In this final episode, we’ll explore two common misconceptions that might affect how we understand and apply Paul’s teaching. The first is that the Greek word agape means “Christian love”; the second is the idea that love is an action and not a feeling. And to correct both these ideas, we need the idea of transformation, both in how Paul transforms language, and how love is meant to transform us.

As I suggested earlier, to say that love is “patient” and “kind” is not only a correction to our own unloving behavior, but a reminder of the character of God. Something similar could be said about Paul’s statement that love “never fails.” In one sense, that statement points back to what he’s said about endurance and perseverance. But it also points forward to what he says immediately after about a future in which only a godly love remains.

As I suggested earlier, when Paul says in verse 7 that love “trusts” and “hopes,” I take this as a reference to the virtues of faith and hope he mentions at the end of the chapter. But what does he mean when in the same verse he says that love always “protects” and “perseveres”? In this episode, I’ll argue that with both words, Paul is pointing to a love that endures despite the many challenges it faces.