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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
The statement "love never fails" comes from best-known chapter in the Bible on love, 1 Corinthians 13. Among its many quoted phrases is a portion of verse 8, "Love never fails." Love never fails, a...
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Michael Bonner
The answer to the question is quite simple. God is love and God never fails. The rest of us do fail, therefore, our love will fail.
Pastor Shafer
1 Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, a [Charity] Greek: agape spontaneous and divine love. It is more eternal than gifts. Ingredients of Divine Love: Patience -- love passive: no hurry; suffers long; bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things (1Cor. 13:4,7) Kindness -- love in action: never acts rashly or insolently; not inconsistent, puffed up, or proud (1Cor. 13:4) Generosity -- love in competition: not envious or jealous (1Cor. 13:4) Humility -- love in hiding: no parade; no airs; works then retires (1Cor. 13:4) Courtesy -- love in society: does not behave unseemly; always polite; at home with all classes; never rude or discourteous (1Cor. 13:5) Unselfishness -- love in essence: never selfish, sour, or bitter; seeks only good of others; does not retaliate or seek revenge (1Cor. 13:5) Good temper -- love in disposition: never irritated; never resentful (1Cor. 13:5) Righteousness -- love in conduct: hates sin; never glad when others go wrong; always gladdened by goodness to others; always slow to expose; always eager to believe the best; always hopeful, always enduring (1Cor. 13:6-7) Sincerity -- love in profession: never boastful and conceited; not a hypocrite; always honest; leaves no impression but what is strictly true; never self-assertive; does not blaze out in passionate anger, nor brood over wrongs; always just, joyful, and truthful; knows how to be silent; full of trust; always present 1 Corinthians 13:8 [Charity never faileth...] [but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away] Three things that will fail or be susperseded: prophecies, tongues, and knowledge. [fail] Greek: katargeo -to make useless or void; abolish; leave unemployed (Rom. 3:3; 4:14; Gal. 3:17; 5:4). It is translated "fail," "vanish away," "done away" and "put away" (1Cor. 13:8,10,11). Here it literally means that when the completeness of communication and knowledge comes, tongues will be no barrier and partial knowledge will be superseded by the perfect or complete (1Cor. 13:9-10). People in eternity will be able to speak all the languages of all others in the universe, thus doing away with present-day language barriers. The partial knowledge will be superseded by perfect knowledge. It is only that which is in part that will be done away or come to an end (1Cor. 13:9-10). In 1Cor. 13:11-12 Paul further makes clear his meaning, when he compares the next life to something as far advanced over this one as adulthood over childhood; and when he declares that we now see darkly into the future, knowing only a few things, whereas then, face to face with God, we shall know other persons and things as now known by God.
Billy P Eldred
To me, this phrase means, whatever the situation is, Love is a proper answer. If we are exercising Spiritual gifts, some my not respond to tongues, prophecy etc., but if you show Love, Love will not fail you! If you are trying to reach the lost, they may not respond to a warning, but show them Love and see how much quicker they respond.
Craig Mcelheny
In the Greek there are different forms of love, i.e. phileo, which is brotherly love, eros, which is romantic love, and agape, which is God’s love, but agape is more than just the manner in which God expresses His love. Agape love defines God’s character, as can be seen in the definition of agape love (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). And immediately after this definition, we have our reference text: (Agape) love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). When we express love, it is through an action, but actions are dependent upon the person. Even God can choose to express love to some and not to others, as we see in Heb. 10:30-31, the Lord is not pleased with those who turn their back on salvation (Heb. 10:29). So, the text in question cannot be referring to an expression of love. It has to be something deeper, and I believe it is reflected in Romans 8:38-39. The ESV clouds the issue slightly in that it states “…separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The NKJV and the NASB bring to the fore, the point I want to focus on – that God’s agape love is in our Lord and Savior. They read, “…separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God’s agape love is also in us (John 17:26). And it is related to God’s glory that was given to our Lord AND to us (John 17:22). God’s glory is given to believers in order that they may be made perfect some day (John 17:23). God’s glory is His nature (Heb. 1:3). What is God’s nature? It is His character – agape love! So, the crux of the matter is that God’s agape love, once it has been perfected in those of us who are believers, i.e. at the resurrection, it will never end because it, in fact, will be our nature too, as we live for eternity. Once we believe, we are indwelled by God’s Holy Spirit, partakers of the heavenly gift (Heb. 6:4 God’s agape love) and on our way to becoming the “exact imprint” of the Father’s nature, just as Jesus is the exact imprint of that nature (Heb. 1:3). It will be the completion of the transformation into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18, and Philippians 3:20-21). This is what the Trinity meant, when they said, "Let us make man in our image." Gen. 1:26.
Jack Gutknecht
Love NEVER FAILS (1 Cor. 13:8). "FAILS" in the Greek is πίπτω [in LXX chiefly for נָפַל;] to fall; and this Hebrew verb is pronounced "nafall";] 1. of descent, to fall, fall down or from: seq. ἐπί, c. acc loc., Mt 10:29. (a) of persons, to fall prostrate, prostrate oneself: χαμαί John 18:6; seq. ἐπί, c. acc, Mt 17:6, Ac 9:4; id. C. gen., Mk 9:20; πρὸς τ. πόδας, Ac 5:10, Re 1:17; πεσὼν ἐξέψυξε, Ac 5:5; of supplication, homage or worship: πρὸς (παρὰ, ἐπὶ) τ. πὸδας, Mk 5:22, Lk 8:41, Ac 10:25, al.; π. καὶ προσκυνεῖν, Rev 5:14; 19:4; ptcp. C. προσκυνεῖν, Mt 2:11, al.; ἐνώπιον, Re 4:10; 5:8; ἐπὶ πρόσωπον, Mt 26:39, al.; (b) of things, to fall, fall down: Mt 21:44, Lk 23:30; of falling to ruin and destruction, Mt 7:25, Ac 15:16, Heb 11:30; ἔπεσε (timeless aorist; M, Pr.,134), Rev 18:2. Metaph.: Ro 11:11; πόθεν πέπτωκας, Rev 2:5; opp. To ἑστόναι, I Corinthians 10:12; to στήκειν, Ro 14:4; of virtues, I Corinthians 13:8; of precepts, Lk 16:17. 1 Cor 13:8 Love never ends Love will not become obsolete or invalid. In fact, the VOICE translation has "Love will never become obsolete." (1 Cor 13:8a). πίπτω [in LXX chiefly for נָפַל - "to fall" and this Hebrew verb is pronounced "nafall";] Two of the translations render it this way: NMB (New Matthew Bible): "Though prophesying fail, or tongues cease, or knowledge vanish away, yet love never falls away." EXB (Expanded Bible): "Love never ·ends [fails; falls short]. There are gifts of prophecy, but they will ·be ended [cease; pass away]. There are gifts of ·speaking in different languages [or ecstatic utterance; L tongues], but those gifts will stop [cease; fall silent]. There is the gift of knowledge, but it will ·come to an end [pass away; be set aside]." I.e. "love never stops loving" is how another modern translation puts it. The other gifts are temporary. Here is a permanent gift. It's so important that we Christians love each other (John 13:35) for this is how the world would know that we are Christ's disciples.
James Kraft
Love never fails because Jesus never fails. John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, that WHOSOEVER, believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. God loves us sinners so much that he died in our place and took the punishment we deserve so we do not have to go to hell to pay for our sins. That is love beyond our understanding Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the POWER of God unto salvation to everyone that BELIEVETH, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. The greatest story ever told. The love of God for us sinners who deserve to go to hell, but Jesus paid the debt and set us free.
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