Jesus In The Scriptures
Hello there. My name is Vincent Ball and I attend Kings Road Baptist Church, Chingford, in the United Kingdom. I like to share my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and let people know the benefits of following Him and the love that he gives.
Jesus In The Scriptures
The Love Chapter
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Today we will be looking at the real essence of what is commonly referred to as the love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13.
Friends, thank you for listening. Hope to see you again shortly. Blessings in Christ from Vincent
The Love Chapter
Vincent Ball / General Adult
The Love Chapter / Love / 1 Corinthians 13:1–13
about love
1 Corinthians 13:1–13 (ESV)
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 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.
3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
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.
a. What love is,
b. What love isn't
c. What Jesus's love is
Illustration:
Some of us have lovely neighbours, some of us not. Thankfully where I live, for the entirety of the time I've been here, they have been pretty good neighbours.
But at some point a little while ago I encountered trouble with one of my neighbours. They were being a real problem. Rapping on my window late at night, intimidating, and hostile over nothing really.
If I were young and able and weren't a Christian, then I would have probably sorted the guy out. But... I did, which was against the grain and attempted to love and pray for my neighbours, because Jesus tells me to. I helped them in a few practical ways.
Amazingly. After a couple of months The trouble subsided. And I actually got a box of chocolates and a card from my neighbours saying I was the best neighbour they'd ever had.
Jesus knew right and I knew wrong. All credit to him. I would have been a noisy gong.
A) What love is
The ancient Greeks used four words for love: eraō for sexual passion (absent from the New Testament), storgeō for family devotion, phileō for friendship, and agapaō for loving-kindness. Understanding these distinctions provides valuable insight into how love was understood and expressed in biblical times.
Eros — This denoted the love between man and woman that embraces longing, craving and desire; a physical or sensual love. This word does not occur in the New Testament. The absence of this term in the New Testament is significant, as it reflects a particular theological emphasis.
Storge — This meant to feel affection, especially the affection manifested between parents and children, and was also used of the love of people for a ruler, a guardian god for the people, or a dog for his master. It does not appear in the New Testament except for negative compounds and modified forms. This form of love speaks to the bonds formed through natural relationships and loyalty.
Philia — This is the most general word used for love or affection, mainly representing the attraction of people to one another both inside and outside the family where concern, care, hospitality, and connections of faith are important. The verb phileō often appears in John's gospel, where it describes the Father's love for the Son, the Father's love for us, and Jesus' love for his disciples. It encompasses the warmth of genuine human connection.
Agape — Agape and agapao are the words for love that take on special significance in the New Testament period, used distinctively to describe God's love for man, and man's love for man in imitation of God's love. In the New Testament, agapē was used to designate a "volitional love" as opposed to a purely emotional love, a "self-sacrificial love," and a "love naturally expressed by God," but not so easily by men and women. This represents the highest form of love.
It's worth noting that the contrast between the various words for love isn't sharp; the terms overlap and can be used interchangeably. This fluidity reminds us that love, in all its forms, remains multifaceted and complex.
Do you notice that all the types of love mentioned here in chapter 13 are all agape love? That is:
patience, kindness, not envying or boastful, not arrogant or rude, doesn't act in its own way, not irritable or resentful It does not rejoice at wrongdoing. It rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends. This is the type of love we are going to talk about.
B) What love isn't
According to the Bible, love is not several things that people commonly mistake it for:
Love is not mere emotion or feeling. The Bible speaks of love in active terms, functioning more as a verb than a noun—it is a duty we are obliged to perform. God commands us to love our neighbour, spouse, and even enemies, and it is one thing to conjure feelings of affection for enemies; it is another to act lovingly toward them. Most people think of love only in terms of nice feelings, warm affection, and romance, often meaning “I love me and I want you”—the very opposite of agape love.
Love is not the same as affirming someone in their sin. Love “does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth,” meaning that when loving, we cannot rejoice in sinful behaviour but are commanded to rejoice only when things align with God’s Word, and we cannot affirm someone in their sin even if they insist love requires it.
Love is not self-centred or manipulative. Agape stands in contrast to basic affections, with its distinguishing feature being a lack of self-interest—it proceeds from genuine care and concern for others. Agape love always includes sacrifice and service; it is the sacrifice of self in the service of another.
Love is not performative service without sincerity. Biblical love is more than emotion—it is active, and while developing feelings of love may be outside our control, we can control how we respond and act toward others, mirroring God’s selfless love.
Love is not temporary or conditional. Agape love mirrors God’s character as steadfast love enduring with loyalty, characterized by fidelity and faithfulness built on trust—incapable of being fickle, representing permanent commitment.
Love is not self-directed. Agape love cannot be self-directed; if it is, it destroys itself, ceasing to be self-sacrifice and becoming self-service. Self-directed concern is the biblical concept not of virtue but of sin.
Love is not merely romantic or sentimental. Agape is rare in ancient Greek literature but common in the New Testament; unlike English love, it never refers to romantic or sexual love, nor does it mean mere sentiment or close friendship.
Agape love is the ultimate fruit of the Spirit, and as Paul wrote, “faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” The wellspring of love is the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, causing us to adore God and be kind and servant-hearted toward others as image-bearers of God.
C) What Jesus's love is
At the heart of Christian theology lies a concept requiring two Greek forms to express fully. Agapē, the noun, refers to love as an abstract principle—a fundamental stance toward others that transcends emotion or circumstance. Agapaō, the verb, brings this principle into reality through deliberate choices and actions. Together, they express love as both an identity we cultivate and a practice we engage in daily. Neither is complete without the other: love that is merely feeling without action remains incomplete, while action without genuine commitment becomes hollow.
English vocabulary has created a blind spot in how modern Western culture understands love. We use the same word—"love"—for romantic partners, family members, close friends, pets, and foods we enjoy. The ancient Greeks distinguished more precisely: phileō (friendship), storge (family affection), and eros (romantic passion). But the early church recognized something even more remarkable: agapē transcends all these categories. What matters is not merely identifying agapē as distinct, but understanding what it truly is and how it transforms those who practice it.
Agapē is not based on emotion. It operates from deliberate choice rather than fluctuating feeling. It flourishes most powerfully when our emotions would lead us astray—when someone has wronged us, shown us cruelty, or done nothing to earn our kindness.
Agapē is universally inclusive. While friendship and family affection are selective, agapē extends to enemies, strangers, and those we don't naturally connect with. It reaches across dividing lines without reservation. Remarkably, when you genuinely choose to work for someone's good despite hurt, something shifts in your own heart. Compassion grows. Your intellect recognizes their humanity; your emotion softens; your will remains committed. These three dimensions work together, creating something far richer than any single faculty alone could achieve.
Christ's sacrificial love reveals agapē in its purest form. He loved us while we were sinners—not after we proved ourselves worthy, but while trapped in self-destruction. He loved us as enemies, healing His opponents' servants and praying for those arranging His execution. He didn't wait to see if humanity would become lovable; He loved us into the possibility of transformation. This is agapē incarnate: love that asks nothing before giving everything.
Early Christians understood that their distinctive mark should be agapē love—so radical and evident that observers would ask where it came from. Their love would violate human instinct for self-protection and retaliation. When they extended grace to persecutors, worked for their enemies' good, and forgave those seeking their destruction, these actions became signs of God's kingdom. In a world of conditional love and calculated reciprocity, agapē stood out as radically countercultural—and still does.
We struggle profoundly with agapē love. Our nature, shaped by survival instincts and past wounds, resists such love fiercely. We fail when required to bless those who curse us and forgive those who have scarred us. We often fail even to want this love, rationalizing why it's too much to ask in particular cases.
Yet this impossibility is where grace enters. We cannot do this alone. We lack the spiritual resources within ourselves, but we're not left to our own devices. The Holy Spirit—the same power that animated Christ's life, sustained His suffering, and raised Him from the dead—stands ready to empower us. This grace enables us to love our enemies, forgive completely, and show grace when our nature points toward judgment. We do not walk this path alone. In practicing agapē, we participate in God's own nature and express the heart of His kingdom.
