The Practice of Love

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1 Corinthians 13:4–8 “4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.”

The first quality or aspect of the fruit mentioned is love.

There is a priority placed on love

We have already noted the nature of this love, it is a love of choice, a love of the will, a love that puts others before itself, one of priority.

# Love Is

Patience is also given as part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. But here it is seen as something that oozes out of agape love.

Love is patient

This word patient is the Greek word makrothymeo and it means to endure a difficult period or circumstances or person. From God’s perspective

It is the patience God had when He waited in the days of Noah 1 Pet 3:20.

It is the patience God had when dealing with the vessels of wrath Rom 9:22.

It is this patience God demonstrated in saving the one called Saul of Tarsus

Here we see the patience of God keeps putting of wrath, and judgment. Whenever I do something I’m deserving, but God puts it off

This is enough reason for patience to be seen when love is acted out.

Can your love “put off” giving up? Throwing in the towel? surrendering to the hardship?

When love is patient brethren can continue to serve each other, bless, pray for, help, bear each other’s burdens, EVEN WHEN IT’S HARD!

Love is Kind

It’s common in a difficult situation (one that requires patience), to keep it together ALL the time.

That’s when you get snappy, and words that are usually reserved decide to come out. That’s when you want to isolate and cut people off for good

But love is kind

This word means to: be good to; to see as useful/make use off.

The implication is love always sees the value in something. The temptation is to see things, mainly people as “no-good”, waste of time, “watless”.

Kindness does its besst to be thoughtful, helpful, beneficial to others.

If I keep seeing them as valuable, I’ll be more predisposed to do good toward them. (Think about the Corinthians, weak in faith, rich and poor, gentile/pagan backgrounds)

Think about God

Romans 11:22 “22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you [SALVATION], God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.”

# Love is not

Love is not jealous

This is the jealousy that is driven by resentment, bitterness and hatred. It is the jealosuy that makes be mean to someone else.

It is the jealousy Paul warned about in chap. 3 - This context describes a jealousy that is after the wrong things.

There are right things to chase after, 1 Corinthians 12:31 “31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way.”

But there are worng things, that will take you way from the Lordship of Jesus in your life.

1 Corinthians 3:3 “3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”

The fire of agape love does not burn on desires that are aimed at the wrong things.

Love is not arrogant

Love is not puffed up

Love’s agenda is to build up, not be puffed up

If you are stuggling with an over-inflated ego, always have to be the best, the brightest, the funniest. Always have to be right, always have to have a say, or the final say. Always have to be on top, always need the spotlight, always exalting yourself, always the hero of your story

If your struggling with self-exaltation, you’re struggling with love

Love does not think of itself more highly that it ought to think

Love does not “cherish inflated ideas of itself”

“I can’t take people like that” - LOVE can!

Guess what, even folks like that, we need to love, Love is patient!

Love is not provoked

Easily is not in the original language, it just says, “provoked”.

That might suggest, I have a limit or threshold that I need to get to before I am provoked.

The present tense of this verb means it’s bad to stay there

The word means, irritated, angered, or distressed - Love has no buttons to push! Love has no final straw!

Love does not get exasparated and express itself in anger and hostility

APPL. Love does not walk out on the church, when church is not going right! Why? because it is patient! And love has not self interest!

# Love Does Not

Love does not brag

The word means to assert onself. To speak highly of oneself and their achievements - the goal is to solicit an elevated view from others towards you.

The Corinthians suffered from this (1 Cor 3:21; 4:6; 18; 5:2)

Love is not status-seeking or attention seeking

It is not restless because it has nothing to do in the assembly, or that its name is not mentioned, or that it does not get a chance to be on the stage

“It does not insist upon itself”

Christianity is about the towel not the title

It’s about lifting up others, not yourself

It’s not about credit, it’s about the cross!

APPL. Not because someone is doing something well, means that they are boastful. Stop hating on excellence!

Loves does not act rude/unbecomingly/behaveth itself unseemly

To behave indecently, improperly, shamefully and disgracefully

It’s really to treat someone (I would even suggest to think about someone) in a degrading way

Again, of love is kind and sees value, and usefulness, it won’t treat someone in a degrading way.

Paul uses the adj. in 1 Cor 12:23, referring to “unpresentable parts of the body” - some things that no one wants to see. . .No One! - To apply this: Love will not commit acts that it wishes no one sees (It’s dishonorable and shameful)

Another way to put this, is love is not thoughtless or insensitive! “as long as it suits me, I’m good” - Love doesn’t act like that. It is considerate.

Love does not seek its own

It does not seek its own self-interest. It is not something is overly concerned with self. It is not self-centered

It is not always seeking to gain something for its advantage

“Yet not I, but Christ who lives”

When agape love reigns in my heart, I begin to burden myself with the concerns of others

That’s when I can grieve when they grieve, that’s why I can rejoice when they rejoice. I’m concerned about other more than myself.

This is a cancerous ideology in the world today, that I only look out for myself. W.I.I.F.M. Make sure you protect and preserve yourself, be sure there’s a way for you to get some advantage in this, make sure your reputation is not hampered by this.

Paul was someone who thought of others before himself

Philippians 1:24 “24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.”

Romans 9:3 “3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh,”

2 Corinthians 4:11–12 “11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death works in us, but life in you.”

There’s an even better example than Paul> JESUS