The Way of Love
Gordon's ‘Letters to the sub-editor’ immediately drew my mind to chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians. If there were any title worthy of being labeled as ‘intrusive’ I believe it would be “The Way of Love” heading listed in a few different Bible versions before this passage. There aren't too many more well-known passages than this one; yet, there aren't many more passages so misunderstood.
The reason, of course, is that there is usually little regard for the argument leading up to chapter 13. In a way, this chapter is a capstone and summary of all the chapters before. Paul uses this chapter as a heavy-handed rebuke to the Corinthian church. Think about the description of love in vv. 4-7. Each of these characteristics is the exact opposite of Paul's previous descriptions of the Corinthians.
Compare the following:
- Love is patient and kind; the Corinthians are rude (11:5)
- Love is not boastful or envious; the Corinthians are proud (4:6-8)
- Love does not insist on its own way; the Corinthians are selfish (8:9-12; 11:21)
- Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing; the Corinthians are arrogant about sin (5:2)
- Love does rejoice in truth, believes all things; the Corinthians doubt Paul (4:3-5)
As Dick Lucas says of this passage, “A young Corinthian girl would never ask Paul to preach this chapter at her wedding.” Why? Because the Corinthians would have been greatly rebuked and probably highly offended by Paul after reading (or hearing) this chapter. Everything they take pride in (their knowledge and gifts) is worthless because they don't seek to do all things in love. Further, this passage is about how the people within the Corinthian church should act towards each other and outsiders, not primarily about the love between a man and a woman.
So, when you are confronted with “The Way of Love” at the beginning of chapter 13, it does little to capture the force of Paul's words. One Bible titled the section, “A Better Way”, which is a slight improvement as it begs the question, “Better than what?” and hopefully drives the reader back to the previous chapters. However, the best way to understand this section is to allow God's Word to explain it rather than the pen of a human hand.