ESSENTIAL to IMPLEMENTATION-II—1Corinthians 13:1-13
Attention/Need:
Valentine’s Day is upon us. “Love” can actually carry a variety of meanings in our society. Our society is confused about the meaning of love. Much of it focusing upon sentimentality & sexuality.
Paul highlighted/elucidated the necessity of agape love to the application of Christianity.
Agape love is essential to the implementation of Christian belief.
How is agape love essential to the Christian faith?
*Implementation of Christianity becomes mere/empty social reform without agape love.
Php. 2:12-13—“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear & trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will & to do for His good pleasure.”
1Pet. 4:8—“And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”
1Tim. 1:5—“Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, & from sincere faith,”
*This chapter is actually the definition for agaph love.
The umbrella of agape love presented here is neither romantic or sexual love(erov), nor is it sentimental(pleasant feeling about someone or thing), nor is it friendship or brotherly love(filia), nor charity(KJV) for the poor.—MacArthur
The supreme example of agape love is God’s love toward humanity.
Agape love is always giving &/or sacrificial love.
2— Agape love is essential to Christianity thru its...
PREEMINENCE/Maturity(:8-13)
Explanation:(:8-13)
‘Preeminence’— ‘Surpassing all others; very distinguished in some way.’
:8—“Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.”
h agaph(See :4)— ‘This love’
*There neither is, nor was, nor ever will be an instance where Agape love fails.
*However, there are things which do fail, cease & vanish. Referring to the gifts in :2, the “prophesies,” “tongues,” & “knowledge,” so zealously sought by the Corinthians, there will be a time when such will no longer be active. So they are seeking that which is destined for disuse, & disregarding that which is destined to remain—Agape love.
:8a-“Fails”—ekpiptw—1) To fall out of, to fall down from, to fall off; 2) metaph.—2a) To fall from a thing, to lose it, 2b) To perish, to fall. Strong—To lose, become inefficient:--Be cast, fail, fall (away, off), have none effect.
:8b, d-“b-Fail & d-Vanish/Done away/Cease & Pass away/”(See :10)—katargew—1) To render idle, unemployed, inactivate, inoperative; 2) To cause to cease, put an end to, do away with, annul, abolish.
“Tongues”(See :1)—glwssa—1) The tongue, a member of the body, an organ of speech; 2) A tongue—1a) The language or dialect used by a particular people distinct from that of other nations.
“Cease/Stilled”—pauw—1) To make to cease or desist; 2) To restrain a thing or person from something; 3) To cease, to leave off; 4) Have got release from sin. Strong— To stop (transitively or intransitively), i.e. restrain, quit, desist, come to an end:-- Cease, leave, refrain.
“Knowledge”(See :2)—gnwsiv—Knowledge signified in general intelligence, understanding.
:9—“For we know in part & we prophesy in part.”
*Moreover, the above things, particularly prophecy & knowledge, even now give us only partial understanding regarding God’s will & desire. We declare what we are given & that is miniscule!
Isa. 55:8-9—““For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
1Cor. 2:9(Isa. 64:4)—“But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.””
Job 11:7-9—“Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than heaven--what can you do? Deeper than Sheol--what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea.”
Job 26:14—“Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?””
Ps. 139:6—“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.”
Col. 2:3—“in whom[Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge.”
“For”—de—But, moreover, &, etc.
“In part” (See :10)—ek merouv—1) A part—1a) A part due or assigned to one, 1b) Lot, destiny; 2) One of the constituent parts of a whole. Also in 1Cor. 12:27.
:10—“But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.”
“That which is perfect”—The eternal state.
“Perfect”—teleiov—1) Brought to its end, finished; 2) Wanting nothing necessary to completeness; 3) Perfect; 4) That which is perfect.
*When we exist in & are surrounded by God’s full undaunted intention for us & His creation.
*Love remains & carries through into eternity, but spiritual gifts are limited to time & futility/imperfection.
“Done away/Disappears”(See :4b,d—“Fail & Vanish/Done away/Cease & Pass away”)—katargew—1) To render idle, unemployed, inactivate, inoperative; 2) To cause to cease, put an end to, do away with, annul, abolish.
:11—“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
*Supplanting the imperfect with the perfect is a picture of immaturity being supplanted by maturity.
*Becoming a man is not so much age related, as it is when I reach a point where I render immature ways inoperative.
“Child” & “Childish”—nhpiov—1) An infant, little child; 2) A minor, not of age; 3) metaph. Childish, untaught, unskilled.
“Understood”—fronew—1) To have understanding, be wise; 2) To feel, to think; 3) To direct one’s mind to a thing, to seek, to strive for. Strong—To exercise the mind, i.e. entertain or have a sentiment or opinion; by implication, To be (mentally) disposed (more or less earnestly in a certain direction); intensively, To interest oneself in (with concern or obedience):-- set the affection on.
“Thought”(See :5—“Thinks/Take into account/Keeps record”)—logizomai—1) To reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over; 2) To reckon inward, count up or weigh the reasons, to deliberate; 3) By reckoning up all the reasons, to gather or infer. Strong—To take an inventory, i.e. estimate (literally or figuratively):-- conclude, (ac-)count.
“Put away/Did away/Put behind”(See :4b,d—“Fail & Vanish/Done away/Cease & Pass away” & 10—“Done away/Disappears”)—katargew—1) To render idle, unemployed, inactivate, inoperative; 2) To cause to cease, put an end to, do away with, annul, abolish.
:12—“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”
*Our present relationship with God & the spiritual is as if 1)We were seeing it in a slightly distorted way(ancient mirrors were polished metal & thereby untrue), as if second-hand or through an interpreter rather than face-to-face.
*Paul also describes our present relationship with God & the spiritual as if 2)He were cloaked in shadows, obscurity, & not fully revealed.
“Dimly/Darkly”—ainigma—Eng.-‘enigma’—1) An obscure saying, enigma, riddle; 2) An obscure thing. Used 1X.
“then I shall know just as I also am known.”
*There will come a time when we will observe with the fullness & clarity of perfection intended for us. This will be when we are in the very presence of God Himself & will see directly, thus “face-to-face.”
READ—Ps. 139:1-18
*Paul admits that he presently possesses only partial knowledge. But when the perfect comes, he will personally know fully just as he himself is fully known by God!
a)“Know”—ginwskw—1) To learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel; 2) To know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of; 3) Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man & a woman; 4) To become acquainted with, to know.
b,c)-“Known/Know/Know fully”—epiginwskw—1) To become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly—1a) To know accurately, know well; 2) To know—2a) To recognize.
:13—“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
*Presently, at this very moment in time, there are three absolutely vital virtues of the Christian faith—“faith, hope” & agape “love”—that remain in force. These are the “best gifts” of 12:31. These will remain until that which is perfect arrives—the eternal state!
“Abide”—menw—1) To remain, abide; 2) To wait for, await one. Strong— To stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy):-- abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry.
“Greatest”—meizwn—Greater, larger, elder, stronger.
Argumentation:
Mat. 23:23-26—“Woe to you, scribes & Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint & anise & cummin, & have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice & mercy & faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. “Blind guides, who strain out a gnat & swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes & Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup & dish, but inside they are full of extortion & self-indulgence. “Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup & dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.”
Still living by law!
Illustration:
Child’s bicycle/Short appropriate to height/Training wheels/Short-lived/Outgrow it/Replace it with Racing bike/Made to last/PREEMINENCE
New laws demanding we pull in opposite lane if patrol car is stopped/Some mad at laws!/No problem if Agape love is PREEMINENT
Learn to set cruise control/Avoid desire to go faster/But must be set to correct speed that honors safety & law/Supercedes law/PREEMINENCE
Application:
?Agape Love hold PREEMINENCE when implementing your belief?
?Does it Supplant & Surpass that which is lesser?
3— Agape love is essential to Christianity thru its...
ALLIANCE /Receptacle/Embrace(12:31 & 14:1)
Explanation:(:12:31 & 14:1)
‘Alliance’—‘A union or association formed for mutual benefit.’
Agape love is Tied to everything!
12:31—“But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.”
*If you/I have any gift of the Spirit of God, & use it much like a baseball bat, you/I have failed the gift & thus God, miserably!
“Best/Greater”—kreittwn—1) More useful, more serviceable, more advantageous; 2) More excellent.
“Excellent”—uperbolh— ‘Throw beyond’—1) A throwing beyond; 2) metaph.—2a) Superiority, excellence, pre-eminence, 2b) Beyond measure, exceedingly, preeminently, 2c) Beyond all measure.
“Way”—odov—1) Properly—1a) a way,—1a1) A traveled way, road, 1b) a travelers way, journey, traveling; 2) metaph.—2a) A course of conduct, 2b) A way (i.e. manner) of thinking, feeling, deciding.
14:1—“Pursue love, & desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.”
*Paul encourages the Corinthian Christians to actively pursue agape love, as well as being zealous for attaining those specific workings of the Spirit which aid the church. But their zealousness should direct them toward an ability to “prophesy.”
“Pursue”—diwkw—1) To make to run or flee, put to flight, drive away; 2) To run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing, to run after—2a) To press on: figuratively of one who in a race runs swiftly to reach the goal, 2b) To pursue (in a hostile manner);4) Without the idea of hostility, to run after, follow after: someone; 5) metaph., To pursue.
Argumentation:
Jn. 17:26—““And I have declared to them Your name, & will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, & I in them.””
Rom. 13:9—“For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” & if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””
Gal. 5:14—“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””
Gal. 5:6—“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.”
Eph. 5:2—“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us & given Himself for us, an offering & a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
Php. 1:9-10—“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more & more in knowledge & all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere & without offense till the day of Christ,”
1Thes. 3:12-13—“And may the Lord make you increase & abound in love to one another & to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God & Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.”
Heb. 10:24-25—“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love & good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, & so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Illustration:
My leaf blower/I can pour it full of gasoline-Turn switches-Adjust air funnel/Can be used only ineffectively apart from the ALLIANCE it has to electricity/I have an electric blower!/ALLIANCE
Gas heat in house/I’ve had people actually tell me, ‘You’re lucky you have gas...when the electricity goes out we’re stuck!’/Duh!/Gas heat must have an ALLIANCE with electricity!
Computer on a Network/Can’t access internet, printer, etc./Tie to network ties me to tools needed/ALLIANCE
Application:
?Agape Love hold an ALLIANCE when implementing your belief?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
*We see explained in these verses that Agape love is utterly impossible for the natural man. It is often imitated, but is only attained thru supernatural means.
‘It is easier to be orthodox than to be loving, & easier to be active in church work than to be loving...’....‘Love is more excellent than feeling resentful & inferior because you do not have...or feeling superior & independent because you do have...’—John MacArthur, Jr.
Action:
Agape love is essential to Christianity thru its...
1. MASTERY/Control(:1-7)
2. PREEMINENCE/Maturity(:8-13)
3. ALLIANCE /Embrace(12:31 & 14:1)
Presented 02/14/2010am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf NC 27054
