First Corinthians 13 is widely celebrated as the “love chapter” within the New Testament, and for good reason. Paul’s eloquent description of love in this passage profoundly impacts worldviews and serves as a crucial examination of our understanding of love through a biblical lens. Many approach 1 Corinthians 13 seeking a definitive understanding of love as described in Scripture.
However, while 1 Corinthians 13 holds a significant place, a numerical analysis reveals another section in the New Testament that arguably deserves even greater recognition as a primary authority on love. This section is found in 1 John 4:7-21.
Within these fifteen verses, the word “love” (including variations like “loved,” “loves,” and “loving”) appears an impressive 27 times. This translates to approximately 1.8 times per verse. To truly grasp the density of this focus, consider that the word “love” in all its forms is used 46 times throughout the entire book of 1 John. Remarkably, 58.7% of all mentions of “love” in 1 John are concentrated within these fifteen verses of 1 John 4:7-21.
To further illustrate the prominence of love in this passage, let’s compare it to the Gospel of John. Across the entire Gospel, “love” and its variations appear 56 times. This means that 1 John 4:7-21 alone accounts for 26.4% of the combined usages of “love” in both 1 John and the Gospel of John.
When we directly compare 1 John 4:7-21 to the renowned 1 Corinthians 13, an interesting observation emerges. In 1 Corinthians 13, “love” (and the contextual pronoun “it”) is used 17 times within just 13 verses. This results in an approximate frequency of 1.3 times per verse. While still significant, it’s slightly less concentrated than 1 John 4:7-21’s 1.8 times per verse, showing a difference of about 0.5 usages per verse.
Expanding our perspective even further, “love” appears a total of 316 times in the New Testament and a substantial 751 times throughout the entire Bible. Within 1 John 4:7-21, we find 8.5% of all New Testament usages of “love” and 3.5% of its occurrences in the complete Bible.
Numerically, 1 John 4:7-21 undeniably stands out as a powerful and concentrated passage on love, particularly within John’s writings. While the debate about whether it surpasses 1 Corinthians 13 in theological authority is ongoing, the sheer frequency of “love” in 1 John 4:7-21 makes a compelling case for its significance. If we are to consider the numbers, 1 John 4:7-21 emerges as a strong contender, highlighting its profound emphasis on love within the biblical text.
