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AGDS Forensic Audit of 1 Corinthians 13:4–5:
The covenantal architecture of agapē is dismantled by institutional smoothing, displacing priestly agency with behavioral abstraction. This is a forensic summons. The audit of 1 Corinthians 13:4–5 is not a devotional meditation but a dimensional investigation. The stakes are covenantal. The subject is agapē—relational, priestly, inhabited love. The charge is posture shift. The method is the Another Gospel Detection System. The outcome will determine whether the gospel is preserved or replaced. This is not a study in ethics. This is a courtroom of breath, blood, and covenant.
Literal Interlinear Translation (Covenantal Voice): Ἡ ἀγάπη μακροθυμεῖ, χρηστεύεται, ἡ ἀγάπη οὐ ζηλοῖ, ἡ ἀγάπη οὐ περπερεύεται, οὐ φυσιοῦται, οὐκ ἀσχημονεῖ, οὐ ζητεῖ τὰ ἑαυτῆς, οὐ παροξύνεται, οὐ λογίζεται τὸ κακόν.
Literal Interlinear (Covenantal Voice): Love breathes long, acts in priestly kindness; love does not burn with possessive envy, love does not boast in self-display, is not inflated with breathless pride, does not act in covenantal disgrace, does not seek its own things, is not provoked into rupture, does not reckon the evil.
Literal Interlinear Translation Breakdown and Dimensional Contextualization:
Original: ἀγάπη Transliteration: agapē Literal Meaning: covenantal, priestly, inhabited love Grammatical Role: noun, nominative singular feminine, subject of all following verbs. Agapē is not a passive subject—it is the covenantal breath that animates every verb in the verse. Its feminine nominative form signals priestly agency and relational embodiment. Each action—delaying wrath, performing kindness, restraining rupture, refusing to weaponize evil—is not a trait but a dimensional consequence of agapē’s inhabited posture.
Original: μακροθυμεῖ Transliteration: makrothymei Literal Meaning: breathes long, holds wrath in covenantal delay Grammatical Role: verb, present active indicative, 3rd person singular. Makrothymei is not a passive endurance—it is the covenantal delay of wrath, enacted by agapē. As a present active indicative verb, it signals ongoing priestly restraint, not emotional suppression. The breath is held, not withheld. This is love choosing delay, not tolerating offense. It is the first movement of agapē’s posture: inhabited patience with forensic consequence.
Original: χρηστεύεται Transliteration: chrēsteuetai Literal Meaning: acts in covenantal kindness, performs priestly goodness Grammatical Role: verb, present middle/passive indicative, 3rd person singular. Chrēsteuetai is not generic kindness—it is priestly action initiated by agapē. As a present middle/passive indicative verb, it reveals that love both performs and is inhabited by covenantal goodness. The middle/passive voice signals mutual indwelling: agapē acts, but also bears the consequence of its own kindness. This is not moral virtue—it is inhabited function, a sacred performance of restorative fidelity.
Original: οὐ περπερεύεται Transliteration: ou perpereuetai Literal Meaning: does not boast in self-display Grammatical Role: verb, present middle/passive indicative, 3rd person singular. Perpereuetai is not mere boasting—it is the forensic exposure of self-display that agapē refuses. As a present middle/passive indicative verb, it reveals that agapē neither initiates nor receives the posture of self-exaltation. The middle/passive voice signals a covenantal recoil from performative identity. The “οὐ” negation is a dimensional boundary: agapē does not inflate, parade, or posture. It is anchored in priestly humility
Original: οὐ φυσιοῦται Transliteration: ou physioutai Literal Meaning: is not inflated with breathless pride Grammatical Role: verb, present middle/passive indicative, 3rd person singular. Physioutai is not mere arrogance—it is the forensic inflation of breathless pride that agapē refuses. As a present middle/passive indicative verb, it reveals that agapē neither initiates nor receives the posture of self-inflation. The root evokes puffed breath, a posture of spiritual emptiness. The “οὐ” negation is a covenantal seal: agapē does not swell with pride—it remains anchored in the Ruach, resisting the dimensional rupture of ego. This is not psychological modesty—it is Spirit-anchored posture.
Original: οὐκ ἀσχημονεῖ Transliteration: ouk aschēmonei Literal Meaning: does not act in covenantal disgrace Grammatical Role: verb, present active indicative, 3rd person singular. Aschēmonei exposes not just improper behavior—it signals covenantal disgrace, a rupture of sacred decorum. As a present active indicative verb, it reveals that agapē is actively and continually resisting dishonor. The “οὐκ” negation is a forensic shield: agapē does not act in ways that violate priestly posture or relational sanctity. This is not social etiquette—it is dimensional decorum
Original: οὐ ζητεῖ τὰ ἑαυτῆς Transliteration: ou zētei ta heautēs Literal Meaning: does not seek its own things, does not pursue self-possession Grammatical Role: verb phrase, present active indicative, 3rd person singular. Zētei ta heautēs is not a denial of desire—it is the refusal of covenantal self-possession. As a present active indicative verb phrase, it reveals that agapē is actively and continually rejecting the pursuit of its own domain. The phrase does not imply passivity or neglect—it signals relational surrender, a posture of restoration rather than acquisition. The “οὐ” negation is a forensic boundary: agapē does not claim, hoard, or center itself. It seeks the other, not the self. This is not altruism—it is dimensional displacement
Original: οὐ παροξύνεται Transliteration: ou paroxynetai Literal Meaning: is not provoked into covenantal rupture Grammatical Role: verb, present middle/passive indicative, 3rd person singular. Paroxynetai is not mere irritation—it is the forensic threshold of rupture that agapē refuses to cross. As a present middle/passive indicative verb, it reveals that agapē neither initiates nor absorbs provocation into relational fracture. The root evokes sharpness, agitation, and relational breach. The “οὐ” negation is a covenantal restraint: agapē is not stirred into rupture—it holds the line of relational stability. This is not emotional control—it is inhabited resistance to covenantal breakdown.
Original: οὐ λογίζεται τὸ κακόν Transliteration: ou logizetai to kakon Literal Meaning: does not reckon the evil, does not account covenantal harm Grammatical Role: verb phrase, present middle/passive indicative, 3rd person singular. Logizetai to kakon is not therapeutic forgetting—it is the refusal to weaponize covenantal harm. As a present middle/passive indicative verb phrase, it reveals that agapē neither initiates nor absorbs the act of forensic accounting against the other. The verb evokes reckoning, calculation, and legal registration, yet agapē resists this posture. The “οὐ” negation is a dimensional mercy: agapē acknowledges evil but does not record it for rupture. This is not emotional avoidance—it is forensic restraint, where love reckons without retaliation.
BDAG Parsing (Institutional Gloss): Love is patient, is kind, is not jealous; does not brag, is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered.
BDAG Parsing (Institutional Gloss): agapē becomes “Christian love,” a doctrinal abstraction. makrothymei is rendered “is patient,” removing the breath-based delay of wrath. chrēsteuetai becomes “is kind,” a moral trait rather than priestly function. zēloi is “is not jealous,” flattening the embodied burning. perpereuetai is “does not brag,” a behavioral correction. physioutai is “is not arrogant,” removing the breath dimension. aschēmonei is “does not act unbecomingly,” a social norm. zētei ta heautēs is “does not seek its own,” a moral restraint. paroxynetai is “is not provoked,” removing covenantal rupture. logizetai to kakon is “does not take into account a wrong suffered,” a therapeutic gloss that erases forensic reckoning.
NASB Translation (Compromised English): “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered.”
Dimensional Unfolding of the Triad:
Literal Interlinear: “Agapē breathes long (inhabited covenantal delay), performs priestly kindness (covenantal action), does not burn with possessive envy (relational integrity), does not boast in self-display (priestly humility), is not inflated with breathless pride (Spirit-anchored posture), does not act in disgrace (covenantal decorum), does not seek its own (selfless possession), is not provoked into rupture (relational stability), does not reckon the evil (forensic mercy).”
BDAG Parsing: “Love is patient (moral endurance), is kind (ethical behavior), is not jealous (emotional restraint), does not brag (social humility), is not arrogant (psychological modesty), does not act unbecomingly (social etiquette), does not seek its own (altruism), is not provoked (emotional control), does not take into account a wrong suffered (therapeutic forgiveness).”
NASB: “Love is patient (flattened endurance), is kind (generic virtue), is not jealous (emotional suppression), does not brag (behavioral correction), is not arrogant (psychological smoothing), does not act unbecomingly (social norm), does not seek its own (moral ideal), is not provoked (emotional passivity), does not take into account a wrong suffered (therapeutic abstraction).”
Dimensional Consequence Analysis:
The covenantal voice of agapē is relational, priestly, and inhabited. It breathes. It delays wrath. It performs kindness. It restrains rupture. It reckons evil but does not weaponize it. The BDAG parsing begins the descent into abstraction. The Spirit is displaced by virtue. The priesthood is replaced by behavior. The reckoning is replaced by therapeutic forgetting. The NASB completes the posture shift. The believer is repositioned as a moral subject, not a covenantal vessel. The Spirit is referenced in tone but not possessed in breath. The blood of Yehoshua is omitted. The priesthood is erased. The gospel becomes a behavioral code, not a covenantal cure.
Final Determination:
This passage, when viewed through the lens of AGDS, reveals a severe posture shift. The interlinear preserves covenantal integrity. The BDAG parsing initiates institutional smoothing. The NASB completes the flattening. The gospel is converted from relational possession to moral abstraction. The verse, in its compromised form, qualifies as “another gospel.”
Restoration Statement: Agapē, the covenantal breath of the inhabited ones, delays wrath with priestly patience, performs kindness as covenantal action, burns not with envy but with holy fire, boasts not in self but in the indwelling Spirit, is not inflated with breathless pride but anchored in the Ruach, acts not in disgrace but in priestly decorum, seeks not its own but the restoration of the other, ruptures not but reconciles, reckons evil but does not weaponize it. This is not a moral code. This is the breath of the covenant.
Outro: The audit is complete. The stakes are dimensional. The gospel is not a list of virtues. It is the breath of the covenant embodied in the inhabited ones. Let the reader discern the posture. Let the priesthood be restored. Let the counterfeit be exposed. Let the gospel be possessed. This is not a suggestion. This is a summons. Return to the breath. Return to the blood. Return to the covenant. The audit demands it.
