In Rick Renner's original "Sparkling Gems From the Greek" devotional, he has been covering 1 Corinthians 13. Today he covered verses 4-5. I highly recommend this book, and particularly this teaching! Here is a small portion of what he covered today:
Charity [agape love] suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly…. — 1 Corinthians 13:4,5
When Paul wrote First Corinthians 13:1, he alluded to “super-spiritual” people in Corinth who boasted of great spirituality but who exhibited very little love in their lives. He said they were like a “sounding brass” and a “tinkling cymbal.”
As noted earlier (see September 9), these particular phrases indicate that these people talked incessantly, annoying and aggravating others with their never-ending, self-consumed chatter. In fact, the words “tinkling cymbal” were the very Greek words used to depict the clashing of cymbals that announced the onset of a war. This gives us the impression that the ceaseless talking and bragging of these “super-spirituals” often made their listeners fighting mad!
Could this be the reason Paul makes his fourth point on the characteristics of agape by saying that love “…vaunteth not itself…”? The word “vaunteth” has lost its meaning in today’s vernacular, but in Greek it is very powerful! This word comes from the Greek word perpereuomai, which means a lot of self-talk. In other words, it describes a person who endlessly promotes himself and exaggerates his own virtues. His self-promotion is so outrageous that he is usually prone to exaggeration that borders on lying. One Greek scholar has said that the word perpereuomai pictures a person who is full of hot air. Another expositor has said this word refers to a windbag!
The word “vaunteth” is Paul’s strong warning to let us know:
“…Love doesn’t go around talking about itself all the time, constantly exaggerating and embellishing the facts to make it look more important in the sight of others.…”
As Rick covers these 'love' verses, he takes them apart, verse by verse, and explains the word meanings in clear language of today so that we can put it into practice for ourselves! He has put together an expanded, interpretive translation that I LOVE! Here are verses 4-5:“…Love doesn’t go around talking about itself all the time, constantly exaggerating and embellishing the facts to make it look more important in the sight of others; love does not behave in a prideful, arrogant, haughty, superior, snooty, snobbish, or clannish manner; love is not rude and discourteous — it is not careless or thoughtless, nor does it carry on in a fashion that would be considered insensitive to others….”
Please check out the rest of these from his website or, better yet, get Sparkling Gems for your own personal study! You'll be blessed! Here is Hillsong Young and Free with "Real Love":
Shalom in Him!
