This explanation is taken directly (quoting, for 95% of it) from the work of Justin Aptaker, a highly qualified scholar in Biblical Greek Translation. He won the University of Tennessee award for his performance in a nationwide intercollegiate ancient Greek translation contest. All credit for this material goes to him.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8—the so-called 1 Corinthians "Love Verse"
New International Version (NIV) 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. . .
What does the Bible mean when it says these things about Love? We have to look carefully at the meaning of the words.
Love Is Patient
“Patient”, in verse four, is a translation of
the Greek word “μακροθυμεῖ” (Macrothumei), which, in the Greek, refers to what Love does, rather than what Love is. It is impossible to describe what God (Love) is, as God is infinite and our words are finite.
In fact, it is impossible to describe what anyone “is”, as any person’s real BEING is also infinite; we are not robots or artificial intelligence so we cannot just be described as a bunch of words. It is, however, possible to say what God (Love) does. God, like anyone else, is best known and understood by what He does. So the Greek passage actually says “love patients” using the word “patient” as a verb and not as an adjective. This will not make sense in the English language but it does make beautiful sense in Greek.
Love Is Patient
“Patient”, in verse four, is a translation of
the Greek word “μακροθυμεῖ” (Macrothumei), which, in the Greek, refers to what Love does, rather than what Love is. It is impossible to describe what God (Love) is, as God is infinite and our words are finite.
In fact, it is impossible to describe what anyone “is”, as any person’s real BEING is also infinite; we are not robots or artificial intelligence so we cannot just be described as a bunch of words. It is, however, possible to say what God (Love) does. God, like anyone else, is best known and understood by what He does. So the Greek passage actually says “love patients” using the word “patient” as a verb and not as an adjective. This will not make sense in the English language but it does make beautiful sense in Greek.
When further examined, the Greek word
“patient” (“Macrothumei”) can be broken down as follows: “Macro-” (“long”) + “thumos” (“heart/soul”). Literally, this Greek word means “to long-heart” and it is a verb. The Greek “thumos” can refer to the soul or spirit in the sense of one’s very life/essence. To take away “thumos", then, can mean to take away life. “Thumos” also refers to the “heart”, as both the seat of the emotions and of the will. Finally, “thumos” can mean the mind, as the seat of cognition (thoughts). So, when we get to the root of “being patient”, we see that it involves a commitment of all one’s life/essence, emotions, will, and thoughts. This is the kind of gut-wrenching, life-giving “patience” that God does t o all people, and that we must, therefore, show one another. Love, it would seem, does nothing half-heartedly. And this is the complete description of a Mother’s love for her child, which is always blessed by God, and it is the model for all human LOVE.
“patient” (“Macrothumei”) can be broken down as follows: “Macro-” (“long”) + “thumos” (“heart/soul”). Literally, this Greek word means “to long-heart” and it is a verb. The Greek “thumos” can refer to the soul or spirit in the sense of one’s very life/essence. To take away “thumos", then, can mean to take away life. “Thumos” also refers to the “heart”, as both the seat of the emotions and of the will. Finally, “thumos” can mean the mind, as the seat of cognition (thoughts). So, when we get to the root of “being patient”, we see that it involves a commitment of all one’s life/essence, emotions, will, and thoughts. This is the kind of gut-wrenching, life-giving “patience” that God does t o all people, and that we must, therefore, show one another. Love, it would seem, does nothing half-heartedly. And this is the complete description of a Mother’s love for her child, which is always blessed by God, and it is the model for all human LOVE.
Love Is Kind
We continue to examine what it means
to say "love is kind". This is a translation of the Greek word
“χρηστεύεται” (chresteuetai), another active verb. It comes from the adjective “chrestos”, which in turn comes from another verb, “chrao”. “Chrao” means “to furnish/provide what is needed” or to “fulfill”. From this comes the English word “charity.” To “do charity” is different from “to be charitable.” What a beautiful description of what God does for us, and expects us to do for each other. The adjective “chrestos” means “serviceable” or “useful”. When applied to people, it also means any or all of the following: good, honest, trustworthy, and kind.
I hope that by now it is apparent that, by looking deeper into the origins of words in this scripture, we may uncover a vast new world of meaning which was completely hidden before. So that, for example, “being kind” is shown to entail much more than kindness alone. It does mean to be kind, in our usual sense of the word, yes. But more than that, it involves providing people with what they need, being honest and dependable, being “useful/serviceable” to society, and being a good person in general. And so we should also be beginning to see why the 1 Corinthians "Love Verse" really does contain all the most important teachings of religion, as it tells us all the most important things for living a good life.
We continue to examine what it means
to say "love is kind". This is a translation of the Greek word
“χρηστεύεται” (chresteuetai), another active verb. It comes from the adjective “chrestos”, which in turn comes from another verb, “chrao”. “Chrao” means “to furnish/provide what is needed” or to “fulfill”. From this comes the English word “charity.” To “do charity” is different from “to be charitable.” What a beautiful description of what God does for us, and expects us to do for each other. The adjective “chrestos” means “serviceable” or “useful”. When applied to people, it also means any or all of the following: good, honest, trustworthy, and kind.
I hope that by now it is apparent that, by looking deeper into the origins of words in this scripture, we may uncover a vast new world of meaning which was completely hidden before. So that, for example, “being kind” is shown to entail much more than kindness alone. It does mean to be kind, in our usual sense of the word, yes. But more than that, it involves providing people with what they need, being honest and dependable, being “useful/serviceable” to society, and being a good person in general. And so we should also be beginning to see why the 1 Corinthians "Love Verse" really does contain all the most important teachings of religion, as it tells us all the most important things for living a good life.
Love Does Not Envy, It Does Not Boast
Envy and pride/boasting are two sides of
the same coin. Both spring from a self-centered desire to somehow be better than other people. Envy is self-centeredness that becomes even more of a problem because the envious person wants to be better than others and then thinks he should have more than he has, because others may have more. Pride is self-centeredness also, because if we are proud, we want to see
Envy and pride/boasting are two sides of
the same coin. Both spring from a self-centered desire to somehow be better than other people. Envy is self-centeredness that becomes even more of a problem because the envious person wants to be better than others and then thinks he should have more than he has, because others may have more. Pride is self-centeredness also, because if we are proud, we want to see
ourselves as better than other people. Love makes no such considerations, for it is complete in itself, and thus does not need to feel superior to anyone else in order to feel whole. If somebody loves you, they do not have to show you that they are better than anyone else. They do not have to insult anyone else.
Love Does Not Delight in Evil
This Verse says that Love does not “think
evil”. Some Bible translations say “keep a record of evil” or “keep track of wrongs.” To the contemporary mind, to “think evil” could mean a lot more than merely holding a grudge. Someone planning to rob a bank might be “thinking evil”—and this has nothing to do with keeping record of wrongs. In Greek the words are “οὐλογίζεται τὸ κακόν” (ou logizetai to kakon). Literally, this means, “does not take account of, or reckon, or calculate, the bad.” The word "bad” here can refer to badness or evil in general or it can mean a wrong or injury done to a person. I think that here, it clearly means the latter. This is because “λογίζεται” (logizetai) means “to take account of, to make a record of, to calculate, to count.” So if you are “thinking evil” and “calculating or keeping track of the badness” you are referring back to something you consider bad, and you will not give it up or let it go; you think about it and it festers and can start to make you feel less love.
Love Does Not Delight in Evil
This Verse says that Love does not “think
evil”. Some Bible translations say “keep a record of evil” or “keep track of wrongs.” To the contemporary mind, to “think evil” could mean a lot more than merely holding a grudge. Someone planning to rob a bank might be “thinking evil”—and this has nothing to do with keeping record of wrongs. In Greek the words are “οὐλογίζεται τὸ κακόν” (ou logizetai to kakon). Literally, this means, “does not take account of, or reckon, or calculate, the bad.” The word "bad” here can refer to badness or evil in general or it can mean a wrong or injury done to a person. I think that here, it clearly means the latter. This is because “λογίζεται” (logizetai) means “to take account of, to make a record of, to calculate, to count.” So if you are “thinking evil” and “calculating or keeping track of the badness” you are referring back to something you consider bad, and you will not give it up or let it go; you think about it and it festers and can start to make you feel less love.
And “the bad” also refers to evil in the general sense. If you're like me, you'll notice that there is a lot of suffering and evil in the world. It can feel overwhelming. However, the sort of Love described in this verse never loses hope because of it. From the perspective of a Love that never fails, evil is, ultimately, nothing to take account of. In the end, evil doesn't factor into the equation, because when there is great love in your heart, the evil cannot live there with it; the badness is evicted because of all the love.
Love Rejoices With the Truth
Love rejoices with the truth (verse 6). For
me, “truth” may be the only concept that even approaches “love” in its beauty and grandeur. In Greek, the word is even more beautiful: ἀληθεία (aletheia, pronounced “ah-leh-THAY-ah”). It is built from the noun “lethos”, which means “a forgetting," and the prefix “a-," which denotes a lack or absence. Thus, in one sense, “truth” means “that which is not forgotten.” To grasp yet a deeper meaning, we may consider that “lethos” comes from the verb “lanthano," which means “to go unnoticed or unseen.” Thus, since the prefix “a-” would reverse this concept, truth means something that is noticed. It is something that, even when it is absent, is still there, can still be felt, can still be strong. So love, even in absence, can still be the strongest thing in your life.
Truth, as it stands alone, is something obvious. It cannot go unnoticed. It will never
Love rejoices with the truth (verse 6). For
me, “truth” may be the only concept that even approaches “love” in its beauty and grandeur. In Greek, the word is even more beautiful: ἀληθεία (aletheia, pronounced “ah-leh-THAY-ah”). It is built from the noun “lethos”, which means “a forgetting," and the prefix “a-," which denotes a lack or absence. Thus, in one sense, “truth” means “that which is not forgotten.” To grasp yet a deeper meaning, we may consider that “lethos” comes from the verb “lanthano," which means “to go unnoticed or unseen.” Thus, since the prefix “a-” would reverse this concept, truth means something that is noticed. It is something that, even when it is absent, is still there, can still be felt, can still be strong. So love, even in absence, can still be the strongest thing in your life.
Truth, as it stands alone, is something obvious. It cannot go unnoticed. It will never
remain forgotten. It may be covered or warped in various ways, or battered, or hidden, or covered with many lies, or blocked by weapons and power, but in the end, truth is reality itself. As such, it is all there really is. Error and deception have no substance of their own. They melt away like the witch in the “Wizard of Oz” when the truth shows up and reminds us of LOVE. Lies and evil are ghosts that cannot live in the light. Truth is the One Reality, and so it will be the only thing that is remembered throughout time. Whatever is untrue will one day be forgotten. Just as a Mother will never forget her beloved child, just as God will never forget us, his beloved children.
"Quid est veritas?" English translation: "What is Truth?" Pontius Pilate asked Jesus this question in Latin when interrogating him. Of course, for each of us, in our life, this becomes a big question. And the answer is always: LOVE is the TRUTH.
Love Never Fails
"Quid est veritas?" English translation: "What is Truth?" Pontius Pilate asked Jesus this question in Latin when interrogating him. Of course, for each of us, in our life, this becomes a big question. And the answer is always: LOVE is the TRUTH.
Love Never Fails
God is Love, and Love never fails. Because God is love, He loves every creature with an intense, never-ending love, so that eventually, if a person allows LOVE in their life, they will get what they need. And because Love will not fail, God/Love will eventually succeed in providing for every single individual the LOVE that they need, and all they have to do is accept it.
It is worth repeating: Love will utterly succeed. It is a fact as grand, beautiful, and inevitable as Truth itself.
LOVE CONQUERS ALL!
[Holden: That part was by the author; the rest, below, is written by the people who have helped your mother for all these years of absence and deprivation, to get you back. These people have all tried to manifest love so that your mother could one day return to you to give you the LOVE that you need and deserve. This is how they have been trying to show LOVE to you as well.]
It is worth repeating: Love will utterly succeed. It is a fact as grand, beautiful, and inevitable as Truth itself.
LOVE CONQUERS ALL!
[Holden: That part was by the author; the rest, below, is written by the people who have helped your mother for all these years of absence and deprivation, to get you back. These people have all tried to manifest love so that your mother could one day return to you to give you the LOVE that you need and deserve. This is how they have been trying to show LOVE to you as well.]
So what does it mean to say that all these years of absence and sorrow and suffering, still your mother LOVED you every minute? It means this:
LOVE is PATIENT:
She tried every means to get you back to
her (she wrote to every organization and authority for help; she reached out to a thousand different sources to get someone to help her bring you home; by her getting recognition that keeping your mother separated from you was a human rights violation, ultimately she found the people who have been trying to help her return you). She never gave up. She patiently knocked on every door until finally one door might open. And this is why you can return, no matter when that happens.
LOVE is PATIENT:
She tried every means to get you back to
her (she wrote to every organization and authority for help; she reached out to a thousand different sources to get someone to help her bring you home; by her getting recognition that keeping your mother separated from you was a human rights violation, ultimately she found the people who have been trying to help her return you). She never gave up. She patiently knocked on every door until finally one door might open. And this is why you can return, no matter when that happens.
LOVE is KIND:
Your mother never believed one word
about you or from those who kept her away from you, other than goodness and mercy. She never gave up. She spoke of you to everyone as her precious child and the precious child of God who deserves everything good in life and never deserved any of the suffering or loneliness you felt. She understood how hard it was for you every day and she prayed every day for your health, and welfare, and strength, and that is the source of your resilience. She did not really believe that you did not want to get your mother back; she knew your soul and she knew that love was living in you until the day she could hug you again and tell you in person: I LOVE YOU.
Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
In all the years that your mother was fighting to have you returned to her, she did
Your mother never believed one word
about you or from those who kept her away from you, other than goodness and mercy. She never gave up. She spoke of you to everyone as her precious child and the precious child of God who deserves everything good in life and never deserved any of the suffering or loneliness you felt. She understood how hard it was for you every day and she prayed every day for your health, and welfare, and strength, and that is the source of your resilience. She did not really believe that you did not want to get your mother back; she knew your soul and she knew that love was living in you until the day she could hug you again and tell you in person: I LOVE YOU.
Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
In all the years that your mother was fighting to have you returned to her, she did
not emphasize how good she was, but said always how wonderful YOU were and that she was given the greatest gift from God to have you for her son. She was worried at all times that you did not have what you needed, rather than speaking about what SHE needed. She was worried because she did not want you exposed to violence or abused or neglected; she did not want you to be used as somebody’s pride or as a servant to make others feel superior. She was only concerned for your protection and your welfare because your goodness was so young and vulnerable when you were taken away.
Love does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Your mother did not use her time trying to do harm to the people who kept you away from her. She did not slander anybody although she was slandered; she did not violate the law or try to pay for illegal advantages; she did not bribe anyone or
Love does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Your mother did not use her time trying to do harm to the people who kept you away from her. She did not slander anybody although she was slandered; she did not violate the law or try to pay for illegal advantages; she did not bribe anyone or
attack anyone. She made no false accusations even though she was falsely accused. She was steadfast and told the truth and did not exaggerate. She never tried to flee with you when you were only a baby, but she told the truth and she let your father keep a relationship with his son. All of this because she did not turn to evil even while evil was being done to her.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
And this is why your Mother knows that the people who tell you that she never loved you and never wanted you are wrong, and will be shown to be wrong, and this is how she knows that you will see the truth in spite of what they are saying to you or have said to you, because they did not tell you these things from LOVE; they told you these things to turn you away from your mother’s love, for one reason: Because they knew that no matter what they did, your mother’s love for you would never fail and never stop and that she HAD TO WIN because LOVE WINS. So
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
And this is why your Mother knows that the people who tell you that she never loved you and never wanted you are wrong, and will be shown to be wrong, and this is how she knows that you will see the truth in spite of what they are saying to you or have said to you, because they did not tell you these things from LOVE; they told you these things to turn you away from your mother’s love, for one reason: Because they knew that no matter what they did, your mother’s love for you would never fail and never stop and that she HAD TO WIN because LOVE WINS. So
they tried to convince you that she did not HAVE that LOVE for you. The truth was not in them. But in spite of what they did and what they said and what they told you, she kept loving you and knew that in the end you would see the truth and know that she always loved you; in the end LOVE would WIN and you would realize the three golden things:
(1) You deserve LOVE;
(2) Your mother LOVES YOU; and
(3) This will never change and will always
WIN in the end. LOVE always protects:
Your mother was protecting you from violence and abuse from your birth until they took you away; after that she tried valiantly to get you back and prayed for your protection every day and extended the protection of spirit over your spirit with every breath and does this today and always will.
Love always trusts, always hopes, always
(1) You deserve LOVE;
(2) Your mother LOVES YOU; and
(3) This will never change and will always
WIN in the end. LOVE always protects:
Your mother was protecting you from violence and abuse from your birth until they took you away; after that she tried valiantly to get you back and prayed for your protection every day and extended the protection of spirit over your spirit with every breath and does this today and always will.
Love always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres.
The men and women who have helped
your mother over the many years of her struggle to have you returned to her will be able to tell you about all this when you are finally free and your mother is free, which can come soon. They never gave up hope; they helped her keep trying everything that she could do; they saw the trials and tribulations she went through for all these years and she never stopped trusting and hoping and persevering and this is why you will have that kind of strength all YOUR life. You will be this kind of success ultimately just as your Mother will, as she is now starting to succeed against all the forces against her, and she will win because of the faith, hope, trust and perseverance of LOVE. Love never fails. .
Holden, you are already part of the way home to your Mother and you will not fail to return because that is where the love is and where it has been since the moment you were born. It cannot fail; your Mother
The men and women who have helped
your mother over the many years of her struggle to have you returned to her will be able to tell you about all this when you are finally free and your mother is free, which can come soon. They never gave up hope; they helped her keep trying everything that she could do; they saw the trials and tribulations she went through for all these years and she never stopped trusting and hoping and persevering and this is why you will have that kind of strength all YOUR life. You will be this kind of success ultimately just as your Mother will, as she is now starting to succeed against all the forces against her, and she will win because of the faith, hope, trust and perseverance of LOVE. Love never fails. .
Holden, you are already part of the way home to your Mother and you will not fail to return because that is where the love is and where it has been since the moment you were born. It cannot fail; your Mother
cannot fail; justice cannot fail; you cannot fail.
