1 Corinthians was a letter written by the Apostle Paul, addressing the Corinthians. It is important to recognize that this chapter does not mention God once, but Paul’s purpose is to express the connection between humans and God’s love in Christ.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

The Epistle to the Galatians chapter 1 also describes his conversion as a divine revelation, with Jesus appearing to Paul. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another.”

But Paul believed that the Gentiles were alive with the new life of forgiveness, acceptance and transformation and that that they didn’t need to be circumcised. So he brought this idea to the leaders in Jerusalem and the Jerusalem council agreed that Gentiles could become Christians without becoming Jews first.

The pattern of our love is “as I have loved you.” In other words, we are to be known by our self-giving, sacrificial, unconditional love for one another. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13, describes what such love looks like, practically speaking.

According to the New Testament book Acts of the Apostles, Paul was a Pharisee; he participated in the persecution of early disciples of Jesus, possibly Hellenised diaspora Jews converted to Christianity, in the area of Jerusalem, prior to his conversion.

5 Lohfink points to the increase in the three accounts with respect to Paul’s call to mission: from call (Christ to Ananias) and call to mission (Ananias to Saul) in Acts 9, to announcement of the mission (Christ to Saul in Jerusalem) in Acts 9, to immediate mission (Christ to Saul from Damascus) in Acts 26.

Basic message. In the surviving letters, Paul often recalls what he said during his founding visits. He preached the death, resurrection, and lordship of Jesus Christ, and he proclaimed that faith in Jesus guarantees a share in his life.

Paul the Apostle Quotes

• “We walk by faith, not by sight.”
• “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
• “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
• “It’s not how good you are.
• “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart…”

Paul had decided to preach to gentiles apparently out of his own revelatory experience that this was the mission that had been given him by God when God called him to function as a prophet for this new Jesus movement.

“Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury. Love does not rejoice over wrong-doing, but rejoices with the truth.

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Saint Paul, obviously led by the Holy Spirit, was truly inspired to highlight characteristics of charity or supernatural love and its concrete application.

Hatred is a potent and (ironically) despised word, yet many of us carry seeds of bitterness and resentment in our hearts toward a person or people. This is often due to residual unforgiveness, but St. John Paul II related love to mercy as siblings. We actually extend mercy to ourselves when we choose to forgive, which in turn leads us to love.

Saint John Chrysostom, the greatest Pauline devotee of the Patristic era, does not complicate it. He deems it the hallmark of St Paul’s holiness: “He knew himself to be loved by Christ.” 3 The great Father elaborates: “ [Paul] had the greatest possession of all in himself—the love of Christ.