Thrust Statement: Love is the glue that holds God’s people together.

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:15-19

            A casual reading of this Ephesian Epistle reveals an emphasis upon love as the glue or cement that maintains unity in spite of diversity of opinions. For Paul, love is the ingredient that allows individuals to bear with one another, especially in the face of differences of judgments. In order to illustrate the principles set forth in Ephesians about love, this paper focuses upon one important unit of Scripture and calls attention to another Scripture dealing with unity, apart from Ephesians, in which love is put forward as the key element that upholds unity, notwithstanding the diversity of beliefs within the body of Christ.^[1] The first analysis of unity in diversity is found in 1 Corinthians 8:1—11:1, and the second study of harmony in diversity is located in Romans 14—15 (discussed in another essay).^[2] The major focus of this paper will center on an examination of 1 Corinthians 8:1—11:1 in order to concretize the meaning of love, even though this essay is Chapter 13 in the series on Ephesians. These two larger sections of Scripture concretize the application of love within the church of Jesus Christ as set forth in the Book of Ephesians. The word love^[3] plays a major role within this short Epistle. This study is a needed study, especially within the Christian church today as it seeks a solution to the divisions that exist within the fractured and fragmented body of Christ.

In Ephesians 1:15-19, Paul breaks forth in rapturous language with thanksgiving and prayer for the Ephesians’ faith in the Lord Jesus and for their love toward God’s holy people. From the moment that Paul heard about their faith and love, he did not cease giving thanks to God in his prayers. In this Epistle, Paul utters two prayers about their spiritual growth in the knowledge of God’s blessings (1:15-19 and 3:14-19). In these two prayers, Paul does not request material things; but rather, his emphasis is upon spiritual perception of God’s riches made available in and through Jesus the Messiah. As one reads and rereads this short Epistle, one observes that three words flow throughout this Book: faith,^[4] hope,^[5] and love.^[6] Two of these words occur in the beginning of this pericope^[7] (1:15-23) of prayer, and one also observes additional comments about God’s power of raising Jesus from the dead (1:20). All three of these words occur within this first chapter.

            After learning of their faith and love, Paul writes: “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers” (1:16).^[8] Their faith and love motivated Paul to pray for these believers. How do you rate in your faith toward God and your love for God’s consecrated people? Could it be said of your local fellowship of believers that the congregation is known for its faith and love and hope? For Paul, both faith and love should characterize every believer. Without loyalty to God and without love to His people, one cannot be a true church. It is not uncommon for Christians to disengage other Christians with ostracism—Christians who not bend to the party creed.

It is not uncommon for some Christians to withhold fellowship from other Christians when they exercise their critical faculties in trying to arrive at a clearer understanding of God’s Word. Many believers do not love other Christians who disagree with their understanding of God’s Word.^[9] For many believers, engagement with other disciples of Jesus hinges upon conformity to the status quo of a particular party creed. One should question the great confidence of absolutism on the part of the various groups within the Churches of Christ as well as other fellowships. Just a casual reading of the religious journals by many sincere Christians reveal the temporary nature of the formulations made by men—formulations conditioned by their social culture and their psychological reactions to it as beyond dispute. For some, dogmatic certainty on every point of doctrine is the only thing that will meet their needs. Many Christians are seeking a finished creed—a creed that is as unalterable as the law of the Medes and Persians. 

This author (Dallas Burdette) grew up in a segment of the Stone/Campbell Movement in which the church wanted a finished, or static, creed.^[10] What I discovered very early in my struggle for liberation from theological dogmatism was ostracism. This particular fellowship made uniformity of doctrine the basis of unity and also the basis of a true church. It was not uncommon for church signs to read: “The True Church Meets Here.” Under no conditions did this odd fellowship allow for doctrinal reinterpretation of long-held traditions. I became, at least to this group, a religious outlaw, that is to say, the Jesse James of the theological world within the one-cup and nonSunday school movement.  The bitter intolerance against me was unbelievable. There was an explosion of ill will from this very narrow-minded fellowship known as the one cup and nonSunday school movement.^[11]

In the field of controversy, one frequently discovers that courtesy, kindness, fairness, tolerance, and love are conspicuously absent in the face of disagreements, which is totally at variance with First Corinthians 13. Letters were written against my supposedly liberal views. Fagots (sticks) were gathered, as it were, and thrown on the flame of hate. The hostilities grew increasingly vehement. I soon discovered that our doctrines were frozen in terms that denied liberty of interpretation. In my now fifty years of ministry, I have learned that opinions may be mistaken, but love never is. When Christians truly love one another, there is complete and unreserved commitment to each other.

When Christians do not love those who hold another opinion, this behavior of unbending orthodoxy destroys the faith of many. Christians can come nearer winning the lost to Christ if they see unity among His followers. It is in this regard that Jesus prays: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21, KJV). I am currently dealing with an individual who has rejected Christianity because of what he has seen in the one-cup movement toward those who disagree with the powers-that-be. It is in this same vein that J. H. Oldham wrote (1937) the following note expressing the internal turmoil in his own soul to Paul Tillich about his own doubts:

You know, Tillich, Christianity has no meaning for me whatsoever apart from the Church, but I sometimes feel as though the Church as it actually exists is the source of all my doubts and difficulties.^[12]

In my own search for understanding, I was confronted with a stiff denominational system of ecclesiastical control by powerful preachers. I was excommunicated because the congregation that I labored with accepted a Christian (M. S. Whitehead) from a congregation that employed individual communion cups in the observance of the Lord’s Supper without making a so-called public confession of sin. I was, in effect, a man without a church. I am writing this essay to call attention to the true dimension of love within the Christian community, a love that God demands of His people. The body of Christ puts accent on community. The ekklesia is the association that unites person with person. The thrust of the essay is to set forth the true dimension of love in spite of differences among God’s “chosen people.” Love is the answer to so many problems that plague the Christian community today. The words of the apostle John are to the point:

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ^8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ^9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son ^a into the world that we might live through him. ^10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for ^b our sins. ^11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ^12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us (1 John 4:7-12).

This church that Paul addresses in the Ephesian Epistle is the identical church that Jesus addresses in one of His letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor. For instance, Jesus, in having John to write to Ephesus, complains about their lack of love in Ephesus:

I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ^3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. ^4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love (Revelation 2:2-4).

What happened to this church? How did they forsake their first love? Did they still have zeal for the things of God? This “first love” does not appear to be a lack of zeal—“You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary” (2:3).  It was not a lack of belief in Jesus as the Son of God or loose moral behavior, but something else that the Ephesians were missing in their relationship to one another. Apparently, their “first love’ is associated with their attitude toward those who disagreed. Were they guilty of heresy hunting? Has the modern-day church left its first love? One does not have to search very much to encounter heresy hunters in the various churches. It is true that one must defend the faith (the Gospel and ethical behavior) once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3), but, at the same time, one can be too scrupulous concerning so many details that one forgets what Christianity is all about—redemption of the lost in and through Jesus.^[13] This salvation can only be received through faith in Jesus as the savior of the world (Ephesians 2:8).

As a whole, one can say that the points that divide most Christians are not the teachings dealing with faith in Jesus as Lord and His demands for ethical behavior. The teachings, as a whole, that divide Christians today were wholly unknown in the first century. The subject of heresy hunting centers on a so-called worship service with five prescribed rituals, at least this is so within many of the twenty-five or more divisions within the Churches of Christ. Just a casual look at some of the journals put out by the various factions within the Churches of Christ reveal the mindset of heresy hunting. Why is this essay calling attention to this problem that plagues God’s people? The current situation in many churches violates the prayer of Jesus for unity among His people. William Barclay, in his commentary on Revelation, has an excellent analysis of this theory of “first love”:

Much more likely this means that the first fine rapture of love for the brotherhood is gone. In the first days the members of the Church at Ephesus had really loved each other; dissension had never reared its head; the heart was ready to kindle and the hand was ready to help. But something had gone wrong. It may well be that heresy-hunting had killed love, and orthodoxy had been achieved at the price of fellowship. When that happens, orthodoxy has cost too much. All the orthodoxy in the world will never take the place of love.^[14]

            In the reading of Revelation 2:4, it is very difficult for Christians to unpack the biblical witness to analyze his or her own tradition(s). Individuals read and hear the written Revelation of God, but, at the same time, they do not hear. Even Jesus, following His positive and negative comments about the church in Ephesus, said: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:7). What does it really mean to say that one has left his or her “first love.” All too frequently, one’s commitment to the authority of God’s Word is too often one’s commitment to the authority of the interpreter. This idea of orthodoxy about peripheral matters was not uncommon in the early church, which is still prevalent today. The spirit of intolerance existed then as well as now. Paul, for example, in his Epistles to Corinth and Rome had to deal with toleration for differences within the fellowship of the saints.

Just a casual reading of First Corinthians, Romans, and Ephesians should cause the so-called patternist to step back and reexamine their hostile positions toward those who deny that God has ordained a pattern for a so-called “worship service.” If the Christian church is to become a living force in society, it must break the moulds of tradition to which it has become so confined.  One’s interpretation of Scripture is often the echo of one’s own voice. Many Christians do not see the consequences of their own sectarian actions against other Christians. As Christians face the diversity of opinions within the fellowship of the redeemed, one must ever keep in mind the necessity of patience as one tackles conflict among sincere believers. In fact, it is in the Ephesian Epistle that Paul embarks upon this problem of diversity and unity with bluntness:

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ^2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ^3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ^4 There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— ^5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ^6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:1-6).

Between the writing of Ephesians and the Book of Revelation, one observes a departure from the love that Paul expresses in Ephesians. This Ephesian Epistle was written from Rome about AD 60, while Paul was in prison. On the other hand, the Book of Revelation was written no later than AD 68. Within just a short period of time, the church had left its first love, which, sadly to say, is also true nowadays with many churches. Christians must learn to tolerate one another in love. God’s people should make every effort to keep the unity created by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:3). God is not pleased with believers when they fail to remember that they are to receive one another in the same way that the Lord Jesus receives His people—warts and all (See Romans 15:7; Colossians 3:12-14). Everyone has imperfection in his or her life; everyone has flaws in his or her knowledge. Paul calls attention to the seven ones^[15] in the Book of Ephesians in order to reinforce the motivating factor concerning the need to maintain unity by “bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).

Since God is love, Christians are to emulate God in loving others. Paul begins this great Epistle by calling attention to God’s love in reaching out to humanity even before the creation of the world (1:4). In this same chapter, he commends the Ephesians for their faith and their love for all the saints (1:15). Once again, Paul attributes one’s new life in Christ to God’s great love and mercy (2:4). Paul prays that this “administration of God’s grace” will take root and will bring about established love (3:17). Then he prays that they will come to understand “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (3:18). This love of Christ, according to Paul, “surpasses knowledge” (3:19). Paul wants the Ephesians to maintain the unity created by the Holy Spirit. How can this unity be maintained? The answer is love.

Listen to Paul once more as he calls forth love as the glue or cement that can bind believers, in spite of diversity: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (4:2). One cannot read this Epistle without a consciousness of love flooding this letter. Again he writes: “speaking the truth in love” (4:15). As the Ephesians shared the truth about the coming of the Messiah spoken of by Isaiah, for example, one should do this in love, even in the face of opposition (4:15). As the body of Christ seeks to understand more fully the “administration of God’s grace,” the body of Christ is to grow and build “itself up in love” (4:16).

In his exhortation to live as children of light, he instructs them to “live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (5:2). This love is to also be exhibited in the family: “Husbands, love your wives” (5:25). Paul develops his arguments about the husbands love and says again, “In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies” (5:28). For the third time in the pericope about “Wives and Husbands,” he again tells the husbands to “love his wife” (5:33). And, finally, in the conclusion of his letter, he again drives home the point about love: “Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ^24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love” (5:23-24).  The fruit of love is found and concretized in the following examples from Paul’s letters to Corinth and Rome.  In these two Epistles, one sees the true dimension of love as set forth in Ephesians.

1 CORINTHIANS 11:1: AN EXAMPLE OF TOLERATION

For one to properly understand love and unity, one must look at the entire New Testament range of evidence. Even though this essay cannot explore the entire range of evidence about love in the New Testament, it does focus on 1 Corinthians 8:1—11:1. In order to develop the theme of love and unity with greater clarity, it is helpful to look at the problems that Paul encountered in Corinth and Rome. How did Paul handle the problems that were about to cause divisions within these two congregations? First, in Paul’s letter to Corinth, he encouraged the believers to follow his example of love—a love that resulted in toleration: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

This verse is frequently employed in such a way that it nullifies the meaning (intent) of Paul. As a young preacher, I made use of this Scripture to justify my separation from other Christians who did not see eye-to-eye with me on the use of one-cup in the Lord’s Supper, Sunday school, instrumental music, and so on. This misuse of 1 Corinthians 11:1 is still alive on planet earth. In fact, I just received an email (September 3, 2003) about this verse from a former member of this segment of God’s people. This individual wanted to know if one could substitute the word commandments for the word example, which is what many within this movement still do. The word commandments is generally identified with the concept of worship as consisting of five rituals performed in a so-called worship service on Sunday mornings.

At one time, in my early ministry with the one-cup and non-Sunday school movement, I interpreted “example” as one-cup and non-Sunday school, and so on.  But is this what Paul meant by “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ”? The answer is, No! Regrettably, some Christians still substitute the word commandments for the word example. As stated above, some Christians identify “commandments” with the so-called five acts of worship associated with a so-called worship service on Sunday morning. Such a deduction inhibits an honest critical testing of context in order to try to arrive at a correct interpretation of how Paul utilized the word example.

The traditional approach—the word command for example—allows for a methodological line of attack that forces tradition into its own little box. On the other hand, an inductive approach is more faithful to the text. When one approaches the Scriptures deductively, this “allows for a tidier package, but only by stuffing all the loose ends into its box.”^[16] Once more, Johnson correctly writes: “To begin, a deduction inhibits an honest critical testing of the data. Instead of listening openly to the words of Scripture, a norm is set up concerning their meaning, and then the evidence is made to conform to it.”^[17]

The traditional interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11:1 is frequently argued—sincerely—from within one’s own doctrinal tradition, not context.^[18] God’s Word must not be approached as proofs or arguments in favor of some theological position, such as stated above. One should never espouse opinions and statements unrelated to the meaning of the context. This text (11:1) is an excellent example of “love” and “faith” in the Ephesian Epistle and the Book of Revelation. As one approaches the context of First Corinthians 11:1, one quickly discovers that this isolated Scripture is simply the climax of Paul’s plea for toleration that began in chapter 8. The larger unit consists of 8:1—11:1. In this larger section, one witnesses Paul’s example of apostolic freedom and social responsibility within the Christian community (9:1-23) and the examples of Paul and Israel in which he stresses the necessity of self-control (9:24—10:13). And, finally, Paul puts the accent on the believer’s freedom and his practice of give-and-take (10:14—11:1).

Two Controversial Issues

            In this larger unit (8:1-13 and 10:14—11:1), Paul discusses two issues: (1) the eating of meat sacrificed in a pagan temple and sacrificial meat on sale in the market place, and (2) eating meat at a table in an idol’s temple. These were questions that Paul dealt with in this larger section of Scripture. As one examines 8:1, 4 and 8:10, one observes that in verses one and four, Paul deals with the eating of meats sacrificed to idols, but, on the other hand, verse ten calls attention to the eating of meats at the table in the temple. The following chart should assist one in grasping these two problems:

1 Corinthians 8:1, 4	1 Corinthians 8: 10
Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. a Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.   So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.	For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?

            In 1 Corinthians 8, one observes the “knowing ones” and the “unknowing ones.” Paul begins with a statement about knowledge: “We know that we all possess knowledge” (8:1b), but Paul makes another astounding statement: “Knowledge puffs up” (8:1c). It is true that certain individuals possessed correct knowledge as to the eating of meats, but, at the same time, some, so it seems, allowed their correct understanding to puff them up and to haul-over-the-coals the ignorant Christians in this matter of eating meats sacrificed in the idol’s temple and then sold in the market place.

Even though some were right and some were wrong concerning the eating of meats sold in the market place, Paul zeros in on the glue or cement that could bridge the differences in order to maintain unity within the body of Christ. One word stands out—the word love. Paul expresses the importance of love this way: “love builds up” (8:1d). Paul nips-in-the-bud the know-it-all attitude by saying: “The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know” (8:2). In other words, every individual is in the same boat; no one has perfect knowledge. Truth is absolute, but our knowledge of absolute truth is relative.

            How does God react to those who love Him but do not have perfect knowledge? Paul explains by saying: “But the man who loves God is known by God” (8:3). This statement is one of the most profound statements in the entire Bible. God looks at the heart. Even though a man or a woman’s knowledge may be defective in certain areas, God still wants to know whether this individual loves Him. If so, Paul says that the “man who loves God is known by God.” Christians must exercise caution in their relationships with other believers. In spite of imperfection in understanding, one does not want to castigate one whom God loves. After Paul develops his own behavior in relationship to others whose knowledge is defective, he writes:

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ^9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ^10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ^11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ^12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. ^13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:8-13).

            To return to 1 Corinthians 8, Paul deals with another assertion: “We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one” (8:4). In other words, one who is a monotheist (believer in one God) does not accept the reality of idols. In verses 5-6, Paul gives his statement concerning belief in one God:

For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), ^6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

            In spite of the belief of some recently converted to Christianity, Christians confess one God and one Lord. As stated earlier, some were right and some were wrong. How should Christians react toward those whose knowledge is defective? Paul, once more, goes to the very heart of unity in diversity: “But not everyone knows this” (8:7). Paul continues by saying:

Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. ^8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do (8:7-8).

The eating of food sacrificed to an idol and sold in the market place is not sinful in and of itself. Paul could say, “We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.” What kind of example should the Corinthians exhibit toward those whose knowledge was faulty in this regard? Paul sets forth a pattern that every Christian should exemplify in his or her own reaction to other believers: “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak” (8:9). Paul will develop this characteristic in his own life in reference to others. It is this kind of attitude that Paul encourages in 1 Corinthians 11:1: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” Paul also makes the same argument to the Romans when he discusses the effects of one’s behavior toward other Christians:

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. ^14 As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food ^b is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean ^15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died (Romans 14:13-15).

            The attitude expressed in Romans 14:13-15 is a reflection of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthian 8:1d: “love builds up.” In the first part of 1 Corinthians 8, Paul draws attention to the eating of meats sacrificed in the temple and sold in the market place, but, in 8:10, he discusses another issue—going to the idol’s temple and eating food at their table. Paul forbids this kind of behavior (10:14-23). To participate in their festivities would be tantamount to participation in idolatry. In 10:14—11:1, Paul deals with the same two problems in 1 Corinthians 8:1-13. In 10:14—11:1, Paul focuses on these two topics in chapter eight in reverse order. In 10:14-22, he treats the matter of eating at table in the idol’s temple, but in 10:23—11:1, he discusses the eating of sacrificial meats sold in the market place.

Paul’s Example: Apostolic Freedom and Social Responsibility

            As examined above, Paul uses himself as an example of freedom, but, at the same time, his social responsibility to the church is paramount in his actions. In one’s interpretation of 1 Corinthians 9:1-23, one must be cognizant that 9:1-23 is within the larger unit of 8:1—11:1. In this section (9:1-23), Paul demonstrates his example of foregoing financial support in order that he might not hinder the spread of the Gospel. Paul goes right to the kernel of the matter about rights when he says: “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord (9:1)?  Paul submits four questions that sets the stage to encourage the foregoing of what one might have the right to do in order to win others to Christ. Paul sets forth the kind of example that he wanted the saints to adhere to. Even though he had the right to financial support, he foregoes it for the sake of the church in Corinth.

            Did Paul have the right to expect monetary support for his evangelistic endeavors? In 9:7-12, Paul develops his arguments to prove that he had a right to count on compensated assistance. In verse seven, Paul give three analogies—soldier, farmer, and shepherd—to prove that one who works in the spiritual kingdom has a right to expect financial support for his or her labor. Paul even cites Deuteronomy 25:4. He writes:

Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? ^9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”^b Is it about oxen that God is concerned? ^10 Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. ^11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you (9:8-11)?

            This refusal to accept pecuniary backing is a classic example of 1 Corinthians 11:1. In 9:12b, Paul writes: “we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.”  The second unit of chapter 9 is found in verses 13-23. Once more, he uses the form of a rhetorical question in order to establish his entitlement to economic funds, even though he has not exercised this prerogative. Paul enumerates more evidence to give validity to his arguments that one does have the right of support for preaching the gospel. He calls attention to those who work in the temple and those who minister at the altar (9:13) to garner support for his right to support. But, he did not stop with the temple and altar; he called forth the words of Jesus: “In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel (9:14). In spite of this evidence in favor of monetary support, he refused this right (9:12, 15). He gives his reason for not accepting money in this particular situation:

^19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ^20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ^21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. ^22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. ^23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings (9:19-23).

In this section of Scripture, Paul sets forth his apostolic freedom and slavery to those he wished to win to Christ.  Christians need to emulate this kind of example in their relationships with other believers. This attitude of social responsibility is what Paul refers to when he writes: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (11:1). To apply 11:1 to one cup, non-Sunday school, accapella music, kitchens in church buildings, women cutting their hair, women wearing scarves on their head when they pray, and so on, is to totally miss the intent of 11:1.

Paul’s Example: Necessity of Self-Control

            Paul uses a second example for unity—self-control. In this next scenario (9:24—10:13), Paul uses the examples of a runner, a boxer, and a wrestler to remind the Corinthians that they must not be over confident in their walk with God (9:24-27). Then, in 10: 1-13, he uses Israel as an example of losing their status before God for their ungodly behavior.  Even though one may enter a contest, that does not, in and of itself, guarantee the prize.   Paul goes right to the heart of the matter of self-control in one’s behavior, when he writes:

Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. ^27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize (9:26-27).

            Paul’s example of his own personal life of social responsibility toward others is a characteristic that Paul wanted all Christians to imitate. Paul utterly refused to use his freedom in order to put a stop to someone being destroyed spiritually. It is in this regard that Paul issues his warning:

For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? ^11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. ^12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. ^13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall (8:10-13).

Yet, there is another aspect to consider concerning this admonition about obtaining the prize.  To fully grasp this short pericope (9:24-27), one should also focus on 10:1-13. Apparently, Paul is warning the Corinthians about going to the idol’s temple and participating in their feast, which he addressed earlier in 8:10. Thus, Paul issues a warning about eating at the table in an idol’s temple (9:24—10:13). He immediately uses Israel as an example in warning them about being over confident of their standing before God. In the first six verses of chapter ten, Paul calls attention to the spiritual blessings of Israel with a warning. In 10:1-2, Paul enumerates these blessings: (1) our forefathers were all under the cloud, (2) all passed through the sea, (3) all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, (4) all ate the same spiritual food, and (5) all drank the spiritual drink. This section (9:24—10:6) is a warning to the Corinthians that they were not to engage in idolatry by going to the idol’s temple. The Corinthians were to follow Paul’s example in not going to the idol’s temple to participate at the altar of demons.

The second unit (10:7-11) in the larger pericope (9:24—10:13) contains four negatives, followed by a warning (10:11). In the first section (10:1-6), as noted above, one observes five clauses with a warning, but, in this section, Paul zeros in on four negative statements to reinforce his warning about idolatry. He cautions them not to engage in idolatry as some of the Israelites did (10:7); he warned them not to indulge in sexual immorality as some did (10:8); he counseled them not to test the Lord as many of the Israelites did (10:9), and, finally, he forewarned them about grumbling (10:10).

Paul draws conclusions about the Lord’s Supper and Idol’s Feast. For one to go to the idol’s temple was to engage in idolatry (10:14). One cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons at the same time. When one drinks the cup of the Lord, one participates in the blood of Christ. When one eats of the bread, one participates in the body of Christ. On the other hand, the sacrifices of those in pagan temples are offered to demons, not to God (10:20). This kind of action (going to the idol’s temple) is strictly forbidden. Just for one to participate in the Lord’s Supper is not a guarantee of spiritual security; one must forsake idolatry and sexual immorality. Israel is a classic example of those who experienced many spiritual blessings but were destroyed. A Christian must not give offence to his fellow believer or to God. Every Christian must shun the worship of idols (10:14).

In conclusion to Paul’s arguments, he discusses the believer’s freedom in Christ (10:23—11:1). Apparently, Paul cites their feelings: “Everything is permissible” (10:23). Yet, Paul argues, “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others” (10:24). As one glances back over the larger section (8:1—11:1), one discovers that the first issue dealt with eating food sacrificed to idols (8:4-7; 10:23—11:1). Some, so it seems, argued that it was all right to eat meat sacrificed to idols since idols are not gods. As a result of this mindset, some were saying, “Everything is permissible.” One should never exercise his freedom when others are hurt by one’s actions (8:7). Paul reminds the Corinthians that a Christian is always concerned about others (10:24, 33). Paul writes:

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ^32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— ^33 even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. ^1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ (10:31—11:1).

For Paul, Christians should never engage in any activity that might endanger their own spiritual lives. He hammered home the point that “Christian freedom is freedom for others and for Christ.”^[19] First Corinthians 13 is the climax of what started off in 1 Corinthians 8. If one wishes to understand “love,” one must read Chapter 13. One can hardly read Chapter 13 without a consciousness that love breaks out—goes far beyond—the circle of enumerated heroic achievements. In the first three verses of this Chapter, Paul describes man. All of these gracious acts are vain if one does not have love. Pay attention to Paul as he as he leaves all human values and ascends to the summit of love:

If I speak in the tongues^a of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ^2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ^3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^b but have not love, I gain nothing.

            If one possesses the gift of prophecy, if one can fathom all mysteries, if one holds all knowledge, and if one has a faith that could remove mountains, but does not have love, it is all for nothing, according to Paul. In this chapter Paul stresses that there is an end to the gifts of grace (vv 8-11), but all of these graces shatter in the presence of love if they do not become one with it, the greatest gift of all is love.  It is very difficult for some Christians to pass from then to now in their application of Paul’s climax to what he had begun in Chapter 8.

This inability to pass from the then to now is especially true today in the very stiff denominational system of ecclesiastical control exercised by many believers within the Churches of Christ, especially the dictatorial interpretation of preachers and elders. Within many Christian fellowships, one discovers that their doctrine is a doctrine that is frozen in time—a doctrine with denies the liberty of interpretation. As a result of this mindset, love is thrown out the window. This sectarian spirit can be described as “conscientious factionalism,”^[20] that is to say, they are not conscious of their factionalism. This denominational narrowness throws out love. If one does not speak their language and understand their thoughts, one receives the axe. In former times, one went to the stake. Many Christians still made uniformity of doctrine the basis of a church and the basis of love. How does Paul speak of love in the face of differences within the community of Christ?  In verses 4-7, Paul paints a very vivid picture of love:

^ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ^5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ^6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ^7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

            In these four verses, Paul sets forth the very essence of love. The style and rhythm of these sentences are more that marks of external form or just writing style; he joins one sentence to another with emphasis upon love. One quickly discovers that love does not place itself beyond the tender conscious of the weak. In 8:1—13:13, Paul calls attention to the behavior of some who sought to elevate their knowledge to the point of destroying the one who did not have perfect understanding. This kind of behavior was the very opposite of the teachings of Jesus. One should not cut himself or herself off from the weaker brother or sister in Christ on the basis of knowledge.

For Paul, love is “not self-seeking.” Love does not seek it own way and bitterness remains far from love. In verses 8-13, one discovers that the permanence of love is the miracle that can be measured in the face of the passing of all the other gifts of grace. In 1 Corinthians 8:2, Paul shows that love toward God—not knowledge—is the basis of one being-known-by-God. In this entire section (8:1—13:13), Paul sought to ward off the enthusiasm for redemption based on knowledge rather than the message of the Cross. Is it any wonder that Paul begins this Epistle with these words: “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (2:2). In chapter 13, Paul develops a definition of love that is unknown in the ancient world. Günther Bornkamm points out with Justice:

There is no reason to make this chapter into a great sentimentality, if one takes seriously the unflinching antithesis in what it says. . . . Because it is a reality so living, concrete and variedly effective in detail, as it is described in 4—7, and at the same time it is the all-embracing power of God, put into force in the midst of this world as the love of God in Jesus Christ: “The love of Christ holds us bound,” controls us (II Cor. 5:14). . . . From this love and in this love the church has its life.^[21]

CONCLUSION

            What is the true dimension of love in your relationship with other believers? In love one sees the permanent presence of salvation as the bond of perfection:  “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:14), says Paul. Love in 1 Corinthians 13 is not the self-perfection of man, but rather is the outcome of the redemption accomplished in Jesus Christ: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12). It is in this same vein that Paul issues his exhortation for unity in spite of differences: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7). Again, Paul writes to the Colossians:

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ^13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ^14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity (Colossians 3:14-15).

            Is love and unity prerequisite to winning individuals to Christ? How can Christians praise God and win the world? It is through love and unity. Why have I written so much on the true dimension of love? It is simply that I want the world to know and believe that God sent Jesus as the savior of the world. In Jesus’ final hours, he prays to the Father about this unity:

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ^21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ^22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: ^23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me (John 17:20-23).