EXCELLENT!
I Corinthians 13:1-7
S: Spiritual gifts and love
C: Love is the priority
Th: Live the Difference
Pr: LIVE THE EXCELLENT WAY.
?: What? What is it?
KW: Contrast
TS: We will find in our study of I Corinthians 13:1-7 the contrast between love and spiritual gifts that help us to live the excellent way.
The _____ aspect of the contrast is…
I. SPIRITUAL GIFTS DON’T DO IT (1-3).
II. LOVE DOES IT (4-7)
PA: How is the change to be observed?
Version: ESV
RMBC 03 October 04 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Notebook: Christlikeness -- Passion Play (Newland)
Have you heard the story about the actor who was playing the part of Jesus in the Passion Play?
As he carried the cross up the hill, a tourist began heckling, making fun of him, and shooting insults at him. Finally, the actor had taken all he could take. So he threw down the cross, walked over to the tourist, and punched the stuffing out of him.
After the play was over, the director told him, “I know he was a pest, but I can’t condone what you did. Besides, you are playing the part of Jesus, and Jesus never retaliated. So don’t do anything like that again.”
The man promised he wouldn’t. But the next day, the heckler was back and worse than before, and finally the actor exploded and punched him out again.
The director said, “That’s it. I have to fire you. We just can’t have you behaving this way while playing the part of Jesus.”
The actor begged, “Please give me one more chance. I really need this job, and I can handle it if it happens again.
So the director decided to give him one more chance.
The next day, he was carrying his cross up the street. Sure enough, the heckler was there again. You could tell the actor was really trying to control himself, but it was about to get the best of him. He was clinching his fists and grinding his teeth. Finally, he looked at the heckler and said, “I’ll meet you after the resurrection!”
Have you ever found it hard to behave like a Christian?
Sometimes, it is really difficult isn’t it?
It seems to work against our natural instincts.
As we continue our study of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, we discover that this was a problem the church was having.
They were Christians.
Paul makes that clear.
But what they were and how they acted didn’t always agree.
Too often, they were anything but Christlike.
TRANSITION:
An area of concern, we discovered in the 12th chapter was spiritual gifts.
Now as we learned during this past month…
1. Spiritual gifts are for everyone.
As a reminder…
Spiritual gifts are special abilities distributed by the Holy Spirit to every believer according to God’s design and grace for the common good of the body of Christ.
Again…
They are given to every believer.
They find their source in God Himself.
They are to be used for the common good.
And they promote interdependence by building and supporting the body of believers.
But in observing the example of the Corinthians, we discover this…
2. Having spiritual gifts doesn’t make you spiritual.
You see…
It is easier to have all the right belief than to be loving.
It is easier to be active in church work than to be loving.
The Corinthians had the gifts of the Spirit in plenty, but they seemed to lack an application of the fruit of the Spirit.
And, when you consider the list of the fruit in Galatians 5, you will note that the first one on the list is love.
They didn’t lack in any gift, but they were terribly deficient when it came to the fruit.
So, when we come to the end of chapter 12, Paul points them beyond their obsession with spiritual experiences.
There was something deeper.
They needed to…
3. LIVE THE EXCELLENT WAY (12:31).
Last week, I discussed with you what I believe to be a more accurate and appropriate translation of verse 31.
The words in the parenthesis are the ones I have changed from the ESV’s translation.
(You) earnestly desire the higher gifts. (But) I will show you a still more excellent way.
Well, I have already clued you in on the more excellent way.
It is agape.
It is love in its perfect sense.
It is the way God loves us.
So…
4. We will find in our study of I Corinthians 13:1-7 the contrast between love and spiritual gifts that help us to live the excellent way.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first aspect of the contrast is SPIRITUAL GIFTS DON’T DO IT (1-3).
[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.
1. Tongues can be a lot of noise.
Now, I have explained earlier that the gift of tongues is the gift of language that is not known by its speaker, but is understood by someone within its hearing.
It is a gift that can be and is to be controlled.
The Corinthians, however, misapplied the gift.
They apparently believed they had entered into some kind of angelic existence.
This explains their rejection of sexual life as seen in chapter 7.
It explains their special interest in wisdom and knowledge.
It explains their distortions of belief about life after death in chapter 15.
What was happening in the church at Corinth is that those who were gifted with this particular ability were communicating superiority.
They believed they were speaking the language of angels.
But Paul says that even if they are able to speak with angelic eloquence, their spirituality lacked the primary evidence of the Spirit.
They lacked agape.
And because they lacked love, they were not building the community.
Paul uses the illustration of the big gong that was placed at the entrance of pagan temples.
As people came to worship, the gong was sounded to awaken the gods.
But Paul compares the use of this inappropriate use of this gift as an empty hollow reverberation that is nothing better than babble and meaningless jibberish.
As Paul moves on here, he communicates that…
2. We can be full of hot air.
Paul uses a series of gifts that are based on knowledge which reminds us of what he has communicated earlier, that knowledge easily leads to arrogance.
This means that knowledge-based gifts are ugly and unproductive when love is missing.
You see, you can know everything there is to be known about philosophy, psychology, and theology, but if there is no agape, it’s worthless.
Even if you have all the faith in the world, Paul says, without love, it isn’t worth a thing.
Not only that…
3. Even sacrifice can come up empty.
We can give everything we have, and still not get it right.
You see, we can give from a legalistic obligation, that is, we give because we have to instead of wanting to.
We can give because we desire recognition and praise.
We can give because we feel guilty.
As great as sacrifice is…
As great as the gift of giving is…
Without love, it is worthless.
In fact, even if I am willing to suffer, even to the point of death, if I do it without agape, it is empty.
There is nothing more important for the Christian than love.
This brings us to…
II. The second aspect of the contrast is LOVE DOES IT (4-7).
Now we find out what agape is really all about…
[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.
1. Love can wait.
Agape is patient.
It knows how to hold back and wait.
Love has no need to retaliate.
ILL Notebook: Patience – Ingersoll (MacArthur, p. 338)
Robert Ingersoll, the well-known atheist of the last century, often would stop in the middle of his lectures against God and say, “I’ll give God five minutes to strike me dead for the things I’ve said.” He then used the fact that he was not struck dead as proof that God did not exist. Theodore Parker said of Ingersoll’s claim, “And did the gentleman think he could exhaust the patience of the eternal God in five minutes?”
Along with that…
2. Love is considerate.
Agape is kind.
It is active goodwill.
Love is useful, serving, and gracious.
Love is generous in spirit.
Next…
3. Love is satisfied with what it has.
Agape does not envy.
It does not want what someone else has.
It does not wish that someone doesn’t have what they already have.
Love refuses to be caught in rivalries.
It stays above them always wanting the best for everyone involved.
And…
4. Love is not on parade.
Agape does not boast.
It will not behave as a braggart.
It does not say, “See what I am!”
It does not say, “See what I did!”
ILL NotebooK: Humility – Carey (MacArthur, p. 343)
William Carey, often referred to as the father of modern missions, was a brilliant linguist, responsible for translating parts of the Bible into no fewer than 34 different languages and dialects. He had been raised in a simple home in England and in his early manhood worked as a cobbler. In India, he often was ridiculed for his “low” birth and former occupation. At a dinner party one evening, a snob said, “I understand, Mister Carey, that you once worked as a shoemaker.” “Oh no, your lordship,” Carey replied, “I was not a shoemaker, only a shoe repairman.”
Love does not speak in a conceited way.
It does not think too highly of oneself.
Along with this…
5. Love is big-hearted, not big-headed.
Agape is not arrogant.
It is not puffed up.
It is not into contention.
It does not put others down.
For…
6. Love has manners.
Agape is not rude.
It does not behave shamefully or disgracefully.
It is not careless, overbearing, or crude.
ILL personal
You know, I am not a great example of agape love by any means.
For example…
It wasn’t so long ago that I was driving down Main St. And someone pulled out in front of me, causing me to slam on my breaks. Needless to say, I wasn’t too happy with this nut of a driver who can’t see traffic coming.
Anyway, I became, what my wife likes to call, an aggressive driver. I was mad. Because not only did this person pull out in front of me, they were slower than molasses. So, I was right on their tail.
Finally, the time came for them to turn. But I wasn’t all that happy about their turning. Do you know why? They turned into the same place I was going … the church parking lot!
You know, when you are rude, you forfeit your opportunity to be heard.
When you demand your rights or demand better service, you lose a hearing.
Love is never rude.
And…
7. Love is not preoccupied with self.
Agape does not insist on its own way.
It is not enamored with self-gain.
It isn’t always worried about self-justification.
It doesn’t have to prove itself.
It is content in the service of others.
Next…
8. Love keeps anger in check.
Agape is not irritated.
It is not easily provoked into ungodly reactions.
It is not easily provoked into unholy action and activity.
It never lets itself be controlled by anger.
And in turn…
9. Love knows how to forgive.
Agape is not resentful.
It does not keep records about mistakes people have made.
It does not try to settle and even the score.
It absolutely does not devise evil against someone else.
Someone has suggested that love does not forgive and forget, but rather remembers and still forgives…and I think there might be something to that.
Along with this, contrary to popular opinion…
10. Love is not tolerant.
Agape does not rejoice in wrongdoing.
Because, love understand that the only thing that sin does to someone is harm them.
This means that to really love a person is to hate their sin.
Love does not tolerate evil, because what people believe affects their souls and their eternal destinies.
So it doesn’t bend on truth, instead love rejoices in it.
Joy surrounds truth.
Next we find that…
11. Love comes alongside to support.
Agape bears all things.
You see, there is nothing love can’t face.
No matter how difficult the situation, it is able to make a stand for the good.
It is able to protect others from exposure, ridicule, and harm.
ILL Notebook: Support – here’s the church
After an accident in which she lost her arm, Jamie refused to go to school or church for an entire year. Finally, the young teen thought she could face her peers. In preparation, her mother called her Sunday School teacher and asked that he not call attention to Jamie. The teacher promised, but when he got sick on Sunday and had to call a substitute, he forgot to tell him about Jamie.
At the conclusion of the lesson that day, which was about inviting friends to church, the substitute led the class in doing the hand motions to the familiar children’s poem:
Here’s the church;
Here’s the steeple;
Open the doors;
See all the people.
Jamie’s eyes filled with tears. But a 13-year-old boy realized how she must be feeling. He knelt beside her. With one hand a piece, they supported each other, making the church, steeple and people.
So, agape bears all things…
And it believes as well, for…
12. Love trusts.
Agape believes all things.
This does not mean it is gullible, but what it does mean that it has confidence.
Love doesn’t prepare for the person to do something wrong.
It is not suspicious of the motivation of another believer.
Instead, it is a harbor of trust.
And even when that trust is broken (because that does happen), love’s first reaction is to heal and restore.
And…
13. Love holds on.
Agape hopes all things.
It never loses hope.
And when things look bad (because sometimes it does look bad), love refuses to take failure as final.
It looks for the spiritual good in all situations.
Finally…
14. Love just does not stop.
Agape endures all things.
It is tenacious and has great staying power.
The term Paul uses here is a military term, communicating that love will hold that last and vital position.
It will just not give up, because to do so will mean certain loss.
I like how John MacArthur describes this final verse:
“Love bears what otherwise is unbearable; it believes what otherwise is unbelievable; it hopes in what otherwise is hopeless; and it endures when anything less than love would give up.”
So, as we have gone through this list, how did you do?
Does it describe you?
None of us can be perfect demonstraters of an agape type of love, but we had better be working to do it better…right?
APPLICATION:
Paul’s warning in these verses is so clear to us.
Again, as John MacArthur has said…
1. “The loveless person produces nothing, is nothing and gains nothing.” (John MacArthur)
I think that accurately reinforces Paul’s point.
You see…
Every one of us here can appear to be spiritual.
We can be surrounded by religious trappings.
But it is meaningless if there is no love.
You know, through the years, we have heard some unintelligent lines about love in music.
Like…
“What’s love got to do with it?
What’s love but a second-hand emotion?”
or
“I can’t help falling in love with you.”
or
“You’ve lost that loving feeing.”
and
“I love you. Please tell me your name.”
This understanding of love is so deficient.
People seem to think that you fall in love like you fall into a ditch.
People think you fall out of love like you fall out of a tree.
But that kind of thinking is not even close to agape.
2. Agape is the excellent way!
You know what makes agape a self-sacrificing love?
It is the will to act.
It is not a feeling.
It is a determined act of the will.
It is commitment of the grandest kind.
And it is the kind of commitment we are to have with one another.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Live the excellent way!
Love one another as He has loved us.
RESOURCES:
Blomberg, Craig, The NIV Application Commentary
Fee, Gordon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament
MacArthur, John, I Corinthians
Sermoncentral:
Spiritual Gifts and Love, Gary Bennett
Living Large in Love, Joel Smith
Substitutes for Love, Chris Talton
The Most Excellent Way, Melvin Newland
Growing Up Into the Truth, Joe Harding
Team Spirit, Rick Theissen
Uncommon Love, A. Todd Coget
