of the saints for their works of
service. Continuing in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, Paul
speaks about our conduct in worship in the congregation of
the saints. He is, however, still speaking about the
operation of gifts in love, the aim of which was stated at the
beginning of this chapter. Chapter 14 then shows in a
practical way how we can show off our genuine love, not
our gift, thereby exalting the Lord who is greater than our
gift. If we asked the question: “Which is the greater, the
tools or the house? Which is the aim of our building?” we
would probably conclude with Paul that the greatest is love.