◄ 1 Corinthians 13 Devotional Commentary ►

1 Corinthians 13:1

In many church assemblies today, there is much emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and though the gifts of the Spirit are wonderful and exciting, if they are not administered in love, they are of little worth and can even become abused and destructive.

Spiritual gifts from the Spirit are bestowed on every child of God, but they are a privilege that must be used wisely, for when abused by the carnal believer, that can cause read more...

1 Corinthians 13:2

There are many gifts that are given through the Holy Spirit as He chooses, but unless those spiritual gifts are ministered to one another through love, they are of little significance and of no spiritual value at all. We read that the carnal Christians in Corinth, could not be considered spiritual believers. Paul addressed them as babes in Christ, even though they had an overabundance of spiritual gifts.

Indeed, they did not lack read more...

1 Corinthians 13:3

Love is the primary characteristic that we see in the Father's gift of His Son to the world, and in Christ's sacrifice of Himself for His Church and throughout the Church epistles, we are called to love one another in the same way that Christ loved us. Love is enriching and fulfilling for the one who loves as well as for the one who is loved.

But when the gifts of the Spirit are administered apart from love, they are of no value, read more...

1 Corinthians 13:4

As we read through the first epistle to the Corinthians, we discover them to be a group of immature believers who were argumentative, carnal-minded, discontented, immoral, inconsiderate, unloving, self-inflated, selfish, and critical of others. And although they were set apart unto God, positioned in Christ, and eternally secure, they were not maturing in their spiritual walk, but acting like spoilt infants.

The abundance of read more...

1 Corinthians 13:5

Had the believers at Corinth been walking worthy of their calling, there would have been no need for Paul to write this stinging, corrective teaching in the thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians, but all aspects of love were missing from their lives, and their ungodly behavior required Paul's stern admonition: "Love as Christ loved us." The wealth of spiritual gifts given to this body of believers, sharply contrasted an absence of read more...

1 Corinthians 13:6

Man was made in the image and likeness of God, but that image became distorted and marred when sin reared its ugly head and man chose the path of disobedience over the pathway to peace, the highway to holiness, the road of righteousness.

Instead of choosing to live in innocent dependence upon their Creator, man freely chose to rebel against the true and living God, which resulted in an imputed sin nature and an inherited tendency read more...

1 Corinthians 13:7

The beautiful characteristics of divine love are seen being lived out in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, and God's will is that all His children reflect the love of Christ in their heart and life.

Godly love begins to be evidenced in the life of a believer as the fruit of the Spirit is allowed to grow, but it is often through painful experiences and a willing obedience to abide in God's Word that this exquisite read more...

1 Corinthians 13:8

Unlike the gifts of the Spirit which are only temporary, the fruit of the Spirit is everlasting - for love never fails. Unlike the spiritual gifts of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge which will pass away and cease forever, the spiritual fruit of love is eternal - for love never fails. 

How the immature carnal Christians of Corinth valued the things that were passing away at the expense of the things that last forever, and what a read more...

1 Corinthians 13:8

How the Corinthian church prided themselves on the multiplicity of gifts with which they were endowed. Indeed, of all the groups of believers recorded in Scripture, it was the Corinthian Christians who were gifted with a greater abundance of spiritual gifts than any other named church. And yet as we discover, this group of saved believers were more carnal and worldly minded than any group of New Testament Christians. They were babes in Christ who had never grown in read more...

1 Corinthians 13:13

Of all the gifts and graces that are poured out in great abundance into the lives of believers, there are three that out-shine and out-last all others. When prophecy is complete, languages cease, signs are silenced... and miracles of health, healing, provision, and protection are no longer needed. We are told that these three, spiritual fruit of God’s amazing grace will continue and will remain and abide into the eternal state - faith, hope, and love.

read more...