Supremacy of Love (Pt.1)

Love is a common word these days. According to www.weddingwire.com February 14 is the second most popular day to become engaged after Christmas Day of course. (Men: Thursday is Valentine’s Day so if you haven’t already gotten your wife a card you’ve been notified.)

For the church, love is a familiar concept as well. We have been given the command to “Love God. Love Others.” But it is a struggle at times. We must remember ,

The New International Version Chapter 4

8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

The New International Version Chapter 4

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

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But what is love? What does it look like? Paul gives us the characteristics of love in . The personification of love found in this passage resembles the Fruit of the Spirit found in — But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. But in our passage we see two sides of the same coin, positive and negative predications of the divine concept of love.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Paul says:

The New International Version Chapter 13

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Let’s stop a moment and contemplate that phrase: Love is patient. I am a patient man, but even my patience wears thin at times. This patience is the capacity to be wronged and not retaliate. Have you ever had someone wrong you. Maybe innocently, maybe not. Perhaps you’ve experienced the harshness of being targeted and attacked. Paul tells us that love, godly love, agape love does not retaliate. How can that be?

He goes on to say, “Love is kind.” Of course we all know that love is kind, but do we really practice the kindness of Christ? Our response to hatred, intolerance, and unruly behavior is kindness. To the church in Thessalonica, “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” [].

The New International Version Chapter 5

14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

Patience and kindness go hand in hand. The Corinthian church was full of problems where one party had wronged another, where kindness was in short supply. The right way to respond was love. Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

They will know we are Christians by our love.

The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.They will know we are christians by our love.”

Patience and Kindness are the beginning descriptions of Love, but Paul continues: It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. Stated in the negative, love is described by what it is not. Envy and boasting are flowers of the same root: Pride.

Of course, one might say that all sin is rooted in pride; but in this case we are talking about the arrogance that can easily creep into the life of a believer. Envy of the blessings others have received. I should have gotten that recognition, that raise, that life. Why not me God? Or we succumb to boasting of that which we have received. Not giving glory to God, but taking it for ourselves.

There is nothing wrong with working hard to receive accolades or having rewards for accomplishment we have achieved; however, we must always remember that God is the source of all that we have. He gives as He desires. When pride gains a foothold in our lives it does not express the love of God in any way, shape, or form.

Paul names four more negative predications of love in vs. 5: It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Rudeness is expressed when one thinks more highly of themselves than those with which they are interacting. Now, we must not be so easily offended that a genuine error is exasperated into rude behavior. Remember our first two imperatives: Be patient and kind.

Rude behavior is shunning those who chose not to act like us or conform to our way of thinking. As long as Scripture is silent on a subject so to must we be silent. Within the Church, there must be room for creativity and ingenuity. We are not the Church of the 1st century nor the 20th, we are in the 21st century and the message we have for the world has not changed, but the method of disseminating it must.

Remember our first two imperatives: Be patient and kind.

Rude behavior is often a sign of self-expression without consideration of those around you, so when Paul goes on to address that love is not self-seeking he might have just had one thought flow into another.

Self-seeking behavior is just that self-seeking. It focuses on what my needs, wants, and desires are without consideration for others. This is contrary to what Paul admonished to the church in Philippi: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. [ ]

The New International Version Chapter 2

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

I guess the next aspect of what is NOT love is the fact that “Love is not easily angered.” Anger often rises out of hurt feelings or pride; being offended by others actions that have in one way or another crossed your’s. Now anger is not wrong. Paul quotes the OT Psalms in saying, “Be angry, and yet do not sin.” So being angry in itself is not sin, but it can be.

Jesus was angry when He cast the money changers and cheats out of the Temple. Twice. Moses was angry when the Israelites crafted the golden calf and worshipped it. He ground the calf and made the people eat it. Righteous indignation. Being angry because God’s glory is being robbed, cheated, or sullied; that is reason to be angry. To go off the handle because my world is not to my liking, that’s not love.

In contrast “Love keeps no record of wrongs.” One of the greatest benefits of being a believer is that we experience what true forgiveness is. says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God keeps no record of wrongs. In fact, tells us, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

The New International Version Chapter 1

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Psalm 103

As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us

I love the description in that verse “as far as the east is from the west”. You know you can travel only so far north before you begin to travel south. And you can only go so far south before you’ll eventually begin heading north. But if you begin heading east, you can circumnavigate the whole earth and never begin heading west. “As far as the east is from the west… so far has He taken your sins from you.”

The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.I love the description in that verse “as far as the east is from the west”. You know you can travel only so far north before you begin to travel south. And you can only go so far south before you’ll eventually begin heading north. But if you begin heading east, you can circumnavigate the whole earth and never begin heading west. “As far as the east is from the west… so far has He taken your sins from you.”

Verse six gives us one more comparison… “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” God’s love never finds joy in evil. We should never rejoice when bad things happen even if they happen to bad people. The truth is when evil things happen it is because of man’s propensity to sin. And sin is not anything to be joyful about. What we should rejoice in is the truth.

The truth is what brings freedom. The truth is what reveals God’s glory. The truth is what expresses God’s love. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life...” The truth shows us our need for a Savior and the Savior that we need.

Paul wraps up this paragraph on love with these final four predications: Love “always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” Love always… This is what true love looks like, what God’s love looks like: It always… God’s love is predictable. It doesn’t wax and wane. It doesn’t grow or diminish. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And His love always...

Protects - The idea that God is our refuge and our strength is quite prominent throughout the Psalms. And to see how God fought on behalf of His followers is seen in the stories of Joshua at Jericho, Samson with the Philistines, and Gideon against the Midianites. God protects His own. Jesus even declared, “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” [].

The New International Version Chapter 10

29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

If then, God’s love is protective, we (as administrators of that love) should seek to protect those around us. Protect them from deception and deceit. Protect them from sin and temptation. Protect them from ignorance.

Trusts - God’s love is always trustworthy and God places His trust in His faithful followers to take His love into this war torn world and make it visible. He trusts us to walk the walk to which we have been called. God trusts that you and I will stand strong even in the presence of evil and trust Him.

Hopes - If we can’t put our hope in God, what is there to live for? Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again to give you and I a hope for the future. We need to take that hope into the community and “be ready to share the hope that lies within you.”

Perseveres - Love perseveres. God is eternal and His love is also. It has persevered from the beginning and will continue forever, because His love is a by-product of who He is. God is love.

Never Fails - And His love never fails. Yes, we fail. I fail all the time. But God doesn’t and you can take that to the bank.

So, what does all this mean for you and I? We need to look at love through God’s lens. He loved us, you and I, even while we rebelled against Him. My sin was the product of my heart defiant toward perfect love. And when sin is allowed to control our actions, it is due to our pride and arrogance toward an infinitely Holy God. And just as it is within His right to cast me into Hell, He reached down and sent His Son, Jesus, to make a way for me to be restored.

His love never fails.

The New International Version Chapter 5

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Supremacy of Love (Pt.1)

Intro: