1 Corinthians 1:13 – All You Need Is Love
According to the Beatles, “all you need is love”, but what does the Bible say about the subject? Stephanie Nickel explores First Corinthians 13:1-8, taking a look at the relationship between love and discipline.
All You Need Is Love
First Corinthians 13:1-8 says,
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends
Do you speak two or more languages?
Have you achieved at least one post-graduate degree?
Have you ever visited the Rockies or the Alps? Have you looked at a mountain—even a relatively small one—and been confident that you could say the word and it would have to break off from the others and throw itself into the nearest ocean?
Have you willingly sacrificed belongings or personal safety on behalf of another?
Nothing Without Love
Let’s suppose for a moment that we have risked our life for another, could alter geography with a word, knew everything there was to know about every subject, and could communicate in every language known to man—and those known only to the angelic beings. That would be impressive, wouldn’t it?
Not at all—from God’s perspective.
If the accomplished linguist does not have love, all those fine sounding, perfectly crafted words and sentences are nothing but noise to God—loud, irritating noise.
And the most knowledgeable, faith-filled academic or theologian? Without love, he or she is nothing. Harsh words.
And lastly, the one who sacrifices their belongings, their safety, even their life for another, gains nothing is love wasn’t the motivation.
These are harsh words and I was tempted not to share these thoughts with you, but everything in the Bible is there for a reason. We must prayerfully come back to the same passages time and again in order to discover what God is teaching each of us at any given point in our walk with Him.
The Love Chapter
I have written devotionals on the characteristics of biblical love as listed in 1 Corinthians 13, what many refer to as “the love chapter,” but I’ve never really focused on the first few verses of the chapter.
Is the fact that these verses are included in the Scriptures evidence that God is malevolent and cruel? Absolutely not!
First John 4:8 tells us, “God is love.”
Hebrews 12:6 says, “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves.”
And Proverbs 3:12 says, “For the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.”
Because God loves us more than we can imagine, He wants us to understand things from His perspective. He wouldn’t be a kind, loving, and good God if He didn’t warn us of danger.
Love And Discipline
According to today’s society—including many believers in Jesus—it’s impossible for love and discipline to go hand in hand. And yet, it isn’t true.
And isn’t it gracious that not only did God warn us against putting our trust in lofty accomplishments but also clearly defined what love truly is.
According to 1 Corinthians 13, real love is patient and kind. It is not envious or boastful nor is it arrogant or rude. It does not insist on getting its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. It never ends.
Does God expect us to naturally love in this way? No. He knows that’s not possible. When we accept what Jesus accomplished for us by dying on the cross and rising from the dead, God sends His Holy Spirit to dwell within us. And that Holy Spirit is love, perfect love.
We need only ask God to show us how to love as He wants us to and He will answer that prayer and enable us to do so. We won’t always get it right. And like incorporating any truth from God’s Word, learning to walk in the Light is a lifelong process. But today is a very good day to start.
Do you think “all you need is love” is true? Contact us at HopeStreamRadio, or comment below.
Steph Nickel
Steph Beth Nickel is eclectically interested and eclectically involved. In all she does, Steph seeks to nurture and inspire. She is currently working on the first book in a nonfiction series. Nurture and Inspire LOVE is a compilation of the first devotionals she wrote for HopeStreamRadio.
Steph is a freelance writer and editor. She is the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’ award-winning memoir, Living Beyond My Circumstances, published by Castle Quay Books. Deb and Steph are working on a follow-up book.
You can visit her website, stephbethnickel.com, to learn more about her.
Visit Steph’s contributor’s page or at Steph Nickel’s Eclectic Interests.
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