Defining Love

Introduction

What is love?

After the previous section where Paul addresses the Corinthians’ questions about spiritual gifts, you’d expect Paul to begin answering the next set of questions. Instead, Paul uses the context of spiritual gifts to remind the Corinthians of the priority of love over any and all of the spiritual gifts.

This passage is usually found at weddings, on computer wallpapers, and recited with some ethereal music in the background.

In reality, Paul is sort of ‘going on blast’ and confronting one of the core issues that is causing the problems in the church — their lack of love for one another.

It’s a pretty well-structured section and the almost rhythmic nature and repeating words are meant to make it more pointed than poetic. Paul uses rhetoric and style to drive his point home.

This chapter is not some sappy hymn of love to be read at weddings, it is actually a rebuke for the Corinthians who seem to be in conflict as to whose gift is more important than another’s.

Construction of 1 Corinthians 13: (Here is where we are going)

The priority of love (1-3)

The picture of love (4-7)

The permanence of love (8-12)

The Person of love (13)

Conclusions from 1 Corinthians 13: (Here is what we will be learning)

Some have said:

You can discover all of the issues the Corinthians had by looking at what Paul says love is NOT

It is good Paul is writing because this would be too harsh for Paul to say to them in person.

Love is “the mortar between the bricks of the Christian building.” (the church)

— M. Mitchell

1 Corinthians (D. Love: A More Excellent Way (13:1–13))

“Experience proves that a man, after opening his heart with faith to the joy of salvation, may soon cease to walk in the way of sanctification, shrink from complete self-surrender, and, while making progress in mystical feeling, become more full of self and devoid of love than he ever was.” Paul reminds the Corinthians that love, not spiritual gifts, is the marrow of their Christian existence.

1 Corinthians 12:31 (ESV)

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

Remember:

—

The Priority of Love (1-3)

1 Corinthians 13 (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.

Paul gives several examples of extreme devotion and worship and points out that without love they are meaningless:

Speak in tongues of men and angels (extreme worship)

Prophetic powers to understand everything and faith to move mountains (extreme teaching)

Deliver my body to be burned (extreme service)

I’m pointless and empty

I am nothing (when I thought I was everything!)

I gain nothing (service was purposeless)

The way you love defines you as a Christian more than doing “Christian” things.

How many of you were planning to:

give your body up to be burned?

just thinking about teaching in KidsMin so you can expound all mysteries?

move some items based on your faith?

No?

How about:

Teaching? Feel you’re a pretty good teacher?

Serving? End up staying later than anyone to

They will know you are my disciples by:

The way you speak in tongues. . .

John 13:35 (ESV)

35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

1 John 4:7–8 (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.

Love is the single-most important identifier of a disciple of Jesus.

Greatest Commandment:

LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

(Second) LOVE your neighbor as yourself.

Love as a fruit of the Spirit is greater than the gifts of the Spirit.

ILLUST - The gifts of the Spirit without love is like an empty box at Christmas.

Worst-case scenario is the gifts of the Spirit without love is like a box with a snake at Christmas

It is possible to look super spiritual and in fact be super worldly.

Could this be the greatest vision for the church ever? Love? more than mission, building, budgets, etc.

The Picture of Love (4-7)

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 used nine times in the English version of this chapter.

Each time it is the word, agape

Love is personified because love is not a static feeling, it is an intentional action.

Paul uses verbs to describe love, not adjectives

The verbs are in the present tense indicating an ongoing action

Love is as love does.

Remember the context of this passage is not marriage. I love my wife. I still have work to do to be patient with her in all areas — to make sure I am always kind, etc. but because I care about her I want to get better at those things.

The context of this passage is the church and not primarily the marriage or the home.

The love that Paul is wanting the Corinthians to work out is much more possible in a smaller setting than in the main worship service.

Think about someone in your LG or someone in the church. She’s the one who always criticizes what you wear.

He always says something before he speaks and it is really irritating.

She always expects something from you.

Patient and kind — passivity and activity.

Perhaps Paul emphasizes patience for the situation he addresses in chapter 6:

1 Corinthians 6:7 (ESV)

7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?

and kind

Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)

32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

1 Corinthians (Exegesis and Exposition)

The kindness of Christians in the second century so surprised their pagan counterparts that, according to Tertullian (Apol. 3.39), they called Christians chrestiani, “made up of mildness or kindness,” rather than christiani.

does not envy

does not boast

is not arrogant

“puffed up” - six of seven occurrences found in NT are in 1 Corinthians

is not rude

does not insist on its own way.

is not irritable

perhaps one of the hardest — “Don’t murder someone” I can handle. “Don’t be irritable.” - That’s tough.

is not resentful

not keeping a record of wrongs in order to return the wrongs. Love absorbs evil; it doesn’t reflect it.

(not talking about abuse - not a doormat - doesn’t mean we are ok with evil done to others)

does not rejoice with wrongdoing but rejoices with truth

love and truth are very much related. Love is the handmaiden to truth.

Ephesians 4:15 (ESV)

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

John Piper:

Truth aims at love.

Love aims at truth.

Love shapes how to speak the truth.

Truth shapes how to show love.

bears all things

believes all things

hopes all things

endures all things

In other words, love has no limits. We never have a limit to offering forgiveness, having patience, being kind.

Can I say all of these things about Jason?

Jason is patient?

Jason is kind?

The Permanence of Love. (8-12)

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Paul is reiterating the importance of love over the spiritual gifts by pointing out that the spiritual gifts that the Corinthians are so enamored with will one day disappear because they will no longer be useful in building up the church because the church will then be perfect with Christ after Christ returns.

When the ‘perfect’ comes — three views:

Christian maturity - wrong - they don’t stop when the one practicing them becomes mature because the gifts are to help mature others.

Completion of NT - wrong - v 12 has definite eschatological overtones.

When Christ returns.

Remembering love wins in the end helps you love now.

If you want to practice something, practice the thing that will last. Examples:

I love theology, focus on love

I love preaching. Love people more than you preach at them.

Serve, lead in worship, pray for.

All of these things can be and should be done with love — I can express my love for you by preparing a message from God’s Word that aids the Spirit’s work in your life. The question is, am I loving you through it or myself?

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

The Person of Love (13)

Jesus both defines and displays (perfect) love for you.

Paul uses the triad of faith, hope, and love many times.

Galatians 5:5–6 (ESV)

5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Colossians 1:4–5 (ESV)

4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,

ILLUST - three legs on a stool. Faith, Hope, Love balance and support the Christian life.

it is Christocentric — focuses on Jesus.

Jesus is the object of our faith; Jesus is the source of our hope, and Jesus is our example of love.

Jesus is the greatest example of love because he (as God) is the very definition of love.

Jesus as the definition.

Everything the church does should be done in love. Why?

Because the most important evidence of being a disciples is love. Why?

Because God is love.

1 John 4:7–8 (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.

God IS love - both nature and character.

Jesus as the example.

No greater love has any man than this. . .

Romans 5:8 (ESV)

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 8:37 (ESV)

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Ephesians 5:2 (ESV)

2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

This is because this is the way that Jesus loves you.

“Jesus loves me” this I know. . . for the Bible tells me so

What does the Bible tell you that has you know that Jesus loves you?

It tells the gospel. The gospel is a love story. It is the greatest love story — which weaves together with your story.

This is the way Jesus (God) loves you.

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.

**There are some here today who need to simply hear that Jesus loves you.

Jesus is patient with you.

God is kind to you.

God is patient and kind with you:

Romans 2:4 (ESV)

4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

1 Corinthians Exegesis and Exposition

God does not tolerate unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18; 2:8). God does not reckon sins against us (Rom. 4:7–8; 2 Cor. 5:19). Christ’s sacrifice seeks the advantage of others and not his own (Rom. 15:1–6; Phil. 2:4–8).

“Yes, Jesus loves you. Yes, Jesus loves you. Yes, Jesus loves you, the Bible tells you so.”

1 Corinthians 14:1 (ESV)

1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

How will you pursue love? How will WE pursue love?