For the Common Good Pt. 16 (Spanish)

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 NBLA

El amor todo lo sufre, todo lo cree, todo lo espera, todo lo soporta.

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. El Amor Verdadero Permanece Comprometido Incluso Cuando se Vuelve Costoso.

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. El Amor Todo lo Sufre

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. Cuando Pablo dice que el amor todo lo soporta, está describiendo un amor que cubre y protege a otros en lugar de exponerlos.

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. El amor nunca excusa el pecado, pero sí busca la restauracion del pecador.

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 NBLA

El odio crea rencillas, Pero el amor cubre todas las transgresiones.

3. El amor busca cubrir en lugar de avergonzar.

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 NBLA

Al que no conoció pecado, lo hizo pecado por nosotros, para que fuéramos hechos justicia de Dios en Él.

Isaiah 53:4 NBLA

Ciertamente Él llevó nuestras enfermedades, y cargó con nuestros dolores.

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. Cuando el amor de Cristo echa raíces en nuestros corazones, comienza a cambiar la manera en que respondemos a los demás.

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 NBLA

Hermanos míos, si alguien de entre ustedes se extravía de la verdad y alguien le hace volver, sepa que el que hace volver a un pecador del error de su camino salvará su alma de muerte, y cubrirá multitud de pecados.

Do you see the picture there?

5. El amor no expone a un hermano para destruirlo. El amor persigue a un hermano o a una hermana para restaurarlo.

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 protect the sinner and pursue restoration. And that is exactly what Christ has done for us. Now we continue with our second statement:

2. El Amor Todo lo Cree

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. Cuando el amor ha cubierto una falta, también elige creer el mejor resultado posible para la persona que ha fallado.

Which means that:

7. El amor cree que el arrepentimiento, el perdón y la restauración son posibles.

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 NBLA

Hermanos , aun si alguien es sorprendido en alguna falta, ustedes que son espirituales, restáurenlo en un espíritu de mansedumbre, mirándote a ti mismo, no sea que tú también seas tentado.

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. El odio cree lo peor. El amor cree lo mejor.

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. El Amor Todo lo Espera

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. El amor se niega a concluir que el fracaso es definitivo.

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 NBLA

¿O tienes en poco las riquezas de Su bondad y tolerancia y paciencia, ignorando que la bondad de Dios te guía al arrepentimiento?

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. El amor sabe que Dios es capaz de redimir lo que parece estar roto.

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 NBLA

Levantándose, fue a su padre. Cuando todavía estaba lejos, su padre lo vio y sintió compasión por él, y corrió, se echó sobre su cuello y lo besó.

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. Nuestra esperanza no está basada en la fuerza humana. Nuestra esperanza está basada en la obra de Cristo.

Scripture tells us in:

1 Peter 1:3 NBLA

Bendito sea el Dios y Padre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, quien según Su gran misericordia, nos ha hecho nacer de nuevo a una esperanza viva, mediante la resurrección de Jesucristo de entre los muertos,

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. Creemos que Dios aún puede traer vida donde antes había muerte.

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. El Amor Todo lo Soporta

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. El amor se mantiene firme con aquellos a quienes ama.

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

14. El amor no deja de amar.

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. Después de que el amor soporta, cree. Después de que cree, espera. Después de que espera, persevera. Y no hay paso más allá de la perseverancia, porque la perseverancia es el clímax de la perseverancia del amor.

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. Cristo soportó lo que ninguno de nosotros podía soportar para que pudiéramos ser redimidos. Y por medio de Él, somos capaces de amar de esta manera.

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 NBLA

Porque ahora vemos por un espejo, veladamente, pero entonces veremos cara a cara. Ahora conozco en parte, pero entonces conoceré plenamente, como he sido conocido.

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 NBLA

Entonces vi un cielo nuevo y una tierra nueva, porque el primer cielo y la primera tierra pasaron, y el mar ya no existe. 2 Y vi la ciudad santa, la nueva Jerusalén, que descendía del cielo, de Dios, preparada como una novia ataviada para su esposo. (V3) Entonces oí una gran voz que decía desde el trono: El tabernáculo de Dios está entre los hombres, y Él habitará entre ellos y ellos serán Su pueblo, y Dios mismo estará entre ellos. (V4) Él enjugará toda lágrima de sus ojos, y ya no habrá muerte, ni habrá más duelo, ni clamor, ni dolor, porque las primeras cosas han pasado. (V5) El que está sentado en el trono dijo: Yo hago nuevas todas las cosas. Y añadió: Escribe, porque estas palabras son fieles y verdaderas.