1 Corinthians 13:4-13
1 Corinthians 13:4-13
[4] Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant [5] or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [6] it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. [7] Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
[8] Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. [9] For we know in part and we prophesy in part, [10] but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. [11] When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. [12] For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
[13] So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
3 Key Takeaways
Biblical love is defined by character, not feelings. True love is patient, kind, humble, truthful, enduring, and self-sacrificing—perfectly demonstrated in Jesus Christ and meant to be reflected in the life of believers.
Love is the greatest and most lasting gift of God. Spiritual gifts, knowledge, and miraculous experiences will pass away, but love is eternal and is the clearest evidence of the transforming power of the gospel.
Heaven will be the full realization of love. In this life we experience God’s love only partially, but in eternity believers will fully know God and live forever in a perfect “world of love” with Him and His people.
3 Helpful Quotes
“You could take the word love and replace it with the name of Jesus, and it would be 100% true.”
“The greatest miracle of all is when God takes a dead, hateful heart and transforms it into someone who loves.”
“Right now we see love in a mirror dimly, but heaven will be a world of love where we experience it fully.”
