Steve Zeisler delves into the Biblical teaching of love. It's definitely
worth the time to read it. 'Nuff said.
May God bless,
Carl
website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
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THE SUPREMACY OF LOVE
by Steve Zeisler
Every generation has its quota of adventurers who set out to discover a
way
of escaping the ordinary, the humdrum in life. But, having found what they
sought, many end up with destination sickness, that terrible malady that
afflicts those who discover that what once held out so much promise failed
to bring fulfillment after all. Instead of filling the void, the conquest
left the heart as empty and lacking as ever. In this study we will
encounter
a uniquely Christian form of destination sickness.
In chapters 12-14 of 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul challengers his
readers
to realize that they have special capacities-gifts bestowed by the Holy
Spirit-that qualify them to meet needs, build up the body of Christ, and
extend the kingdom of God. Paul is actually calling the Corinthians to an
adventure. That is what the Christian life is meant to be. However, our
calling into Christian service must be loving. If it is not, like the
destination-sick secular man, we may find that great effort and apparent
success have not accomplished anything.
Listen to these opening words of 1 Corinthians 13:
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I
have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of
prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all
faith,
so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I
give
all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be
burned,
but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is
kind,
and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, love does not
act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take
into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but
rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things.
FIVE KINDS OF CALLING
Five times in these opening verses the word "if" is used of five
categories
of endeavor. In every generation, men and women with gifts of the Spirit
have set off down these five paths to serve God, often forgetting that the
heavenly evaluation at the end of things does not concern the extent of
the
accomplishment, but the quality of love shown along the way. Let us
consider
these:
1. Miracles
"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I
have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal," says the apostle. It is
God
who gives the gifts of tongues and the interpretation of tongues (I would
include in this category other "supernatural" gifts-healings, miracles,
etc.), and he expects them to be used in his service. Paul will say later,
"I speak in tongues more than anyone." These gifts therefore are im****tant
elements of God's plan for his church. But they are capable of creating a
"cause" mentality that will divide Christians, and result in arrogance and
superficiality. Here, Paul is referring to the passion to over-leap the
rational and touch God. Tongues bypass the human mind, according to 14:14:
"If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful." Many
Christians experience a longing for undiluted interaction with God; that
which is not mediated by rational thought-i.e. learning something about
the
nature, purpose, or actions of God-in which he will do miraculous,
unexpected things, overturning, changing, and allowing expression that is
unpredictable. God gives such gifts and grants such experience, but if
they
become a cause, they can lead to division and lovelessness.
2. Knowledge
"And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all
knowledge;... There are other spiritual gifts (often encountered here at
Peninsula Bible Church) that can lead to other kinds of useless endeavor.
It
is possible to be so entranced by the love of studying the Scriptures, to
see what they reveal, codifying the truth of God, marveling at the
coherence
and the wisdom of the depth of the ideas of God, and the prophetic
announcement of the truth, that people are stepped on along the way.
"Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies," said the apostle earlier.
Arrogance
is one of the frequent companions of the love of knowledge. It is wrong
for
Christians to feel exalted because of what they know. Certain churches,
communities, groups and causes rally around knowledge, preaching,
information, ideas, and they are loveless and worthless as a result.
3. Vision
"And if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love,
I
am nothing." The gift of faith is the gift of being a visionary, one who
can
see what God is doing in the big picture and acting upon that. But some
are
so entranced by the big picture that they are willing to fudge and lie and
disregard ordinary people in their rush to see their plans implemented.
Some
people are filled with dreams and energy and cannot help but see and
respond
to the longing to evangelize, teach, feed or uplift the whole world in one
generation. Because these gifts demand energy, vast organizations are
called
into being and high-tech mobilizations are planned. Misrepresentation is
excused because of the critical nature of the ministry. But Paul says that
"love does not rejoice in unrighteousness but in the truth." If the gift
of
faith runs out of control, it can be as loveless as any other gift.
4. Mercy
"And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor..." Some Christians
feel
closest to God when they are meeting the needs of the dispossessed and the
suffering. Those who hear the cries of the poor and get caught up in
meeting
those needs so much so that they have forgotten love also can become
pushy,
arrogant and self-righteous. They can look down their noses on those who
do
not feel as they do. They can forget the inner lives of others so burdened
are they to meet the needs of the body. They too can reject brothers and
sisters who do not see things as they do.
5. Fire
"...and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it
profits
me nothing." Here, Paul is referring to people who strike off on their own
in utter rejection of compromise of any kind. This speaks of a tendency
towards martyrdom. In the same way that a fever can burn up a body, this
kind of spiritual singlemindedness can produce lives bent on a unique
wor****p or an active service that is bright, intense and consuming. People
like this might go out into the desert and live lonely lives in an attempt
to create a wor****p or an obedience to God that is extraordinary. They
burn
themselves out, spending themselves in some act of dedication. But that
too
can be accomplished selfishly and in disregard of others. And if it is, it
is useless.
In this section then, Paul lists five causes, possibilities, open doors
that
our gifts might lead us toward. These are things in which we may discover
ourselves to be useful: the miraculous, the knowledgeable, the visionary,
the concern for the poor, the martyr's brilliance. They are all capable of
drawing us out of ourselves and yet may be accomplished without love and
be
useless as a result. Having arrived at our destination, we discover that
we
have accomplished nothing.
If love is so im****tant then, how do we define love? If love must be
present
in order for our gifts to be pleasing in service to God, what is it? In
the
remaining verses of the chapter, Paul lists the characteristics of love.
It
is im****tant here to see how concrete is the apostle's description of
love.
He is not speaking about the theoretical, but the active-how love acts and
what it does. Love is an element of your character that can be developed.
Love is a choice that you make, not just an idea that you assent to.
MISUNDERSTANDING LOVE
Let us first look at how the word "love" is used in our day, ways that
bear
no resemblance to the things mentioned here. Many think love is a physical
act, or at least a romantic feeling. But romantic love often justifies
jealousy, and Paul says that love is not jealous. Romantic love is often
insistent, angry and selfish and feels perfectly justified in being so.
Fraternal, family or community love can be exclusive, self-impressed and
competitive, and thus the opposite of what the apostle speaks of here.
Some
have written recently of the problems of those who "love too much"-parents
who are so solicitous of their children that they do not do the hard
things;
wives who love their husbands too much and are used by them.
Co-dependency,
a term that is in vogue today, refers to how the pathology of one partner
can be fed by the pathology of the other. These observations can be
helpful,
but they are not describing love as we find it in 1 Corinthians 13. The
word
used here, agape, is always offered in strength; a gift from a whole
person,
It is not a response torn from someone who is too weak or confused to do
otherwise.
BEING "OTHER-CENTERED"
Beginning in verse 4, Paul describes agape-the love which comes from God.
Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and
is
not arrogant,
This verse declares first of all that love is "other-centered." We see
this
in what love is not (jealous, bragging, arrogant). The opening
announcement,
"Love is patient," talks about an orientation towards other people. That
word is always used in the New Testament of patience with people, not with
cir***stances. "Love is kind." Kindness requires that you listen
attentively
so that you know what others will receive as an act of kindness. You can
make the same gesture to two people and have it be meaningful in one case
and not at all in the other. If you really want to be kind, you have to
know
the person whom you are trying to reach. A birthday card that has been
mailed to you by a computer on behalf of some company or other is not
nearly
as meaningful as one which has been lovingly and carefully selected by
someone who wants to genuinely wish you a happy birthday.
Love is "other-centered," declares Paul. It is patient, expressed by a
willingness to wait for someone who is not quite as quick as you. You know
why they are burdened and why they cannot go as fast as you. This is a
quality that is really needed in parenting. Children have their own pace
which, generally speaking, is much slower than adults'. But love is
patient
and will wait.
Next, Paul gives three characteristics of the opposite of
"other-centeredness," which is self-centeredness. Love is not
self-centered
in that it "is not jealous, does not brag and is not arrogant." Jealousy
is
a rejection of other people because they have what you do not have.
Braggadocio is a rejection of other people because you have what they do
not
have. And arrogance is to be so inflated with self-im****tance so as not to
notice others at all. Love is none of those things. On the contrary, love
is
patient and kind.
NOT SELF-INDULGENT
Verses 5, 6 and 7 point up the contrast between self-indulgence and a
willingness to sustain others. Love is not self-indulgent. Love does not
give itself the right to pout and act irresponsibly and selfishly. Love is
not committed to pampering itself. There are four characteristics of
self-indulgence in verse 5. Love does not act "unbecomingly," i.e.
gracelessly or crudely. Rudeness and crudeness are acts of
self-indulgence.
If you do not take the time to understand the sensibilities of those
around
you, you are being self-indulgent. Love "does not seek its own," says
Paul.
Self-indulgent people are always looking out for themselves. They are
always
at the front of the line, making sure they get first choice, seeking their
own advantage. Love is not "provoked." If you give yourself the right to
fly
off the handle, to yell and scream and push people around, you are being
self-indulgent. You are refusing to control what is in your power to
control
and you are making others miserable. Love is not provoked but rather
restrains itself. Love "does not take into account a wrong suffered." Love
is not vengeful; it does not look for a way to pay back and hurt someone.
How does love reject self-indulgence? Love "does not rejoice in
unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes
all
things, hopes all things, endures all things." What gives you joy are the
things that resonate the deepest inside, not the surface reaction but the
deep reaction. If the love of Christ is present, then you will not rejoice
when unrighteousness gains a brilliant attraction. It means you are
committed to the truth; that you will not let lies be part of the process.
Then we are told in verse 7 about the staying power of love. Love does not
indulge for the moment but is there for the long haul. It "bears all
things." It does not give up and quit. It does not cancel out others after
a
few failures.
And love "believes all things." It does not assume that the bad motives of
an individual cannot be done away with but continues to hope for and
believe
in people when it would be easy to quit, even when they have stopped
believing in themselves. And love "hopes all things." Love insists that
the
outcome is going to be of Christ. It refuses to despair, to let hard times
take away its belief that God will triumph. Lastly, love "endures all
things." It does not crumble under stress.
These characteristics I take to be the opposite of self-indulgence. They
are
part of the long commitment to see things through until the end, not the
momentary gratification of some surface intent.
THE GREATNESS OF LOVE
Verse 8 begins a description of the greatness of love:
Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done
away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it
will
be done away with. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when
the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with. When I was a child,
I
used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I
became
a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly,
but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully
just
as I have also been fully known. But now abide faith, hope, love, these
three; but the greatest of these is love.
"Love never fails," i.e. it never ceases to be valuable; it never outlives
its usefulness. Spiritual gifts do, however. They reach a point when they
are no longer needed. We are given gifts and we are told to use them in
the
service of the Lord. We are made to serve the body of Christ as a hand, an
ear, or an eye. We have a calling and it is exciting. But eventually our
gifts will not be needed anymore. Paul gives a couple of ways to think
about
the eventual demise of our spiritual gifts. In one case, he says, "when
the
perfect comes," i.e. when the complete comes the partial will no longer be
needed. We prophesy only in part now; we are not capable of knowing all
truth, but when the complete comes there will no longer be need for the
partial.
Have you ever tried to find a place using poorly drawn directions? You may
get part of the way, but that is all. Once I took a group of young women
to
a volleyball tournament in another city. The directions were very vague,
so
vague that if we had not found another driver to follow, we would never
have
arrived at our destination. But if all you had was an incomplete map, as
soon as someone gave you a detailed map you would throw the incomplete one
away.
Another way in which we could think of spiritual gifts not being required
anymore is to compare the childish with the mature: "When I was a child, I
acted as a child," etc. But on growing up, becoming mature, I no longer
act
childishly. Our wonderful singers and musicians who ministered to us this
morning did not have the same degree of skill when they were children.
Spiritual gifts are like that, says Paul. They testify to the presence and
the knowledge of Christ and to the plan of salvation. But there is coming
a
day when Jesus himself will fill the horizon and no more testimony to him
will be needed. When the mature is there, the immature is no longer
needed.
What is being suggested here is that all the things which we are doing in
ministry, valuable as they are, are one day going to be set aside. All of
the things that we construct, all the books that have been written, tapes,
etc., will not be needed because Jesus will be fully present.
If you began reading the Bible in Genesis 1 and continued on reading, one
of
the most startling verses you would come across is Exodus 1:8. You would
first read about creation, then the call of God to Abraham, the
patriarchs,
etc. Then the end of Genesis focuses on the remarkable individual, Joseph,
the son of Jacob, who graduated from prison and slavery to become the
right
hand man of Pharaoh. He ruled the world, saved thousands from starvation,
and brought his own brothers to repentance and to humility before God.
Joseph was a man of extraordinary power, influence, and personal
magnetism.
He was loved by all, believer and unbeliever alike. But Exodus 1:8
declares
that there came upon the scene a Pharaoh who did not remember Joseph, the
very man who had dominated the world stage in his day. Eventually a ruler
came along who did not remember him or his influence at all. In Joseph's
own
generation he loved those who did not love him and their lives were
changed
by his love. They repented of their sins and they will live forever.
Joseph
cared for his brothers, for his fellow-prisoners, for his employers and
for
Pharaohs, all of whom were hard to love. But his fabulous accomplishments
were forgotten.
THE THINGS THAT LAST FOREVER
The same will be true of us. Whatever we get done in this church, all the
plans we make, the additions and corrections to the minutes, the files,
all
of the things which for the moment are appropriate and useful, will not be
needed one day. But whether or not we love one another; whether or not
lives
were touched in the Lord's name; whether we refused to be arrogant but
were
committed to the truth; and demonstrated patience and kindness; refused to
be jealous or indulge ourselves and rejoiced in the truth; those things
will
last forever. They will always be useful.
Do you see the contrast between the first three verses and the last two
verses of this chapter? The word "nothing" dominates the opening verses.
All
of the pursuits and results which Paul mentions there come to nothing:
cymbals, gongs, useless mountains of information, lives burned out with
enthusiasm, faith which creates great enterprises, all amount to nothing.
But at the end of the chapter we discover what will last forever: "faith,
hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love."
In closing, we should look carefully at verse 12. Throughout this chapter,
love is described in terms of its qualities and characteristics. We can
clearly test ourselves as to whether love is filling our experience or
not.
But in verse 12 we see another critical component to our understanding of
Christian love, and that is that love essentially is knowledge of a
Person,
knowledge by a Person. "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to
face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have
been fully known." Looking through an opaque piece of glass we see a
Person
on the other side. Ultimately, love comes from Jesus Christ who knows us
fully, and we are growing in knowledge of him. All we have now is partial
information but that is enough to sustain us; it is enough to help us be
loving men and women even now.
Think of a soldier who must be separated from his wife and family for long
periods of time. All he has to remind him of his loved ones is a
photograph
of them, a two-dimensional representation of them. But that is enough to
keep him praying for them, help him choose purity rather than sin, and
make
him act responsibly toward them. But the day inevitably comes when he will
be face to face with his beloved.
What we have now as believers is the Person we see only dimly. We see
enough
of him to know how to live. We have been changed by him enough so as to
act
lovingly in the use of our gifts. But the day is coming when we shall know
him as he knows us. Love comes from a relation****p which we have with a
Person. And love will last forever. But three things remain: "faith, hope,
love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
WHEN THE SON OF MAN COMES
In Matthew 25, Jesus refers to the end of everything and talks about the
day
when the mature will replace the childish, when the complete will replace
the partial, when the opaque screen will be done away with, when we will
see
everything as clearly as it can be seen. Here is what he says, beginning
in
verse 31:
"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him,
then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be
gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on
His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on
His
right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared
for you from the foundation of the world."
And what will he speak to them about from his glorious throne? Will he
speak
of theology, of the brilliant analysis of the truth, of the hospitals and
the cathedrals that were built, of the computer banks that were dedicated
to
his service? No, he will not speak of any of those things. Here is what he
will refer to:
"'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and
you
gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ****d, and you
clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came
to
Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see
you
hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give you drink? And when did we see
You a stranger, and invite You in, or ****d, and clothe You? And when did
we
see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and
say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of
these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
The Lord will not refer to the enterprise you were involved in but to the
individuals along the way whom you had the op****tunity to love. You could
have treated them with arrogance but you did not; you might have
disregarded
or been jealous of others. The truth you told, the righteousness in which
you rejoiced, those with whom you bore and believed and hoped, all of the
op****tunities along the way, those are the things he will speak to us
about.
But three things remain: "faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest
of these is love."
Copyright © 1988 Discovery Publi****ng, a ministry of Peninsula Bible
Church.
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