Introduction

Hello, dear friends, and welcome. You are not here by accident. God has a message for you today, a message that has the power to transform, to uplift, to heal. It's a message about love, not the fleeting, fickle love of the world, but the enduring, unchanging love of God. A love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. This is the love we're talking about today.

In his wisdom, the Apostle Paul penned a passage in 1 Corinthians special to many of us. It's often read at weddings, engraved on gifts, and memorized by children in Sunday School. But this passage isn't just about marital love or friendship. It's about something far more profound, far more powerful. It's about the nature of God Himself, for God is love.

Let's read the passage together, from 1 Corinthians 13:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 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. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

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

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 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. 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.

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

Manifestations of Love in the Gospel

As we turn our attention to the Gospel, we find that love is not just a theme. It's the very essence, the very heartbeat of the Gospel. It's the driving force behind every word, every action, every event. It's the reason for the incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection. It's the reason for our salvation, our sanctification, our glorification. It's the reason for everything.

In the Gospel, we see love in action. We see it in the life of Jesus, in His words, in His deeds, in His attitudes, in His relationships. We see it in His compassion for the sick, the poor, the outcast. We see it in His forgiveness of sinners, His patience with doubters, His gentleness with children. We see it in His willingness to suffer, to die, to rise again for our sake. We see it in His promise to return, to reign, to restore all things.

In the Gospel, we also see love in teaching. We see it in the parables of Jesus, in His sermons, in His discourses, in His dialogues. We see it in the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, the Great Commandment, the Golden Rule. We see it in the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, the Lost Sheep, the Last Supper. We see it in the Sermon on the Mount, the Olivet Discourse, the Upper Room Discourse, the Farewell Discourse.

In the Gospel, we further see love in power. We see it in the miracles of Jesus, in His healings, in His exorcisms, in His nature wonders, in His resurrections. We see it in the feeding of the five thousand, the calming of the storm, the raising of Lazarus, the transfiguration. We see it in the turning of water into wine, the walking on water, the cursing of the fig tree, the catching of the large number of fish.

In the Gospel, we finally see love in prophecy. We see it in the predictions of Jesus, in His foreknowledge, in His foresight, in His forewarning. We see it in the prediction of His death, His resurrection, His return, His judgment. We see it in the prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem, the scattering of the disciples, the denial of Peter, the betrayal of Judas.

Meaning and Importance of Love in 1 Corinthians 13

In the heart of 1 Corinthians 13, we find a vivid portrayal of love ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO