I Corinthians 13-1- 10-5-08 PM
Anything Minus Love Equals Nothing
I Corinthians 13:1-3 (Series - 1 of 7)
FBC Winona – Sunday, October 5th - PM
I Corinthians 13:1-3
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Exegesis
· Love was missing in Corinth
o Spiritual gifts were present (1:7)
o Right doctrine for the most part was present (11:2)
o But love was absent
· Throughout history, the church has found it difficult to be loving
o Easier to have right doctrine, to be obedient, than loving
o Because love involves giving of ourselves, some of our most intimate parts
o Yet to be loving is the supreme characteristic that God demands of us
· This chapter comes in the midst of Paul’s discussion on spiritual gifts
o Paul indicates that even best of spiritual gifts are worthless without love
o Speaks of the gifts of tongues, prophecy, faith, giving
o Paul uses some hyperbole, some exaggeration here to drive home his message
· The truly spiritual life is the one where the Spirit has freedom to operate
o True spiritual fruit cannot be manifested without love
o This passage speaks of agape love, which is a self-sacrificial love
o Different than eros (romantic), or philio (brotherly)
o Agape love is much more concerned with giving than receiving
· Corinthians were largely selfish, self-willed, promoting self
· John 13:1, “1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.”
Passage indicates three things to describe what we are without love
· Compared to resounding gong or clanging cymbal
o Noisy – sometimes annoying
o only good when struck
o not beautiful by itself
o requires someone else to strike it to make it ring
o needs an outside influence to fulfill its purpose
· I am nothing – without love I might as well not exist
· I gain nothing – even by surrendering myself to be a martyr for the Lord
1) Love requires self-denial
· Very essence of this word Agape is self-denial, self-sacrifice
· Supreme self-denial expressed in John 3:16
· Love is both a decision and an action
· “love is not love until it’s given away”
· “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”
· The marriage relationship is not about a 50/50, but about 100/100
2) Love reveals our spiritual maturity
· George Barna conducted a study in 1998. Hefound that the divorce rate was higher among active church goers
· Maybe you heard about the man considering a divorce who went to his pastor for advice. The pastor read Ephesians 5:25 “husbands, love your wife” [HCSB]. “But I don’t love her”, replied the man. Then they looked at John 13:35, “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” The pastor suggested they love each other as fellow Christians. The man replied, “But we fight all the time. The longer I stay with her the less I like her.” So the pastor turned to Matthew 22:39 – “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” “The minister pleaded with him to love her at least like the neighbor next door.” The man answered, “Pastor you just don’t understand. We’re not even friends anymore.” Finally, they turned to Matthew 5:44, “But I tell you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.”
· Love sometimes is about doing what is uncomfortable but for the right reason
· Consider forgiveness
· When we describe someone as very godly, often it is because they are very loving
3) Love qualifies our sacrifice
· Obedience without proper motive often lacks the results it should
· If your heart is not in it, people will be able to tell
· Children don’t want their parents’ gifts and stuff without love being behind it
· Jeff Westbrook story
· What was the qualifier for Jesus’ death on the cross – the love that the Father had for us
Application
· Evaluate your love in all of your relationships
o Marriage
o Friendships
o Spiritual life
· Are you really giving of yourself or are you just performing work, being there, going through the motions?
· Anything minus love equals nothing
o First concern should be to fall in love with Jesus
o If your heart is not engaged, your body will just be going through the motions
o If your heart IS engaged, the Holy Spirit will lead you in the right path
