St Paul wrote a timeless definition of affection in 1 Corinthians 13, referred to as the “love chapter”, which is probably the most famous chapters within the Bible and is usually read at weddings. This is the story …
Background
Paul wrote quite a few letters to the Christian congregation in Corinth, and two survive within the New Testament.
Corinth was (and still is) a busy port in southern Greece. The church seems to have had issues with immorality and leadership rivalries.
The letter referred to as St Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, or 1 Corinthians, was written somewhere between AD 50 and AD 60 to handle issues within the fractious church in Corinth. There appear to have been debates over spiritual gifts like tongues and prophecy, but in that context Paul emphasises the worth of affection: “If I speak within the tongues of men or of angels, but would not have love, I’m only a convincing gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1, NIV).
Love, he insists, is the best path to maturity, outlasting all gifts when Christ returns. Paul desired to correct divisions within the Corinthian church, urging believers to prioritise agape, God’s selfless love.
St Paul’s Definition
St Paul summed up love with the words in 1 Corinthians 13:4–8:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It doesn’t envy, it doesn’t boast, it just isn’t proud. It doesn’t dishonour others, it just isn’t self-seeking, it just isn’t easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love doesn’t enjoyment of evil but rejoices with the reality. It at all times protects, at all times trusts, at all times hopes, at all times perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:4–7, NIV).
Use in Weddings
A church wedding normally has to have a minimum of one reading from the Bible, which the couple, in consultation with the minister, can select. The passage from 1 Corinthians 13 is probably the most commonly chosen Bible passage at weddings since it offers a transparent description of what love should appear to be in practice, which the couple or the minister see as a super for married life. As a result, many individuals associate 1 Corinthians 13 with romantic love and marriage.
It just isn’t the set reading but has turn out to be increasingly popular, especially after it was quoted at the marriage of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. Films equivalent to Love Actually or television weddings in series like Downton Abbey and Call the Midwife sometimes quote or allude to those words, reinforcing that association.
All the parts of the chapter do apply to marriage, but in context St Paul was writing about Christian love throughout the whole church moderately than specifically about marriage. It belongs to a bigger section about spiritual gifts and orderly worship that runs from 1 Corinthians 12–14, where Paul tackles pride, rivalry, and disorder around tongues, prophecy, and other gifts.
The Bible doesn’t lay down any readings or ceremony for weddings in any respect, and in 1 Corinthians 7:6–9 St Paul even says it is healthier for some to stay single, as he was. So quoting this section of the Bible is pure tradition and a longtime custom.
Positive Qualities of Love
Paul begins with positive qualities that outline the character of affection. He writes that love is patient and sort. Five hundred years ago, William Tyndale rendered it as “Love suffereth long and is courteous” (1 Corinthians 13:4). Love which is longsuffering, or patient, endures wrongs without retaliation. Love which is kind, or courteous, actively shows goodness and mercy.
What Love Is Not
Paul then contrasts the positive attributes of what love is with what it just isn’t. He lists what love avoids, exposing self-centred distortions and maybe stating elements of the church to which he’s writing that he dislikes. Paul wrote that love “doesn’t envy, it doesn’t boast, it just isn’t proud. It doesn’t dishonour others, it just isn’t self-seeking, it just isn’t easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love doesn’t enjoyment of evil…”
Five hundred years ago, William Tyndale rendered it as “Love doth not frowardly, swelleth not, dealeth not dishonestly, seeketh not her own, just isn’t provoked to anger, thinketh not evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity…” (1 Corinthians 13:4–6).
Paul is maybe addressing issues within the church at Corinth when he stresses that love just isn’t envious, rejecting rivalry and jealousy. He writes that love doesn’t boast, just isn’t proud, nor rude, nor bigoted, nor conceited, nor ill-mannered, nor insensitive to others. It just isn’t about fragile egos or one-upmanship. He writes that love just isn’t self-seeking, just isn’t easily angered, nor resentful, nor bitter, and doesn’t keep rating. This underscores that love is unselfish and focused on others.
What Love Does
Paul then states what love does. He states that love “rejoices with the reality. It at all times protects, at all times trusts, at all times hopes, at all times perseveres.” Five hundred years ago, William Tyndale rendered it as “rejoiceth in the reality, suffereth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth in all things”, which was taken nearly wholesale into the King James Version. These words depict commitment.
Spiritual Love
Paul writes similar things to the church in Galatia, where he outlines the fruit of the Holy Spirit. This list may be punctuated as “the fruit of the Spirit is …”, with the word “love” followed by a colon and a listing of the attributes: “love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). Jesus said that “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). These are the characteristics of affection which ought to be evident in Christians.
It is value reminding ourselves that traits sometimes related to religious people, equivalent to arrogance, bigotry, pride, anger, narrow-mindedness, and harsh, discourteous language, are usually not seen as attributes of affection and are usually not among the many fruit of the Spirit.
Paul’s Summary
Paul ends with: “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the best of those is love” (v. 13). Love ought to be what underpins our attitudes, actions, and communications.
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