1 Corinthians 13:1-8
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never ends.
Ephesians 5:21-29
21 Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.[a] 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,
Discussion Questions:
1. What does it mean to love one’s wife?
2. Why does 1 Corinthians 13 emphasize love over all other accomplishments and sacrifices one makes in life?
3. Sometimes I find myself irritable and/or rude to those around me. In most cases, I feel like I have good reason to feel this way. How do I show love when I feel differently? Does God expect me to ignore my feelings?
4. 1 Corinthians 13 says: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”. Does it really mean all things? I don’t want to be taken advantage of. How do I show love without seeming naïve or allowing people to disrespect my boundaries?
5. Does one need to submit to the Lordship of Christ to be able to experience and give love? If so why? If not, why not?
6. What does it mean to submit to one another?
7. What does it mean to submit to one’s own husband?
8. What does it mean to submit to God?