January 15, 2023

Better things to come – ‘the greatest is love’

Preacher:
Series:
Passage: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13, 1 John 4:7-19
Service Type:

Introduction

  • It is possible to strive for the wrong thing
    • Example of a footballer
    • The Corinthian Church was striving for the wrong thing
    • Many were seeking spiritual gifts as an end in their selves
  • Reading 1 Cor 13:8-13
  • The Corinthian Church had a misplaced love
    • It was striving after the wrong things - spiritual gifts
    • Many felt they had 'arrived' because of these gifts
    • There was rivalry amongst them
    • There was discension
    • There was jealously
    • The gifts of the Holy Spirit were being abused
  • Paul had to correct them
    • v1 - without love I am like an annoying alarm!
    • v2 - without love, faith is useless
    • v3 - without love, I do not benefit
  • Chapter 13 - comes before chapter 14
    • Before they can think about use of the gifts
    • You must remember that love is the most important thing
  • Overview:
    • Realisations the limitations of the Gifts (v8-9)
    • Better things are to come (v10-12)
    • Keep faith, hope and love central (v13)

Realisations the limitations of the Gifts (v8-9)

  • In many charismatic the height of spiritual gifts is to speak in tongues, to prophecy or give a word of knowledge
    • Such experiences are a proof of God's power at work
  • The Corinthian church had gifts of tongues, prophecy and miracles - yet it was an immature and carnal church (1:3-4)
    • There was a disproportionate emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit
  • The early church saw the gifts of the Holy Spirit as aids
    • They were living at a time when there was no bible - there was some early letters and later the gospels
    • So God gave them prophets and tongues to edify the people
      • (Tongues should not be used unless there was an interpretator)
    • God gave them words of knowledge, perhaps into the Old Testament
    • The goal was to edify the church in love
      • Not to give individuals a fuzzy sense of the power of God
    • These gifts will all fail (v8), but love will never fail
  • We must acknowledge the limitations in our experience
    • We are not promised heaven on earth
      • We may know 'touches'
      • We have struggles, pain, sickness, difficulty, struggle, sin, failure
      • We are to live holy lives and fight against sin
    • If anyone excelled in tongues (1 Cor 14), understood the deep wisdom of God, or had deep spiritual experiences (2 Cor 11-12) - it was Paul
      • Yet he said we only know in part (v9)
      • We see dimly but will see in heaven face to face (v12)
      • Paul himself said he not "attained" but pressed on in Christ
  • If any says you are not excelling, remember:
    • The greatest gift we have been given is love
    • Maturity is to know Christ, walk with Him, live in holiness
    • To be humble before God

Better things are to come (v10-12)

  • When is the perfect coming?
    • Some think this verse referred to the completion of the cannon of Scripture
    • The context refers to heaven - when we know Jesus completely and the gifts cease
  • There is a book by Jonathan Edwards entitled Charity and its fruits, where a whole chapter speaks about heaven
  • Some think that v11 speaks about maturity and not heaven
    • Eph 4:13 - this happens ultimately in heaven
  • As a Christian - you will go into the immediate presence of Jesus Christ
    • When we comes again, He will raise our bodies from the grave
    • Our body and soul will be united
    • We will be in a glorified state before our Saviour
    • We will know as we have never known before
    • We will be perfect - explanation
    • We will delight in Christ and there will be no jealousy
  • God knows us fully - this can be frightening, but it can aid us
    • One day we shall know Him in a similar way
    • Jonathan Edwards calls heaven as a world of love

Keep faith, hope and love central (v13)

  • Our emphasis in the church is not to be on gifts but love
    • If the emphasis was on gifts, would we not hear about them in every epistle
    • Instead, we hear so much about faith, hope and love
    • Col 1:3-5
    • 1 Thess 1:3
  • Is faith, hope and love central to your Christianity?
    • Challenge
    • These are the marks of holiness
  • The greatest of these is love (v13)
    • Sometimes we can shy away from this word
    • Quote from Jonathan Edwards - "The sum of all holiness is love"
    • Love is not a feeling but demonstrated
    • We are talking about divine love
    • Examples of actions
  • The importance of love
    • Rom 13:8-9
    • Gal 5:14-15
    • Jam 2:8
    • 1 John 3:14-18
  • The greatest is love
    • We must focus on loving God and loving the church family
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