Sermon Tone Analysis

Today we are continuing our study of 1 Corinthians.

We will be in 1 Corinthians 14, so I encourage you to open your bibles to that chapter.

As we have seen in the past weeks, Paul reached the climax of this letter in chapter 13.

All the way along, Paul has pointed out that there were divisions, there were factions in the church as they were more concerned about themselves and their status, or their rights, than they were their Christian brothers and sisters in the church, or about their testimony for Christ and the hope of the gospel.

The root of all of these issues was pride, thinking higher of themselves, and thinking that they knew better than others.

And as Paul told them, knowledge, or supposed knowledge puffs up, where love builds up.

Paul had been hinting all along, and was building up to chapter 13 by telling them that no one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

They needed to live in the most excellent way, love!

Love is patient, love is kind.

Love does not envy.

It is does not boast.

It is not proud.

It does not act dishonorably toward others.

It is not self-seeking.

It is not easily angered.

It keeps no record of wrongs.

It does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth.

It always protects, always hopes, always trusts, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

After reaching this climax of the letter in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul then continues on his thought in 1 Corinthians 14. Paul has pointed out how they have failed to live in love, considering others more than themselves in many areas, from vying for position, to taking one another to court, to spouses withholding from one another, to not considering how their actions hurt others or their testimonies for Christ, to misusing gifts from the Spirit for their own status, instead of building up one another in the body.

Now, in chapter 14, Paul is going to show them what it would look like if they actually lived in love in the context of their worship together.

He begins by telling them, to

Pursue Love

Pursue Love.

Through chapter 12 we found that they were using their spiritual gifts for self-promotion; self-exaltation.

We get the sense, reading through chapters, 12, 13 and 14 that they especially made much ado about the gift of tongues and the gift of prophesy, outwardly visible gifts.

Those with these outwardly visible gifts were proud and using them for their own gain.

Paul was very blunt in chapter 13 when he told them that if he had these gifts, but did not have love, then he would be nothing or gain nothing.

Love is what is going to last.

Not our gifts, or the things we do for ourselves.

Love will last.

However, as we saw when we went through the description of love, true love does not come naturally.

Where we tend to view love from a selfish perspective of I love because of how they make me feel, or because of what they do for me, true love, God’s love is in spite of who someone is, and in spite of what they do.

Love is sacrificial.

Love is other focused.

Love does not come naturally.

So, Paul says, Pursue love!

It is going to take great effort and endurance on our part.

It is going to take a pursuit of Christ because unless we abide in Him, we cannot produce this fruit of love.

Unless we yield to the Spirit, instead of following our naturally bent, called the flesh in Galatians 5, we will not love.

Look at Galatians 5 quickly with me.

Love does not come naturally to us.

It takes a pursuit of Christ.

It takes a concerted effort to yield to the Spirit to bear this fruit of the Spirit.

And as we yield, it will come.

It will be born out in our lives.

This would be a great verse for us to memorize, to meditate upon, and to put into action this week.

Pursue love!

If we do that, than we will not be resounding gongs or clanging cymbals.

If we pursue love, we will not be nothing.

We will gain great reward as we are like our Father in heaven.

Then, Paul says, that while we pursue love, we should do what?

Desire The Spiritual

Paul was not trying to discourage the use of Spiritual gifts when he told them that they would pass away, but only love would remain.

Look at that with me quickly.

After speaking of using these gifts without love being worthless.

Paul told us that these gifts were not going to last forever.

Only faith, hope and love would last.

However, just because they were not going to last, Paul did not want them to give up on these Spiritual gifts.

They were essential for the good of the church.

So, he told them to Pursue love, and desire these spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophesy.

Why especially prophesy?

Let’s read more of 14, and then talk through it.

Strive for the Edification of the Church

The main point Paul is making as he compares the gifts of tongues and prophesy, is that prophesy is meant for the building up of the church.

Tongues would not benefit the whole body because they would not be able to understand the speaker.

However, the one who prophesied would be understood, and the message could build them up in the faith.

To better understand this, we need to understand these gifts properly.

Again, there is much confusion as some make these gifts out to be something that scripture does not.

So we need to understand these gifts scripturally, and not by what someone simply says about them.

The Gift of Tongues

I alluded to this last week, and put a number of passages into the homework this week for your study.

Tongues - Acts 2. - for the benefit of the Jews who heard.

Speaking in a language unknown to the speaker, for the benefit of those who speak that language.

Acts 8. - for the benefit of the Jews who heard

Acts 10. - for the benefit of the Jews who heard.

Acts 11:17-18

The Gift of Prophesy

What was prophesy?

“Thus sayeth the Lord…”

It is not always a foretelling of the future.

Prophesy was simply God revealing to a chosen person his message to be related to others.

This is why Paul said of this gift,

Earlier Paul had said, 1 cor 12,

Foundation of the apostles and prophets.

Apostles - Those who had seen Jesus and were sent out to establish the church. 1 Cor 15.7

Prophets - spoke the word of God to the church.

Teachers

What goes on today is teaching.

We have the word of God in its complete form.

All for Edification

Pursue Love and Edification