1 Corinthians 13 (NLT) (2024)

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What is the main message of 1 Corinthians 13? ›

Paul sums it up: Love never fails. Christians may fail to love, as the Corinthians have clearly demonstrated, but God's kind of love will always be effective. And unlike spiritual gifts, which will no longer be needed when Christ comes, love will last forever (1 Corinthians 13:4–8).

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circ*mstance. 8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless.

In 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul writes, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love,” leading some Christians to conclude that love is more important than faith or hope.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

1 Corinthians 13 Summary: Love Is Patient

The lesson in the Bible verse "Love is patient" is that if we did truly love our neighbor, we should be able to exercise patience toward all of our neighbors, just like Jesus did.

The Bible says, “These three things continue forever: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NCV). There is a plaque engraved with Hebrew letters that hangs on the wall in my office. People ask me all the time what the Hebrew means.

Love as described in 1 Corinthians 13 is best understood as a way of life, lived in imitation of Jesus Christ, that is focused not on oneself but on the “other” and his or her good. Love is about action, how a person lives for the Lord and obeys him and how a person lives for others and serves them.

This chapter is taken up in the commendation of the grace of charity, or love, which is preferred to all gifts whatsoever; is described by its properties and effects, and particularly its duration; on which account it is represented as more excellent than other principal graces.

1 Corinthians 1–11.

Paul warns against divisions within the Church and emphasizes the importance of unity among Church members. He warns members against sexual immorality, teaches that the body is a temple for the Holy Spirit, and encourages self-discipline.

What does love never gives up mean? ›

This means that love bears every trial with a positive attitude. It stands firm in hostile surroundings. This “endurance” involves not only the ability to tolerate certain aggravations, but something greater: a constant readiness to confront any challenge. It is a love that never gives up, even in the darkest hour.

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” 1 Corinthians 13:7. Reflection: Nothing of great value comes easily. To preserve our relationships, we must often pass through many difficulties and hardships. God gives us the gift of love to see us through.

At the end of 1 Corinthians 13, we read, 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

In John 3:16, we read about a most precious gift: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus came to earth as a baby born in Bethlehem.

[37] 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. [38] This is the first and great commandment. [39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Paul writes to the church in Corinth to address some big problems: division, sexual misconduct, confusion about food and worship practices, and controversy surrounding Jesus' resurrection. Paul says these issues can be resolved because Jesus is alive.

If marriage is ideally a lifelong commitment in which both parties pledge themselves to one another, with the goal of loving the other person more than oneself, then the words of 1Cor 13 —to be patient and kind, to persevere, to keep no record of wrongs, and to seek not one's own benefit—provide a poignant “how-to” for ...

Paul has been describing our knowledge of God and His ways as incomplete or partial. The use of spiritual gifts, specifically gifts such as tongues, prophecy, and knowledge, gives only a glimpse of what may be known of God.