Verse 6 – it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

One final consideration of love from the negative side reminds us that “it does not rejoice in wrongdoing” (οὐ χαίρει ἐπὶ τῇ ἀδικίᾳ). The verb (χαίρει, “rejoice”) depicts resting in a state of happiness and well-being.[1] The present tense indicates the present and ongoing bliss of that state of mind and heart. But that state is disrupted when “wrongdoing” (τῇ ἀδικίᾳ) takes place. The noun means “unrighteousness” and here stands over against “the truth” (τῇ ἀληθείᾳ) in the next clause.[2] Note the definite articles with both nouns. There is only one truth and every act against it is imagined here. Wherever unrighteousness occurs love recoils over the offense. Where joy recedes, grief fills the void. The preposition (ἐπὶ, “at”) generally depicts something resting “on” something else.[3] Like the dove sent out by Noah, love finds no place to rest over the sea of “wrongdoing” (Gen. 8:8-9). It remains in flight until it can return to “the truth” and at last rest itself again in rejoicing. It is not that love does not discern the presence of “wrongdoing,” it is that it cannot rest upon it in rejoicing. The world and its people, of course, find their joy in acting out their own desires in disregard for “the truth.” For this reason, John commands, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world– the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions– is not from the Father but is from the world” (1 John 2:15-16). “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot” (Rom. 8:7). That is why Paul said, “to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (v.6). This raises questions, then, about how those indwelt by the Spirit are to respond to acts and expressions of “wrongdoing” perpetrated in their presence. Dirty jokes and coarse language. Unlawful unions. Breaking the law. Defying authorities. Backstabbing, backbiting, gossip. All these and more grieve the heart of the one where dwells the Spirit whose first fruit is love.

By way of a contrast (δὲ, “but”) Paul returns to viewing love from a positive angle, telling us love “rejoices with the truth” (συγχαίρει . . . τῇ ἀληθείᾳ). The verb (συγχαίρει, “rejoices with”) is a compound comprised of the immediately preceding verb χαίρω (“to rejoice”) and σύν (“with”) as a prefix (“with”). Where love must stay in flight over and find no rest upon “wrongdoing,” here love at the mere sight of “the truth” fills with delight. As already noted, “the truth” (τῇ ἀληθείᾳ) stands in direct contrast to “wrongdoing” (τῇ ἀδικίᾳ). If “wrongdoing” is all that stands in opposition to God’s expressed will, then “the truth” is that will itself, as expressed in the gospel, declared, unfolded, and expounded for us in the written Word of God. Joy breaks out wherever love spies one who finds reality expressed in the gospel and conforms one’s life to it.

[1] BDAG, 7866.1; Louw-Nida, 25.125.

[2] Friberg, 475.

[3] Harris, 137.