For the Common Good Pt. 14

Good morning, church! This afternoon we continue with part 14 of our series on Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, “For the Common Good,” Our goal today is to continue expanding on Paul’s definition of love according to Chapter 13:4-7. Now, over these past couple of weeks, we’ve been intentionally slowing down and carefully defining what biblical love actually is and not what the culture calls love.

In our first week in this section, we began by looking at what love is. Paul tells us “love is patient and love is kind.” Which means that love begins with patience and kindness. That’s the posture of love. That same Sunday, we also looked at what love is not. Paul tells us that “Love does not brag. It is not jealous. It is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully. It does not seek its own benefit.” And based on those verses we established that love walks in humility, not self-exaltation.

Then last week, we made a shift from definition to response. We saw how love responds in the context of real relationships—especially when those relationships are strained. Paul tells us that “Love is not easily provoked. Love does not keep an account of a wrong suffered.” And in doing so, we saw how love reshapes the way we handle conflict. Instead of reacting out of wounded pride or storing up offenses like receipts, love absorbs, love forgives, and love entrusts judgment to God.

Now, today we continue building on that definition, and Paul now takes us deeper. He moves from how love behaves to what love rejoices in.

In 1 Corinthians 13:6, Paul says:

1 Corinthians 13:6 NASB 2020

it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

Now, if we truly want to understand someone’s character, we don’t just look at how they behave in public. We don’t just listen to how they speak. We look at what they find joy in. What makes them glad? What do they cheer for? What produces delight in their heart? Why? Because whatever we rejoice in reveals what we value. And this brings us to today’s theme.

IV. Love Rejoices in Righteousness and Truth

1. Here in V6, Paul now moves from how love behaves to what love delights in.

And in doing he establishes that Biblical love is not morally neutral. Biblical love has affections. It has convictions and it has boundaries. Love finds joy in certain things—and love refuses to celebrate other things.

However before we go any further, we need to slow down and ask a simple question: what does Paul mean by “rejoice”?

2. To rejoice means more than to acknowledge something, it means to delight in it.

It means to experience happiness because of it. The word rejoice carries the idea of gladness that rises up in response to something we consider good. It is not passive. It is not neutral. It is emotional. It is affectionate. It is celebratory.

3. And in Scripture the word rejoicing is often communal.

It is shared joy. For example in the Gospel of Luke when Elizabeth gives birth to John the Baptist, Luke tells us that her neighbors and relatives rejoiced with her. Why? Because something good had happened. A child was born. There was life. There was fulfillment of promise. And joy spread. (Oswaldo and Cindy)

In Jesus’ parable in Luke 15, when the shepherd finds his lost sheep, what does he do? He calls his friends and says, “Rejoice with me.” And this rejoicing is shared delight in something considered valuable. In Matthew 13:44 Jesus establishes that:

Matthew 13:44 NASB 2020

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells everything that he has, and buys that field.

Notice the order. He finds the treasure, recognizes its value and from joy over it, he sells everything. The selling is radical. The sacrifice is costly. But the sacrifice is not the focus — the joy is. The man is not grieving what he loses. He is rejoicing in what he has found. Which means that:

4. Joy flows from what we value.

So, when Paul says love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, he is saying love does not delight in it.

5. Love does not experience an inner happiness when sin succeeds. Love does not feel a sense of pleasure when evil advances and love does not smile at what offends our Lord.

When Paul addresses the church in 1 Corinthians 5:1–2, he is shocked — not only that sexual immorality exists among them, but that they are “arrogant” as it relates to it.

1 Corinthians 5:2 NASB 2020

You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.

The word he uses for arrogant in the original implies being puffed up, inflated with pride. And this means that they were not merely tolerating the man’s sin; they were carrying on as though nothing was wrong, perhaps even celebrating the man’s sin. (Maybe even saying they make a cute couple)

Paul says, “Ought you not rather to mourn?” In other words, what they treated casually, heaven treats seriously. What they seemed to accept, God condemned. It would be like Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman in John 4 and saying, “As long as she has a man, I’m just glad she’s not alone,” ignoring the reality of her sin. But that is not what Jesus does. He lovingly exposes what is broken in order to restore it.

6. Love does not celebrate what destroys a soul. Love does not clap for what Christ died to redeem. Love mourns over sin because it understands what sin produces.

I remember watching the news a few years ago when NY state passed legislation expanding abortion access all the way up to moment of birth. Beloved, the fact that they passed the law was an abomination in it of itself — however what impacted me the most was the celebration.

Right after the Governor signed the legislation into law there was euphoria. Applause, cheering and joy. And whatever your political affiliation may be, that moment revealed something deeper: Their hearts were finding joy in something that Scripture calls the shedding of innocent blood.

But here’s the reality church we don’t even have to go the national headlines to feel the weight of this.

Think about it! Sometimes we rejoice when someone we dislike fails. Sometimes we feel a small rush of satisfaction when someone who hurt us gets embarrassed. We laugh at crude jokes that dishonor purity. We binge watch entertainment that normalizes adultery, greed, revenge, and pride — and we call it entertainment. We scroll for hours on our phones and feel entertained by outrage, mockery, and humiliation.

(The notebook) Think about a movie like The Notebook. We watch it and call it beautiful — a lifelong love story, an old couple and their devotion through sickness, even dying together while holding hands. And emotionally, it moves us.

However if we slow down and examine the foundation of this movie, what do we see? We see rebellion against parents, sexual intimacy outside of marriage, and fornication while one of them is engaged to someone else. We watch this and yet, we don’t recoil — we applaud. We celebrate the passion and overlook the compromise. We cry at the ending. We call it beautiful. And yet the relationship we are celebrating is built on rebellion, sexual sin, and broken commitments, the very things Scripture says the Lord hates and that stand in direct opposition to His holy character.

And that’s precisely the point, if we’re honest, there are time when we don’t just tolerate those things — we enjoy them. In this is what Paul is confronting.

Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness. Love does not rejoice in what God abhors. This means that love does not find pleasure in sin — whether it’s society’s sin or our own.

7. Love does not feel glad when God’s design is distorted.

Because, Love does not experience delight when truth is suppressed. Love Paul tells us, rejoices with the truth.

Which brings us now to the second half of the verse. If love refuses to delight in unrighteousness, then where does love find its joy? Paul tells us: in the truth. And again, we need to slow down and ask another question: what does Paul mean by truth?

Because in our culture, truth has been reduced to opinion. Truth has been personalized. “My truth.” “Your truth.” However in Scripture, truth is not about preference. Truth is not about perspective. Truth is reality as defined by God.

And ultimately,

8. According to the Scriptures truth is not just a concept — it is a Person.

Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” He did not merely say, “I speak truth,” though He does. He said, “truth is what I am.” (His nature) Which means that truth is embodied in Christ. Truth is revealed through Christ. Truth is defined by Christ. This means that

9. If you want to know what truth looks like, you must look at Jesus.

Now, how does this truth reach us?

In John 15 the Holy Spirit is referenced as the Spirit of truth.

John 15:26 NASB 2020

“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, namely, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, He will testify about Me.”

Did you noticed that. The Holy Spirit (Helper) is called the Spirit of truth. And what does the Spirit of truth do? He testifies about Christ. This means that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to bring us to the Truth and Christ is the Truth. So, here is the question, how does the Holy Spirit bring us to Christ? Through the Word. And who is the Word?

John 16:13–14 ESV

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

How does the Holy Spirit bring us to Christ? Through the Word. And who is the Word?

John 1:1–2 NASB 2020

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

John 1:14 NASB 2020

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word became flesh. The Word is the Son. And the Son is full of grace and truth. This is why Jesus can pray in John 17, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”

10. The Word of God is truth because the Word ultimately reveals the Son of God — and the Son of God is truth embodied.

11. So when Paul says love rejoices with the truth, he is not merely saying love rejoices in correct information. He is saying love delights in what reflects Christ.

Love rejoices in what aligns with the character of the Son. Love finds joy in what the Spirit produces and what the Word reveals. And this means that truth is not abstract.

Truth became incarnate.

Truth has a face.

Truth has a voice.

Truth has nail-pierced hands.

And love rejoices in Him.

And this is where Jesus makes the connection unmistakably clear. In John 14:15 He says:

John 14:15 NASB 2020

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (You will not rejoice in unrighteousness, you’ll rejoice in me)

Notice what Jesus does not say. He does not say, “If you love Me, you will feel warmly toward Me.” He does not say, “If you love Me, you will agree with Me only when it’s convenient.” He says “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments.” Which means that

12. Love expresses itself in obedience to Christ.

Beloved, love rejoices in truth not merely by affirming it, but by submitting to it.

13. Truth is not something we admire from a distance. Truth is a person we yield to.

And this is why truth is costly.

Truth will cost us approval.

Truth will cost us comfort.

Truth will cost us relationships.

Truth will cost us applause.

2 Timothy 3:12 NASB 2020

Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Notice the connection. Living godly. Loving Christ. Obeying truth. They are not neutral acts. They provoke resistance. There is a cost attached to alignment with Christ.

John 15:19–20 NASB 2020

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. (V20) Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well.

Why is it then that truth brings persecution? Because truth confronts.

Truth exposes what is false.

Truth unmasks what is hidden.

Truth refuses to rejoice in darkness.

Truth draws a line.

John 3:19–20 NASB 2020

And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed.

Jesus has already established that He is the truth — but here we see something more: He is the light. And what does light do? Light exposes what is hidden. Light reveals what darkness tries to conceal. The problem is not the light — the problem is that people love the darkness because their deeds are evil, unrighteous, out of alignment with God’s character. And Jesus says that those who practice evil avoid the light for one reason: they do not want their deeds exposed. That’s why truth brings resistance. Truth exposes. Truth confronts. But Christians rejoice in the truth. And because we rejoice in the truth, we run toward the light — because running toward the light means running toward Christ. (Running towards the truth)

14. Because truth is embodied in Christ, allegiance to truth is allegiance to Jesus.

And this means that obeying truth means following Him — even when it hurts. It means saying no to desires that feel natural. It means walking away from applause in order to remain faithful. It means being misunderstood, labeled, and sometimes rejected.

In the mid-1800s, a man from a village in northeast India converted to Christianity through the ministry of missionaries. His conversion angered the village chief, who saw Christianity as a threat to tribal loyalty and tradition.

The man was brought before the chief and ordered to renounce his faith in Jesus. (To deny the Truth)

In front of the entire village as the chief was threatening him, his whole family was brought forward. The chief then gave him opportunity: “Deny Christ, and your family will live.”

According to the story, when he would not recant Christ, his children and his wife were killed right before his eyes.

The man reportedly responded: “I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back.”

After the murder of his children and his wife the chief turned to him and gave him one last chance. Deny Christ and you will live.

And he declared: “Though none go with me, still I will follow. No turning back. No turning back.” He was executed.

Beloved according to the story the testimony of his steadfastness deeply impacted the villagers — including the chief — and it is believed that many in that village later came to faith in Christ.

And here what we see in this testimony:

Truth confronted him.

Truth drew a line. Life or death

And allegiance to truth became allegiance to Christ. Obeying truth meant following Jesus — even when it hurt. Even when it cost everything. And yet, the refrain of this hymn is not sorrow — it is resolve. It is joy-filled allegiance.

“I have decided to follow Jesus… no turning back.” That is love rejoicing in truth, not because it was safe, not because it was comfortable. But because Christ was worth more than life itself. Because this individual decided to believe the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:

Matthew 5:11–12 NASB 2020

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Do you see it? The same word. Rejoice. The world may hate you for the sake of the truth. You may lose comfort for the sake of the truth. You may lose reputation for the sake of the truth. But heaven calls us to rejoice.

Love rejoices in truth — not because truth is easy

Not because truth is comfortable

Not because truth is popular

But because truth leads us to Christ.

And here is where the gospel meets us.

15. Jesus did not just speak the truth — He obeyed it to perfection. He loved the Father fully. He kept every command. And that obedience cost Him everything.

Truth led Him to the cross.

Truth cost Him approval.

Truth cost Him comfort.

Truth cost Him relationships.

Truth cost Him His life.

And yet, Hebrews tells us that “for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.”

16. Love rejoices in truth — even when truth leads to suffering.

So the question before us is not simply, “Do I believe the truth?” The deeper question is, “Do I rejoice in it enough to obey it?” Because Biblical love does not separate joy from obedience. And Biblical love does not separate truth from Christ.

And if we are honest, most of the time, we do not rejoice in truth. We might tolerate truth when it benefits us. However we resist it when it confronts us and avoid it when it seeks to exposes us.

But love — Biblical love — rejoices in truth. It is glad when truth prevails, even when truth wounds before it heals. And now we see why Jesus is the perfect example.

Jesus never rejoiced in unrighteousness. Not once. He always rejoiced in truth.

He rejoiced when sinners repented.

He rejoiced when faith was found.

He rejoiced when the Father’s will was accomplished.

He rejoiced in obedience, even when that obedience led Him to the cross.

When He stood before Pilate, He did not compromise truth to preserve His life. When He confronted the Pharisees, He did not soften truth to maintain popularity. When He spoke to the woman at the well, He did not hide truth to make her comfortable.

And when the rich young ruler came to Him — wealthy and influential — the text says Jesus loved him. He loved him. And because He loved him, He told him the truth. He did not soften the demand in order to keep him close. He did not dilute the call to discipleship to secure his financial support. He did not adjust the standard to gain a generous donor.

He exposed the idol in the man’s heart — and allowed him to walk away. Why?

17. Because love rejoices in truth more than it rejoices in receiving an advantage.

And here is where this truth challenges us:

Many times, we seek soften the blow of truth — and we call it love.

Let me ask you something. If you go to the doctor, and the doctor runs tests and discovers that you have terminal cancer — but he doesn’t want you to feel sad, he doesn’t want you to be discouraged, he doesn’t want you to worry — so he withholds the diagnosis… what would you call that?

That’s not love. That’s malpractice. That’s cruelty disguised as compassion. The most unloving thing that doctor could do would be to hide the truth that could save the person’s life.

So what are we doing with the truth? How do you respond when truth comes your way?

Do we rejoice in it when it corrects us?

Do we rejoice in it when Scripture confronts our sin?

Do we rejoice in it when someone lovingly rebukes us?

Do we rejoice in it when righteousness is upheld — even if it costs us something?

18. Because if Christ is the truth, (And He is) then loving Him means delighting in what reflects Him.

It means preferring His correction over our comfort. It means treasuring His approval over the world’s.

Where truth is severed from love, it becomes harsh and self-righteous. Where love is severed from truth, it becomes sentimental and powerless. But in Christ, truth and love kissed.

The only reason we can rejoice in truth is because truth has first rescued us.

The truth exposed our sin.

The truth declared us guilty.

The truth established that we could not save ourselves.

Oh beloved but that same truth revealed a Savior.

Jesus did not soften the truth about our rebellion — and He did not soften the truth about God’s holiness. Instead, He fulfilled the truth on our behalf. And now, because He has borne the penalty of truth’s judgment, we can rejoice in truth’s correction.

19. Love rejoices in truth because truth leads us to Christ — and Christ leads us to life.

So let us ask the Lord to reshape our affections. That we would not secretly delight in sin. That we would not merely tolerate correction. But that we would become a people who rejoice — when truth prevails.

Ephesians 5:1–10 NASB 2020

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you 2 and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (V3- 4) But sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. (V5) For this you know with certainty, that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, which amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (V6) See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (V7-10) Therefore do not become partners with them; for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), as you try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.