The Dominance of Love
Read the Text: 1 Corinthians 13
Memorize the Text:
Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love – but the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:13, CSB)
Consider the Text: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, 13
1 Corinthians 13 is a familiar passage. Many of us have heard this chapter recited at weddings or taught during a Bible study or a sermon. We understand this chapter to focus on love and provide a definition for genuine, authentic love. One essential truth that the apostle Paul makes in this section of 1 Corinthians deals with the dominance of love. He holds that love should dominate the life of the believer.
SPEAKING TRUTH WITHOUT LOVE
The Bible states that believers should speak the truth. However, the approach to speaking the truth must align with the call to love. Thus, the New Testament speaks to the importance of speaking the truth in love. In 1 Corinthians 13, the apostle warns against speaking the truth without love. When love does not exist in the speaking of truth, then one’s words of truth become judgmental in tone and often leave others shattered.
When truth becomes spoken without love, the words become nothing more than noise without lasting impact. Like a cymbal, they make a loud racket, but they do not last but fade away. This occurs because truth in love seeks to build up others and guide them in growth, while truth without love wants to make known without the work of building up. Thus, Paul warns not to speak the truth without the presence of love.
PERFORMING MIGHTY WORK WITHOUT LOVE
Paul addressed the reality that individuals can achieve mighty works in faith but that these works may not contain love. Such works normally occur out of legalistic obedience or selfish ambition. People enact the work to win the favor of the Lord somehow because they adhere to His will. At other moments, they perform great work for recognition from others and to build their self-worth through the words of humanity. Such activity occurs without the presence of love.
The apostle defined these activities as empty and without importance because they lacked love. When love exists at the center of one’s works, the activities become opportunities to serve the Lord and bring Him glory. They demonstrate the love of God and make His love known to others. When love is absent, the works performed carry no merit because they are empty; thus, love must be present and central in one’s works.
GIVING SACRIFICE WITHOUT LOVE
Like the one performing works without love, the apostle warns about the act of sacrifice without the presence of love. Sacrifice occurs when one surrenders something they own or themselves. This sacrifice typically occurs when one seeks to gain something more significant. Paul addressed when one gives of themselves or their positions without the presence of love. This form of sacrifice exists as self-centric and typically comes with strings attached. Thus, Paul defined this sacrifice as empty.
The emptiness exists because the sacrifice is self-serving and does not follow the model set forth by Christ. The nature of sacrifice centers on elevating others at one’s expense. Thus, love must be the driving force behind the sacrifice. The apostle desires believers to understand the importance of love and how it must dominate our words, works, and sacrifices. Thus, the apostle concluded this section with the declaration of the greatness of love.
LOVE IS THE GREATEST
The apostle Paul concluded his statements on love by declaring that faith, hope, and love all exist, but that love was the greatest. Paul’s statement reminded believers that love must dominate one’s life. Love provided the substance to one’s words and turned them from judgment to care. Love supplied the substance to the works carried out because they were performed within the proper perspective. Love gave sacrifice its true meaning and followed the model of Christ. The reality remains that love provides depth to everything in life.
As you think about your life, are you living out the truth and speaking the truth in love? Are you following the ways of the Lord and carrying out the activities of the cross in love? When you sacrifice, are you driven by love or self? As you consider these questions, may we strive to have love at the center of all we do.
This blog is part of the Coffee and Quiet Time with Jesus Devotional Series found at equippingfaith.com. Join the journey of reading through the New Testament this year. More information can be found at equippingfaith.com.
