The Nature of love
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1 Corinthians 13:1–8
1 Corinthians 13:1–8
1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!
Scripture offers an understanding of the source, character and value of love, based on the nature and actions of God.
God is the source of love
His very character is love
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.
8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
12 And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
19 We love each other because he loved us first.
The love of God is revealed in the cross of Jesus Christ
16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her
Love is part of the Holy Spirit’s fruit
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
30 Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit.
8 He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.
The loving-kindness of God referred to in the OT
3 Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.
10 For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
7 I will tell of the Lord’s unfailing love. I will praise the Lord for all he has done. I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted according to his mercy and love.
22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.
19 I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion.
The love of God in the NT
To describe God’s love for humanity
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
42 because I know you don’t have God’s love within you.
10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,
6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”
1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.
To describe love for God
27 The man answered, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
3 As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.
To describe brotherly love
8 Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.
13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.
5 because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people.
To describe love expressed by eating together
12 When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots.
To describe love in a negative sense
43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.
15 They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong.
15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.
Characteristics of love
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!
18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.
Love is shown by deeds
17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.
5 Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you.
6 They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God.
In Conclusion:
The pre-eminence of love
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
31 So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.
1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
10 Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.