1 Corinthians 13:4

🕊️ Commentary on 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NKJV)

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up.” — 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NKJV)

💬 Context and Meaning

1 Corinthians 13[i] is often called the “Love Chapter” and sits at the heart of Paul’s teaching on spiritual gifts and Christian conduct. Written to a divided and spiritually gifted church in Corinth, Paul redirects their focus from flashy gifts to the supremacy of love — agape, the selfless, sacrificial love that reflects God’s own character.

Verse 4 begins the practical unpacking of what this love looks like. It is not abstract or sentimental. It is active, patient, humble, and others-focused. This love is not merely human effort but the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23[ii]), evidence of regeneration and sanctification in the believer’s life.

📖 Theological Teaching from 1 Corinthians 13:4

1. “Love suffers long” — This means love is patient, especially with people. It endures provocation without retaliation. This reflects God’s patience with sinners (Romans 2:4), and believers are called to mirror that grace in relationships.
2. “And is kind” — Kindness is love in action. It is not passive tolerance but active goodness. Kindness is the overflow of a heart transformed by grace — not mere politeness, but a reflection of Christ’s compassion.
3. “Love does not envy” — Envy is the opposite of love. It resents others’ blessings. Envy is rooted in pride and unbelief — failing to trust God’s providence. Love rejoices in others’ good, knowing all gifts come from God.
4. “Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up” — True love is humble. It does not boast or seek attention. Humility is central to Christian character, grounded in the knowledge that salvation is by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8–9[iii]). Love does not inflate the self but lifts others.

🛠️ Application for Modern Christian Living

In today’s culture, where self-promotion, impatience, and comparison are rampant, 1 Corinthians 13:4 calls believers to a radically different way of life:

• In marriage and family: Patience and kindness build trust and safety. Love does not keep score or demand recognition.
• In church life: Humility and contentment foster unity. Envy and pride divide.
• In the workplace and society: Christians are called to be salt and light — not by dominance, but by quiet, consistent love that reflects Christ.

This verse is not a checklist but a mirror. It shows us our need for grace and the Spirit’s transforming power. Love is the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of others.

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[i] 1 Corinthians 13

New King James Version

The Greatest Gift

13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body [a]to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not [b]puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, [c]thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is [d]perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Footnotes

1 Corinthians 13:3 NU so I may boast

1 Corinthians 13:4 arrogant

1 Corinthians 13:5 keeps no accounts of evil

1 Corinthians 13:10 complete

[ii] Galatians 5:22-23

New King James Version

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 [a]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Footnotes

Galatians 5:23 meekness

[iii] Ephesians 2:8-9

New King James Version

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.