1 Corinthian Pericopes

Love is a beautiful thing, it plays essential roles in the lives of all and most importantly, love is good. The pericope that I chose was 1 Corinthians 13:4-13, it is an eloquent passage which elaborates on the concept of love and its great importance to humanity. I chose this pericope because I also believe that love is a great power. Paul, the writer of these epistles, states that love is unfailing, it never ceases to triumph over that which tries to stops it. Upon initially reading this pericope, it is apparent that Paul speaks of three main matters on love; he speaks of love and its wonders, love’s triumph over that which tries to bring it down, and it being the greatest of a human’s key virtues. Within this pericope Paul singlehandedly

Corinth was a strategically placed city which ended up as a crossroads for many sea routes but it was also a very corrupt city strewn with moral disaster and sacrilegious Christian “fan clubs” to figures such as Paul and Peter. Although Corinth may have been corrupt and twisted then, Paul still believed in his ability to turn that city to God. Paul’s up taking of this heavy task may be partly inspired by his own backstory, in which he was corrupt and hypocritical, very much like Corinth, but he was able to change through the power of God’s love and it is not so farfetched to say that this is why he believes Corinth can change as well. Paul of Tarsus was a new man, and this pericope gives us an insight onto his outlook of life, he acknowledges that he was once a child and that he used to be concerned with childish matter, but now that he has seen the way, he is a man who decides to “put aside childish things” (1 Corinthians 13: 11). Paul is a direct man and prefers to handle Corinth head on, even residing in Corinth for some time himself trying to solve their

Almost everything in this pericope has a lasting connection to the concept of love and its admirable qualities. Regarding where this pericope “sits” in with the surrounding text, it is a steady transition from the last chapter where he talks about unity and variety to what creates unity, love. Although 1 Corinthians was believed to be written around A.D. 55, sometime before 1 John was written, it is noteworthy to mention how John states in his epistles that “God is love” (1 John 4: 8). What John says works perfectly with Paul’s description of love, which does not fail and is good in every way and acts as a spectacular likeness to God. Another significant part of the pericope is when Paul introduces Corinth to this concept of the theological virtues faith, hope, and love; he also goes out of his way to mention that “the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13: 13). The introduction of these virtues is a crucial part of the pericope as it gives the people of Corinth and everybody these virtues which should be kept close to the