Love is a desire we all share. The desire to be loved is powerful yet the feeling of being loved is elusive, especially after some time being married. Today we will look at 1 Corinthians 13 love as it applies to marriage to keep the sparks of love alive.
What is a 1 Corinthians 13 love? How do we live it out? That is where we are headed today… deep into the idea that love puts away childish things. Click To TweetWhat Is The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 13 Love?
What/Who do you love? I love coffee, yoga, Bud, my children, reading, Skittles (our Australian Shepherd), Jesus, coffee (yes again), chocolate, and Taco Bell… not in that particular order 😉
Funny to think I could love all of those things. Hm, if I’m very honest I would say some of those things are likes and wants rather than loves. Love goes much deeper than coffee and books as we see in 1 Corinthians 13.
What is 1 Corinthians 13 love?
How do we live it out?
That is where we are headed today… deep into the idea that love puts away childish things.
How Does the Bible Define Love?
There are many different types of love described in the Bible. Whether the Bible is describing romantic love, friendship love, or any other type of love we see an underlying theme. You can love others but the best love requires two as it is a connection that runs deeply from one heart to the other.
There are several types of love mentioned in the Bible but the one that leaves me speechless every time is Agape (click here to see the learn more).
Agape Love is a Powerful Verb
In the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians 13, we see Agape Love defined in a shocking way. 1 Corinthians 13 teaches us that all believers are to show love to everyone.
- Believer or not (insert shocked face)
- Married or not
- Kind or not… oh but I am getting ahead of myself.
As God took Bud and me through a hard season in our marriage, this passage taught me how to be a godly wife*.
- To love my Christian husband when he was acting unlovable.
- God helped me love my husband like I love other believers
- 1 Corinthians 13 is not really a romantic book about Christian marriage but we can apply it to marriage easily!
- And to stay connected with other wives trying to live this same way (check out the Facebook group where Christian Wives chose Hope and Joy in every Season)
God had to take me all the way back to the basics of love. Embarrassing but true!
I need to treat my husband with the same love I showed others! Isn’t it crazy that I am kind and loving to everyone around me but not always the same at home!?!?!?! Can you relate?
1 Corinthians 13 Love Is A Verb
And boy howdy did it work! This love is a verb that leads to a radical change!
To understand what Paul was saying I dug in deeply to each word in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. I unpacked the deeper meanings and found ways to practically apply each word to my marriage.
To learn more about this radical love (Biblical love) click through each phrase below. Be sure to join me in the marriage challenge at the end of each article for the fullest results!
13 Powerful Ways to Show Biblical Love in Marriage
As we look at this 1 Corinthians 13 love, these 13 powerful words should be studied in two parts.
- The first part of the list can be applied to everyday relationships – including our marriage for the benefit of our relationships.
- You will see then that the second part of the list shifts to focus on how our lives impact the Kingdom of God.
Notice as we begin that this answers two questions people ask often.
- What scripture says that God is love?
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 1 John 4, the book on Ephesians love and many more tell us that God is love.
- Who said love is patient love is kind in the Bible?
- As we look at the 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 meaning alongside a 1 Corinthians 13 commentary we see that God Himself describes love as patient and kind!
1. Love is Patient
1 Corinthians 13 NKJV puts this phrase so poetically, “Love suffers long and is kind.” We hear love is patient at weddings, but understanding what it means requires us to go deeper.
- Patience in love does not lose heart while enduring misfortunes and bearing offenses and injuries of others.
To learn more about how love is patient click here.
2. Love is Kind
1 Corinthians 13 ESV puts love is kind in a beautiful way. “Love does/speaks good when it can.” A word study adds the idea that it does and speaks good things even in the face of injuries.
Learn how love is kind here.
3. Love is Not Jealous
The verb tense of jealous is best explained in two parts.
- Envy – you have what I want.
- Covet – I hate that you have what I want and wish I had it and you did not.
Go deeper about how love is not jealous here.
4. Love Does Not Brag
In this phrase, we see that love does not excessively embellish to put itself on the center stage to make a point.
To learn how love does not brag click here.
5. Love is Not Prideful
Love is not arrogant, love considers others better than itself instead of puffing itself up as most important. Right? Love is not prideful.
Learn more about how love is not prideful by clicking here.
6. Love Does Not Act Unbecoming
Love does not act rude, unseemly, or disrespectfully… ah respect.
Learn more about how love does not act unbecomingly by clicking here.
7. Love Does Not Seek Its Own
How does love NOT seek its own? Love does not seek its own comfort, pleasure, or desire above that of those it claims to love.
Learn more about how love does not seek its own here.
8. Love is Not Easily Provoked
This phrase, “love is not easily provoked,” says two things:
- Love does not make the other angry without a reason.
- Love gives up that anger to work toward reconciliation.
Learn more about how love is not easily provoked here.
9. Love Thinks No Evil
I learned 1 Corinthians 13 KJV, which says, “love does not take into account a wrong suffered”. Um, I wish I had that superpower! How about you?
To learn how love thinks no evil click here.
Pst: Want help remembering all these points. Download this pretty phone wallpaper and have it on hand every time you unlock your phone!
10. Love Rejoices in the Truth
Let me say it again, love rejoices in the truth. Love does not:
- Take pleasure in doing evil to others
- Enjoy seeing evil done to others
Read more about how love rejoices in the truth here.
Those first 9 speak to personal things. Notice now how the list changes to focus on Kingdom things!
11. Love Bears All Things
This phrase means that love covers with silence or endures patiently – all things. a difficult choice when there are so many repeated mistakes, but we can trust God to cover us as we cover others.
Read more about how love bears all things here.
12. Love Believes All Things
This kind of love which trusts, believes, ad places faith in others regardless of the circumstances. This is challenging but can be done better when we focus on believing all things of God.
Read more about how love believes all things here.
13. Love Hopes All things
This phrase means that love has full confidence in someone with a hopeful attitude. Again, you may have to start by having full confidence in God and placing that person in His hands when it’s a struggle.
Read more about how love hopes all things here.
14. Love Endures All things
It endures all things means that love remains in a place instead of leaving when it gest hard. As you work through this list you will notice that each word builds upon the last. It concludes with a beautiful picture of Love – God’s Way!
Read more about how love endures all things here.
15. Love Never Fails
Love never descends from a higher place to a lower place. It is never thrust down or descends from a tall (erect) position to a prostate position. Love never losses authority
Read more about how love never fails here.
Will You Choose a 1 Corinthians Love For Your Marriage?
Do you ever get a song stuck in your head?
The entire time I was studying about a 1 Corinthians 13 love I was remembering an old DC Talk song I grew up with. Luv is a Verb by DC Talk 1992 Listen to the song ~> here.
Which of these 13 powerful ways to show love will you work toward today?
- Patience
- Kindness
- Jealousy
- Bragging
- Pride
- Respect
- Selfishness
- Anger
- Thinking
- Rejoicing in Truth
- Bearing All Things
- Believing All Things
- Hoping All things
- Endures All Things
- Love Never Fails
As we practice each one we will live out the truest form of women who put away childish things, meaning we will become godly wives.
Do You Need To Go Deeper?
This is part of the 9-week Marriage Bible Study –Finding Hope & Joy in Marriage. Through this course, we will explore the 9 Biblical foundations of having a successful marriage God’s way.
This class will include:
- 10 video lessons
- You can watch live or when you have time
- 9 weeks of personal study
- 5 days each week that should take 10-15 minutes
- A private Facebook Group to discuss the homework and talk through the weekly challenges
- 45 Days of Prayer prompts
in HIM,
Tiffany of Hope Joy in Christ inspires Christian Women to grow in faith, live out Biblical Marriage Principles and raise Godly Children. Join the Wives Only Facebook Group here or keep up with her through Pinterest.
If you enjoyed this you will love these posts:
- 14 Characteristics of a Godly Wife That Will Save Your Marriage
- How To Be a Biblical Wife To an Ungodly Husband
- Words of Affirmation for Him: The Best Gift for My Husband
Great post, Tiffany! Love is a beautiful thing… or at least it should be.
Yes. it is beautiful when it is God’s love… it is messy when it is my life 😉
Love is not all about butterflies in our stomach and the way someone else makes us feel and yet that is far too often how love is depicted. When we recognize love is about giving of ourselves to someone else it changes how we view and understand the world. Such important lessons!
Exactly Melissa!
Good stuff here Tiffany!
As a fellow relationship blogger and mentor I have to say that I deeply appreciated your line “I need to treat my husband with the same love I showed others!”. SO TRUE! Thanks for the honesty and vulnerability 🙂
It is a truth I need to be reminded of daily!
Me too Tiffany 🙂
Loving someone with agape love is hard when women are in marriages that are difficult. Yielding to God each moment is the only way to bear it.
So much truth there Susan!
I really enjoy how much you unpack love. It is such a true blessing to give and receive true unconditional love. Just today a student told me he doesn’t believe in God because his religious grandmother refused to help a gay person during a flood. So tragic.
That is tragic. It’s crazy how we turn God into a rule maker without heart. Even when people were seeped in sin Jesus helped them. Tax collectors, prostitues, women caught in adultery. He turned no one away… That is a powerful Love!
Deep and insightful teaching. I pray I learn to love God’s way
That is definitely the goal for us all Gloria.