1st Corinthians Chapter 13
“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth.”
1 Corinthians 13:4–8 (KJV)
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV)
Charity – sincere goodwill, dearness, love of humanity, generosity or helpfulness especially towards the needy or suffering
Suffereth – puts up with; submits to; forces to endure; to allow especially by reason of indifference
Kind – tender
Envieth – painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage
Vaunteth – proud – feeling of superiority, excessive self-esteem, being extremely delighted with yourself or an accomplishment; boastful – have to broadcast yourself to the world; vain – having or showing undue or excessive pride in one’s appearance or achievements
Puffed Up – carries same connotation as proud and vain
Unseemly – not according with established standards of good form or taste; not suitable for time or place; out of order; unruly
Provoked – to stir up purposely to angriness, or arouse to a feeling or action of anger
Evil – morally reprehensible (disapproved); arising from actual or imputed (credit/blame) bad character or conduct
Iniquity – a wicked act or thing; sin; gross injustice (large/big/huge)
Truth – Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life; He is the body of real things, events, and facts; sincerity in action, character and utterance
Beareth – deals with the hard & difficult things without complaining; something difficult to do or deal with
Believeth – your Faith in Jesus being firm to the end without wavering; accepting the Bible as true, genuine, and real; having a firm conviction as God’s goodness, His efficacy (or power to produce an effect in your life), or the ability of Jesus and His power
Hopeth – to expect with confidence; to desire with expectation or obtainment … “I’m going to get it”; you cherish that Godly desire with anticipation of receiving it; you trust
Endureth – remaining firm in your Faith under suffering or misfortune without yielding, doubting, complaining
Faileth – never fades away, dies, or becomes absent; never loses strength or weakens, never falls short; never stops functioning normally
Faith – Belief and trust in God, and loyalty to God; belief in something or someone with strong conviction
God is Charity/Love and He never Fails …
The Act of Love
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Matthew 22:36–39 (KJV)
A group of Pharisees once came to Jesus and asked, “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36). Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37–38).
But he didn’t stop there. Jesus went on to say, “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:40).
In both cases, the word for Love Jesus used was Agape. You and I are commanded to love the same way God loves. Not as a feeling or an emotion, but as a conscious decision.
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
1 Corinthians 9:27 (KJV)
Our emotions can change, run wild at times, but can be checked by the spirit of God, through fasting and prayer. Paul said he buffeted his body daily and brought it under subjection through the Spirit. We may like someone today but be angry with them tomorrow. Our emotions can rise and fall depending on the circumstances, our growth in the Lord, and our willingness to please the Lord Jesus. One day we are on top of the world, then the next day on the bottom. But a decision isn’t like that. Decisions are an act of our will. We can decide to love someone even when we don’t like them very much or they don’t want to be liked.
God doesn’t command us to feel loving, but to love as he does — God is Love! Please read 1 John 4:7–21. Love is an action — a force, not a reaction or an emotion. When we act in love even when we don’t feel loving, Jesus takes over and fulfills His Word through us. Jesus loves through us. It’s God that does it all anyway; we have to obey and yield. After we obey and yield, our feelings start to change as well. The great Love of God conquers the bad negative feelings and thoughts of the flesh and Satan. When we keep the Word of God we can never go wrong. (Matthew 5:43–48).
“I choose to obey the Word of God and act as Jesus would act toward you, regardless of how I feel at the time, regardless of how you act or react towards me, regardless of what you deserve, or I think you deserve.”
God’s (Agape) love
God is love, so Agape love is stable, constant and committed. Agape is the only kind of love that can withstand the fiery dart of Satan, and the trials and tribulations of life that are surely to come.
Bishop BC Bethelmy
Scripture References
- 1 Corinthians 13
- Matthew 22:36–40
- 1 Corinthians 9:27
- 1 John 4:7–21
- Matthew 5:43–48