I Corinthians 11:2 – 14:40 is a brilliant section about what a Christian community/church/assembly should look like. Two minor sections distort understanding of Paul’s core message, namely those on women in the church — 11:2-16 and 14:34-35 — as well as a brief rant about prophets in 14:36:38, all of which which seem out of place and inconsistent with the rest of this section. Read around these sections and you find an amazing passage about the Eucharist, the gifts of the Spirit, love, and the use of tongues.
At the heart of this is Paul’s description of what the Christian life looks like, namely his summary of practical Christian love. Love is essential to all we do. But contrary to the Romanticism that dominates our culture, Christian love is not an emotional feeling but a set of behaviors or actions that need to be cultivated and developed. These attitudes/behaviors guide all aspects of Christian living.
Moreover, or perhaps more importantly, there is a progression in the three qualities of Christian living (v. 13), from faith to hope to love. These are not on the same level, and love emerges out of hope and hope out of faith.
Faith enables us to see what lies ahead, the glory that is ours in Christ Jesus. We see the love of God expressed in the giving of his Son in a sacrifice of redemption. And this gives us HOPE, which empowers us to love others.
We are always empowered by hope, by the vision of heaven and of seeing God ‘face to face.’ This hope removes the fear of death and provides absolute security about our future. This enables us to walk away from things that are focused on our interests, on becoming rich or famous, and on our ‘legacy’ on earth. God has chosen us and will richly reward us for all our service and sacrifice for him, especially the sacrifice of our own mortal bodies (i.e., as martyrs).
Christian love is not sentimental or the primary truth/experience of the Christian life. Love emerges out of a great hope, a living hope, a secure destiny when we die. Hope is about what happens after we die. Is all lost? Is the memory of who we are and what we have done confined to our physical presence, our family or the memorials we can build for ourselves? Or do we have a secure and glorious hope in heaven, a life in the presence of God?
Hope is what conquered the Roman world. As the Empire declined, the hopes of the elite vanished, having been built on the glory of the Empire which could be added to and shared by the elite, especially the emperors or generals who expanded it. Ordinary people never had such hope so the Gospel was amazingly good news, coupled with personal transformation by the Spirit — the faith, hope and love that comes from the Spirit.
So don’t try to conjure up love directly. That’s Romanticism. Rather, by faith and the power of the Spirit, let your hope increase and thereby your love.
Is this the key to witness in the 21st century? As the Western culture loses its connection with the Christian tradition and becomes hostile to the Christian faith, how should Christians respond? Withdraw? Become politically active? Or walk the path of ‘martyrdom’, becoming so full of hope and love that they shine like stars in the midst of a corrupt and depraved world?
NB. This is not holiness per se, but faith, hope and love together. Holiness flows naturally, not as a legal requirement or a deceptive notion of what witness is. Holiness is a way of living that has hope and faith at its core, not external behavior according to rules/laws. It is much easier to preach a legalistic holiness because the standard is external behavior and appearance rather than what is in the heart and what motivates holy behavior.
NB. Hope is all that the poor have in this world. The rich (which includes most of the American population) can feel secure in the abundance of things and technology to protect and preserve. Riches are thus deceitful, not morally, but in giving false hope or hope only for this life. We naturally seek security and when we don’t have it we are anxious and fearful. Such a society is also full of envy, so it descends into self-seeking behavior, dislike of others, etc. Such hope for ‘the good life’ or ‘the American dream’ is fragile and easily threatened. And therefore people are easily manipulated towards anger, hatred and greed.
NB. Hope is the great positive that enables a just and generous society. But without hope, life becomes ‘nasty, brutal and short’. (Hobbes)
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV
“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV
“Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NABRE
“Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:8 NABRE
“So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 NABRE
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV
“Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”
1 Corinthians 13:8 ESV
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV
FN. Hobbes summary of ‘the state of nature’:
“Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man, the same consequent to the time wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” [Leviathan, Ch. VI]
Hobbes focus was on the need for government rather than pure individualism. Without government, mankind lives in a state of war, contending for scarce resources. Cf. Romans 13 and the Christian emphasis on churchandstate, not just one or the other. And thus democracy depends on a virtuous people. Without virtue, the state of war will tend to increase leading to tyranny. Note that bad government can still make the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.