Rooted in Christ- Part 27- Love Above All

Introduction

Last week we saw a Biblical description of real social justice where discrimination is eliminated and all men are treated equally with kindness and respect.

Paul has been describing the process by which we put off the old man and put on the new and what that process will produce practically in the lives of every believer.

Tonight we will see one things that undergirds every virtue and action of those who are followers of Christ. It is charity (love) which Paul speaks of in this verse.

This evening we will come to recognize the priority which love should have, the purpose it serves in the life of the believer, and the product that it produces.

Notice first...

Love’s Priority

It is no accident that under the inspiration of the Spirit of God Paul begins this verse with the statement “above all things”

This reinforces the importance of charity/love in the life of the believer. All of the virtues that Paul has described to this point in the letter are certainly important and yet Paul ascribes to love the greater importance.

This reason for the importance given to this virtue is clearly communicated in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church.

I Corinthians 13:1-3- without love we become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal, without love we are nothing, without love all that we do is of no profit.

Unfortunately in our society today love has lost its meaning. We often think of love as an emotional feeling or simply something that we say, but it is so much more.

If this virtue is to be present in our lives we must regain a biblical understanding of what love is.

In the book of I John we find this term used 18 times and 12 times in chapter 4 alone. In this chapter we can see by way of example exactly what love is.

I John 4:7-11- love is not a feeling, but rather it is an action as we give of ourselves to meet the needs of another. God manifested His love to us through sending His only begotten son to become the propitiation(atoning sacrifice) for our sins.

1 John 3:18 KJV 1900

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Love is the very nature of God as the scripture states, “God is love” and if we are to live godly lives we must allow His love to permeate our lives.

Romans 5:5 KJV 1900

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

It has also become a common belief that to love someone is to affirm them and to approve of them and yet we can see in the scripture that this is certainly not the case.

Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and condemned it but this does not mean that He did not love them. It was love which motivated His message to them that they might repent and be saved.

Mark 10:21 KJV 1900

Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Here Jesus confronts the rich young ruler whose riches had become an idol in his life. The scriptures tell us that He did so because He love him.

Paul speaks of love as a bond. This reveals to us...

Love’s Purpose

Bond- that which holds together, that which combines and brings together.

It is love that undergirds all other Christian virtues and unites them all together.

Matthew 22:37–40 KJV 1900

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

When we consider Jesus Christ, all that He did was the result of His love for sinful men.

Whether it was spending time with lowly sinners, pointing out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, healing the sick and giving sight to the blind, all that Jesus did was born of His love for mankind.

Just as love was the motivation for Jesus so also should love be the motivation for how we interact with our fellow man.

Love will cause us to treat all men equally regardless of the distinctions that exist between them.

Love will motivate us to show mercy, to exhibit kindness, to exercise humility, to display meekness, to be longsuffering and to forgive.

These virtues do not come naturally to us, but when we come to love God, we will naturally begin to love others because He loves them.

1 John 4:19–21 KJV 1900

We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

We cannot say that we love God if we do not also love others. This love for God and for others will motivate us to live godly lives and to treat others as God would have us to.

Finally we come to...

Love’s Product

Under the inspiration of God, Paul writes that love is the bond of “perfectness”

Perfectness here means maturity and completeness as it does throughout the scriptures.

The truth is that we will never be all that God would have us to be if love is not central to our lives.

It is love that will serve to help us as we progress towards maturity in the Christian life. Without love our growth will be stunted and we shall never become mature Christians.

Love is the most basic and fundamental virtue and must be present in the life of the believer who will go on to maturity.

Matthew 5:44-48- love even your enemies if you are to be perfect as your father in heaven is.

If we are to be all that God would have us to be we must love as Christ loved. If HPBC is to be the church that God would have it to be, we must exhibit the love of Christ toward one another and toward all those that we come into contact with.

If there is to be unity and harmony among believers it will be because of love.

As we yield to the Spirit of God and grow in our understanding of the Word of God, we will begin to love as we should and in doing so we shall become more like Christ who is the very embodiment of love.

Conclusion

The question that we must now ask ourselves is this, “Are we lacking in love?”

It is love that is the most vital and necessary virtue in the Christian life and without it no other virtue is of significant value.

It is love that underlies and interconnects all other Christian graces and without it these cannot be practiced as they ought to be.

It is love that will produce in us that likeness to Jesus Christ which is the hallmark of Christian growth and spiritual maturity. Without love we can never become all that God would have us to be nor will we make the impact that God would have us to make upon those around us.

We must learn to love!