What does it mean that love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6)?

Hence love does not rejoice over unrighteousness, as malice does, too glad to cover its own evil by that of others; the joy, the sympathies, of love are with the truth, which is personified here as elsewhere. Thus love bears all vexations, believes all possible good (cf. Acts 9:27; Acts 11:22-26), hopes all, in spite of evil manifest enough at present, endures all things, persecutions or afflictions, knowing that we are set for this. God being seen in Christ raises the heart above the depressing power of evil or even suspicion.

"Rejoices not in iniquity." Love works no ill to his neighbour;9 it cannot then rejoice in what is contrary to its nature. Itself the child of goodness, it can only grieve when evil practises and prospers. Its only interest in iniquity is to succour and befriend its victims. What hate spies out, love will not see. It waits for no man's halting, and wrests no man's words. It does not say, "So would we have it," when the righteous fall. Alas! in a Christ-despising world iniquity rejoices against love. And what shall be said of the spirit which too generally characterises religious controversy? To be "truthful in love,"1 is found in practice to be the hardest of achievements, though the simplest and most imperative of Christian duties. In other words, conflict and disputation are the very element of that nature which is by divine description "hateful and hating." Hence, even where contention is needful for the truth's sakes flesh seeks and too often finds its opportunities, thus augmenting the great sum of evil in the very effort to repress it in some special form. What love feels in the presence of the iniquity which it condemns, is best exemplified by Him who wept over the city which had killed the prophets, and where the hand of wickedness had hewn for Him already His appointed grave.2 Love cannot rejoice in iniquity; but it —

"Rejoices with3 the truth." God's love in His saints must languish or rejoice with the truth which both gave it being and is its proper utterance. Natural affection may use flatteries, and often manifests a practical indifference to truth. But both these things are held in abhorrence by real love. Its delight is in God, and therefore in the truth. The disciple whom Jesus loved, and whose inspired testimony leads the willing soul so far into the mystery of still unfathomed love, had no greater joy than to hear that his children walked in the truth.4 That his own witness is true is his continual confidence and boast.5

None of the many attributes of love deserves a more attentive consideration than this. For it is by detaching love from truth, and making it an ornament and commendation of what is false, that the father of lies achieves his principal successes in the world. But as "no lie is of the truth,"6 so no love which is not governed by the truth is really "of God." And if not of God, it is, whatever its degree of plausibility, both partial and corrupt. For "by this we know that we love the children of God, if we love God and keep His commandments."7 But this implies both soundness in the faith, and subjection practically to the written word. Such love as God will own can only live with truth. The world's love thrives most upon the sacrifice of truth.8 For truth is a torment to the unregenerate mind. It is by a compromise of truth that a corrupt Christianity becomes a snare instead of warning to the world. It were well if, in the present day, truth's children watched their birth-right with more jealous care. They are not of the world, and a love which seeks any other fellowship than what is of the Spirit is not "the bond of perfectness," but rather that untempered mortar of which the walls of Babylon are built.

(3) Love “rejoices with the truth”. The flesh is unholy and can find pleasure in occupation with evil. Love is holy and finds its joy in being engaged with the truth. Love is not therefore blind, for it knows and appreciates the truth.

"Rejoicing with the truth" (as it reads in the margin). It is in the truth, no doubt. The truth is there, and I rejoice with it, and take delight in it. Suppose the truth is being preached; my heart goes with it, and is delighted.

Now the scribes and Pharisees, mentioned in this eighth chapter of John, were very moral and religious people, and were greatly shocked when they found this wretched woman taken in such open sin, and very indignant against her. Justice and the law of Moses, thought they, demand that she should be made an example of - it is not fit that such a sinner should live. It comforts and quiets the depraved heart of man, if he can only find a person worse than himself: he thinks the greater sin of another excuses himself; and whilst accusing and vehemently blaming another, he forgets his own evil. He thus rejoices in iniquity.

The opening descriptions are all of a passive character, and show that love demands the renunciation of self. Long-suffering and kindness head the list. These are the attributes of our loving God and Father, and we are to imitate Him as His children and forbear one another in love. Love does not envy. God does not envy. Envy is of Satan; all self-seeking has its origin in pride, which is the crime of the devil (1 Timothy 3:6). Love vaunteth not itself. It never seeks the applause of men. Self-display is self-love. True love is not puffed up. Love doth not behave itself unseemly. Its ornaments are meekness, modesty and unobtrusiveness. It seeketh not its own; it is self-neglect and is expressed in devotion to others. Nor is it easily provoked, for self-consciousness and self-seeking being absent, sensitiveness becomes impossible. Love thinketh no evil. The better translation is, "does not impute evil." It rather hides than exposes. Furthermore, love "rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth with the truth." The last four characteristics show its positive energy. It beareth all things--it puts up with anything but that which is wrong and sinful; believeth all things; it does not suspect, therefore it hopeth all things and also endureth all things. Finally the permanence of love is stated. Prophecies, tongues and knowledge will fail, cease and pass away. Love never. It is abiding eternal, the greatest of all.

Are any surprised at the strength of the apostle's language concerning the troublers? It is not inconsistent with faith working by love. It is one of the characteristics of divine love that it rejoices not in iniquity, but with the truth (1 Cor. 13). Divine love is not always saying smooth things. It is ever righteously indignant when truth is trampled in the dust and error is exalted. This may sound strange in a latitudinarian day such as the present, when everything is accepted or tolerated. Paul did not hesitate to denounce evil workers, nor to set before them the righteous judgment of God.

But that love not only found its origin in the knowledge of the truth, it also found expression "for the truth's sake." The truth is of surpassing importance — since the world is filled with error and delusion — and we should be ready to suffer for the sake of it. Many have suffered, even to a martyr's death. Here, however, it is not a question of suffering for the sake of the truth, but loving for the sake of the truth. That bears in two directions: the love must be sincere and without the partiality which is so natural to the flesh; and also it must be intolerant of evil, since truth and error can never agree together. It is the second of these two considerations which is stated in this Epistle. The third Epistle deals with the first.

The semblance of love which does not maintain the truth but accommodates itself to that which is not truth, is not love according to God. The true test of love is maintenance of truth. The Holy Spirit, who sheds God's love abroad in our hearts, is the Spirit of truth. Truth and obedience are essential factors in the expression of true love.

The sense of the love must manifest itself thus. The Apostle had a great joy in his children and he longed to be with them that his joy might be full. His love came out thus. He would be with them for his own joy. Love seeks the company of the loved ones. Yet this was not the love that allows a person to go on with evil. "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." His joy was in the truth, and in seeing his children walk in truth. It is not the false love, which acquiesces in that which is not of the truth in order that Christians may be pleased. In both these little epistles we see those, who have to be resisted. It is the love, which is founded on the truth; and which, while it must love, and cannot help loving, yet must act according to truth. This is love that we walk after His commandments, and this is the commandment that, as we have heard from the beginning, we should walk in it. Those, who love thus will have much sorrow, but their joy will super-abound above all the sorrow, for in the midst of the sorrow they will be filled with joy. It will happen to them as is said in Isa. 43:2, death will prove to be their life, their sorrow, will turn into joy and that which threatens to consume will only consume that which hinders their entrance into the life of joy eternal. No lesser joy than this can the Father give to His own seeing He has to express by this joy His delight in His own Son.