The Love Principle Pt. 3

The Value of the Love Principle Pt. 3

1 Corinthians 13:4–12 “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”

Introduction:

A. Review

During the last couple of weeks, we have been covering the subject entitled: The Love Principle.

Here we have been examining Paul’s letter to the Church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 13, and examining how love is the greatest virtue, and how it transforms us inwardly by affirming our identity, edifying us and empowering us to relate to other people, creating a culture for our relationships and a building block to build our lives upon. Moreover, last week we covered the Do’s and Don’ts of love.

B. Overview:

Today we are going to continue the subject entitled: The Love Principle, and specifically speak about How love causes us to mature.

C. Context.

To better understand how love aids us to maturity, we are looking at the Apostle Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

The Apostle Paul specifically writes this in his letter to the Corinthian Church, primarily because he viewed them as spiritually immature. The Church in Corinth at the time were made up of people who came from the higher class of society. Therefore, they were concerned with status and as a result were very prideful. They were also struggled with division, and who they were to associate themselves with, and ddid not have a proper understanding on their spiritual gifts, thinking that their gifts would bring them status, when the gifts were only tempral when it comes to eternal love.

Moreover, it was by teaching them how love is the most important virtue, he is showing them how love is the true mark of spiritual maturity.

Thesis:

Love serves as the catalyst for personal transformation, shaping our speech, understanding, and thinking by replacing childish self-centeredness with mature wisdom, patience, and selflessness. As we grow in love, we move beyond immature expressions of pride, impulsiveness, and shallow perspectives, embracing deeper discernment, humility, and a Christlike character that reflects true spiritual and emotional maturity.

Q. What does it mean to mature?

Maturity is the state of reaching full development on one’s thoughts, emotions, and behavior, marked by wisdom, self-control, responsibility, and understanding. It involves the ability to make sound judgments, respond to situations with patience and discernment, and prioritize long-term growth over short-term gratification.

In a spiritual and emotional sense, maturity is demonstrated by ones capacity to love selflessly, communicate with wisdom, and approach life with humility and resilience. It is the process of moving beyond childish attitudes - such as impulsiveness, selfishness, and short-sightedness towards a deeper, more thoughtful, and purpose-driven way of thinking.

Message:

As we read 1 Corinthians, there are four areas where the Apostle Paul shows us how love causes us to mature in including our speech, understanding and thinking.

I. Maturity in how we speak.

A. How the way we speak Demonstrates Maturity vs. Immaturity.

As the Apostle Paul highlights in 1 Corinthians 1:10-12, one of the main things that church struggled with was their speech. In this letter to the Church in Corinth, Paul mentions how they would try to choose a side on who they would identify with. Where they of Paul or Apolos? Since they were concerned about their social status, they would partake in such debates that would lead to quarrels and fights. Since they were concerned with their own status and knowledge, they would conduct themseles based on impulsiveness and pride.

Maturity in speech reflects self-control.

Truth is, we speak what really is in our hearts. Jesus says it like this in Luke 6:45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Words are an expression of what we truly think. Therefore, it is important to practice self-control and examine what we want to say, where our heart is before we say it.

Hebrews 12 recites the creation account in Hebrews 11:3–4 “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.”

Here we see how in creation, God framed the world by the words he spoke. It was by speaking, that expressed what he was thinking.

Our words, simply provide the framing to our lives, therefore it is important to utilize words that are full of faith, wisdom, and edifying.

For the Corinthian Church, their words were not mature because they struggled with division and quarreling. The Corinthian church were known for factions and disputes. Their speech reflected Jealosy, boasting and rivalry, all in which are signs of immaturity.

The Corinthian Church often spoke words in prideful ways.

The Corinthian Church was known for priding themselves with Knowledge. However, the negative side of knowledge is it puffs up. .