LOVE, OUR GREATEST
GIFT
Hebrews 13:1-3, 1 Cor
13:1-13
This text emphasizes Love.
It focuses on who God is. He is Love. It is not an attribute. It is not
a characteristic. It is who He is.
God wants us to be like Him. The greatest desire of man
should be to be like the Lord.
LOVE IS OUR GOAL
Hebrews 13:1. "Let brotherly love continue."
A. Brotherly Love = philadelphia
1. Let us comfort
and support one another.
2. Let us be one
family and be in unity with one another.
3. Let us support
the welfare of each other.
B. Be careful to remove all impediments to brotherly love.
1. Remove any
jealousy.
2. Remove any envy.
3. Remove any
competition.
4. Remove any
hates.
5. Remove any selfishness.
6. Remove any lust
in the heart.
C. Continue your love.
1. Continue growing
and striving together.
2. Let nothing
hinder your love.
a. Don't let
differences of opinion or ideas destroy togetherness.
b. Don't let
differences of interpretation of doctrine tear you apart.
V.13:2. "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for
thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
A. Be hospitable to strangers.
1. Do it with a
cheerful heart.
2. Do it
willingly.
3. Do it with a humble spirit.
4. Make it our
business and our occupation.
B. Strangers may hold blessing that God has for us.
1. Strangers may
have the answer to that which troubles us.
2. Strangers may
hold the key to doors that are closed to us.
3. Strangers may be
the opportunity to use the gifts that God has given us.
C. Every man coming to Jesus finds friendship, fellowship
and love.
1. We are told that
it is more blessed to give than receive.
2. Abraham received
an angel who blessed him and Sarah with the promise from
God of a future
son.
3. Mary received an
angel who blessed her with the Son of God.
D. Angels are
messengers of God. We never know when they will show up in our
lives.
1. I know a woman
who has a daughter who was born with a skin allergy that caused
her to itch
all the time. Doctors could offer no cure. By chance, she met a woman
that gave her
the solution to the problem. The simple over the counter treatment
cured the
problem. She was at the end of her rope and didn't know what to do. An
angel showed
up with the answer to her prayers.
Hebrews 13:3. "Remember them that are in bonds, as
bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in
the body."
A. Take note of those that are in trouble.
1. But more than
remembering, we must force ourselves to consider their trouble as
our own.
2. If we can feel
their pain we can be moved with compassion to be helpful.
B. We must careful to consider that but by the Grace of God
that their situation is not
ours.
1. It is the
compassion that we have for others that draws us closer together in love.
2. If we suffer in
the heart as others suffer, we can appreciate the God that can bring
about relief.
3. We have a duty
and a responsibility to be constantly in prayer for others.
GIFTS ARE USELESS WITHOUT LOVE
1 Cor 13:1.
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not
charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."
A. Tongues =
gloossais = language of a particular people.
1. Speak= laloo=
emit a voice
2. Charity=
agapeen=affection, good will, benevolence
a. It is used
for the love of God and Christ toward men. John 15:13
b. It is used for the love of men toward God. 1
John 4:21
c. It is used
for the love of men toward men, Rom 13:9
d. This Word
is what God is. God is love. 1 John
4:16-19
B. Though= ean=a
conditional particle, "If"
1. Though is also
a connective particle.
a. In this
case it is connecting verse 13:1 with verse 12:31; "A more excellent
way."
b. Love or
Charity is the better gift.
c. Love should
be pursued first.
b. Love is the
prerequisite to proper use of God's gifts.
2. The apostle
Paul is not saying that there is a gift of the language of angels. He is
saying that
"If" you had that gift it is not better than "Love".
a. Angels are
perfect, therefore their language is more exalted than man.
b. Certainly
they communicate with God to bring a message to man.
c. In all
cases in the Bible where angels spoke to man, they spoke in a language
that man could
understand. Some examples are Abraham,
Jacob, Mary and
Paul.
3. Gifts without
love are useless.
a. The key
issue here is that gifts are given for the love of man, not man for the
love of gifts.
b. God gave us
gifts that they may be used to edify the body of Christ.
c. The use of gifts without love is noise
without focus.
A. Prophecy= profeeteian= prediction, an utterance inspired
by God, to a thing that can
only be known by
divine revelation.
B. "Understand all mysteries"
1. If I could
understand the mysteries of nature and if I could understand what others
cannot
understand, this would be useless without Love.
2. Love causes one
to use one's gifts without being puffed up.
3. Love causes one
to use one's gifts to the benefit of others.
C. "Though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains"
1. It takes a
strong faith to move mountains. I don't think you can have that level of
faith without
love.
a. Jesus had
that kind of faith, but He is Love.
b. Faith
without love is ineffective.
2. It is the love
of God that is the cause of a strong mature faith.
a. It is the
love of your neighbor that puts faith into action.
V:3. "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the
poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it
profiteth me nothing."
A. "Feed the poor"=peoomisoo= to feed
by putting a bit or crumb into the mouth.
1. This would
imply time and tenderness.
2. If this is done
without love, then it is done out of selfish motives.
a. Selfish
motives never pleases God.
B. "Though I
give my body to be burned"
1. Burned =
kaucheesoomai= to glory, for boasting
2. All boasting
about self is selfish.
3. If I get the
glory, God does not get the glory that is due Him.
4. What I do out
of love for others gives God the glory.
5. When God gets
the glory, I get the profit.
WHAT LOVE IS
V:4. "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity
envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up."
A. Love suffers long.
1. Love suffers
the weakness of others.
2. Love suffers
the ignorance of others.
3. Love suffers
the errors of others.
4. Love suffers
the evil of others.
5. Love never
runs out.
B. Love is kind.
1.
Kind=chreesteuetai=gentle, tender, compassionate.
2. Love considers the
needs and position of others.
C. "Love envieth not".
1. Love does not
desire what others have.
2. Love is not
grieved by the possessions of others.
D. Love does not vaunt itself.
1. Vaunteth
itself= perprereuetai= boast, brag, does not desire to be noticed
2. Love is
confident in itself.
3. Love does not
need anybody else to validate it.
E. Love is not puffed up
1. Puffed up = not
inflated
2. Love does not
have an elevated sense of importance.
3. Love is full of
humility.
V:5. "Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her
own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil."
A. "Love does not behave itself unseemly."
1. Love is never
out of place.
a. Love does
not force it's opinions on others.
b. Love does
not force others to do what they have no desire to do. (except as it
relates to
parenting).
2. Love does not
seek its own.
a. Love is not
selfish. Love seeks the welfare of others.
b. Love does
not seek only it's happiness but the happiness of others also.
c. Love does
not just seek its own comfort, but the comfort of others also.
B. Love is not easily provoked.
1. Love does not
sweat the small stuff.
2. Love does not
get bent out of shape because things are not going as planned.
3. Love does not
get upset when others won't take good advice.
4. Love does not
get angry at the evil of others.
C. Love thinks no evil.
1. Love thinks the
best of others even if the best is not evident.
2. Love seeks the
positive qualities of others.
3. Love considers
the good in everybody.
4. Love considers
that we all got issues, and no issues are worst than others.
V.13:6. "Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in
the truth."
A. Love does not find joy in falsehood.
1. Love finds joy
in the truth.
2. Love finds joy
in the Word which is the truth.
B. Love does not
depend on others for the truth.
1. Love seeks the
truth for itself.
2. Love does not
listen to gossip, but waits for the truth to avail itself.
C. Love does not follow unrighteousness.
3. Love seeks the
righteousness of God.
V:7. "Beareth all things,
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."
A. Love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter
4:8
1.
Love over looks certain things.
2. Love bears the evil of others.
3. Love conceals that which needs to be concealed.
4. Love keeps secrets.
B. Love believes all things.
1. Love takes a person at his word until his word is found to be untrue.
2. Love sees a person as he is not by what is said of him.
C. Love hopes all things.
1. Love looks for the best in others.
2. Love expects the best out of others.
3. Love is willing to help others achieve their best.
D. Love endures all things.
1. Love draws its strength from the Lord.
2. Love does not depend on itself.
3. Love depends on God.
LOVE IS PERMENANT
V:8. "Charity never faileth:
but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues,
they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away."
A. Love never fails because the
source of love is not of man but of God.
1. God is love and His love never ceases.
2. God's love is not dependant on man.
3.
Man is the object of God's love.
4. God uses man as a vessel of His love.
5. God has an unlimited number of people He can use to dispense His
love.
6. There are two things that never fail; God's love and God's Word.
B. Prophecies will fail.
1. There will come a time when all the prophecies of God are fulfilled.
2. Those who have the gift of prophecy will see their end in death.
3. In the New Heaven and the New Earth there will be only one event;
praise and worship of the Lord.
C. The gift of tongues (languages
of men) will cease.
1. Even today there is no need for the gift of languages. We have
computers and
cell phones that can translate one
language into another language.
2. We have language teachers who can teach any foreign language.
3. Technology has outdated the need for the gift of languages.
4. In heaven, there will be only one language.
D. The gift of knowledge will vanish away.
1. On the internet we can find information on any subject.
2. Those who study the Word of God have the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit as their teacher.
3. In Heaven there will be no need for knowledge, because everything
will be
known.
a. God is omniscience. In His presence,
everything will be known.
E. God is love and He can never
cease to exist.
OUR PERFECTION
V:9. "For we know in part, and
we prophesy in part.
A. Our knowledge on earth is limited compared
to the unlimited knowledge of the Lord.
1. We can process only a small amount of that which is before us.
2. We have no knowledge of heavenly things.
3. The Bible is closed. God has given us in His Word all He wants us to
know.
Rev 22:9.
4. Man can only know what God inspires Him to know. 2 Tim 3:16
1. God will not inspire you
to know anything that is not in His Word. Ecc 1:9
V:10. "But when that which is
perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away."
A. The current heaven and the
current earth with all of its imperfections will be
done away with. 2 Peter 3:13, Rev 21:1
1. God will create a new heaven and a new earth. Rev 21:1
2. God will give light to all that are saved. Rev 22:5
a. The light of the Lord is perfect.
OUR MATURITY
V:11. "When I was a child, I spake
as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a
man, I put away childish things."
A. The Apostle Paul now speaks of
the maturity of the Church and the maturity of
individual members of the Body of Christ.
1. The Church is now in its mature state. We have the Bible, the Word of
God in it's
completed form.
2. The books of the Bible were written by men inspired by God. These books were
collected and put together in what we know as the Bible by men I believed were
also inspired by God. We have verified accuracy of
the work of this latter group
with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
3. All believers have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Rom 8:9, 1 John 3:24
a. The Holy Spirit is our teacher to
understand God's Word. John 14:26
B. Because the Church is in its
mature state, the two gifts mention in this text,
prophecy and tongues (languages) take a less important role.
1. Love is the greatest asset of the Church.
a. Love is the excellent way to glorify
God.
V:12. "For now we see through
a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I
know even as also I am known."
A. While we are on this earth, we have only
partial knowledge.
1. Mirrors in Paul's time were made of polish metal.
2. The image was dim.
3. A mirror can only reflect what is in front of it.
a. A mirror cannot reflect what is
behind it.
b. A mirror cannot reflect into the
future.
c. A mirror cannot reflect what is in
heaven.
4. The image of the mirror is only partial.
B. Like a mirror, our knowledge of the world,
nature and heaven is limited.
1. When we get to heaven in the presence of the Father, all things will
be made
known to us.
THE GREATEST GIFT
V:13. "And now abideth faith,
hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
A. Faith is the Christian
foundation.
1. We come to Christ by Grace through faith.
B. Christian Hope in the Word of
God.
1. Our hope, peace, joy and provisions are in the Word of God.
2. Our eternal hope is presented in the Word of God.
C. Love, agape love is the greatest
gift of all.
1. It is because of God's love that He created the heavens and the
earth.
2. It is because of God's love that He created man.
3. It is because of God's love that He redeemed man after the fall with the
death of
His Son.
4. It is because of God's love that believers have a heavenly home.
5. Love is the greatest Gift of all.
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