Both Jesus and Paul exhort believers in all sorts of ethical behavior on a broad range of issues. Both of them, however, seem to reduce the entire Christian ethos to one thing—love. Jesus, in the following passage from Matthew's Gospel, answers a crafty question from the Pharisees about the Mosaic commandments. Jesus argues that the entire law of God expressed in Judaism can be fulfilled by simply loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself.
Paul continues Jesus' sentiment in his letter to the Christian community at Corinth. This is a famous passage, often read or recited at Christian weddings. Paul, however, intends this passage to apply more broadly than to men and women in marriage. Without love, he writes, all the other virtues lose their vigor. Indeed, love is the bedrock of Christian spiritual life and practice.
Love
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