For the Common Good Pt. 11

Good morning, church. Today we continue with part 11 of our 2 part series through 1 Corinthians. As you know, we’ve now been in first Corinthians for several months.

And we first looked at the first 11 chapters of 1 Corinthians, where we see the apostle Paul calling the Corinthians to Return to the Gospel. That's what we titled the first half of our series.

And in doing so we saw how the believers at Corinth had abandoned the gospel. And in abandoning the gospel, they had given way to division over preference, taking each other to court, to sexual immorality and to dividing each other over social class.

For this reason Paul ends chapter 11 by calling them back to the Lord's table. Where we find our unity. By eating from the same loaf of bread and drinking from the same cup. It is there at the table where we are reminded of the sacrifice that was made on our behalf, and it is this reminder that propels us to return to the gospel.

However, beginning in chapter 12, we shifted. We shifted to the second half of our series. Where we’ve been talking about the gifts of the Spirit, we titled this second half, “For the common good.” And here Paul addresses the gifts of the Spirit and how God designed them to function in the life of the church.

Last week we finished chapter 12, where Paul clarifies that the purpose of the gifts of the Spirit is the common good of the body, and he ends chapter 12 by pointing us toward the right motivation behind their use—so today we turn to chapter 13.

Now, let me ask you a question.

How many of you have ever used something every day without actually knowing what it was designed for? There are plenty of things we use regularly—things that work—but we don’t always use them according to their original design. Let me give you a few examples.

Stove: How many of you have an Stove in your house? (I’m assuming everyone here has a stove)

And if you do, chances are there’s a drawer underneath it. What do we usually use that drawer for?

Pots / Pans / Baking pans / Lids.

However originally, that drawer was not designed for storage at all. (Stove image) (as you can see on the screen) This drawer was designed as a warming drawer—it’s purpose is to keep food warm before serving it.

So at my home the drawer is being used… just not according to its purpose. We took something meant to preserve the meal and turned it into extra storage. Here’s another example.

How many of you own a Spaghetti Spoon?:

Most people think the hole in the middle is there to drain water when you scoop the pasta. However that’s not what it’s for. That hole is actually a portion guide. (Spoon image) You take dry spaghetti, place it through the middle, and that’s one serving of spaghetti for one person. It was designed to measure and balance the portion of spaghetti.

Here’s the point. In all of these examples, nothing is broken. Everything still works. However when something is used outside of its intended purpose, it stops accomplishing the good it was designed to produce—and sometimes it can even cause harm. And this is exactly what was happening at the church at Corinth.

The gifts were present.

The gifts were active.

The gifts were impressive.

However the Corinthians had forgotten the gospel—and in forgetting the gospel, they had forgotten love as the foundation of their faith—and in forgetting love they had forgotten the God who gave them the gifts. For this reason the very gifts God designed to produce unity were now producing division.

That’s why Paul says at the end of chapter 12:

1 Corinthians 12:31 NASB 2020

But earnestly desire the greater gifts.

There is nothing wrong with the gifts. (gifts are good)

There is nothing wrong with desiring the gifts. (as long as we use them according to their intended purpose)

But then Paul adds:

1 Corinthians 12:31 NASB 2020

And yet, I am going to show you a far better way.

1. Paul is about to give the church at Corinth the foundation that allows the gifts to flourish and fulfill their intended purpose.

(Which is the common good of the body)

When Paul talks about “a far better way,” that word better in the original means extraordinary—all-surpassing, beyond measure. And the word way in the original refers to a road, a path or figuratively speaking a manner of life. (a way of living)

2. In other words, Paul is saying, “I’m going to show you the preeminent, God-ordained way of life—a way of living that orders all gifts, all knowledge, and all actions in a manner that reflects the character of God”… And this is the way of love.

As Paul begins chapter 13, he walks us through three essential dimensions of the Christian life—what we say, what we know, and what we do—and in each case, he asks us to imagine that dimension of life without love.

So, in verses 1–3, Paul doesn’t define love yet (next week)—however he does something else first. He shows us what the Christian life looks like when love is absent.

In verse 1, Paul begins with speech—what the Christian says.

I. Love Gives Meaning to What we Say

1 Corinthians 13:1 NASB 2020

If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

Church as we have seen thus far the Corinthians were fascinated with impressive speech. They prized eloquence and earthly wisdom. They loved the philosophies of their time. And not only that but they were also captivated by the possibility of speaking supernatural languages. And whatever your view of tongues may be—that’s not Paul’s point here.

When Paul refers to “tongues of men and of angels,” he’s intentionally using the most elevated language possible.

3. So, in essence he’s saying, if I were to possess the most impressive, the most spiritual, the most awe-inspiring speech ever imaginable… Without love, it’s just noise.

So,

4. What Paul is doing here is asking us to imagine a world without love. A world where words exist… but love doesn’t.

And in that world, speech becomes noise.

A noisy gong.

A clanging cymbal.

It’s loud. It’s attention-grabbing.

What is said may be impressive—but it is empty of necessary meaning.

Paul is essentially saying: you can sing all the love songs you want—but if you don’t mean them, if they’re just a means to some other end, then he doesn’t want to hear it.

5. Love doesn’t make our words louder—it makes them meaningful.

John Piper gives a helpful illustration that captures the essence of what Paul is saying here.

Imagine a husband who rings the doorbell of his home on his anniversary with roses behind his back. And his wife comes to the door, and she’s totally surprised that he’s rung the doorbell. It’s his house. What are you ringing the doorbell for? She asks.

And the husband says, “Happy anniversary, Kerem.” We just had our 23rd anniversary in December. So, “Happy anniversary, Kerem.”

And Kerem says, “Oh, Javi, they’re beautiful. Why did you?”

And then I say, “It’s my duty. I’ve read the manuals. I know what a husband is supposed to do. I’m going to get this right—on the anniversary, you send flowers. That’s what you do. It’s my duty.”

Now, Kerem would not like that answer. Why not? Well, you’ll know why not if I give you the right answer.

So, ding-dong. She opens the door, and I say, “Happy anniversary, Kerem.” And she says, “Oh, they’re beautiful, Javi. Why did you?”

And I say, “I couldn’t help myself. It makes me happy to buy roses for you. In fact, why don’t you just go change your clothes, because I’m going to spend the night with you, because there’s nothing I’d rather do than to spend the evening with you.”

So, what changed?

It wasn’t the flowers.

It wasn’t the action.

It was the motivation.

Matthew 15:8 NASB 2020

‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me.

Paul is saying the same thing here that Jesus says in Matthew 15. You can speak spiritual words. You can say true things. You can even exercise real gifts. But without love—without the right motivation—it doesn’t build up. It just becomes noise.

6. Words without love may be accurate, but they don’t provide comfort.

They may explain suffering, but they don’t sit with the person that’s suffering. (God’s sovereign) People don’t just need answers—sometimes they just need a listening ear.

7. Words without love can reopen wounds rather than bind them.

Truth spoken harshly often deepens pain instead of restoring hearts. Truth spoken without love may be accurate, but it will never be transformative.

Speech without love may expose sin, but it rarely leads to repentance

because repentance grows in the soil of grace. People change when they feel loved enough to be honest.

This type of noise may get attention, but it never builds trust. And without trust:

correction is rejected

counsel is ignored

truth is resisted

Words without love don’t produce unity—they produce separation. Even shared theology can divide if love is absent.

8. Words without love do not reflect God.

because God is love. Speech without love misrepresents Him—even when the words are true.

We see an example of this in Luke 9 where the people in a Samaritan village rejected Jesus and then we read:

Luke 9:53–56 NKJV

And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” (V55-56) But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”

This is a textbook example of correct theology and religious passion …without love.

They are right about God’s power but wrong about God’s purpose

James and John had zeal, Scripture, and confidence—but they lacked love. And Jesus rebukes them, not because they were weak in conviction, but because they were strong in conviction without compassion.

9. Without love, our words may inform the mind, but they never shepherd the heart.

Colossians 4:6 NASB 2020

Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

Ephesians 4:1–3 NASB 2020

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, (V2-3) with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

So, if Paul is right (and he is)—if words without love become noise—then the question we have to ask is not simply, “What am I saying?” but, “Why am I saying it?”

A. In marriage:

It’s possible to say the right thing in the wrong way, at the wrong time, for the wrong reason—and still do damage. So, before you speak, ask: Am I trying to love this person—or am I trying to defend myself, prove a point, or relieve my frustration?

B. In the Church:

In the church, this means that even good theology, correct doctrine, and biblical language can become noise if love is missing. Which means that we’ll need to exercise wisdom in our interactions: How are you using the truth of Scripture?

Love not only asks, “Is this true?” but also, “Is this helpful? Is this timely? Is this loving?”

C. Everyday Interactions

Paul’s point means that the way of love must shape everyday conversations—at home, at work, with our children, and even with strangers. And yes even on Social media there’s such a thing as online speech (What is the motivation in your interactions through social media?) Because:

Love listens before it speaks

Seeks understanding before correction

Speaks with humility, not volume

10. Love transforms speech from noise into ministry.

Paul now moves from what we say to what we know.

II. Love Gives Meaning to What we Know

1 Corinthians 13:2 NASB 2020

If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

Beloved I strongly believe that Paul is intentionally pilling up the extremes in this verse.

Think about it, he begins with Prophecy—which is direct revelation from God. Then he adds understanding of all mysteries. Then he adds possession of all knowledge. And then he adds all faith powerful enough to move mountains.

ALL Understanding of ALL mysteries, ALL knowledge, ALL faith!

And then Paul says something that should cause every one of us to pause: “If I possess all these things yet, I do not have love, I am nothing.”

That is terrifying. Just think about the implication that Paul has made here. Paul is telling us that

11. Spiritual gifts, theological depth, and even powerful faith are not an automatic evidence of love.

Beloved this is terrifying because we often assume that if someone is gifted, insightful, articulate, or spiritually impressive, if they know the Bible that this somehow automatically implies that they must also be loving. (That they have a relationship with the Lord) Paul is saying that assumption is wrong. Which means that a person can be profoundly gifted and profoundly unloving at the same time. We see this human desire in Acts 8

Simon the Magician see’s the power of God at work through the apostles and he desired that power—however not to serve others, but to elevate himself. He desired spiritual ability without spiritual love.

2 Timothy 3:1–5 NASB 2020

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, (V3-4) unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (V5) holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.

Paul is warning the Corinthians—and us—that

12. Knowledge and power divorced from love becomes dangerous.

And once again, Paul is asking us to imagine a world without love. In this world, knowledge exists—but love doesn’t.

Just imagine a world with unlimited knowledge and zero concern for neighbor. A world where truth exists without compassion. Where insight exists without humility. Where power exists without restraint. That would be a terrifying world.

Beloved our culture—and even our church culture—tempts us to measure spirituality by gifting, articulation, knowledge, and effectiveness. We ask,

“Can they preach?”

“Are they insightful?”

“Are they influential?”

“Do they seem powerful?”

But Paul forces a different question: “Are they loving?” Paul is showing us a pattern.

Gifted speech without love becomes noise.

Deep knowledge without love becomes nothing.

And in both cases, the issue is not ability—it’s motivation. And all of this comes down to the kind of knowledge Paul is talking about.

13. Paul is not critiquing knowledge itself—he’s critiquing knowledge detached from relationship.

There is a difference between knowing information about a person and actually knowing that person.

Paul tells us in Philippians 3 that everything he once counted as gain—his cultural and religious background, his credentials, his learning, his achievements, he now counts as loss. And then he tells us why in V8.

Philippians 3:8 NASB 2020

I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

Paul is not talking about knowing facts about Jesus. He’s talking about knowing Christ Himself. Paul is not pursuing the knowledge of information, but the knowledge of a person. Biblical knowledge is never merely informational—it is relational.

14. To know Christ is not simply to understand doctrines about Him, but to belong to Him, to trust Him, to love Him, and to be shaped by Him.

And this is why Paul can say that knowledge without love is nothing. Because love flows out of relationship, not information. You cannot love a God you only know information about—you love a God you actually know.

And if love gives meaning to what we say, and love gives meaning to what we know, Paul now shows us that love also gives meaning to what we do.

III. Love Gives Meaning to What we Do

1 Corinthians 13:3 NASB 2020

And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.

Paul now goes to the furthest extreme imaginable.

Think about it:

Giving away all our possessions and surrendering our own bodies

Acts that unquestionably will look sacrificial

Then the shock: And Paul says—even that can be empty.

Once again,

15. Paul is asking us to imagine a world without love—but this time, not in what we say or what we know, but in what we do. In this world, generosity exists, sacrifice exists and even heroic acts exist, but love doesn’t.

Beloved charity is good and sacrifice is good. But Paul is asking us to consider something uncomfortable:

What about charity or generosity without love?

There is something in the human heart that longs to be seen, to be recognized, to be affirmed. Generosity can be fueled by the desire for glory. Pauls says “If I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory,

Paul is exposing the motive—not the act.

Jesus says essentially the same thing in Matthew 6 in regards to giving and praying.

When you give, don’t announce it.

When you pray, don’t perform it.

Because when generosity is done to be seen, the applause of people becomes the reward—and that’s all you get.

16. Sacrifice without love is still self-centered—it just wears religious clothing.

But Scripture also gives us a beautiful picture of what love-filled sacrifice looks like.

In 2 Corinthians 8 Paul tells us that the churches in Macedonia gave out of deep poverty, in the midst of affliction, with overflowing joy.

2 Corinthians 8:1–2 NASB 2020

Now, brothers and sisters, we make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.

Their generosity wasn’t driven by recognition. It wasn’t driven by abundance. It was driven by grace. For they first gave themselves to the Lord—and then to others.

2 Corinthians 8:3–5 NASB 2020

For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave voluntarily, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, (V5) and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

This is the heart of love-filled action. And here’s where we have to go deeper. Paul is not just telling us to try harder to love. He’s showing us something far more foundational. Because:

Love is not just something we do.

Love is someone we belong to.

For Scripture tells us in 1 John 4:8 that God is love. And then in

1 John 4:19 NASB 2020

We love, because He first loved us.

17. In other words, if we remove God from the equation, even the most impressive acts become empty.

Paul’s point is that love cannot exist apart from God—because God Himself is love.

Which means that the world can have generosity without God. It can have sacrifice without God. It can have heroism without God. But it cannot have true love without Him.

And here we arrive at the good news:

Jesus did not love us for human applause. He did not give Himself to be seen or celebrated by others. He gave Himself in loving obedience to the Father—and in doing so, He glorified God and saved sinners like you and me.

18. Love is what turns our words into ministry, our knowledge into wisdom, and our sacrifice into worship.

So, let us respond by putting into practice the words of Colossians 3:12-14

Colossians 3:12–14 NASB 2020

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; (V13-14) bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also. In addition to all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

And here is our closing point: because we have been loved by God in Christ, we now put on love as our way of life—and in that love, our words, our knowledge, and our actions finally find their meaning. Next we will define love.