For the Common Good Pt. 16

Good afternoon Church! Our plan today will be to finish our study of Paul’s definition of love as found in 1 Corinthians 13. Now, over these past few weeks we have been carefully walking through Paul’s description of what Biblical love actually looks like.

And in doing so we began by looking at what love is. Paul began Chapter 13 by telling us that love is patient and love is kind. And from that we established that love begins with patience and kindness. That is the posture of love.

After that, we looked at what love is not.

Paul tells us that love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not arrogant, it does not act disgracefully and does not seek it’s own benefit. And because of this from those verses we saw that love walks in humility, not self-exaltation.

Then we began to notice a shift in Paul’s description of love. As he moved from simply defining love to showing us how love responds in real relationships, especially when those relationships become strained.

Paul tells us that love is not easily provoked and that love keeps no record of wrongs suffered. In other words, love does not allow resentment to accumulate in the heart. It refuses to keep a running account of every offense.

Instead, Paul says, love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. Love does not delight in sin or failure. Love celebrates what is right and rejoices in what honors God.

And this afternoon we arrive at the final description in Paul’s definition of love. So go with me to 1 Corinthians 13:7.

1 Corinthians 13:7 ESV

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Now Church before moving forward by unpacking these four statements, we need to pause for a moment and clarify something important. And to tell you the truth, it actually took me a while to work through this text and think carefully about how to interpret it exegetically and faithfully. Now, why do I say that? Well church I say that:

Because at first glance, Paul’s words may sound absolute. He says:

Love bears all things.

Love believes all things.

Love hopes all things.

Love endures all things.

Now the question I began to ask was, What does Paul mean by the use of the phrase, “all things?” What is Paul referring to? Church when we hear language like that, we might be tempted to think: that Paul is saying that when someone harms us… when someone oppresses us… when someone deeply wounds us… that love simply means we endure everything without question. Is this what Paul means by all things?

Does love according to 1 Corinthians 13 mean that if someone is abusing us, we are simply supposed to remain there and continue bearing the abuse? Because love bears all things? Beloved that cannot possibly be what Paul means.

Church because the reality is that when we look in detail at our text we can actually see that Paul is using rhetorical language here. These statements function as hyperbole — hyperbole is an intentional exaggeration meant to emphasize the strength and perseverance of love. (right eye causes you to sin)

Here’s why we can come to this conclusion: Earlier in this very passage Paul has already made it clear that love rejects everything that is sinful.

Love does is not jealous.

Love does not boast.

Love is not arrogant.

Love does not act disgracefully.

Love does not seek its own benefit.

Love is not easily provoked.

Love keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness. (You get it!)

In other words, love rejects everything that dishonors God. Which means Paul cannot possibly be saying that love accepts or tolerates anything and everything. Because in essence what Paul has already stated is that:

Love does not bear lies.

Love does not believe false teaching.

Love does not hope in wickedness.

Love does not endure abuse, oppression, or sin as though those things were acceptable to God.

That would contradict everything Paul has already said. So when Paul says “all things,” he is speaking about all things that fall within the boundaries of God’s righteousness and will.

We could say it this way: Paul is speaking about everything within the Lord’s divine tolerance.

So this would mean that :

Love is willing to endure hardship.

Love is willing to endure misunderstanding.

Love is willing to endure weakness in others.

But love never compromises truth or righteousness. We can see this balance perfectly in the ministry of Jesus. When the woman caught in the act of adultery was brought before our Lord, Jesus did not respond with self-righteous condemnation. He exposed the hypocrisy of those who wanted to stone her, saying: “Let him who is without sin among cast the first stone.”

Which meant that He granted her mercy. However Jesus doesn’t ignore the reality of her sin. After the accusers leave, He tells her: “Go, and sin no more.”

In other words, Jesus responded with both grace and truth. And that is precisely what Biblical love does. Biblical love is not blind to sin, and it is not permissive of sin. Biblical love is holy love.

Now, these four qualities in 1 Corinthians 13 are closely related, and they are actually arranged in ascending order, each one deepening on the previous one. Love bears. Love believes. Love hopes. Love endures. Now with that clarification in place, we can now better understand and apply what Paul is actually saying here.

So, as we come to these four statements, there is an important question that we must answer. When people fail us, how does love respond? Now, notice that the question is not if people fail us, but when people fail us? Why?

Because the reality is that we live in a sinful and broken world and in this world relationships are not perfect.

People sin against us.

People fail us.

People disappoint us.

People wound us.

And if we are honest, we do the very same thing to others.

Failure in relationships is not the exception in a fallen world — it is the reality. So, what does love do, how does love respond when people fail us? How does love respond when relationships become difficult? Paul’s answer can be summarized like this:

V. True Love Remains Committed Even When it Becomes Costly

Or we could say it another way: Love refuses to give up on what God is doing in people. And in order to answer this question we will be unpacking these statements one by one:

1. Love Bears All Things

Now we have already clarified what Paul means by “all things.”

He is speaking about all things that fall within the boundaries of God’s righteousness and will, especially within the context of relationships.

But now Paul begins to show us something different. He begins to show us what love does in real relationships. In other words, how do we live this out? And that begins with understanding the word “bears.”

The original Greek word is stegō. This word literally carries the idea to cover, to support, or to protect. In fact, in ancient usage the word could refer to a roof covering a house, protecting everything inside from the storm.

1. When Paul says that love bears all things, he is describing a love that covers and protects others rather than exposing them.

Love bears all things by protecting others from unnecessary exposure, ridicule, or harm.

This means that genuine love does not gossip. And genuine love does not listen to gossip.

Even when a sin is real and certain, love seeks to address it in a way that causes the least possible harm to the person who has fallen.

2. Love never excuses sin but love pursues the restoration of the sinner.

And there is a difference. Fallen human nature tends to move in the opposite direction. There is often a perverse pleasure in exposing the faults and failures of others.

However, before we are quick to point the finger at others, we should take an honest look at what our culture delights in. Entire industries exist to expose the failures of others — gossip shows, celebrity tabloids, reality television, social media scandals — and we often call it entertainment. (La Comay)

But Paul says love has no part in that. Love does not expose. Love does not exploit. Love does not gloat. And the truth is that sometimes exposing someone else’s sin makes us feel better about ourselves. This is precisely what makes gossip so appealing.

And that was happening in Corinth. The Corinthians cared very little for the feelings or spiritual welfare of one another. It was often every person for himself. But Paul says that love has no part in that. Love bears.

Proverbs 10:12 NASB 2020

Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all offenses.

3. Love seeks to cover rather than shame.

Now as we have done throughout this series, we must ask an important question: Where do we see this kind of love perfectly displayed? And the answer is in Christ.

The Bible tells us that Christ did exactly this for us:

2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB 2020

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Isaiah 53:4 ESV

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;

Christ bore our sin. He carried our guilt. He took our shame. And in exchange, He gave us His righteousness. He covered us.

Through His sacrifice, God threw the mantle of His mercy over sin forever for those who trust in His Son. By its very nature, love is redemptive.

Love seeks to restore.

Love seeks to redeem.

Love seeks to bring life rather than condemnation.

4. When the love of Christ takes root in our hearts, it begins to change the way we respond to others.

Instead of exposing every failure…

Instead of broadcasting every weakness…

Instead of tearing people down…

Love begins to protect. Love begins to cover and love begins to bear with one another.

Now we actually see a beautiful picture of this principle in the Scriptures.

Listen to what James writes in:

James 5:19–20 NASB 2020

My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you strays from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

Do you see the picture there?

5. Love does not expose a brother in order to destroy him. Love pursues a brother or sister in order to restore them.

And when repentance happens, sin is covered. That is exactly the kind of love Paul is describing here.

Let me give you a practical example. Let’s say you serve in one of our ministries here at church. Let’s say the sound ministry. Now, every Sunday the person serving has the responsibility of shutting down all the equipment before leaving.

Now imagine you notice that the brother who served that day forgot to turn everything off before leaving. At that moment, you have several options.

You could ignore it and leave it on so that eventually someone notices and he gets in trouble.

You could go to the ministry leader and say, “Hey, just so you know, he forgot to turn everything off.”

Or you could simply turn it off yourself.

And then later pull your brother aside and say, “Hey brother, just a quick reminder — make sure you turn everything off next time. I noticed it and took care of it for you today.” What did you do in that moment?

You protected your brother.

You covered him.

You didn’t expose him unnecessarily.

And you helped him grow without shaming him.

That is the kind of love Paul is talking about. Love never protects sin. But love is eager to embrace the sinner and pursue restoration. (Fear - Maria / Honduras)

Psalm 40:1–2 NASB 2020

I waited patiently for the Lord; And He reached down to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud; (How? by getting in the mud with us) (But he didn’t leave me there) He set my feet on a rock, making my footsteps firm.

And that is exactly what Christ has done for us. Now we continue with our second statement:

2. Love Believes All Things

In addition to bearing all things, love also believes all things. Now this does not mean that love is naïve or that it blindly accepts anything as true. What Paul is describing here is something much deeper.

Love is not suspicious or cynical.

6. When love has covered a wrong, it also chooses to believe the best possible outcome for the person who has done the wrong.

Which means that:

7. Love believes that repentance, forgiveness and restoration are possible.

If there is doubt about a person’s guilt or motives, love does not immediately assume the worst. Love gives the benefit of the doubt. Love chooses trust rather than suspicion. In the life of the church, this means we seek to cultivate a spirit of mutual trust among one another.

We assume that our brothers and sisters desire to honor the Lord. We assume that they are seeking to walk faithfully with Him. And when someone fails—as we all do—our instinct must not be to condemn them, but to help restore them.

This is exactly what Paul says in Galatians 6:1

Galatians 6:1 NASB 2020

Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you are not tempted as well.

Notice the posture there. Not suspicion. Not condemnation. Gentleness. Why? Because we recognize that we ourselves are also capable of falling.

Scripture also shows us what the opposite of this looks like. Think about the scribes and Pharisees

When Jesus forgave the paralytic, they immediately concluded that He was blaspheming. They were predisposed to believe the worst.

8. Hatred believes the worst. Love believes the best.

And we actually see this beautifully in the ministry of Christ. Jesus constantly extended trust and opportunity for repentance to people others had already written off.

Tax collectors.

Sinners.

And outcasts.

People everyone else had condemned. But Christ saw what the grace of God could do in their lives. And when the love of Christ shapes our hearts, it begins to change the way we view others.

Instead of assuming the worst… Instead of rushing to judgment… Love chooses to believe that God is still at work in His people.

That is what Paul means when he says: Love believes all things.

You can now see the progression Paul is building.

Love bears all things. Which means that love seeks to cover rather than expose. And because love protects rather than shame, it then chooses to believe the best about the present.

But now Paul goes even further. As he says:

3. Love Hopes All Things

In other words, even when believing the best about someone becomes difficult… love still refuses to give up on the future. Because the reality is that sometimes people do fail. Sometimes the sin becomes clear. Sometimes repentance does not come quickly. And sometimes the trust we extended is broken.

But even when faith in a person’s present behavior is shaken, love still holds on to hope.

9. Love refuses to conclude that failure is final.

As long as the grace of God is still at work, human failure is never the final word. That is why Scripture tells us in Romans 2:4

Romans 2:4 NASB 2020

Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and restraint and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

God Himself shows this kind of hopeful patience toward sinners. Think about it throughout the story of Scripture.

God did not treat Israel’s failures as final.

Jesus did not treat Peter’s denial as final.

And Paul did not treat the Corinthians’ immaturity as final.

10. Love knows that God is able to redeem what seems broken.

And this has very real life implications for us.

If you are the parent of a child who has walked away from the Lord…

If you are the spouse of an unbelieving partner…

Or if you have a friend or a loved one who has wandered into sin…

Love refuses to declare the story finished.

Love keeps praying.

Love keeps waiting.

Love keeps hoping that the grace of God will still bring repentance and restoration.

And we actually see a beautiful picture of this in the story of the prodigal son. In Gospel of Luke 15, the younger son demands his inheritance from his father — which in that culture was essentially saying, “I wish you were dead so I could have what belongs to me.” He takes the inheritance, leaves home, and wastes everything in reckless living.

But listen to what happens when he finally decides to return.

Luke 15:20 NASB 2020

“So he set out and came to his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

How did the father see him from far away? Because the father was waiting. The father never stopped hoping his son would return. And when the son finally came home, the father did not shame him.

He ran to him.

He embraced him.

He restored him.

That father reflects the heart of God toward sinners. And it also shows us what love does. Love refuses to take failure as final.

As long as there is life…

As long as Christ has not returned…

Love refuses to give up hope. Because the rope of love’s hope has no end.

And the reason we can live this way is because:

11. Our hope is not rooted in human strength. Our hope is rooted in the work of Christ.

Scripture tells us in:

1 Peter 1:3 NASB 2020

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Because Christ rose from the grave, the people of God are a hopeful people. We believe that God can still restore. We believe that God can still transform.

12. We believe that God can still bring life where there was death.

I read in a commentary story of a dog who stayed at the airport of a large city for over five years waiting for his master to return. Employees and others fed the dog and took care of him, but he would not leave the spot where he last saw his master. He would not give up hope that someday they would be reunited. If a dog’s love for his master can produce that kind of hope, how much longer should our love make hope last?

And Paul is not finished yet. Because love not only bears all things, love not only believes all things, love not only hopes all things Love also:

4. Love Endures All Things

Paul now brings us to the final expression of love’s perseverance.

The Greek word for endure that Paul uses here is the word hupomenō. This word was sometimes used in a military context to describe an army holding its position at all costs.

No matter the opposition.

No matter the suffering.

No matter the pressure.

The soldiers would hold their ground. Now here is the picture Paul is giving us.

Love holds its ground.

Love remains.

Love refuses to walk away.

Love endures all things.

In other words,

13. Love holds fast to those it loves.

Love stands firm against opposition and refuses to stop bearing, stop believing, or stop hoping. Simply put:

14. Love will not stop loving.

And we actually see a powerful example of this in the life of Stephen. Stephen bore the ridicule and rejection of the very people he was witnessing to. Their insults did not cause him to stop believing that they could repent. Their hatred did not cause him to stop hoping that they could be saved. And even as the stones were being thrown, Stephen prayed: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Like his Lord before him, Stephen loved to the very end, even those who would end up killing him.

His love endured. And that is the progression Paul has been building.

Love bears what would otherwise be unbearable.

Love believes what would otherwise seem unbelievable.

Love hopes when everything else looks hopeless.

And finally, love endures when anything less than love would give up.

15. After love bears, it believes. After it believes, it hopes. After it hopes, it endures. And there is no step beyond endurance. Because endurance is the climax of love’s perseverance.

We actually see a beautiful example of this kind of love in church history.

Some of you may have heard of Augustine of Hippo. If you have studied church history at all, you know that Augustine became one of the most influential theologians in the history of Christianity. Even today, his book Confessions of Augustine is read in seminaries around the world.

But before Augustine became Augustine… he was a rebellious young man. He lived in immorality. He followed false teaching. And he wanted nothing to do with the faith of his mother.

His mother was Monica of Hippo. For nearly twenty years, Monica prayed for her son. Think about that. Twenty years of praying. Twenty years of waiting. Twenty years of hoping while her son continued walking in rebellion.

It is said that at one point she wept so much over Augustine that a bishop tried to comfort her and told her: “The son of so many tears cannot perish.”

And eventually, God answered those prayers. Augustine was converted. And the rebellious young man his mother prayed for became one of the greatest theologians in the history of the church.

Now, what do we see in the life of Monica?

We see a woman who bore.

We see a woman who believed.

We see a woman who hoped.

And we see a woman who endured.

Because love refuses to declare the story finished while God is still at work. And that is exactly what Paul is teaching us here.

Love bears all things.

Love believes all things.

Love hopes all things.

Love endures all things.

And the reason we can love this way is because this is the very love that Christ has shown to us.

Jesus bore our sin.

Jesus believed in the redeeming work of the Father.

Jesus hoped in the joy that was set before Him.

And Jesus endured the cross.

16. Christ endured what none of us could endure so that we might be redeemed. And because of Him, we are able to love in this way.

So the question for us today is not whether we understand Paul’s definition of love. The question is whether the love of Christ has so transformed our hearts that we are beginning to love others this way.

And this leads us to Paul’s final statement. Love never ends.

Everything else in this world is temporary. Even the spiritual gifts are temporary.

Prophecy will pass away. Tongues will cease. Knowledge will fade. Words of knowledge, Words of wisdom, gifts of healings, effecting of miracles all will cease to exist. Why? Because those things belong to the present age.

1 Corinthians 13:12 NASB 2020

For now (in this age) we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known.

And when that day comes, faith will no longer be necessary. Because faith will become sight. Hope will no longer be necessary. Because hope will be fulfilled.

But love will remain. Why? Because love shares in the very nature of God. Love is the very atmosphere of heaven. For this reason there will be no sin there. No suffering. No brokenness. No need for correction, teaching, or healing. Love will remain forever.

Revelation 21:1–5 NASB 2020

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (V3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He (Love) will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, (V4) and (in Love) He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (V5) And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

Plead for me! How do we respond to God’s standard of love? We behold, we pray, we submit.