Three Simple Words.
1 Corinthians 13:13AMP
Crunched between 1 Corinthians 12, and 1 Corinthians 14, come the words of a man who is extremely educated and gifted mentally and spiritually. Though Paul says, “I am nothing without love.”
Three simple, single syllable words, yet they can't be improved upon. I love you.
1 Corinthians 13:13NKJV And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
For us to understand where Paul is coming from, let’s look at these verses in complete context.
1 Corinthians 13:8-12TPT Love never stops loving, (Love never fails). It extends beyond the gift of prophecy, which eventually fades away. It is more enduring than tongues, which will one day fall silent. Love remains long after words of knowledge are forgotten. 9 Our present knowledge and our prophecies are but partial, 10 but when love’s perfection arrives, the partial will fade away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke about childish matters, for I saw things like a child and reasoned like a child. But the day came when I matured, and I set aside my childish ways. 12 For now we see but a faint reflection of riddles and mysteries as though reflected in a mirror, but one day we will see face-to-face. My understanding is incomplete now, but one day I will understand everything, just as everything about me has been fully understood.
Again, 1 Corinthians 13:12TLB In the same way, we can see and understand only a little about God now, as if we were peering at his reflection in a poor mirror; but someday we are going to see him in his completeness, face-to-face. Now all that I know is hazy and blurred, but then I will see everything clearly, just as clearly as God sees into my heart right now.
Face to face, mouth to mouth. Nothing hazy, nothing blurred, everything clear! P.H
In Number 12:1-8, we can read the historical facts, of what happens if we undermine the spiritual things of God. Moreover, Theologians agree that when the Apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 13:12, Paul was referencing Moses and God in Number 12.
Number 12:1-8AMP Now Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); 2 and they said, “Has the Lord really spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken also through us?” And the Lord heard it. 3 Now the man Moses was very humble (gentle, kind, devoid of self-righteousness), more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) 4 Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).” And the three of them came out. 5 The Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tabernacle, and He called Aaron and Miriam, and they came forward. 6 And He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known to him in a vision And I will speak to him in a dream. 7 “But it is not so with My servant Moses; He is entrusted and faithful in all My house. 8 “With him I speak mouth to mouth [directly], Clearly and openly and not in riddles; And he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
Moses lived on the offense. He wasn’t threatened, He didn’t live with resentment, He was honest, humble and truthful.
Paul is referring to God speaking to Moses “face-to-face” (Hebrew, “mouth-to-mouth”), and not using dreams and figures of speech (Num. 12:8).
Transforming love will bring us—face-to-face, mouth-to-mouth with God.
1 Corinthians 13:13TPT Until then, there are three things that remain: faith, hope, and love—yet love surpasses them all. So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.
1 Corinthians 13:13AMP And now there remain: faith [abiding trust in God and His promises], hope [confident expectation of eternal salvation], love [unselfish love for others growing out of God’s love for me], these three [the choicest graces]; but the greatest of these is love.
You can't improve upon those three words, “I love you.” They're better than, “You're great.” Much better than, “Happy birthday!” Or, Congratulations or, You're special.”
Several years ago, author Smiley Blanton put it in his book, “Life really does boil down to love or perish. Without love, hopes perish. Without love, dreams and creativity parish. Without love, families and churches parish. Without love, friendships parish. Without love, the intimacies of romance parish. Without love, the desire to go on living can parish.”
To love and be loved is the bedrock of our existence. Jonathan Edwards states, “Heaven will be the place for the expression of nothing but perfect love toward God and each other.”
Looking farther back from today’s text, Paul writes in, 1 Corinthians 13:1TPT If I were to speak with eloquence in earth’s many languages, and in the heavenly tongues of angels, yet I didn’t express myself with love, my words would be reduced to the hollow sound of nothing more than a clanging cymbal.
I want us to look deeper into that word—love, used in 1 Corinthians 13:1.
The Aramaic word for ‘love’ is hooba, and it is a homonym that also means “to set on fire.” It is difficult to fully express the meaning of this word and translate it into English. You could say the Aramaic concept is “burning love” or “fiery love,” coming from the inner depths of the heart as an eternal energy, an active power of bonding hearts and lives in secure relationships.
The Greek word is agape, which describes the highest form of love. It is the love God has for his people. It is an intense affection that must be demonstrated. It is a loyal, endless, and unconditional commitment of love. Feelings are attached to this love. It is not abstract, but devoted to demonstrating the inward feelings of love toward another with acts of kindness and benevolence.
God agapes you, 24-7. His love is endless.
This is what the Apostle Paul stated about God’s love. Romans 8:38-39TPT So now I live with the confidence that there is nothing in the universe with the power to separate us from God’s love. I’m convinced that his love will triumph over death, life’s troubles, fallen angels, or dark rulers in the heavens. There is nothing in our present or future circumstances that can weaken his love. 39 There is no power above us or beneath us—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God’s passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!
Gary Ezzo says that one of the problems with families today is that the husband and wife join hands to form a family circle and then a child comes along and they place the child in the center with the husband and wife still forming the circle but now everything revolves around the child. Then a second child comes and that child is also placed in the circle. And now everything revolves around the two children. And as the family becomes larger the center becomes so big that the hands of the father and mother are pulled apart and the circle is broken. He says what we must do is form the circle but with Jesus Christ in the center. Then as each child is born, they join hands with mom and dad to make the circle bigger. And the result is that the circle is never broken as long as Jesus Christ is the center.
Here’s 4 ways to show love.
Prayer.
Prayer brings closeness; Prayer binds the devil.
Matthew 5:44TPT However, I say to you, love your enemy, bless the one who curses you, do something wonderful for the one who hates you, and respond to the very ones who persecute you by praying for them.
Intercessory prayer can be defined as loving our neighbors on our knees.
2. The second way to show love is, time. Time is precious.
Listen to the words of Jesus, on the subject of time, love and investment:
Matthew 18:12-14TPT Think of it this way: If a man owns a hundred sheep and one lamb wanders away and is lost, won’t he leave the ninety-nine grazing the hillside and thoroughly search for the one lost lamb? 13 And if he finds his lost lamb, he rejoices over it, more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 Now you should understand that it is never the desire of your heavenly Father that a single one of these little ones should be lost.”
Jesus has an investment in you.
Jesus loves you.
Jesus is for you.
3. The third way to show love in by communicating.
When you ask questions it speaks love.
Communication is defined like this: To share or exchange information, News, or ideas.
Don’t just tell your kids, “Love ya.” Say, “You know what, I love you.”
4. The fourth and final way to show love is by our actions.
Words can be cheap, but what is even cheaper is, no words or actions.
Act on your word—If you don’t, The Bible states, “That you are a double-minded man unstable in all his ways.
Let your yes be yes, and your no, no.
Luke 10:25-28TPT Just then a religious scholar stood before Jesus in order to test his doctrines. He posed this question: “Teacher, what requirement must I fulfill if I want to live forever in heaven?” 26 Jesus replied, “What do you read in the Law? How do you understand it?” 27 The religious scholar answered, “It states, ‘You must love the Lord God with all your heart, all your passion, all your energy, and your every thought. And you must love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
28 Jesus said, “That is correct. Now go and do exactly that and you will live.”
1 Corinthians 13:1-8a If I were to speak with eloquence in earth’s many languages, and in the heavenly tongues of angels, yet I didn’t express myself with love, my words would be reduced to the hollow sound of nothing more than a clanging cymbal.2 And if I were to have the gift of prophecy with a profound understanding of God’s hidden secrets, and if I possessed unending supernatural knowledge, and if I had the greatest gift of faith that could move mountains, but have never learned to love, then I am nothing.3 And if I were to be so generous as to give away everything I owned to feed the poor, and to offer my body to be burned as a martyr, without the pure motive of love, I would gain nothing of value. 4 Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance. 5 Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense. 6 Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong. 7 Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up. 8a Love never stops loving.
In closing, If you live by those simple words, “I love you.” Really believe in those words in a two-fold way:
God loves you, there’s nothing you can do to make Him not love you.
We are to love ourselves and love others. No exceptions.
Benediction.
