Biblical Love Defined
Love suffers long and is kind;
love does not envy;
love does not parade itself,
is not puffed up;
does not behave rudely,
does not seek its own,
is not provoked,
thinks no evil;
does not rejoice in iniquity,
but rejoices in the truth;
bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.
Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:3-8
Love suffers long
Has a long mind; to the end of which neither
trials, adversities, persecutions, nor provocations, can reach.
The love of God, and of our neighbor for God’s sake, is patient
towards all men: it suffers all the weakness, ignorance, errors,
and infirmities of the children of God; and all the malice and
wickedness of the children of this world; and all this, not
merely for a time, but long, without end; for it is still a mind
or disposition, to the end of which trials, difficulties, waits
God’s time of accomplishing his gracious or providential
purposes, without murmuring or repining; and bears its own
infirmities, as well as those of others, with humble submission
to the will of God.
and is kind
It is tender and compassionate in itself, and
kind and obliging to others; it is mild, gentle, and benign;
and, if called to suffer, inspires the sufferer with the most
amiable sweetness, and the most tender affection. It is also
submissive to all the dispensations of God; and creates trouble
to no one.
love does not envy
Is not grieved because another possesses a
greater portion of earthly, intellectual, or spiritual
blessings. Those who have this pure love rejoice as much at the
happiness, the honor, and comfort of others, as they can do in
their own. They are ever willing that others should be preferred
before them.
love does not parade itself
This word is variously translated; does not act
rashly, insolently; is not inconstant. There is a phrase in our
own language that expresses what I think to be the meaning of
the original, does not set itself forward—does not desire to be
noticed or applauded; but wishes that God may be all in all.
is not puffed up
Is not inflated with a sense of its own
importance; for it knows it has nothing but what it has received
(1 Cor. 4:7); and that it deserves nothing that it has got.
Every man, whose heart is full of the love of God, is full of
humility; for there is no man so humble as he whose heart is
cleansed from all sin.
does not behave rudely
Love never acts out of its place or character;
observes due decorum and good manners; is never rude, bearish,
or brutish; and is ever willing to become all things to all men,
that it may please them for their good to edification. No
ill-bred man, or what is termed rude or unmannerly, is a
Christian. A man may have a natural bluntness, or be a clown,
and yet there be nothing boorish or hoggish in his manner. I
must apologize for using such words; they best express the evil
against which I wish both powerfully and successfully to
declaim. I never wish to meet with those who affect to be called
"blunt, honest men;" who feel themselves above all the forms of
respect and civility, and care not how many they put to pain, or
how many they displease. But let me not be misunderstood; I do
not contend for ridiculous ceremonies, and hollow compliments;
there is surely a medium: and a sensible Christian man will not
be long at a loss to find it out.
does not seek its own
Is not desirous of his own spiritual welfare
only, but of his neighbor's also. Love is never satisfied but in
the welfare, comfort, and salvation of all. That man is no
Christian who is solicitous for his own happiness alone; and
cares not how the world goes, so that himself be comfortable.
is not provoked
Is not provoked, is not irritated, is not made
sour or bitter.
When the man who possesses this love gives way to
provocation, he loses the balance of his soul, and grieves the
Spirit of God. In that instant he ceases from loving God with
all his soul, mind, and strength; and surely if he get
embittered against his neighbor, he does not love him as
himself. It is generally said that, though a man may feel
himself highly irritated against the sin, he may feel tender
concern for the sinner. Irritation of any kind is inconsistent
with self-government, and consequently with internal peace and
communion with God. However favorably we may think of our own
state, and however industrious we may be to find out excuses for
sallies of passion, God is, Love is not provoked; and if I have
not such a love, whatever else I may possess, it profits me
nothing.
thinks no evil
"Believes no evil where no evil seems."
Never
supposes that a good action may have a bad motive; gives every
man credit for his profession of religion, uprightness, godly
zeal, his conduct or in his spirit inconsistent with this
profession. His heart is so governed and influenced by the love
of God, that he cannot think of evil but where it appears. The
original implies that he does not invent or devise any evil; or,
does not reason on any particular act or word so as to infer
evil from it; for this would destroy his love to his brother; it
would be ruinous to charity and benevolence.
does not rejoice in iniquity
Does not rejoice in falsehood, but on the
contrary, rejoices in the truth. At first view, this character of love seems to
say but little in its favor; for who can rejoice in
unrighteousness or falsity? But is it not a frequent case that
persons, who have received any kind of injury, and have forborne
to avenge themselves, but perhaps have left it to God; when evil
falls upon the sinner do console themselves with what appears to
them an evidence that God has avenged their quarrels; and do at
least secretly rejoice that the man is suffering for his
misdeeds? Is not this, in some sort, rejoicing in iniquity?
Again: is it not common for interested persons to rejoice in the
successes of an unjust and sanguinary war, in the sackage and
burning of cities and towns; and is not the joy always in
proportion to the slaughter that has been made of the enemy? And
do these call themselves Christians? Then we may expect that
Moloch and his sub-devils are not so far behind this description
of Christians as to render their case utterly desperate. If such
Christians can be saved, demons need not despair!
but rejoices in the truth
Every thing that is opposite to falsehood and
irreligion. Those who are filled with the love of God and man
rejoice in the propagation and extension of Divine truth—in the
spread of true religion, by which alone peace and good will can
be diffused throughout the earth. And because they rejoice in
the truth, therefore they do not persecute nor hinder true
religion, but help it forward with all their might and power.
bears all things
A person under the influence of this love never
makes the sins, follies, faults, or imperfections of any man,
the subject either of censure or conversation. He covers them
as
far as he can; and if alone privy to them, he retains the
knowledge of them in his own bosom as far as he ought.
believes all things
Is ever ready to believe the best of every
person, and will credit no evil of any but on the most positive
evidence; gladly receives whatever may tend to the advantage of
any person whose character may have suffered from obloquy and
detraction; or even justly, because of his misconduct.
hopes all things
When there is no place left for believing good of
a person, then love comes in with its hope, where it could not
work by its faith; and begins immediately to make allowances and
excuses, as far as a good conscience can permit; and farther,
anticipates the repentance of the transgressor, and his
restoration to the good opinion of society and his place in the
Church of God, from which he had fallen.
endures all things
Bears up under all persecutions and maltreatment
from open enemies and professed friends; bears adversities with
an even mind, as it submits with perfect resignation to every
dispensation of the providence of God; and never says of any
trial, affliction, or insult, this cannot be endured.
Love never fails
This love never falls off, because it bears,
believes, hopes, and endures all things; and while it does so it
cannot fail; it is the means of preserving all other graces;
indeed, properly speaking, it includes them all; and all receive
their perfection from it. Love to God and man can never be
dispensed with. It is essential to social and religious life;
without it no communion can be kept up with God; nor can any man
have a preparation for eternal glory whose heart and soul are
not deeply imbued with it. Without it there never was true
religion, nor ever can be; and it not only is necessary through
life, but will exist throughout eternity. What were a state of
blessedness if it did not comprehend love to God and human
spirits in the most exquisite, refined, and perfect degrees?
- Commentary by Adam Clarke - Adam Clarke's
Commentary of the Bible
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