1. The document examines 1 Corinthians 13, which discusses love as the greatest virtue. It analyzes Paul's description of love and contrasts it with spiritual gifts that are temporary. 2. Paul argues that without love, even impressive spiritual gifts or good deeds are worthless. He defines love as patient, kind, not jealous or boastful, and outlines other characteristics. 3. The passage contrasts the temporary nature of spiritual gifts like prophecy, tongues and knowledge with the permanent nature of faith, hope and love - with love being the greatest of these. It suggests gifts will cease when believers see God face to face in heaven.

1. 1
A Study of 1 Corinthians 13

2. Read Together
Love is patient, love is kind and is not
jealous; love does not brag and is
not arrogant, does not act
unbecomingly; it does not seek its
own, is not provoked, does not take
into account a wrong suffered,
1 Corinthians 4-8a 2

3. Read Together
does not rejoice in unrighteousness,
but rejoices with the truth; bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things. Love never
fails;
1 Corinthians 4-8a 3

4. 4
A Study of 1 Corinthians 13

5. Tests for
Spiritual
Gifts
5
1. Chapter 12—do they
motivate unity?
2. Chapter 13—are they
motivated by love?
3. Chapter 14—do they
build the body?

6. Big Idea
But earnestly desire the greater
gifts.And I show you a still more
excellent way.
1 Corinthians 12:31 6

7. Favorite Gift
If I speak with the tongues of
men and of angels, but do not
have love, I have become a noisy
gong or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:1 7

8. Speaking in Tongues in Corinth
Heavenly language
Pagan practice of banging gongs
W/O love it’s a bunch of noise
8

9. Powerhouse Preacher
If I have the gift of prophecy and
know all mysteries and all
knowledge; and if I have all faith, so
as to remove mountains, but do not
have love, I am nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:2 9

10. Their favorite Apostles
Paul Apollos Peter
10

11. Super Saint
And if I give all my possessions to
feed the poor, and if I surrender
my body to be burned, but do
not have love, it profits me
nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:3 11

12. No Profit
Voluntary poverty
12

13. Paul Defines Christian Love
Agape
 A Person
 Covenant
 An Action
 Self Giving
13

14. An Old Testament Picture
[God], “Take now your son, your only
son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to
the land of Moriah, and offer him there
as a burnt offering on one of the
mountains of which I will tell you.”
Genesis 22:2 (NASB95)
14

15. What is Love?
In this is love, not that we
loved God, but that He
loved us and sent His Son
to be the propitiation for
our sins.
1 John 4:10 (NASB95) 15

16. Jesus demonstrates Love
Greater love has no one than this, that one
lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13 (NASB95) 16

17. True Love is Spirit Inspired
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22–23 17

18. Positive and Negative Pictures
Love is patient, love is kind
and is not jealous; love does
not brag and is not arrogant,
1 Corinthians 13:4 18

19.  A picture of
God
 Expressed
to someone
 Fruit of the
Spirit
Patient

20. Kind
 A picture of Jesus
 Expressed to
someone
 Fruit of the Spirit

21. These attributes expressed in is negative are
examples of what is going on at the church in
Corinth. We have covered specific examples, find
admonitions and prohibition in the book of 1
Corinthians.
Paul Paints a bad picture
21

22. Not Jealous
Jealous-to be heated
or to boil with envy,
hatred, anger.
22

23. Doesn’t brag
Brag-a self display, to
praise oneself,
employing rhetorical
embellishments in
extolling oneself
excessively.
23

24. Not Arrogant
Arrogant-‘to puff up, to inflate,’
to cause someone to be proud,
arrogant, or haughty—‘to make
proud, to make arrogant, to
make haughty.’
24

25. Good take on bad behavior
does not act unbecomingly; it does not
seek its own, is not provoked, does not
take into account a wrong suffered,
1 Corinthians 13:5 25

26. Doesn’t Act Unbecomingly
Unbecomingly-to act in
defiance of social and
moral standards, with
resulting disgrace,
embarrassment, and
shame.
26

27. Want Its Own Way
Let no one seek his own good,
but that of his neighbor.
1 Corinthians 10:24 27

28. Unprovoked
Provoke-to sharpen, to
irritate, provoke, arouse
to anger. to scorn,
despise. provoke, make
angry. to exasperate, to
burn with anger.
28

29. No Record of Wrongs
Accounting term use for an overdue bill
29

30. Taken together
…does not rejoice in
unrighteousness, but rejoices
with the truth;
1 Corinthians 13:6 30

31. Doesn’t Celebrate in Wrong but Truth
Doesn’t celebrate acting against godly living
Does celebrate acting biblically
31

32. Back to the positive
…bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things,
endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:7 32

33. Bears
Everything
The Roof
Above all, keep fervent in
your love for one another,
because love covers a
multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8 33

34. Believes
34
 Believes the best
in others
 Benefit of the
doubt

35. Hopes
holds out hope of a fellow believer’s
eventual development in the faith.
It does not despair.
35

36. Endures
Voluntary, steadfast endurance
No personal retaliation or rejection
Steadfast perseverance with people
36

37. Permanent VS Temporary
Love never fails; but if there are gifts of
prophecy, they will be done away; if there
are tongues, they will cease; if there is
knowledge, it will be done away.
1 Corinthians 13:8 37

38. Metaphor
Actor booed off stage
A flower dropping its petals
Love never fails
38

39. Gifts are
Temporary
 Prophecy
 Tongues
 Knowledge
39

40. When?
For we know in part and we
prophesy in part; but when the
perfect comes, the partial will be
done away.
1 Corinthians 13:9–10 40

41. What is the
perfect?
 Not the New Testament
 Not Spiritual Maturity
 Kingdom of God
41

42. Spiritual Gifts without Love
When I was a child, I used to speak like
a child, think like a child, reason like a
child; when I became a man, I did
away with childish things.
1 Corinthians 13:11 42

43. What is childish
The Corinthians
practices
43

44. Now and Then
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but
then face to face; now I know in part,
but then I will know fully just as I also
have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12 44

45. Timeline
 Dim now
 Complete then
45

46. Permanent vs Temp Summary
Notice the parallelism
1. v. 9, know in part, prophesy in part vs. when
the perfect comes
2. v. 11, a child vs. an adult
3. v. 12, a Corinthian mirror vs. face to face and
know in part vs. fully known
These seem to reflect a present reality versus a future
reality; therefore, the Second Coming, which
consummates the New Age, is the focus.
46

47. The now
But now faith, hope, love, abide
these three;
1 Corinthians 13:13 47

48. These
Three
 Faith- Towards God
 Hope- Surety of Christ’s return
 Love- Of God reflecting
Christlikeness to others
48

49. Eternal
but the greatest of
these is love.
49

50. 50
A Study of 1 Corinthians 13