Episode 339: A More Excellent Way

1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most beloved and most important chapters in all of Scripture. It is the famous love chapter. But it really begins in the last verse of chapter 12: “But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.”

In today’s episode, we do a verse-by-verse review of this chapter. In verses 1-3 the apostle Paul makes the case for the preeminence of love,: love is greater than all spiritual gifts because without love, gifts are empty. In verses 4-7 Paul shows us the practice of love: how love is greater than all spiritual gifts because of its selfless characteristics. In verses 8-12 Paul shows the permanence of love, that love is greater than all spiritual gifts because it outlasts them. Paul concludes the chapter with these words (verse 13): “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Other scriptures referenced include Matthew 19:16-30; Luke 6:33, 35; and Romans 2:4.