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Let's get into the Word of God. Can't wait. Really looking forward to what the
Lord has for us today.
First Corinthians chapter thirteen. Wow, we're off to a great start yeah?
Verses one through three will be our text today and as you can probably tell I
don't want to hurry through this great chapter. So once you find your way there
if you wouldn't mind, please stand if you're able. I'll ask you to follow along
as I read. The Apostle Paul is writing by the Holy Spirit, in verse one, he says if
I speak in the tongues of men or angels but do not have love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If, verse 2, 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 do not have love, I am nothing. If, verse three, I give all I
possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast but do
not have love, I gain nothing. Let's pray. Lord thank you for your word. Thank you
for this famous chapter, really, that we have open before us here in your word.
Lord, we need for your Holy Spirit to give us eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to
receive that which you have for us today. For if you don't do that then our time
together in your word will be a complete waste of time.
And I would venture to say and pray that there's not a one of us here today that
wants that to happen. So Lord will you speak into our lives through your word,
we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. You can be seated. Thank you.
Today's teaching is gonna be part one of a new series I've titled "Love, the most
excellent way." The text that we have open before us this morning is arguably one
of the most if not the most popular and well-known passages in all of the Bible.
And for both Christians, as well as those who are not Christians alike,
first Corinthians 13 has come to affectionately be known as the "Love
Chapter." How many of us have been at a wedding where this chapter has been read
as part of the wedding ceremony? Alan Red path, of first Corinthians 13, said one
could get a spiritual suntan from the warmth of this chapter. G. Campbell
Morgan wrote that examining first Corinthians 13 is like dissecting a
flower. To understand it, if you tear it apart too much, you lose the beauty.
I have to confess that I'm wired that way. To really get in and just unpack it and
reorganize it and of course in the process complicate it. My wife keeps
reminding me I have the gift of complication. I keep trying to tell her
that that's not actually a gift. She says you still have it anyway.
So my commitment to you in teaching this great chapter is that I will try, in as
much as I am able to, not complicate that which is so beautiful in its simplicity.
While we're certainly not lacking when it comes to the comments and the quotes
concerning this chapter I do believe that there is a lack of understanding
when it comes to this love chapter. Some see it as being largely poetic. Some see
it as a literary work. However, I think to see it that way is to reduce it
and sadly even secularize it, which is to in fact, profane it. And what I mean by
profane is to make it common. And if you do that, you strip it spiritually. And in
so doing, you diminish the power that is woven into the fabric of this great love
chapter. There's also a danger I think when it comes to those who elevate this
passage to a level in which the Christian is sort of forced in their own
strength to strive for this love. And I don't know if you've heard it taught this
way, I know I have, but it's been suggested that when we get to verse four
through seven that you should try to insert your name in the text. So instead
of it reading love is patient, love is kind, etc. It should read, in my case
JD is patient (laughs), JD is kind and you don't get very far.
Like, not even pass the first one if the truth be known. And I think to do
that is to place upon the believer that which the Lord never really intended.
It is a burden that none of us can bear. It is a mark that all of us fall short of.
And in our own strength it is absolutely impossible to obtain this love that we
have so beautifully and eloquently described for us, here in this chapter. I said last
week, it might have been the week before but there's no way you or I can ever
have the love that God gives, absent the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the power
of the Holy Spirit that gives us the 'how,' to do the 'what' of God's Word.
And the Christian to be pitied the most is the one who, in the energy of their own flesh,
is trying to manufacture this kind of love.
It's feigned at best, insincere at worst and you gotta know that people can see right
through it. This is the kind of genuine love that only comes vis-a-vis the
Holy Spirit. And it's the love that a husband can get from the Holy Spirit for his wife and vice versa
I've shared the humorous story of my wife and I early in our marriage when I thought
I had this really profound you know expression of my love for her to, you
know, share with her and impart to her. To, of course, being the Godly husband
that I am, bless my wife's heart.
And so I said to her, honey I have a love for you that only comes from God. A love
that God can only give. To which she responded, you mean you could not muster
up any love in and of yourself for me. Am I that unlovable that the only way
you could love me is if God gave you a love for me? Listen wives, I don't know how you
do that. I just know that you do that. And please know that when you do that,
your husband is looking at you like a confused dog,. You know, that look like 'what?' How did
you take that which I said and twist it into that? That's not what I said. That's a gift to you,
I think, wives, that God has given yo. I don't know what you call it but it's a gift.
But it's true, the only way I can love my wife as Jesus Christ loved the church is
if it comes from God, by way of the indwelling and the empowering of the
Holy Spirit. And it's across the board. In every arena of life, we have no hope as
Christians of ever tasting from the cup of this love, absent the Holy Spirit.
There's no way in and of ourselves we could ever strive to achieve this.
We will always fall miserably short. And even to try to do it in our own strength
and to see that as what this is is to miss entirely, the point of the passage.
And this by virtue of the fact that Paul is writing about love
in the context of spiritual gifts. If you hear nothing else that I say today, hear this.
Love is not a gift. Love is a fruit. And that's a game changer and let me explain why.
A gift is given, it is not earned. Paul has just gone into great
detail and will yet again in Chapter 14 go into great detail concerning the
exercising of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And so we have to be also careful
when we couch love in terms of the gifts because love is not a gift love is a fruit.
A gift is given, fruit is grown. Fruit, the fruit of love and it's singular
by the way in Galatians. It's not the 'fruits' of the Spirit, it's 'the' fruit,
singular, of the Spirit is love. And what comes from the fruit of love is joy
peace, gentleness, goodness, meekness, kindness, patience, self-control. That is
the result of the fruit that has grown. Fruit grows, a gift is given. I do nothing
to earn that gift. If I did it would cease to be a gift.
Conversely, the fruit has to be met with the supple soil of my heart in order to
germinate and sprout and bear fruit. And it comes over a period of time. It takes maturity.
The gifts are never the mark of a mature Christian. In fact,
in some cases I would say and venture to say that the opposite is true. In that God
gives the gifts based on our needs and our lack. And so in our immaturity, God
will deem it fit to give us gifts because
we are so immature. We need those gifts. Is it not true that whenever we
give someone a gift we always want to give them a gift they need? And so
Christians that are immature may be new to the faith, nothing wrong with that, God
in His grace will give those gifts unmerited to that Christian. But the
supreme goal is for that Christian to grow in grace. To grow in the fruit of
love so that the fruit is manifest in that Christian's life. And that is the
supreme mark of a mature Christian. A mature Christian is a loving Christian
not a gifted or talented Christian and as we're about to see this was
really the problem there in the church in Corinth. So it's really important to
understand that chapter 13 has to be taken in the context of what Paul wrote in
Chapter 12. In order to understand this chapter, one must understand the context
in which Paul addresses this from the previous chapter. The last verse
he says I'm gonna show you, I mean eagerly desire the gifts, nothing wrong with
eagerly desiring the gifts, but...and this is a big but, I will show you yet a more
excellent way, a superior way, then the gifts. And what is that excellent way?
It is the excellent way of love. Adam Clark, I think explains it best,
he says at the conclusion of the preceding chapter the apostle promised
to show the Corinthians a more excellent way than that in which they were now
proceeding. They were so distracted with contentions, divided by parties and
envious of each other's gifts that unity was nearly destroyed. This was a
full proof that, listen, love to God
and man was wanting and that without this their numerous gifts and other
graces were nothing in the eyes of God for it was evident that they did not love one another.
Which is a proof, interesting, that they did not love God.
And consequently, that they had not true religion. Having, by his advises and
directions corrected many abuses and having shown them how in outward things
they should walk so as to please God he now shows them the Spirit, temper and
disposition in which this should be done and without which all the rest must be
ineffectual. I suppose you could say that the more excellent way can be explained
as love being the only way the spiritual gifts should be exercised. In other words
the way we are to eagerly desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit is vis-a-vis, the
fruit of the Holy Spirit which is love. Love, the most excellent way. Well, enter our
text today where we see that absent this most excellent way of love, I am
nothing, I have nothing and I gain nothing. And that is basically what in the first
three verses Paul is telling them and even rebuking them concerning. In verse 1 he
tells them that if one who is really gifted, a gifted speaker
speaks in the tongues of men or angels but doesn't have love then he's only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. And in verse two, he says if one has the gift
of prophecy and fathoms all mysteries and even has this mountain moving faith
but he doesn't have love, he is nothing. And in verse three he says and this is, try to get
your mind around this, if someone gives all of their possessions to the poor and
even subjects and gives their body to hardship willingly of their own volition
and they do it to boast, without love they will gain absolutely nothing.
You can give lots of money to charity,
you can do lots of good works. You can endure lots of extreme hardship and if
it's to boast and it's absent love, you have gained absolutely nothing. You don't even have
a reward here on earth
let alone there in heaven without love. From just these first three verses I think one can surmise
that the Corinthian Christians were fully given over to their own selfish
interests. They thought only of themselves and I would suggest that the
only thing that mattered was their own prestige, their own power, their own image
what people thought of them. I see them as jockeying for positions of prominence
in leadership within the church there in Corinth.
And it came at the expense of the other members of the body of Christ especially
as it related to their love, one for another, which was completely absent.
Now, I guess to their credit, at least they were using the gifts. You can give them that.
However, they were doing the right thing but they were doing it in the wrong way
more specifically they were exercising the gifts which was right but they did
it with the wrong motivation, the wrong attitude of heart. It was self-interest, a
self-promotion if you prefer and as such the use of the gifts became an abuse of
the gifts. They were abusing the gifts, which is why we have chapter 14
of 1st Corinthians in our Bibles. Paul has to set 'em straight.
This has to be done decently and in order.
You're all doing this to get noticed, you want people to see your gifting and
go, wow, he must be a spiritual giant. Actually the opposite is true, they're
probably a spiritual, I should be really careful with which, what word I insert in there,
but maybe I'll just let you fill in the blank. There's... a spiritual wimp. There. Good save.
They're spiritual wimps. They were exercising the gifts in ways that would
get them noticed by others
and exalted. So much so that they could boast, look at my gifting. Whoa, you have the gift of tongues?
Wow, I wish I had the gift! You must be more spiritual than I. You must
be superior to me. Me, inferior to you. They love that. You're singing their songs off
of their sheet music and it puffed them up and they became very proud of their gifts.
I see the Corinthian church as being filled with people who were very unloving.
I mean if you wanted to go to a church where nobody loved anybody except for themselves,
this was the church to go to. I see them as selfishly putting themselves first
and putting others last. I mean this is opposite to what Jesus said. The greatest
among you will be the servant of all. And greater love hath no man than he lay
down his life for another. I also see the Corinthian church as a place that was filled with
carnal men and carnal women who thought more highly of themselves than they ought.
And this was especially true when it came to the gifts of the Holy Spirit
which were given, remember in the previous chapter what the purpose of the
gifts of the Holy Spirit was? It was for the benefit of the body of Christ not to
the person. Not solely. And they were using these gifts only to benefit them self. Not
to bless others. It's for this reason that the Apostle Paul must teach them this
more excellent way which was to use the gifts to bless others in love, it was out of love.
A love, one for another. A brotherly love one for another. This is that filial love in the
original Greek. Again, it's important to remember that there are different words
in the Greek language of the New Testament for love whereas in English we
only have one word for love. The word here uses translated charity and so you
have filial love, which is where we get Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love.
In Greek you had 'eros' love which is where we get our English word ***
it's a physical even *** love. 'Storge' it's a parental love. Natural affection
as it's translated and then 'agape' which is the unconditional love that God
has for us. So it's important to delineate between these different
understandings of the word love as it would have been in that culture and in
that day. I can't quite get over the strength of Paul's words in these first
three verses. To me it's textbook in that true to form and I love this about Paul,
he's hitting the proverbial nail on the head I mean if you really think about it what
he's saying, is that without love everything and anything they do or say
actually becomes worthless. I have to confess that this is, while I'm looking
forward to this chapter,
it has been very convicting for me personally especially right here
out of the chute. I'm as conflicted as I am convicted, because if I'm understanding
what Paul is saying here, as a pastor,
no matter how powerfully I use my gift of teaching. No matter how eloquently I
might exposit and teach the text. No matter how beautifully I can preach the
Word of God, if I'm not loving, it's worthless. You'll forgive me but that's
pretty convicting to me. You mean to say that all of these years
week in and week out when I come to the end of my life and I'm standing before
my Savior and giving an account, there is the possibility that he could say to me
that because you did not have love it was all for naught?
That's very sobering for me and that's very convicting to me. I have to confess
that I've had to inquire of the Lord cos I know that I lack in this area even
though I've been walking with the Lord for over 30 years. I would love to be
able to stand before this wonderful church that I have the privilege to pastor
and to say to you that the fruit of love has grown and matured in my life. I mean
can't you tell? All the joy, and kindness and patience, especially patience. I've been a model of
patience. A Godly example of what it is to be a patient man. If you believe that you
you just started attending here. I think perhaps. That's part of the fruit isn't it?
That's what grows from the fruit of love, isn't it?
Patience? I need look no further in my own life
than to my impatience. To bring into question the love that I possess in my gifting.
And I tell you it's caused me,
introspectively, to revisit. I'm talking about in my own life. As far as you're
concerned, that's between you and the Holy Spirit. So don't look at me like you're
looking at me right now, like, oh pastor, you're so unloving! You're supposed to be the pastor! I know! I know. My wife reminds me of that all the time.
She only has to say one word. Just one word and only as a wife can say it.
She just looks at me and she says, "pastor."
Ok, I'll do the dishes for the next month I love you so much honey.
Prove it! Ok. You're so impatient. I know.
But is this not what the Apostle Paul is saying here?
I mean you can do all of these wonderful things you can possess these amazing
gifts and talents. But without love, it means nothing. It's all worthless and every pastor
should be just, I mean, terrified by what Paul says. He packs such a powerful punch
in writing this because you have to understand that they had great orators
back in that day and they were seen as rock stars are seen today.
They would elevate them and put them up on pedestals in the first century the
eloquence of speech was esteemed and admired especially in that Grecian
culture there in Corinth. So what Paul is saying here takes on a whole new meaning.
It kinda changes the whole complexion of it when you understand what's behind it.
What he's saying here is that these eloquent speakers, as eloquent and
flawless as their speech was, it was only a loud and obnoxious noise. All they're
doing is making noise,
if they don't have love. Maybe this is what James had in mind when he writes that those of you who desire
to be teachers, you better think about that and pray about that. It's a noble
office to hold. It's great gift to possess but you will be judged by a much higher
standard. I think of what Greg Laurie shares. It's so humorous. He says, you know
for those of us who are teachers of the word when we get to heaven, there's
gonna be, we're going to have our own line. Because we're going to be judged more strictly
and the line is gonna go really slow and so when you're in the other line, will you just
wave at me as you go? 'Cause you're probably gonna get in before I'm gonna get in and
so I only say that because if that happens, will you please just wave at me and just say, hi pastor JD? See, ya. Wouldn't want to be ya.
That's true. Again, very sobering. It's important to note, what the motivation is for the one whom Paul is describing
particularly in verse 3. Notice he says that the motivation for the one who
gives all that they possess to the poor and even subjects their own body to
physical hardship that they do it because they want to boast. Ah, that's it.
They want to boast about it. They wanna say
Did you see what I did? Did you see what I gave? Did you see how benevolent I am?
That's the motivation. It's not motivated by love, it's motivated by pride.
The antithesis of love. If that's the motivation behind all that we do, then we ultimately
have nothing as a reward and it will come to nothing as a result. There is
coming a day and I believe very soon and I think you do too, when all that we've
done will be shown for what it is it. It will be revealed. Whether it was
motivated by self or motivated by love. This is 1st Corinthians 3. Let me
just read verses 12 through 15 in closing, If anyone builds on this foundation
using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for
what it is because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed. How? With
fire and the fire will test the quality and I'll add motivation of each person's
work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward, if it is
burned up the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved. Hang on to that for just a moment.
Even though only as one escaping through the flames. In other words, if in your
Christian life all of your work was motivated by self
instead of love, the fire is going to reduce it to ashes and consume it, as fire
does with wood, hay or straw. You're still saved, your still gonna be in
heaven for all eternity, but you'll have suffered loss because all you did was
motivated by self and not love and conversely if it was motivated by love
that same fire that consumes the wood hay or straw, purifies, makes more
valuable all the gold, the silver and the costly stones. The same fire that makes
wood, hay or straw value-less makes the gold, silver and costly stones valuable.
And it will all be revealed. It's been said that only that which is done for
Christ will last. Only that which was done for Christ will last.
Everything else will be burned up. Upon which foundation are we building our lives?
Upon which foundation are we exercising the gifts? Upon which
foundation will it be revealed, was our motivation? Let's pray.
Lord, this is a tough word but needed for sure. I pray that none of us would be
like the multitudes were, when you taught a hard word and they all left
which prompted you to ask Peter, are you too gonna leave? To which Peter responded
Lord, where else are we gonna go to hear the words of life. This is the Word of
Life and it is our life and You are the life and so Lord now will you by the
Holy Spirit begin that process of building this upon this foundation into
our lives, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen