If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² 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. ³ If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

¹³ So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1) What are the results of doing things apart from love, according to v. 1-3?
In the chapter just before this Paul has explained gifts that are to be used by the body of Christ for the edification and building up of the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, the Corinthians are missing the mark because in this first part of 1 Corinthians 13, we see Paul clearly tell the church that without love, their gifts mean nothing. The things they are trying to accomplish through the use of their gifts are null and void and have the opposite affect. Speaking without love, sounds like a clanging cymbal. Prophecies and knowledge without love mean nothing. Service and giving are useless without love as the primary motivation.

2) What are the words used to describe love in this passage?
Love is patient, kind, and rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

3) What does Paul mean in v.9-12, that we only partially know and see dimly?
We cannot understand fully God’s love for us until we meet Him face to face. Paul tells them we know “in part” and we tell others of what we know. As we mature we gain greater knowledge of the Lord and when He returns we will be able to fully grasp His love.

4) What ultimately do we discover about love from v. 8 and v. 13?
Paul expresses in both verses that God’s love never fails. It is both eternal and ever present.

1) What are the results of doing things apart from love, according to v. 1-3?
There is no accident with Scripture. On the heels of explaining gifts to Corinthian church, Paul has to explain to them love and how gifts should be used in conjunction with the love. The absence of love makes the Christian life useless. Love is both the foundation and motivation for how we are to speak, how we are to think, and how we are to act.

2) What are the words used to describe love in this passage?
Paul describes love first and foremost as patient and kind. The word patient in this context means, “long suffering”. With that in mind, we see in v. 7, that love bears all, believes all, hopes all, and endures all. Love is not easy and in the midst of a “do what makes me feel good” world, loving others as God loves us is the primary function of the Church. It does not come naturally, nor does it come easily. Love is a choice that we make every day to show a glimpse of God to others.

3) What does Paul mean in v.9-12, that we only partially know and see dimly?
God revealed Himself perfectly in the Garden of Eden and man was in perfect fellowship and communion with God. When sin entered the world, a plan was set in motion to fix what humanity messed up. Christ was the fix to the problem and our hope lies in the full restoration and knowledge that will come when He returns for His people. Until then, we see only dim glimpses of what is to come and groan with creation (Romans 8:19) for the day we will fully see and understand.

4) What ultimately do we discover about love from v. 8 and v. 13?
Above all else-LOVE! God’s love for us in sending Christ, His Son, conquered death and sin once and for all. God longs to redeem His people and in His love He offers restoration and a relationship that requires obedience. His love for us should motivate us to love others. His love never fails and if every action and thought is filtered through that, His goal is accomplished.

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