Episode 33 - The Greatest of These

Of all the characteristics God created in us, the one that lasts through eternity, and is therefore the greatest, is love.  In this episode we will look at some of what Paul teaches about this great characteristic.  Like the concept of grace, love was taught and demonstrated by Paul throughout his letters.  

Please join me as we look at this incredible gift.  I published a book about various teachings of Paul. This information about love is part of that book.  If you would like to obtain a copy , please use the link below.  All proceeds from this book go to Bibletalk.TV to help further the gospel of Christ.

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Transcript

Hello friends, I'm your host Dave Laton and welcome to the podcast, Walking With Our Master, an outreach of the Prattville Church of Christ designed to inform, encourage, and teach as we daily walk with our Master. 

 In this episode I want to briefly look at what Paul describes as the greatest gift of all, love.  I want to look at when we express love as God intends, we also help bring true and lasting hope to others.

 In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote,

  "Do not waste your time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor, act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less." 

 Of all the characteristics God created in us, scripture clearly shows love is indeed the greatest.  When we hear of love depicted in the various forms of entertainment it almost always focuses on the type of love tied to physical and romantic feelings.  In some situations, we see it in the strong friendships people have.  Yet again, we see a form of love depicted through unselfish, committed, and willful expressions.  We know these respectively as, “Eros”, Phileo”, and Agape.  Of these three common expressions of love, God teaches us and shows us agape love, or unselfish love.  We know this through the unselfish actions of God to make a way for us to be reunited to Him despite our rejection of Him.  We see it in the life and death of Jesus as He willingly left God and died as a sacrifice for our sins.   Paul teaches us that as disciples of Jesus must demonstrate this same love for others.  Paul lists love as the third part of the triad of core Christian values (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Again, I want to emphasize that when we show the love of Christ to others, they find hope.  Many times a person’s hope is being challenged by life events.  Sometimes all a person needs to is see that others care and seek to help them face the challenges.  And something I’m passionate about is that when we show the love of Jesus to others, we show them that they are not alone.  It is in our demonstration of giving of ourselves that we give hope to others.  Let’s do that every time we have an opportunity.  Let’s be kind and care for others.  You see, sometimes we don’t know that a person is facing challenges to their hope.  

Perhaps one of the most familiar biblical statements about love is found in 1 Corinthians 13.  Paul helps us understand the elements and application of this wonderful gift from God.  Many use this passage at occasions such as weddings and anniversaries.  However, the teaching behind the words goes far beyond the romantic love expressed on those occasions.  To limit this passage to romantic love is to miss the strength, effectiveness, and eternal value of its message. 

Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 13 are teaching about the application of spiritual gifts.  As he begins his thoughts in Chapter 12, apparently some of the Christians in Corinth were looking upon miracles spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues or prophesying as some sort of superior blessing compared to others that had differing gifts.  Paul recognized the danger of pride and disunity behind this mistaken view as he teaches the true purpose and use of spiritual gifts.  As Paul ends chapter 12, he states, “And I will show you a more excellent way.”  He is referring to what he stated about the use of spiritual gifts earlier in the chapter.  He is teaching the Corinthian church not to misuse or improperly use the various miraculous gifts given by the Holy Spirit.  Paul goes on in chapter 14 to explain to the church to use these gifts to glorify God, unify and build up the body of Christ (church), and to be able to teach the gospel.  Paul continues in chapter 15 to remind them that the most important thing, is the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. (1 Corinthians 15:1-11).   It is through that we help others find true and lasting hope.

Some versions of scriptures use the word, “charity” while others use “love” in 1 Corinthians 13.  I like the use of the word charity.  Charity communicates giving, not just financial means, but giving and caring for others.  One of my favorite first century disciples of Jesus is Barnabas.  Barnabas is a perfect example of the kind of love or charity that Paul teaches.  Whenever you see Barnabas in scripture you see him giving.  He gave his financial means, his time, his wisdom, his reputation, and even willing to give his life in service to our Lord and to others.  Barnabas is known as Barnabas, the son of encouragement.  It is through his expressions of love for others that he served to encourage all.

Love is frequently used to describe how we feel on the inside and looks inward.  We also use it to describe such things as affection or something with the qualities we wish for and consider valuable to us.  Charity looks outward to others to see what we can do to improve some aspect of their life, whether we have a relationship, or even desire a relationship with someone.   

 Paul begins chapter 13 by teaching us the value of love/charity (verses 1-3).  He is stating that no matter the spiritual gifts they had, it was of no value if they do not do it in and through love.  For us, although we don’t have miraculous spiritual gifts, we do have gifts granted by God and we must use those to glorify Him.  We can do wonderful things but if we are doing it for selfish reasons, then it is of no value.  Paul uses some graphic expressions to describe this such as making noise (noisy gong or clanging cymbal – vs. 1), I am nothing (vs 2), and I gain nothing (vs. 3).  This closely aligns with the teachings of Jesus found in Matthew 6:1. Jesus warns that if you are doing acts of righteousness (i.e., charitable acts) to be seen by someone, then there is no benefit, especially before God.  This also aligns with Paul’s teachings in Philippians 3:7-12 where he considers everything, he might have had but gave up being of no value compared to his relationship with Jesus.   

In our world today, just as in Paul’s time, some seek personal glory through their great abilities or knowledge, even great faith.  Some look to do great deeds for others but if their motive is to bring glory to self, then these also are of no value.  Paul says that if we are not using our gifts in love, then they are truly of no value.  This misuse is looking towards personal glory rather than using our gifts for the betterment of others and to glorify God.  This also is in line with the teachings of Jesus from Matthew 22:37-39 regarding the two greatest commandments of loving God completely and loving our neighbor as ourselves. 

 Paul makes it clear that if we express our love for the wrong reasons then it has no value.  As a master teacher, he shows us, beginning in 1 Corinthians 13:4, the contrast between what true love is not and what it is.  He states that love is not: 

Envious 

Boastful 

Arrogant 

Rude 

Insisting on one’s own way 

Irritable 

Resentful 

Rejoicing in wrongdoing 

 He then states that love is: 

Patient 

Kind 

Rejoices in truth 

Long suffering in all things (bearing with someone’s shortcomings) 

Believes (trusts) 

Hopeful 

Endures all things 

These teachings by Paul are consistent with what he teaches in Galatians 5:22-23 about the fruit of the spirit.  He explains that we can practice these as much as necessary.  His use of words is; “… against such things there is no law. “

As Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 13, he transitions into the enduring quality of love when other spiritual gifts, especially miraculous gifts, will end.  He shows that as we grow spiritually, so too should our use of gifts given by God.  Yet no matter what the gift, all of these will come to an end except the gift of love.   Paul concludes in verse 13 that the great concepts and gifts from God of faith and hope are lesser than the gift of love.  This is because when our Lord returns, faith and hope will become reality, but love endures forever.

Another reason love is the greatest gift is because it is the character of God (1 John 4:16).  Therefore, if God is eternal, so too is love.  It was through love that God created us and put into place a plan for us to be reconciled to Him (Genesis 3:15).  Paul teaches us that Jesus died for us while we were still in a sinful condition (Romans 5:6-11).  He states that nothing can separate us from the love God has for us through Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).   In love God adopted us as sons (Ephesians 1:5-14).  God expresses His mercy through Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-7).  There are many other examples in scripture that underscore the deep and abiding love God has for us.  

Paul teaches the meaning of love through the life of Jesus.  It is not a matter of feeling but an expression of will, even to love those that hate and reject us.  We manifest that love by our imitation of the character and actions of Jesus.    Paul, the master teacher says to imitate him as he imitates Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1). 

As God has blessed us with various gifts, we must remember to use them to carry the gospel to others, help others grow spiritually, and most of all, to bring glory to God our loving Father. These actions combined demonstrate the love God asks of from us.

Well friends, I'm your host Dave Laton.  Thank you for joining us in this podcast.  I hope you will continue to do so. If you wish to share with me something from your walk with our Master or you would like to learn more, please email me at: walkingwithourmaster@gmail.com.

I invite you to follow our podcast and share it with others as together we walk with our Master.  And until next time, remember, we give all glory to God the Father.