The Foundation: Real Love Series

1Co 13:1 ¶ Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Building Great Relationships:

The Necessity of Love in Relationships (I Cor. 13:1-3)

A few weeks ago, people on the radio and television couldn’t let 5 minutes pass without talking about Britney Spears and her shocking marriage to Jason Alexander, a childhood friend. The questions were debated back and forth:

□ was this a joke that went too far?

□ did they really love each other?

□ would the marriage last?

The questions were (mostly) answered 55 hours later, when the marriage was officially annulled. In fact, I have a copy of the annulment papers that I located on the internet. (*www.thesmokinggun.com) [Hold them up – they will become a symbol of what I’m going to call “Britney-love”.]

Now the story is circulating that Ms. Spears might have paid Jason Alexander $500,000 to annul the marriage. (Let’s see, that adds up to a little over $10,000 PER HOUR!)

Contrast that with:

My parents - Married for 25 years, both of them their first marriage.

My grandparents on my mom’s side - about 60 years, first marriage

My grandparents on my dad’s side - 60 years, first marriage.

I know, some of you probably look at me like. . . OK, you’ve been married for 1 ½ years. What do you know about love and marriage? Well, I haven’t been married for very long – but I come from a family history of committed, happy marriages, and I’ve learned quite a bit from watching them.

I’ve also learned a good bit from the One who designed marriage. . . the One who first said, “It is not good that man should be alone...” I’ve read and studied his MANUAL extensively, and everything I share with you will be based, NOT on what I think, but on what God thinks.

THE FOUR LOVES:

This month, we’re going to be looking into I Corinthians 13, what is commonly called the “Love Chapter”. It’s called that because the word “LOVE” is used 8 times in this chapter.

Now here’s an interesting fact I want to share with you. Did you know that the word we call “love” in English is actually translated from four different Greek words for love.

I want to mention this, because I want to show you the difference between the “God” kind of love , and the “Britney Spears” kind of love.

Let me write these four words here on the board:

- Storge (STOR-gay)

- Philos (PHIL-ahs)

- Eros (ER-ahs)

- Agape (a-GAH-pay)

What do these words mean? Well, here’s the breakdown:

- Storge - Parent-child love.

- Philos - (Comes from the same root as the Philadelphia - the City of “Brotherly Love”) This is a friend-friend love.

- Eros - (comes from the same root as “erotic”) it’s sexual attraction.

- Agape - means unconditional love. Love without expecting to be repaid. Love because it’s the right thing to do.

Guess which one the Bible uses for this whole chapter?? You’re right! AGAPE! Now, there’s nothing WRONG with the other kinds of love. . . they’re all great in their own proper time and proper context. But the other kinds of love are NOT what long-term, built-to-last relationships are built on!

- Nothing wrong with having friends. . .

- Nothing wrong with loving your kids. . . (you better!)

- Nothing wrong with being sexually attracted to your wife. . . (you should be!)

- But it’s AGAPE that long-term relationships are built on.

When it comes to building your marriage, these kinds here are “Britney-love” . . . only Agape - unconditional love is “God-love”.

Let me ask you for feedback:

- Approximately 50% of marriages today end in divorce. WHY IS THAT?

<[Feedback]>

You know what all these reasons come down to? They tried to build their marriage on something other than “God-love” - AGAPE!

Let’s look at the Scriptures today. They give us several things that we can’t afford to build our relationships on: