The Song of Love
Why 1 Corinthians 13 Is About Service, Not Romance
We often hear the beautiful words of 1 Corinthians 13 during wedding services, surrounded by romance. However, Paul wrote this letter to a church rife with strife, pride, and competition over spiritual gifts. In this blog, I describe the original context of this well-known chapter. It is not a romantic poem, but a powerful call to agape—a selfless, serving love that forms the foundation of everything you do. This chapter holds up a mirror to us all.
When love is missing
I recently listened to the Nederlands Dagblad podcast, in which Dick and Daniël spoke with Willem Ouweneel. The topic was speaking in tongues. What struck me was the way Willem explicitly sought to connect it to chapter 13 of the First Letter to the Corinthians. This well-known passage on love is situated precisely between chapters 12 and 14, both of which deal with spiritual gifts. He made it clear that these gifts never come into their own if love is missing. Without that foundation, the effect misses its mark. Because this insight is so essential, I will be devoting extra attention to it in my upcoming blogs.
1 Corinthians 13 is known as the Song of Love. It is one of the most beloved passages in the Bible. You often hear these words during a wedding service, but the original context has little to do with romance. Paul wrote this part of his letter out of concern for a church where there were significant differences among its members. The congregation in Corinth consisted of rich people, poor people, widows, and orphans. There were also slaves who, at that time, had no right whatsoever to an independent existence.
Applicable Everywhere
In the Old Testament, you’ll also find a special book about love: the Song of Songs. It’s about the relationship between a man and a woman, which we can also see as a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church. There you’ll find valuable principles for how to interact within a marriage or a relationship. In the New Testament, the focus shifts to the relationship with God and people, and among people themselves. This specific chapter focuses entirely on how you interact with one another. This applies to your marriage, but just as much to your place in the church, your family, society, and at work. It applies to every place where you interact with others.
This chapter serves as a bridge between chapters 12 and 14. Those sections deal with the special gifts and spiritual abilities that God bestows on people. These are gifts made available to you; they are something you receive. In the church in Corinth, there was confusion about the application of these manifestations of spiritual gifts, such as speaking in tongues (or “tongues of sound,” as another translation calls it), prophecy, and special knowledge. This led to pride, competition, and confusion.
Gifts of the Spirit
God did not intend these gifts for that purpose. Spiritual gifts belong to the Holy Spirit. We therefore speak of gifts of the Spirit; the attitude of that Spirit must also be recognizable. He gives them to you to use for others. Everyone has received their own contribution or a spiritual quality from God. The Bible states that there is a variety of ministries, while it is the same Lord. There is a variety of workings, but it is the same God. Often nine forms or gifts are mentioned, but there are many more ways in which you can serve others. This is not about your own ability, your natural talents, or your intellect. It is something different from your ability to sing, speak, or write well. These are workings that have their origin in the supernatural.
In chapter 13, Paul shows that gifts without love are worthless. They are of no use to you because they lack the core purpose for which God gives them. You receive them to serve others and not to be served or honored yourself. In the kingdom of God, it is not about what you can do, but about who you are. Your social status or your position in the church is not what matters. The Lord Jesus already said that whoever wants to be great must be the servant of others.
Agape
The love Paul writes about is agape. This Greek word does not refer to friendship or romance. It is a selfless and serving love focused on the happiness and growth of the other person. Sometimes to encourage, sometimes to correct, but always uplifting. If any of these characteristics are missing, then you must be careful about accepting a word. Think it over, take it to the Lord in prayer, and if you don’t understand it, set it aside for a while. Perhaps it will become clear to you later. Or not; in that case, let it rest.
But anyone who knows agape as the foundation of their speech will also have a dependent heart. They do not speak their words with pride, but know that their words are also relative, or as the Bible says in 1 Cor. 13:9: “…we prophesy in part.” In other words: it is not yet perfect; there is always something of the speaker in it.
Deep dependence
Therefore, anyone used by the Lord to encourage another prophetically will only be able to do so from a place of deep dependence on God’s Spirit; otherwise, things will go wrong. You need not, therefore, be proud of your spiritual gifts, your success in ministry, your efforts for the Lord, or your knowledge of the spiritual world. Everything is only partial and loses its meaning if you do not use it to love the other person. This chapter asks you to look at yourself critically. You may ask yourself: to what extent do I act out of love? Are you focused on your own interests or on the interests of the people around you, including those who are further removed from you?
Do you see the other person, or do you see only yourself? The Lord had an eye for the other. That is a gift from God—namely, seeing what another does not see. It is about being attentive to the needs of your neighbor, a word of encouragement at the right moment, or an arm around the shoulder of someone who feels lonely. Spiritual gifts must be directed toward this and remain rooted in love. When you read the text from this chapter 13, the intention is for you to examine yourself. Paul encourages us—or should I say: compels us—to look at how we treat our fellow human beings. Is there agape, or do other motives play a leading role?
…but the greatest of these is love.
@wimvanputten