Greg Chandler
10/31/16
The Bible speaks of a group of folks guilty of jealousy, cliquish behavior, and brazen lawsuits; their behaviors epitomized the worst of worldliness and illustrated the fruit of practitioners who do not walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). Who were these ungodly souls? Those guilty of these travesties were neither atheists nor pagans; they were the saints in Corinth. Paul’s first epistle to these Christians is one of reprimand for behavior completely unbefitting followers of Christ. His words are a straightforward, divinely inspired message calling for a complete change of course. How, though, could these wayward Christians develop the type of fellowship demanded for followers of Jesus? Paul’s answer to this question is summed up in one word – love.
The thirteenth chapter of this epistle is perhaps the best known portion of the text and is often labeled “the chapter of love.” It is the apex of Paul’s message and the crescendo of his teaching regarding Christian fellowship. Its message of light is heightened only by its contrast with a preceding discussion of darkness; darkness which had engulfed the Corinthian Christians with envy. Sadly, this envy was revealed in what should have strengthened their faith. Unique to the first century, some Christians were endowed with the ability to perform spiritual gifts which would attest to the veracity of the gospel. Christians in Corinth were blessed with this faith-building ability, yet they allowed it to nearly destroy their bond of fellowship. Certain of these gifts were desired to the point of envy, thus leading some to bitterly resent those who had these abilities. Conversely, those endowed with these abilities were tempted to look down on those who had other gifts deemed less important. With a message of unity, the apostle Paul delved into this quagmire of hostilities, seeking to bring saints back to the godly standard laid down by their Lord.
“For just as the body is one” served as the apostle’s lead statement in helping the Corinthians to regain their moral footing. To illustrate, he explained the necessity for all parts of the human body. With hyperbole, he personified members of the body and allowed them to engage in conversation: “If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body.’” (12:15) “If the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body.’” (12:16). Foolishness! Paul’s desire was to illustrate a spiritual point by the foolishness of a body at war with itself; thus, just as the members of a physical body work together, so must the members within the body of Christ. Forcefully making his conclusion, Paul wrote: “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (12:26-27). How, though, could people who had allowed such vitriol into their relationships ever mend their bond? Love.
Descriptions abound of God, yet one of the most simple and poignant is described in three words: God is love” (I John 4:8). The Christian relationship between God and man rests on the bedrock of love: “For God so loved the world that He sent is only Son” (John 3:16). It is, therefore, no mystery that the relationship between Christian and Christian rests on the same foundation: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (I John 4:20). To love God, Christians must love one another.
Paul’s message to the Corinthians defines true Christian love by expounding on both what it does and does not include. Prefacing this description, he aptly taught that there can be no great spiritual achievement if love is absent: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 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. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (13:1-3). From this, he launched into the facets of love which would end Corinthian discontent, writing that love is patient, kind, free of envy and boasting, rejects arrogance and rudeness, is not insistent on its own way, is not irritable, is not resentful, doesn’t rejoice at wrongdoing, rejoices in truth, and bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. With this model, problems of factionalism, cliquishness, jealousy, and envy over spiritual gifts could be washed away in the flood of God-like love. True Christian fellowship rests on the foundation of love and the Corinthians were long overdue for this course correction.
The problems which plagued the brethren in Corinth are not unique. Though spiritual gifts passed away after the first century (I Corinthians 13:10), envy and jealousy did not. Sadly, the devil can wreak havoc when faithful people of God succumb to their own selfish desires and turn on fellow-Christians. It is, therefore, incumbent that all Christians spend time meditating on Paul’s teaching in this “chapter of love”; each child of God must determine whether or not these qualities are evident in relationships with brethren. True love and fellowship can only be found when the same selfless attitudes and actions of Jesus Christ are imitated by those who take His name. May every saint live up to this high calling. May every saint glorify God by loving one another in the beautiful bond of Christian fellowship.