Worship in Spirit and Truth 25 - Portrayal of Love 1 - 1 Corinthians 13:4-6a
Worship In Spirit and Truth • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 39:12
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· 2 viewsMorning 14 December 2025
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59 When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel. 60 He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mankind, 61 and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe. 62 He gave his people over to the sword and vented his wrath on his heritage. 63 Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no marriage song.
1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song; play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 4 For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. 6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 13 The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. 16 The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Introduction
We are commanded to worship God in Spirit and Truth. Worship is a spiritual act in which we extol the glories of God, through Jesus Christ with the essential help of the Holy Spirit. Worship is not what we decide to do but wholehearted submission to the Truth that God has revealed.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
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Paul’s presentation of love is without sentimentality, devoid of sensuality, and free from sexuality. The love that Paul has in mind is divine in origin and transcends earthly meanings...The human mind cannot fully grasp the depth of that divine love. Kistemaker, S.
8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
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4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Paul portrays love in 12 different ways. 5 are negative 7 are positive. Will look at 1 positive and 5 negative today.
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1. Love is Patient and Kind v4
1. Love is Patient and Kind v4
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4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
a. Love is Patient
a. Love is Patient
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
Love is patient.” The Greek verb which we have translated “is patient” actually means to be forbearing in respect to actual offenses and injuries one receives from others. It signifies that one is slow in avenging and slow in becoming angry. It demonstrates a willingness to take someone’s unpleasant character traits in stride and to exhibit enduring patience. As God is forbearing with us, so we must tolerate our fellow man. Kistemaker
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Love is patient. That is, slow to be roused to resentment. It patiently bears with provocation and is not quick to assert its rights or to resent an injury. Hodge, C.
b. Love is Kind
b. Love is Kind
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
[Love] is kind.” In the New Testament the verb to be kind appears only here. Kistemaker,
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
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Love is kind. That is, inclined to perform good deeds; it is good-natured. The root of the Greek verb means “useful,” and hence its primary sense is “disposed to be useful.” C. Hodge
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2. Love Does Not Envy or Boast v4
2. Love Does Not Envy or Boast v4
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
a. Love is Not Jealous
a. Love is Not Jealous
The Bible is filled with illustrations that portray the disastrous effect jealousy has on personal relationships. To mention but a few:
Cain envied Abel
3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” 8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
Joseph’s brothers
11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
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4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
b. Love Does not Boast
b. Love Does not Boast
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“Love does not brag.” Paul uses a verb that depicts a person as a braggart or windbag. Such a person parades his embellished rhetoric to gain recognition. His behavior is marked by egotism, subservience toward superiors, and condescension toward subordinates. A braggart exhibits pride in himself and his accomplishments. But such bragging is devoid of love to God and to one’s fellow man, and is a blatant sin. Kistemaker
It does not boast. This includes all forms of the desire to gain the applause of others. Hodge, C.
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3. Love is not Arrogant or Rude v4-5a
3. Love is not Arrogant or Rude v4-5a
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude.
a. Love is Not Arrogant
a. Love is Not Arrogant
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Without love knowledge degenerates into obnoxious arrogance; with love it is a valuable asset. Arrogance is inflated selfishness, while love is genuine humility. Arrogance is devoid of love and love is devoid of arrogance; indeed both are mutually exclusive. Kistemaker,
6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.
b. Love is Not Rude
b. Love is Not Rude
Love does not behave indecently.
Paul has in mind unbecoming, improper, and inappropriate behaviour in any situation. The Greek text indicates that such conduct is not in harmony with the established norm of decency. Kistemaker, S.
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It is not rude. That is, it does nothing of which one ought to be ashamed. Its whole deportment is decorous and becoming. Hodge, C.
Decorous - behaving politely and in a controlled way
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4. Love Does Not Insist on its Own Way v5b
4. Love Does Not Insist on its Own Way v5b
5 It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
a. It Does not Insist on its Own Way
a. It Does not Insist on its Own Way
Love does not seek its own things. It also pertains to demanding that others fulfil one’s own wishes. By contrast, love flourishes in an atmosphere where two people trust each other and know that they will promote the welfare of the other (compare Prov. 3:29; Zech. 8:17). Kistemaker,
29 Do not plan evil against your neighbour, who dwells trustingly beside you.
16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”
b. Love is Not Irritable
b. Love is Not Irritable
[Love] does not become irritated.” No one is immune to irritation caused by others, not even those who possess poise and grace. After leading the Israelites through the desert for nearly forty years, Moses lost his temper when the people quarrelled with him for lack of water (Num. 20:2–11). He was considered to be a very humble person (Num. 12:3); nevertheless, he was unable to control his anger in the face of a grumbling population. Kistemaker, S
The waters of Meribah.
8 “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” 9 And Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
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Righteous anger is permissible and in certain instances even necessary. Thus, Jesus expressed anger at the money changers and sellers of cattle, sheep, and doves in the temple area of Jerusalem. The psalmist, however, warns the reader not to sin in anger. And Paul expands the advice by saying not to let anger spill over into the next day . Kistemaker,
13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
4 Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
c. Love is Not Resentful
c. Love is Not Resentful
Some people are keeping a list of wrongs that they have experienced. But love is extremely forgetful when it comes to remembering injury and injustice. When wrongs have been forgiven, they ought to be forgotten and never be mentioned again. Kistemaker,
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
70 times 7 = 490
Matthew The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
He does this to show that the spirit of genuine forgiveness recognizes no boundaries. It is a state of heart, not a matter of calculation.
Matthew The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
Clearly what he meant was, “Forgive without ever stopping. Be kind toward your brother … always.”
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5. Love Does Not Rejoice at Wrongdoing v6a
5. Love Does Not Rejoice at Wrongdoing v6a
6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing,
As love characterizes God, so evil describes the devil. Love takes notice of the evil in this world but never gloats over it. Instead it grieves over the sins that human beings commit against one another. These wrongdoings may appear in numerous forms: intentional and unintentional evils, sins of commission and omission, harsh persecution and mild neglect, and last, national conflicts and personal controversies. Kistemaker, S. J
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One of the characteristics of love is the constant attempt to discover good and praiseworthy words, thoughts, and deeds in a person. Love searches out the truth and rejoices when that truth is triumphing over wrong. Love and truth are inseparable partners residing in God himself. God shares these characteristics with his people. He endowed them with love and truth, which, though tainted by sin, are renewed in Christ Jesus through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Kistemaker, S.
Conclusion
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9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
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8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
