“A MORE EXCELLENT WAY”
(A Commentary on 1 Corinthians 13)

      THE CHURCH at Corinth was a church grievously beset by sin and many problems. The apostle Paul in the epistles of 1 and 2 Corinthians (as well as in another epistle the Holy Spirit has not chosen to preserve for us, 1 Corinthians 5:9) confronts the problems. The problems are more particularly highlighted in 1 Corinthians. In writing to churches, it was Paul’s custom usually to start by saying something personal and complimentary about the intended recipients. In writing to the Corinthians, he was hard pressed in doing this. There were too many bad things that glaringly obstructed his view. However, he was able to go behind the unlovely picture and come up with something good to say. “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that you come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:4-7).

“Puffed Up” About
Spiritual Gifts (and Other Things)
     He compliments them in reference to the things of God, grace—grace in reference to salvation and grace in reference to spiritual gifts (not for anything personally emanating from them). Instead of being humble and thankful, the Corinthians were “puffed up” about many things; yes, even “puffed up” about spiritual gifts (thinking that having certain spiritual gifts made them superior to others, among them being the ability to speak in “tongues”—other languages). In chapter 4, verse 7, Paul “proddingly” asked, “For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”

Love (1 Corinthians 13),
The “More Excellent Way”
        After dealing with some problems the house of Chloe had told him about as they visited him in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 1:11ff; 16:8), Paul responds to some matters the church had written him about (1 Corinthians 7:1; 8:1; 12:1; etc.). First Corinthians 13, the chapter that is the focus of our study in this article, is sandwiched in between chapters dealing with questions involving spiritual gifts. In fact, 1 Corinthians 13 is itself about spiritual gifts and more in particular about the gift of the Spirit Himself and the predominate fruit He produces in the surrendered life (Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Galatians 5:22, 23), love (1 John 4:12,13). After listing nine different spiritual gifts in chapter 12 and giving a wide overview of the spectrum of gifts, Paul says, “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.” There was something more wonderful than their inordinate preoccupation with spiritual gifts, even being “puffed up” about them, and that was love. It is the “more excellent way.”
     Agapao (agape), the love of devotion, and phileo, the love of emotion, are the words for love found in the New Testament. Agape (noun) is the word used in this 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians. We don’t fully understand why the King James scholars translated agape with the word “charity” here (and 28 times altogether in the New Testament). However, they seem to always use it in speaking about human beings and never translate it “charity” when referring to God.

  Now let us take a look at this great and wonderful chapter on love.

I. THE FUTILITY OF RELIGION WITHOUT LOVE (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

A. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity [love], I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (verse 1)

Tongues Means Languages
     Paul deals with tongues to start with. It seems the Corinthians were putting a lot of emphasis on the gift of speaking in tongues. They could ostentatiously make a display of such a gift, speaking in a language they had never learned before. By saying, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,” Paul is showing that indeed an intelligent spoken language is in mind, and not some jargon or emotional jibber-jabber. The phenomenon on the Day of Pentecost very clearly shows that “tongues” has reference to human languages (Acts 2:4-12). In 1 Corinthians 14:21, Paul likewise makes clear that he is talking about a human language when he quotes from Isaiah 28:11 and 12, “In the law [O. T., Isaiah] it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.” Here Isaiah has the Chaldean language (the language of Babylon) in mind, as the Jews would hear this language as the judgment of God was coming down upon them.
.
The Futility of Tongues without Love
     Though a person spoke in all of the languages of the world and heaven, even eloquently, and had not love, it would amount to nothing more than “sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” The “sounding brass” refers to two pieces of unwrought metal being hit together. “Tinkling cymbal” refers to two pieces of hollowed out metal being banged together. In other words, speaking in tongues would be no more meaningful and pleasant to hear, than the clanging and banging of rough and untempered metal together. Without love, speaking in another language would be just so much noise. Love is the important thing.

B. “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, and have not charity [love], I am nothing” (verse 2).

Even with More Valuable Spiritual Gifts,
Without Love We Are Nothing
      Having hit head-on their frivolous preoccupation with tongues, Paul now includes other spiritual gifts to get his point across. He expands his illustration to include gifts that would benefit the church more than tongues. The gift of “prophecy” is highlighted. Tongues and prophesying are put in contrast one with the other in chapter 14, with prophesying presented as being the more desirable gift (the word “unknown” is not in the Greek New Testament). “Prophecy” means to foretell and forthtell. And for the purposes of his argument here, his reference to “prophecy” becomes even more impressive when he lists “understand all mysteries, and all knowledge.” Corresponding with the twofold meaning of prophecy, this could point to (1) foretell (“understand all mysteries”) and (2) forthtell (“understand…all knowledge”), or this could mean two more distinct gifts of the Spirit. Either way, his conclusion is the same about love. Then he tops it all off with “faith.” This can refer to spiritual gifts (Romans 12:3, 6), or to faith in the regular sense of the word (Hebrews 11:6). Regardless, even if we had all of these gifts that exceed tongues in value (and had them combined), topped by faith, and didn’t have love, he emphatically says we “are nothing.” Our religion is futile.
 

C. “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity [love], it profiteth me nothing” (verse 3).

Bestowing All of Ones Possessions
Of No Value Without Love
      According to 1 John 3:17, if we don’t respond to a glaring need there is a question mark about our love. Thus John admonishes, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (3:18). Giving is normally an act of love. But Christianity demands that our motives be right (Matthew 6:1,2), and consequently John adds “in truth.” The gift without the giver is bare. Even “though I bestow [distribute, dole out bit by bit until all is gone] all my goods to feed the poor,” and it is not done in love, religiously “it profiteth me nothing” as far as God is concerned.

The Ultimate Gift of Self in Martyrdom
       The “goods” have all been given, all that a person has, and now Paul takes his illustration a step further, the ultimate giving of self, and the giving of self in martyrdom; not just any martyrdom, but “though I give my body to be burned.” Certainly the giving of Christ to be crucified was the ultimate expression of love, whether from the viewpoint of God (John 3:16) or the Son of God. Jesus said to His disciples, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). This is beyond question in what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us. But conceivably and hypothetically, a person could go through all of this to die and it not be motivated by love. In that case, it would be of no profit to him in the sight of God. Love is what really matters.

 
<BACK

TheSwordANDStaff