KNOW, LIVE, BE-LIVE AS THE CHURCH-1 CORINTHIANS: Majoring & Minoring

 Majoring & Minoring 1 Corinthians 13-14 Today - we’ll be in two passages, 1 Corinthians 13 and 14. Interestingly, we could find these to be about tongues and gifting - we could talk about “a word from the Lord” we could talk about private prayer languages - but I see Paul speaking through some issues, and some gifts that are real to highlight a greater point. And when the minors become the majors we’ve lost focus. Paul’s premise here in this next two focus is to outline why he's as charged as he is for living his life focused on God’s heart for people. It was the key to our understanding of gifts and healing tongues early from first Corinthians 13:2 1 Corinthians 13:2 (ESV) 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And so today a follow on key to chapters 13-14 is chapter 14:12 Are people concerned with it? How is this important to us? It could be that you’ve been coming to church for a while, and so you feel like you want to understand the deeper things of these gifts - Paul will lay out his argument for all things in love - and lay out his argument that all things should highlight the love that we have one for another with the church - which makes other issues like “the deep things of gifting” not be the deep things. However, he doesn’t make them secondary - he makes them in right relation to the gifted persons motivation. 1 Corinthians 13:1–3 (ESV) 1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. These 3 verses are so incredibly rich, and so powerful, and so telling, it’s amazing. These are a correction to a church, who thought they were the bees knees. Who maybe thought their gifts that they possessed made them be super Christians. It at the sometime it minimizes the gifts it will recover and elevate the gifts (1 Corinthians 14:2) all in the proper context. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 lays out a picture of the love that motivates Paul and that the church is to be centered on: 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 (ESV) 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. When you read this, do you burn through and move on to understanding what the difference between tongues is, a private prayer language may be, prophetic utterances continuing on in our day are, how to position yourself for a sign gift, or do you pause and reflect on what was just said of love? Is this just a set of chapters to hit your wife or husband with when they remembered the time you didn’t help with laundry - or said something cold and jerky “love is not arrogant or rude” maybe it’s a sweet bible passage framed photo in mom’s hall way or like this happy couple a framed wedding day picture. It’s a great reminder of what love is, that’s certain - but if you want to dive deeply into something in the Christian faith - spend some time here, this will challenge you more than mumbling babel talk into the air and someone saying, oh I know what that means. If you’re patient and kind not envying or boasting, not arrogant or rue, not having to have your own way or grumpy, or getting excited when people drop the ball - but rather you hear truth in a matter and you get legitimately stoked (not looking for the dirt) I like this quote (I want to assume the best in people every day - and when I cannot, assume the best in you I ask you to help me) bearing every turbulence in your relationship and believing everything and hoping through everything and enduring, everything - guys this isn’t a picture frame this is a grinder some times… This is when the rubber hits the road, this isn’t done up and pretty this is down and dirty, life with a sinner. When things are going well, when every is happy, when you feel that hallmark love and you’re surprising your girl with elaborate stuff worthy of a Facebook video and gifts that put you in debt - and ladies you’re killing it like super wife or super girlfriend, or folks you’re just an amazing friend and you guys are just hanging out enjoying life - that’s love, sure - but… hold on. When someone hurts you deeply, and you’ve decided to love and to hold onto them. When you’ve decided I love this guy and you find out he has cheated on you, or you say I love this lady - and you come to realize she doesn’t even like you being around her anymore - this is the grind that actual life puts us in and God has us here to love through it, that shows Him of in a non-loving world. Maybe you have a strain right now - in your love for someone: 1 Corinthians 13:7 (ESV) 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Paul’s picture of Love places it over all other things over all other gifts and it makes love paramount to our lives - then when we have love in proper view - we can understand the gifts that God gives the church, because when they’re found in love - then they’re found in subjection to God. Verses 8-12 are important because Paul has elevated Love as the paramount and gives us the ability to infer that the gifts are still alive for the church… why? Verses 9/10 1 Corinthians 13:9–10 (ESV) 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. And so he continues: 1 Corinthians 14:1–2 (ESV) 1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. Paul seems to differentiate here between prophecy and tongues (and will again later in 1 Corinthians 14:22) so to the person who is onto the gifts as the deeper things - I want to again point out that Paul starts from love and while here he doesn’t diminish them or down play them, they’re found in their right concept - in subjection to, love. I don’t think we can reiterate or qualify these gifts enough by saying, in love. Love, Paul shows, a gritty selfless love, is the container which God delivers gifts - both for the mutual body of His church as He sees fit, and for those not yet in the church. So I’d ask you as we come to this passage, not what’s your position on gifts, but rather, two things: 1) Have you seen the love of God for you through scripture or through the church and substantiated through scripture and you’re ready - now is the time for you to become a child of God? Or 2) Have you become a child of God, but are now wrestling with Paul’s presentation of love Remember - Paul is STILL writing to a wayward church, one who’d strayed and while they were God’s they needed re-centering and so Paul pulls them away from flashy distractions and centers them on the most important thing. This is why we hung banners out side with John 13:35 on them - this is why we gather together to study from scripture on Sundays and in home-groups, this is why we seek fellowship together, Love is the encouragement for surviving this life that’s so far from God and it’s the vehicle through which God uses His church for their own mutual benefit and as His agents in a cold loveless world. Love lets us and enables us to survive this world - both as receivers and givers of love. Moreover, love conceded to Christ over our preferences - when we know Jesus is Lord of our lives, and we’re safe with Him in charge over our everything - we experience true freedom, the freedom to give over and concede fully to God. Guys this is how we live lives pleasing to God, we trust Him in everything - we give and receive love, we strive towards the picture of love that motivated Paul and when we do that, and our concentration is love - maybe, in so much as it’s God’s will to encourage, and grow the church - we’ll see Him instilling gifts in us for the benefit of the church. Much could be said about tongue and prophecy and healing - but much more should be said about our love - that should be our concentration - then the rest will come as God sees fit. I want to jump to something dicey - Because I believe that Paul is consistent, I believe this dicey seeming passage is a) less dicey than we think and b) a demonstration of his consistency. Ready: 1 Corinthians 14:34–35 (ESV) 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. I feel like I should start by saying what this passage doesn’t say - however, that assumes wrong or that you assume wrong things from Paul. That starts from our cultural norms to make men and women totally equal and while in terms of value and importance God has made us fully equal in terms of role and gifting God has made us differently. Our culture would erase that, in fact jumping from issues of role and ignoring the distinction all together taking role with it and in so doing, damaging men and women and confusing children. Our kids cannot even know if they’re boys or girls, much less understanding how God has gifted boys and girls men and women differently and made them differently. Boys cannot know that women are made as physically weaker vessels and are to be protected by them, not man handled, in fact they’re chided for recognizing that, and so this is the culture we speak within, however, I’ll side-step that and get to something different God’s design for His church. We need to find Paul where he is, in this discourse of giving structure for the gathering of the saints in the local church. Paul has already recognized that women, same as men, are gifted with gifts of prophecy etc. - however, in the public worship of the Church - men are to lead. This is consistent with God’s plan. The freedom to lead is not given and that’s God’s to give or not give, and not ours to question. That’s the end of the matter - however more gently - when we understand that God has built the church to show His love, and when we remember Paul is writing to a church who is in open crazy-town rebellion where family members are having sex together, wives are declaring to the entire town their total freedom from their husbands the church gathering is likely a Looney bin – Paul’s instruction grounds the church in love and in God and in so doing, is better for the individuals in the church, makes the church functional to reach others outside the church, and gives the children of the church and community a safe example of the love of God. This is an issue of love and obedience and when we follow God’s will and seek after unity and love we’ll be blessed and we’ll find him working through us, when we fight and resist and confuse the issues and resist God’s word, we’ll find correction and limited use - we need to decided you need to decided today who you are. Will you do the hard work of obedience, will you love like it’s your job, and will you major on the majors not the minors? Or will the minors be your issue? If so, possibly you need to find another church - don’t cause disunity here because we’re gathered under on banner John 13:35. Prioritizing Love KNOW, LIVE, BE – LIVE AS THE CHURCH – 1 CORINTHIANS: Majoring & Minoring Pastor John Weathersby Transcend Church 5 of 5 Sunday 5/28/2017