| Written by Norman Labelle |
(A look into 1 Corinthians13 – the Love chapter)
What does “love believes all” mean? (vs.7)
1Corinthians13 (CLNT)
1 If I should be speaking in the languages of men and of the messengers, yet should have no love, I have become resounding copper or a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I should have prophecy and should be perceiving all secrets and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so as to transport mountains, yet have no love, I am nothing.
3 And if ever I should be morselling out all my possessions, and if I should be giving up my body, that I should be boasting, yet may have no love, in nothing do I benefit.
4 Love is patient, is kind. Love is not jealous. Love is not bragging, is not puffed up,
5 is not indecent, is not self-seeking, is not incensed, is not taking account of evil,
6 is not rejoicing in injustice, yet is rejoicing together with the truth,
7 is forgoing all, is believing all, is expecting all, is enduring all.
8 Love is never lapsing: yet, whether prophecies, they will be discarded, or languages, they will cease, or knowledge, it will be discarded.
9 For out of an instalment are we knowing, and out of an instalment are we prophesying.
10 Now whenever maturity may be coming, that which is out of an instalment shall be discarded.
11 When I was a minor, I spoke as a minor, I was disposed as a minor, I took account of things as a minor. Yet when I have become a man, I have discarded that which is a minor’s.
12 For at present we are observing by means of a mirror, in an enigma, yet then, face to face. At present I know out of an instalment, yet then I shall recognize according as I am recognized also.
13 Yet now are remaining faith, expectation, love — these three. Yet the greatest of these is love.
Before we start, I think it’s important to note that within the chapter, the “Love” factor is contrasted with the mention of the gifts of “speaking in tongues” and “prophecy” and “knowledge” (vs.1-2). It’s furthermore contrasted with the major part of the following chapter, for the very first words of chapter 14 befittingly start with “Be pursuing love” – it then continues to speak of those same gifts again.
I think it’s paramount to keep in mind what kind of “Love” is here being spoken of.
We agree that Paul was inspired by God when he wrote everything he wrote. We can also agree that it was God Himself expressing His will and intentions via Christ, through our apostle. That being the case, we must understand and acknowledge that God’s expressed will and intentions are always based on His particular and unique type of “Love”. This type of Love is in a class of its own. It defines the essence of His whole entire Being and that of His Son, Christ Jesus. As far as God’s Holy Spirit is concerned, it can only reflect and express that same love identically as God does.
What I’m talking about is AGAPE love. A Spiritual, Divine, Godly, altruistic, empathetic, sympathetic, all-encompassing love. This has nothing to do with the 7 other types of love that exist in the Greek language. Out of the 7 other “man-centered” love applications that exist, there are 2 which are most often expressed and frequently used throughout scripture – “Brotherly love” (Gk: φίλος Philos/Philia) and “carnal, erotic, sexual love” (Gk: ɛρως eros), which are both under the category of man-centered love.
The eight different types of love, according to the ancient Greeks, are:
- Eros (sexual passion)
- Philia (deep friendship)
- Ludus (playful love)
- Pragma (longstanding love)
- Philautia (love of the self, ego)
- Storge (family love)
- Mania (obsessive love)
- *Agape (Divine, all inclusive)
* The first 7 are completely “man-centered”, the last one is God’s unique,
all-encompassing outward love towards all of mankind and His angelic
creation.
SPECIAL NOTE: When we see the word “love” in the chapter at hand, we must be fully persuaded that it’s talking exclusively about “agape” love. (Gk: ἀγάπη, ἀγάπην). Agape is used 9 times in chapter 13. Not once is the use of the word love applied with an another meaning such as those listed above.
SEE INTERLINEAR: 1 Corinthians 13 Interlinear Bible (biblehub.com)
We should consider 2 ways of interpreting the love Paul is talking about in this chapter;
Is Paul (thus God), trying to a) convey an “instructive” view of “God’s” agape love?
(i.e: how we must be loving and behaving towards one another, via His “Agape” love?),
or
b) is Paul (thus God), simply giving a “descriptive” view of the true nature and application of His agape love?
Either way, we benefit from a deeper, more profound perspective.
Before I proceed, I’ve cut & pasted 2 excerpts of explanations I’ve seen online. Maybe we can glean some additional understanding from them.
EXCERPT #1 (in relation to vs.7)
This word “belief” comes from the Greek word “pistis” which is usually translated simply as “faith”. There is some question whether this phrase refers to the Christian’s maintenance of their beliefs about God and Christ and the gospel. If that was the case, a more literal translation of “has all faith” would be more appropriate. However, in context we notice that Paul is explaining to the Corinthians what their regard for one another should look like. Paul is describing an attitude toward others that is manifested in action. As such, the expression “believes all things” is best understood as that attitude which assumes the best in others.
To “believe all things” means that we give others the benefit of the doubt. It means that we expect the best. It means that we are able to overlook the offences and failure of others. It means we believe that over time we can commit ourselves to one another. “Believing all things” means that we are willing to trust one another.
Perhaps you are struggling to “believe all things” about others in our church. Perhaps you are quick to expect others to fail. Perhaps you don’t believe that others will respond to things like they should. You doubt that they are capable of doing what they promise.
You believe they will fail. You believe they will fail you. Failure to “believe all things” is marked by suspicion; we suspect that others are being deceitful, hiding their true intentions and motives. You believe that despite someone’s own words, that they are up to no good. It is marked by stewing inwardly, dissecting the actions and remarks of others, interpreting their every act. We anticipate being offended and prepare our rebuttals. We anticipate being let down and prepare our scathing critique. We accuse the motives of others, assuming that their ultimate purposes are selfish.
Failure to love in this way is also a most hyper-critical thing. So many times, I have been so quick to note someone else’s sin, usually privately, to myself, and considered them a lost cause. I have considered entire persons on the basis of only their most recent actions. I have used words “always” to my expectations for others sin, and “never” meeting my expectations. In this way I have reduced others to a mere caricature of their true selves.
This sin has many consequences, but most notably it costs us friendship. When we sin in this way, we ultimately close ourselves to relationships with others. To protect ourselves from being hurt, we doubt others, and this prevents us from opening our hearts to them and forming the Christian bond of fellowship.
EXCERPT #2 (in relation to vs.7)
First, is this instructive, or descriptive? What I mean is, is Paul saying that to be loving, this is how we must behave? Or is he saying, someone who loves just naturally displays these characteristics?
Second, if this is instructive, what does it mean that love believes all things? (vs.7). Love hopes, and bears/endures, I get, but believes? Let me use a personal example: an adulterous spouse. I love her and she claims with great energy that it will never happen again. I believe her, but it does. And she claims again that it will stop. I believe her?? Every time? For how long?
If it is descriptive, then believes makes sense, because as the cliche says, “Love is blind” so of course love believes all things.
Now to get back to the difficult statement at hand, “Love believes all” ….
In Greek, the root word from which we get “faith”, is the noun PISTIS (Gk: πίστις), and the verb “believe” is PISTUEO (Gk: πιστεύω). Faith means Belief – a persuasion, an assurance, a firm conviction, faithfulness. The 2, (faith and belief) go hand-in-hand.
All is of God. Of this, we are sure. God is Spirit, of this we are also as sure. That means the Spirit we’ve been given by God, as a down payment, an earnest, gives us the ability to love as He loves – that is, in an “agape” way, an all-encompassing way. We have also been given our belief and faith by God. We therefore have faith and belief by God’s love, which trumps any limited, temporary gifts He provides along the way to build us up. (i.e: speaking in tongues, prophecy and knowledge). Having the agape love of God in us means we no longer need accompanying signs to prove our calling and standing. Just as God is all-sufficient, His love is just as all-sufficient.
In vs.1, the “speaking in tongues” is an outward show of the Holy Spirit and an inward sign that confirms God’s operation within the one who has received this particular gift, but it’s incomplete in and of itself, if it’s not accompanied by love.
In vs.2, having the gift of “prophecy” and perceiving secrets and “knowledge” while all the while having faith, they too are incomplete, thus not all-encompassing, if they’re not accompanied by that same love.
In vs.3, even if you sacrifice your worldly possessions, even if you fast (denying your body), or even if you sacrifice your very life through martyrdom, all of those particular sacrifices are unsatisfying, incomplete and meaningless, if not accompanied with love.
In vs.4,5,6, we have a list of what love is not. The contraries are listed with the use of the word “not”, to point us toward the opposite of what love is. By listing a bunch of “is-nots”, it’s actually painting a broader picture of what constitutes “mature love” (the agape type). This is where God is directing our steps to show us more of His true nature. If we grasp what this list conveys, we grow in our appreciation of Him and His love. The intended purpose of the natural growth process is to bring us to maturity and have us bloom in the full realization of His Love.
When we believe that love is what motivated God to implement His plan, and that love’s full effect is to know God deeply and intimately, it is meant to bring us to a full and complete sense of His endgame. Love is the motor, the driving force that accomplishes His wanting to be All in all.
When we believe God, which is Love, we can actually believe all, thus “Love believes all” (vs.7). Believing “all” means believing the full potential behind God’s motivation and the full realization of His will.
If we believe that God will be All in all, we must also believe that “All” His love will also be fully transferred to inhabit “all” of His creation. This result can only happen when death is swallowed up, Satan no longer has a grip over others and Christ has subjected all to Himself and ultimately hands His Sovereignty over to our Father. When all of this will have occurred; lies and deceptions, carnal ambitions, hate, jealousy, boasting, pride, greed, self-centeredness, injustice, will have all vanished. Love will reign as God intended all along. It will be the driving force within all of His creatures.
In vs.9-13, it speaks of “instalments”. I take that to mean an allotment, or earnest, or down payment – a foretaste and foreshadow of something much more meaningful and grandiose. In these verses, Paul is saying that while in a limited state of infancy, the gifts of speaking in tongues, prophecy and knowledge were given our early brethren while they were babes in Christ. The gifts God gave them were to accompany them in their growth process. Once having matured, these gifts were no longer necessary, therefore, as Paul would say, “to be discarded” (vs.10-11). Our early brethren were weaned off these crutches as they transitioned in their growth towards maturity.
If we are given a .001% or even a full 1% of His Holy Spirit as an earnest, I also believe we’ve been given the exact same corresponding ratio of His agape love.
Our Loving God believes in all that He put into motion – the tangible and the intangible (including Love). Love is believing all that encompasses His qualities and attributes. Through His inspired and revelatory Word, we can determine His Greatness by terms such as; Light, Wisdom, Eternal, Omniscient (all-knowing), Omnipotent (all-powerful), Truth, Good, Just, Righteous, Holy and Perfect.
All of the preceding qualities and attributes are proof of His uncontested Sovereignty. Because we know Him in this way, we can trust him wholeheartedly with an unwavering assurance that He wants us to share those same qualities. That being said, we know that His/our “Love believes all”.
What motivates us to reverence God so much??? Why do we trust in Him so blindly and unconditionally??? What makes us so confident of His Love for us??? What else can possibly explain our urge to want to honor Him??? Remember, He loved us first, before we loved Him. How can we explain the love we have for Him???
How can we reciprocate the Love He has for us???
For now, it can only be done through the 1% down payment He gave us through His Holy Spirit. Just as God told Paul that His grace was sufficient, so now, this allotted, apportioned Love we’ve been graciously given is also sufficient. However, to compensate, God also gave us our blessed hope and “expectation” (Titus 2:13) while we await the remaining 99% of His full-measure of agape Love.
HIS WHOLE PLAN from inception to consummation, from before the eons, to after the eons, was, is, and always will be motivated by the essence of His Being, agape LOVE.
God made sure His whole plan was Perfect and Flawless. When His plan was determined as such, He sealed it by the counsel of His Will – to withstand all of time.
Asking the question, what does “Love believes all” mean is a valid question, but to get to the root of the matter, the inquisitive mind asks an even more important question; “believes all of what?”. Love believes all that God has declared to be Truth. Love believes the Righteousness of God and all that sprouts from it.
Love has no boundaries. It isn’t limited by space or time, just like God. If love was restricted to believing only certain things (not “all”), it would have limits or boundaries. It would be prohibitive from knowing God fully in all His splendor.
I think understanding this, is what motivated/inspired Paul to write the following;
Romans 8:35-39 – Romans 8 Interlinear Bible (biblehub.com) – scroll down to vs.35-39
“35 What shall be separating us from the (agape) love of God in Christ Jesus? Affliction, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36 According as it is written that “On Thy account we are being put to death the whole day, We are reckoned as sheep for slaughter.”
37 Nay! in all these we are more than conquering through Him Who (agape) loves us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor messengers, nor sovereignties, nor the present, nor what is impending, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, will be able to separate us from the (agape) love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord”.
In vs.38 & 39, Paul is focusing on the “boundless” power of agape Love. He expresses Love as having no boundaries for him, just as we should consider for ourselves. Our apostle is showing us by example that the Love he’s describing believes all.
Romans 13:10 – Romans 13 Interlinear Bible (biblehub.com) – scroll down to vs.10
“Love is not working evil to an associate. The complement, then, of law, is love”.
As you know, we, the Body of Christ are His complement. Christ needs us, we need him. From this verse, we can say the same about law and love. They are complements of each other. When God/Christ gave the 10 commandments (the Law) to Moses, God/Christ did so out of their agape Love. This very same Law was later explained as being resumed into 2 commandments – to love thy associate as thy self and to love God with your whole being.
Matt.22: 37-39 – Matthew 22 Interlinear Bible (biblehub.com) – scroll down to vs.37-39
“Now He averred to him, “You shall be (agape) loving the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with you whole comprehension. 38 This is the great and foremost precept. 39 Yet the second is like it: ‘You shall be (agape) loving your associate as yourself.’”
God’s love is so “all-encompassing”, that He summed up the whole law into these 2 simple commandments. By God doing this, His Law/Love applies not only to Israel but to the Gentile nations as well, making His Love, “all-inclusive”.
I will close with a last example. It’s found in John 21:15-17 + vs.20
15 When, then, they lunch, Jesus is saying to Simon Peter, “Simon of John, are you (agape) loving Me more than these?” He is saying to Him, “Yes, Lord, Thou art aware that I am (philo) fond of Thee!” He is saying to him, “Graze My lambkins!”
16 He is saying to him again a second time, “Simon of John, are you(agape) “loving” Me?” He is saying to Him, “Yes, Lord, Thou art aware that I am (philo) fond of Thee!” He is saying to him, “Shepherd My sheep!”
17 He is saying to him the third time, “Simon of John, are you (philo) “fond” of Me?” Peter was sorry that He said to him the third time “Are you (philo) “fond” of Me?” and he is saying to Him, “Lord, Thou art aware of all things! Thou knowest that I am (philo) “fond” of Thee.” And Jesus is saying to him, “Graze My little sheep!
By the above text (vs.15-17), it’s evident that Peter never once told Christ that he “loved” Him in an “agape” way. Rather, he always answered Christ in a human way, with mere fondness. Why so? My theory on this, is that Peter didn’t have the Holy Spirit indwelling in him. He had the Spirit ON him but not IN him (as all Israelite Kingdom believers for that matter), as opposed to us, the Body of Christ, being indwelt with the Spirit.
I think our calling is more special than that. God and the risen Christ, choose to live within us. What a privilege! Because of that down payment, earnest of God’s Spirit, we can actually claim to “agape” our Elohim because He imparted that special privilege to us. Think about this – if Christ came down to visit you today and had the very same conversation with you, and if you were asked 3 times if you “agaped” Him, would you answer, that you were merely “fond” of Him? …or would you embrace Him and tell Him you agaped Him? This of course is a no-brainer to any member Christ’s Body.
In contrast, check out vs.20, of the same chapter, where John writes;
20 Now Peter, being turned about, is observing the disciple whom Jesus (agape) loved, following, who leans back also on His chest at the dinner and said to Him, “Lord who is it who is giving Thee up?”
While penning this event, John obviously knew the difference between the words he was writing. He knew what Philo meant, and he knew what Agape meant. But he wrote vs.20 exactly the way God wanted it to be written. I think it’s to show us that they (including John), couldn’t (agape) love Christ the way Christ (agape) loved them. They, Peter and John were carnally man-centered, God’s love is more complete and comprehensive.
Norman Labelle
October 2021
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