1 Corinthians 13:4-13

§ 43. THE QUALITIES OF CHRISTIAN LOVE. The previous vv. have justified the καθʼ ὑπερβολὴν of 1 Corinthians 12:31. The loftiest human faculties of man are seen to be frustrate without love; by its aid alone are they brought to their proper excellence and just use. But this “way” of Christian attainment has still to be “described,” and the promise of 1 Corinthians 12:31 b fulfilled. So while 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 have proved the necessity, the rest of the chap. shows the nature and working of the indispensable ἀγάπη. The Cor [1981] may see in this description the mirror of what they ought to be and are not; they will learn how childish are the superiorities on which they plume themselves. (a) The behaviour of Love is delineated in fifteen exquisite aphorisms (1 Corinthians 13:4-7); (b) its permanence, in contrast with the transitory and partial character of the prized χαρίσματα (1 Corinthians 13:8-13).

[1981] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.