The following recording is from the pulpit at Northwest Baptist Church in Bradenton, Florida. For more sermons, please visit our website, nwbcbradenton.org. We'd also love to hear how you have been blessed by this ministry, so please let us know by emailing us at office at nwbcbradenton.org. Last week we saw, as we began chapter 13, that the Apostle Paul is writing about love. Love is essential to life itself. The Corinthians were people who aspired to use and possess great spiritual gifts. And that is the context of this chapter. But the one thing they lacked repeatedly throughout their church's life was that of love. Paul said, you could have the greatest gifts of the Spirit, but without love, you miss the whole point. You could speak like angels, but have no love, and you are a clanging cymbal or a noisy gong. You could have faith that moves mountains and have all prophetic powers to unravel all kinds of mysteries of God. Without love, you have nothing. You could give everything you have away and burn your body and sacrifice for someone else. But without love, you gain nothing. This is what we saw last week. That the context of 1 Corinthians 13 is not of marriage or romantic relationships as is normally talked about when this passage is brought up. Even though there's much application to marriage and relationships obviously. But the context is love within a local church. Love in the exercise of spiritual gifts towards one another. How does love look like? Fleshed out in the body together. We see, we saw last week, as Paul introduces us to this concept, that we and many people, especially the world, thinks of love in unbiblical ways. Love is seen mostly in the world today as emotional, as feelings. And of course, obviously love involves feelings and it loves emotions. But it's far beyond emotions. It's far beyond feelings. For the root of love is sacrifice. Is commitment. And it's thinking of others more than we do ourselves. Love is really the foundation of life. Because as we saw last week, the scriptures declare that God is love. When Jesus was asked about the two greatest commandments, it's interesting how he responds. And Matthew, they're trying to trip him up, trying to get him to say something that they could crucify him over, arrest him for. And Jesus responds and shocks them by his answer. And what he does is he summarizes the 10 commandments this way. What are the two greatest commandments? Well the first greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. By doing that Jesus summarizes the first four commandments. And how do you summarize the first four commandments? Love God. And then he says the second commandment is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And that's a summary of commandments five through ten. And so at the very foundation of the law of God, of obeying God, is love. A love for God and a love for others. But more importantly than that, love is just more than something that we do. For love is, as we've already said, someone, someone, and that is God. Therefore, if you want to know love, if you want to see love, if you want to experience true love, then you must begin with God. For God is love. We can't define love by beginning with ourselves. If you do so, you will always come to a wrong conclusion. If you do so apart from God. And this is why perhaps many people have a skewed view of what love is. Since we are made in God's image, we have been given the capacity and the ability to love. Why do we love? Because God is love and we are made in God's image. However, because we are sinners and possess a fallen nature, we are incapable of loving perfectly. Our love is selfish, so-called love. Our motivations are insincere many times or fleshly. And really, we love so-called love for the wrong reasons. We love self-centeredly. Therefore, if we're going to see love personified, we must see how the Bible describes it. Since God became a man, the Lord Jesus Christ is the love of God personified for us in human flesh. Jesus is love in action. Jesus is love with sandals. Jesus was sent by the Father and Jesus obeyed everything that God the Father has sent Him out of love. Jesus then died on the cross out of love for those whom the Father gave Him to redeem. And there just in the cross we see Jesus fulfilling the law of God. Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. And everything Jesus did was driven and motivated by love. This is why, one of the reasons, Jesus never sinned. Because fulfilling God's law is all about love. So therefore, Jesus never one time in his whole life failed to love. He never failed to love God, and he never failed to love others. And that's exactly what he did every moment of his life. And so if we're going to understand love, we have to begin with the very definition, God is love. But then, to further that, we see God personified in human flesh in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you want to know what love is, you look at Jesus. Just like Jesus told the crowds, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. If you've heard me speak, you've heard the Father speak. Why? Because Jesus says, I and the Father are one. Therefore, Jesus is love. And that's important to consider as we go to our text today. Because Paul then, will give a definition, many definitions of love, of actions. How does love look like worked out in our lives? And what must be true of every single one of these things is it must be also true of God. Love is patient, love is kind, love does not envy or both. All those things must be true of God. Why? Because God is love. and also must be true of the Lord Jesus. So let's look at verse four of chapter 13. Paul begins this way by saying, love is patient. Love is patient. This word patient is so important. It's actually made up of two Greek words. If you don't know, the New Testament was written in Greek. And in Greek, we examine and study to see the intent of what Paul was trying to communicate as words can get lost in our English language. The word patient in the Greek is made up of two words, long and anger, or long and wrath. Another way to say this is to be patient is to be long-tempered. You've heard of people being short-tempered. What does that mean? They have a short fuse. What is being patient is to have a long temper. It's one that is, that does not get angry easily or quickly. Another way to say it is to be patient is to have a long fuse. It takes a long time to explode. Right? It takes a long time to express anger. Love is patient. Another way to say it is long-suffering. It suffers long, patiently. Instead of getting revenge, instead of acting out hastily for blood, love is patient. That is so beautiful. And as we said last week and as we said already, is God patient? Well if love is patient, God is love. So therefore we must see that also God is patient. And is God patient towards us in this way? Absolutely. Patience is an action on behalf of another. We said last week that love is a verb. And really all of these words that are going to be described as what love is, are actions that you do or you don't do. To help define what that is. So does God have a long fuse? Does God have a long temper? You know how I know that's true? We're all still here. God has been patient with all of us. Think about the years that you lived before you knew Christ. Living in sin, living in rebellion. Perhaps cursing him. God would have been justified. Justified in his holy wrath and just judgment to give you what you deserved. The wages of sin is death. The fact that we are all still today is a testimony to the patience of God. That he is long-tempered. And that's how love is described. We see in Psalm 103 verse 8 a description of this very thing. The Lord is merciful and gracious. Slow to anger. Slow to anger. God is not up in heaven striking people with lightning bolts. Why? God is love. Which works itself out in perfect patience. Abounding. Instead fast love slow to anger and abounding instead fast love He will not always chide nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins Nor repay us according to our iniquities Why he is merciful and gracious slow to anchor And Paul knew this very well. In 1 Timothy 1.16, Paul says this. You know, the apostle Paul, the one who killed Christians, persecuted Jesus, persecuted the church, was an enemy of God, an enemy of Christians before he was converted. Here's Paul's testimony to Timothy. But I received mercy. for this reason, that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. Paul says, I'm the example of anyone whom God could have just zapped and killed and sent to hell. I'm one that he was perfectly patient because he loved me. Because he is love. Now again, the application of all of these things is within the Corinthian church. It's how the Corinthians were treating one another. And obviously, this could apply to all of our lives. We need to be long-tempered people. Because if we are just losing it on everyone around us, if we have a short fuse, if we are angry, we are not loving people. We're hating them. And I'm glad that God does not treat us like that. So the application for all of these things is how are we being patient with one another in our church family? How are we displaying love and perfect patience towards one another? And some of us require more patience than others. And if you don't know who that is, it's probably you. But it's true. Look at the second one. Love is patient and kind. And kind. This word implies an active goodness. It speaks in the Greek of displaying benevolence towards a person. It's actually what naturally comes with patience. Love is patient in that it puts up with much over time. But then love is kind and while I'm being patient to you, I'm also displaying goodness and benevolence to you in an active way. It's like, I'm just not being patient with you and ignoring you. No, I'm being patient with you, and then I'm actively being good towards you. Again, this is how God treats sinners. In Matthew 5, 44 to 45, Jesus says on the Sermon on the Mount, But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven. For he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good. He sends rain on the just and on the unjust. So here is God displaying perfect patience in his love towards those reprobates who are cursing him and denying him. Perhaps most of them even unto their death. And even though he's being patient with them, he then is actively kind towards those who hate him. That's amazing. Jesus says that he makes it rain on the just and the unjust. That's kindness. All these acts of... There are so many displays of God's kindness to us on a day-to-day basis that we will never comprehend fully. So many things that we take for granted day by day. That is actually God's kindness towards us. Something that the Apostle Paul says, that the kindness of God is used by God to lead us to repentance. That the sinner would see how good and kind God has been to them, even though they didn't deserve to be treated that way. And in such a manner that they can then repent of their sins and see the goodness of God. So kindness is not just Being nice. It is actively loving your enemies. It is an active goodness, an active case of benevolence to those who hate you. Or Jesus says, persecute you. So that you may be sons of your father. What Jesus is saying, this is who God is. And if you're going to be like God, then guess what? You must also love your enemies, because that's what God does. He just isn't patient with them. He is actively good towards people who hate him. And that is difficult, isn't it? There are people in our lives that have wronged us, that have betrayed us, that have abused us, that want nothing to do with us. And that's a complicated answer, and I explore some of that in the Weep No More book. But the one thing we've been called to do is to love. actively good towards those who hate us. Romans 5.8, but God shows us his love for us. How? How, Paul? In that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus didn't come and die on the cross because people all of a sudden turned and started loving God. And then God said, okay, Jesus will go die for them since they now changed their mind. No, no, no. While we were still sinners, lost, hell bound, depraved, couldn't offer God anything, God decided to show His love for us. That while we were still his enemies, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That's kindness. That's active goodness. This is why we must preach when we share Christ with people and evangelize. That they are lost rebellious sinners that deserve God's judgment and wrath. And if they were to die today, they would go to everlasting hell. But in the kindness of God, even though they have not yet repented as of this moment, Jesus Christ has come and died for them. And that is evidence of the love of God. And the fact that they're still here listening to this message is God's patience leading them to repentance. And so we must be kind to one another. How do we show this within a church family? Well, Paul says in Ephesians, to the Ephesians 4, 32. Be kind to one another. Here's that word again. Active goodness, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. That's what kindness looks like. Kindness looks like Treating others like God has treated me. Well, I don't want to do that to that person. Then you're not being sons or daughters of your father. Because that's not how your father has treated you. But Dan, you don't understand how difficult it is to... Trust me, I do. I do. I do. May not be the same situation, but I do. I know. You see, the object of love is never oneself. It's never me, it's never, the object is never me. If I'm going to love, it's also someone else that I'm exhibiting that action towards. Anything done for selfish or self-centered reasons is not love. I'm not loving someone else, then I'm loving me if I'm doing it for me. And we talked about last week in verse 3, Paul says, if I give everything I have to the poor, if I burn my body and sacrifice one other, but I don't have love, I gain nothing. So therefore we can do things that look like love for the wrong reasons, which means then it's not love, is it? It's just self-centered praise that I'm seeking for others for a pat on the back and a good job. If I act towards others in any way to benefit me, I cannot describe it or define it as love. I'm not loving others. I'm loving myself. And this will be seen in the next statements that Paul makes out. Because now he gives some negative commands. So we see that love is patient and kind. Those are positive. Now here's some negative. Meaning love does not or is not commands. So what's the first negative one he gives? Love does not envy. The Greek word for envy is an intense desire. And that could be good or bad. When it is good, a better translation might be zeal. If it's a good envy, it's an intense desire for something good. But in a negative, it describes Jealousy or envy which are both sins from a human perspective. Envy or jealousy is an emotion that could be bothered by the success of other people. Or the possessions of other people. When you are envious of them, you aren't happy for them. Why? Because you want what they want. Why do they get to have that? Why do they get to do that? And I don't, that's envy. I'm not wishing goodness on them, I'm wanting what they have, and therefore I'm jealous, and therefore I'm loving me because I want what they have. In the Corinthian context, the Corinthians were envious of other people's spiritual gifts, which is why Paul is bringing it up. When you are envious, what are you doing? You're thinking of yourself. You're making yourself the object of your affection, the object of your praise, the object of your life. And then, of course, this kind of envy, if left unrepented, then turns into resentment. Because then you begin to resent people with whom you have envy towards. No, love is praise God that God has blessed you in that way. And again, when you get mad at what other people have or don't have, whether it's a spiritual gift or possession or whatever it is, again, you're not loving your neighbor as yourself. Which is the opposite of what love is. Love does not envy or boast. This is the opposite of envy. For instead of wanting what others have, you brag about what you have. And therefore, you're taking the credit, you're taking the glory. The word has a meaning of lifting oneself up. It's very interesting because the word could also be translated windbag. You're nothing but a bunch of hot air, man. Boasting. This boasting does not have the best interest of others at heart. The only goal of boasting is really to make yourself look good and to make others envious of you. Which you're not loving other people when you're boasting. What are you doing? You're loving yourself because you want yourself to look better to someone else. And that could be applied in many different ways. Is not arrogant. Love is not arrogant. Arrogant is very similar to boasting. The word means to puff up or to inflate. To have a big head. To think you're more important than you truly are. Again, what is it? The focus is on me. On self. Or rude, verse 5. Or rude. Love is not rude. This word is interesting, too. In the Greek, it means improper behavior, or lacking in manners, or disrespectful. Well, what would be considered rude? Because what I, what you may consider rude may not be what I consider rude, so who sets the standard for rude? Again, God's word. It's to be unbecoming of what God has called you to do or be. It's to not think in loving ways towards other people, and then your behavior, shows itself in ways that it should never have done. Love is not rude. Well in the context here, what does it look like to be rude? Well, you are boasting and you're envious. That's how it looks like. It does not insist on its own way. It does not insist on The word insist there means to demand or to look out for or to seek. And the context is me. So love does not insist on its own way. Meaning, if I am making every decision with me in mind, I'm not loving other people. Again, I'm loving me. The object is me. The tense of the word is important to consider too because it signifies a habitual action. Meaning something that's continual. It's my way or the highway. I'm not considering what you have to bring to this or how this is going to affect you. I'm going to decide this because it benefits me. I'm insisting, I'm demanding my own way. Or what does love do? It thinks of the other person first. It sacrifices commitment. I'm putting you first, not me. Of course, this doesn't mean that we can't make our own decisions in our best interest. But then again, that's where the tense of the word is important. It's the constant, continual action. If you put yourself continually first and other people last, you're not loving people as God has called you to love them. If you're always looking out for your benefit over the benefit of others, I'm glad the Lord Jesus didn't operate like that. He says, I've not come to do my own will. I've come to do the will of the one who sent me. He loved God. And he loved others. Love is not irritable. Love is not irritable. This word essentially means not easily offended. Are you a person who is easily provoked? Maybe you've got thin skin. Maybe you take everything that something says to be against you. Are you irritable, always thinking of yourself and your feelings? And then, as a result of your own selfish pride, because you're irritable, always thinking about yourself, and do you put a guilt trip on other people? Do you make other people feel guilty? Because you're thinking of yourself first. You're easily provoked. People have to walk in eggshells around you. Well, I don't want to do anything that's going to bother them or upset them. I can't say that. I can't say this. If you're an irritable person, you're not loving other people. Because they have also now have to take this in mind. Love is not irritable or resentful. The word resentful basically means to keep score. To keep score. It's to keep a record of wrongs. It's to hold on to grudges. It's to remember past deeds. It's essentially to live in a way that you don't forgive. And you're keeping score. I remember when you did that on January 10th, 1962. And I'll let you know that I've done this for you. Love does not keep score. Because when we're keeping score, what are we trying to prove? That we're better. Or the other person owes us something. Remember, true love is loving without any expectation of return. Again, the object of love is always the other person, never me. And if I'm keeping score, then who am I thinking about? Me. And trust me, as a guy who likes to win stuff, keeping score is important. But not in this way. Number six, verse six. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love does not find celebration in sin, but rejoices with the truth of righteousness. You aren't loving someone if you're asking them to affirm you in your rebellion against God. You are hating them. Love celebrates truth no matter how painful, awkward, and uncomfortable it might be. Love also does not celebrate when your enemy, therefore, in your mind, gets it. Oh, they had it coming to them. Thank you, God. Does not rejoice at wrongdoing. Does not rejoice in sin, but rejoices with the truth. Look at verse seven. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. There's a lot there. Love outlasts difficult times. True love. True love. See, this is why it can't be based on emotion. You know why? Because we're weak. We're weak people. If we rely on our emotions, we're going to be really messed up. Our emotions change every day. I'm happy today. I'm not happy tomorrow. We even have an expression. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Love bears all things. The word bears there, it's like, it's a put up with endurance. Even though I've been wronged. Bears all things. Believes all things. Now what does this mean? It gives, love gives the benefit of the doubt. Instead of jumping to conclusions. Instead of just believing that you've wronged me, I'm maybe going to give you an opportunity to explain yourself. I'm going to give you an opportunity because I love you to perhaps give you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I've been wrong. Maybe I've misjudged a situation. If I'm going to jump down your throat without hearing you out, then I'm not loving you. I'm just wanting quick vengeance on you. Retribution. Love does not want to give up. Love puts all things with endurance. And again, if you want an example of how well this is, how this is done well, all you have to see is how God has loved you. Let me ask you a question. Have you remained a lovable person your entire Christian experience? God has had to bear all things for you. Of course, from God's perspective, He knows us more than we know ourselves. He knows the end from the beginning. But again, this is the very definition of love. And so, here Paul, throughout this chapter, is elevating the importance of love in this Corinthian church. Something greatly lacking. They were suing one another. They were rejoicing in wrongdoing, not calling each other out for their sin. They were separating based on their favorite apostle. They were separating based on Christian freedom. They were separating based on all sorts of crazy stuff that Paul through 13 chapters so far has had to do this. And now they're separating each other over who has what gift and who's more important. And boy, why can't I have that gift? Why can't I do this for God? Why does that person get to do that? Well, if you're saying those things and you've gained nothing, you are nothing. And you're a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal. Because true love looks like this. And wouldn't be saying the things you are saying, Corinthians. The Corinthians, of course, were seeking those extravagant gifts, the dramatic, the sensational. And Paul says, don't you understand? Don't you understand something? That you are missing the very thing that those gifts were meant to bring into your church. The gifts are grace. That's what the word gift is. It's grace of God. Empowered by the Spirit, who is God, who then is love. So if you're using your gifts without love, it's nonsense. And so therefore, Paul then says something that I think will shock them. Something that we don't have time to go in today, we'll save it for next week. He says in verse eight, love never ends. This is the one thing that will endure. Now let's talk about the spiritual gifts that you're putting above love. Prophecies? They'll pass away. You won't need any more prophecies one day. You'll hear from God Himself. You'll hear, you'll have the Word of God, and we do today. As for tongues, they will cease. These miraculous sign gifts have their time and place. And those things that you want won't always be here. Or will they ever be needed? As for knowledge, it will pass away. Oh, you who are clamoring for more information, for more discovery, you won't even need to know knowledge anymore. Why? Because there's coming a day where we will be fully known and know fully. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. All these things are glimpses. All these things are glimpses of what God has given to us today to love one another. However, you are basing your whole existence in joy and things that will not matter in eternity. Because the only thing that will matter in eternity is love. which is the central foundation of life. And without it, you're completely misguided and come up bankrupt, Corinthians. You come up bankrupt. Faith, hope, and love abide, these three, verse 13. But the greatest of these is love. So just stop it, will you? Just stop it with this nonsense. Love your church family. Stop being resentful. Stop being envious. Stop bragging. Come on. You're speaking like a child, he says in verse 11. When I spoke like a child, when I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But now I became a man, I gave up childish ways. And that's what I want for you, Corinthians. That's what I want for you. What I want for you to do is to grow up. Grow up and know that love is what matters most. Love not according to your definition, Love not according to the world's definition, but love as it is defined in the nature and character of God himself, as regulated by his word and his law. Any other definition or any other contraption about what love is, apart from that definition, is not love. And don't you let anyone fool you. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for your word. I pray that your spirit would continue to teach us and apply this truth to our hearts. Lord, as you have loved us, let us love one another. I pray for these things that may be plaguing our church or other churches. May you show us true patience with one another. May you show us true kindness towards one another. May we be not envious, or boastful, or arrogant, or rude. May we not demand our own way. May we not be irritable people, easily offended at everything, or resentful in keeping score. May we not rejoice at sin, or when someone we think gets what they deserve, but rejoice with the truth and mercy of God. May we have this more excellent way, as Paul tells him in 1231. And this most excellent way is God. And we know this love is personified for us fully and truly in the person of Jesus Christ. God who became flesh. The incarnate son of God, the eternal son of God. What a blessing. He is our example. He is our lawgiver. He is our law keeper. In Him, we are declared to be righteous by our faith because He has died on the cross for our sins and was resurrected on the third day. Father, I pray for those in this room who do not know what true love is because they don't know who you are. They have never believed in Jesus alone. They've never repented of their sins. They don't know if they were to die today where they'd go, heaven or to hell. I pray that God today they would have assurance that they would believe today truly in the gospel, not in their works, not in their identity, not in their performance, but solely in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Help us now, God. And Lord, facilitate true love within this church family. Where there's divisions, I pray that it will dissolve. Where there's bitterness, may it be uprooted. Where there is envy, I pray that it would die. Where there is boastful, boasting, God, that it would cease. Where patience is needed, grant it. Where kindness is needed, grant it. That we may love one another as you have loved us. Motivate hearts now for obedience. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's stand and sing a closing song. How deep the Father's love for us. If I could help you in any way, if you're not a Christian and you'd like to know how to become one, please see me after the service out in the Welcome Center. If I could pray or counsel you in any way, please let me know. Let's sing together. God bless you.