A Primer on Love

Introduction

It’s good to be with you all, and I want to apologise for my appearance today. The Lord saw it fitting to allow me some sickness, and I pray that you will excuse my shortcomings for the day.

I’m going to stick with our expository series on the gifts of the Holy Spirit from 1 Corthians 12-14, but I do not intend to dive in as I usually would. So, with whatever strength the Lord would give me, I would like to say a few words on the subject of ‘Love’.

A still more excellent way

1 Corinthians 12:31 ESV

31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

After an entire chapter concerning the nature and purpose of spiritual gifts, Paul tells us that there is a still more excellent way.

We saw last week how the greatness of a gift is measured by the effect it has to edify and bless God’s people. It does not depend on the outward power or spiritual potential but on its use.

Herein, we find the folly of the Corinthians who were divided over the nature and use of these gifts, and Paul establishes that such gifts are to be used for one another. Consider them tools that we use to achieve God’s intention, rather than as rewards or badges that one wears on their coats of superficial piety.

And on that note, Paul now tries to divert our attention to an even more excellent way.

Love conquers all

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 ESV

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

We will dive into the details of the tongues of men and of angels some other time, but for now we will accept the plain reading of the text. If I speak in a language that is earthly (understood by some community or culture on earth), or if I speak in a language that is heavenly, known between God and myself (1 Corinthians 14:2), I am noisy gong or a clanging cymbal without love.

If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and all faith (even to remove mountaints), I am nothing without love.

Given here then from the least of the gifts (in terms of its edification of the church) which is tongues without interpretation, to the greatest of the gifts which is prophecy (because of its edification), none of it matters without the transcendent aim or passion that is love. Is it not strange that cessationists find prophecy a problem, and the bible calls it the most useful for church edification.

But also note that prophetic powers here, are accompanied by knowledge, understanding and faith (which are pillars in the reformed tradition of Sola Scriptura) means nothing without love. If our ability to use these supernatural gifts are useless without love because at that point, they are tools without a purpose.

But then, it also stands true that biblical theology is a tool. It’s a tool or a means that opens your eyes to the reality of the living God. However, they too can be tools without a purpose. Biblical fidelity is not evidence of spiritual renewal. There are many who love doctrine who do not love God.

Therefore, Paul is not just discounting the gifts, but also the intellect, for the Corinthian church had people in both spectrums, those who wished to elevate the gifts even more, and those who called for the cessation of these gifts, and all of them were missing the bigger picture.

Hence, we must not dabble in these things at the cost of the more excellent way.

Love! Love conquers all! Even martyrdom.

1 Corinthians 13:3 ESV

3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

There is a pride that comes from both charismatic theology or cessationist theology, where a person can give over their lives out of emotion or doctrine, and still be lacking in love.

When Jesus said in John 15:13

John 15:13 ESV

13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

it was a death because of love.

What then is love?

Is it a gift? Is it a knowledge?

Is it an emotion? Or is it a choice?

It is the great evidence of God’s existence. God is love, and love is God, and Christ is God’s love manifest to us.

Love is God manifest in our releationships

Only the Christian understands what this mystery is, and the unbeliever is sensing the divine but not recognising him.

1 John 4:7–12 ESV

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

Christ is the love of God manifest.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 ESV

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love is diametrically opposed to the regular feelings that brute theology and spiritual gifts tend to raise in the hearts of Christians. The sin is not in our pursuit of theology or in our pursuit of the gifts, but in our pursuit of them devoid of God, devoid of love.

The finest Christian is a symbol of love, and knowledge and gifting are only his tools. But love is his essence, his character in Christ. To quote love and deny the use of these tools is to be a fool, a poorly skilled worker. And to be skilled at these tools without love, is to be an un-christian machine.

Therefore, church, be men, women and children who pursue all this, immersed in love. Otherwise, you’re nothing!