Now let's examine this chapter before us. Let me remind you that Paul is dealing with a very contentious church. Not everybody in the church is like this. There are some, though, who have this very partisan spirit and they want to create factions in the church, they want to be those who are thought of as being preeminent in the church. And for various reasons, for those whom they support, and those who they, and the things that they believe, and also for the gifts that they think that they have. And we've dealt with the gifts in chapter 12, and we'll be continuing on. talking about those in chapter 14, but here Paul is showing the church a more excellent way. And as he says in verse 31 of chapter 12, but earnestly desire the best gifts and yet I show you a more excellent way. Now remember when he's talking about gifts there, he's not only talking about the miraculous gifts, He's talking about all gifts to the Church, and there are several lists of gifts to the Church. In fact, there's the gifts of ministries to the Church that Paul has talked about in verses 28. in verse 29 as well. So Paul is talking about all the gifts of the church and this one failing of the charismatic movement is they see the word gifts and they only ever see it as miraculous gifts. And that's what they want and that's what they desire. So when Paul says, but earnest desire the best gifts, he's not necessarily talking about miraculous gifts. And anyway, he's showing us a better way. He says, and yet I show you a more excellent way. A more excellent way than having those miraculous gifts or any gifts that you can have for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the way that he's going to show us benefits the whole church in everything. And that's what he's going to demonstrate to us here. And that gift is love. It's love. But what do we mean by love? And the first thing we have to do before we come to this chapter is define what we are talking about when the Lord says love. Because it doesn't mean all types of love. There are many different types of love. There are, for instance, there is sensual love, that love that a husband has for his wife, which is quite legitimate in the scripture, that is a type of love and desire for one another. There's compassion and pity, the love that the Lord has for the world. And everybody in the world, he sees the world with compassion and pity. Now there are some people who say that the Lord does not love the world, but that's impossible, isn't it? It's impossible for a number of reasons. One is he tells us he does in the Bible. Secondly, it's because he is love himself and it's impossible for him to do anything that is not based on love. Thirdly, he commands us to love our neighbours as ourselves. Now if that is a just and right and moral thing to do, and God being a moral being, he must love everybody in the world. The question is not does he love everybody in the world, But how does he love everybody in the world? With what type of love does he love everybody in the world? And he loves everybody in the world with his compassion and pity, that same compassion and pity that he says, that he tells us he has for the world when he says he's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So that's the same compassion and pity. He takes no pleasure in the death of a sinner. That's compassion and pity, isn't it? So that's the love that the Lord has for the world. That's another type of love, isn't it? That is brotherly love. And the world knows very little of brotherly love these days because they're translating it into sensual love. So if a man loves another man, it's got to be a bromance, hasn't it now? How sick this world is that people cannot love one another anymore. So they look at the relationship that David had for Jonathan, where he loved him so very much, and they say, well, that's a bromance. He must have been homosexual, mustn't he? No, he just loved him as a brother. He loved him deeply, very, very deeply as a brother. And we are told to love one another in the church. And we love one another with brotherly love, don't we? that same sort of love that the Lord expects of us. There's the love that we have for our neighbours. Very different type of love from the brotherly love that we have for one another because in the church it goes beyond just the love that you have for your brothers and your sisters because it's the love that the Lord Jesus Christ had for us. That sacrificial love that the Lord Jesus Christ had for his people. But our neighbors, we are told to love as ourselves. So we're told to love our neighbors in that way. Then there's fatherly or parental love. That's another type of love, isn't it? You don't love everybody in the world the same way as you love your children. You don't love your children the same way as you love your wife. You see, it's a different type of love, isn't it? That you have for your children, this fatherly or this parental love. What sort of love are we talking about here? That's what we have to decide. And it's very easy, because the word for love here is a unique word that the Bible only uses, and it's agape love. Agape love. And it's a pure form of love. It's the love that God has and that God is. Pure love. Unfamed love. It's a love full of grace, full of mercy, full of compassion, full of kindness, full of goodness. That's the type of love that we are talking about here. So with that in mind, let's look at this passage. And the first thing that Paul points out to these people who are full of self-centeredness, these people who are partisan, these people who want to create these divisions and factions in the church, that's what they are, aren't they? They're looking after number one. They're concerned about their own position. They're concerned about how they appear in the church. They're not looking at their brothers and sisters and caring about their brothers and sisters more than themselves, are they? They don't have that sacrificial love of the Lord Jesus Christ that he says, love each other as I have loved you. They don't have that type of love. for one another. And Paul is urging them to seek that above all else, to make that their aim and their purpose, because it will benefit the church more than anything else. that they could contribute to the church. So the first thing he tells us is that this love is excellent and it's superior to all other things. Verses one to three. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass and a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Do you see that, friends? So love is that which makes all these things profitable. It makes it all profitable for yourself and for the church. And love must, must come first. So let's have a look at this. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels. Now some believe that when they speak in tongues, they're speaking with the tongues of angels. Paul is not saying that you can speak with the tongues of angels. He's saying, though I speak. You see? He's not saying it's possible. He's just saying, though. And again, let me remind you, every time you hear angels speak in the scriptures, they are speaking a known, intelligible language that is known by the person who is receiving the message. They're not speaking Gobbari Guk, are they? They're not speaking a language that only they can understand or only God can understand. They're speaking a known language. And that's what tongues are. They are a known language. And Paul says here, it may be a great gift, it may be a great ability to have from the Holy Spirit, which the Holy Spirit sovereignly gives as he pleases and did in the early church for a specific purpose, but it doesn't do you any good. He says, but if I have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal, just noise. That's all, just noise. That's all you've become. It may sound good, you may make a lot of noise with it, but you won't impress anybody and God will not bless your ministry. It's worthless. if you don't have love. If you are not operating that gift for the benefit of all, and if you are not operating that gift in a way that God has prescribed, but you are operating that gift in a selfish way, to make yourself look good, or to please yourself, or to better yourself in some way, if that is your only motive, then you might as well not be talking. It's just noise. That's all it is. And then I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge. Now the gift of prophecy here is being more specific probably. It's talking about being able to give the word of God and give it primarily things to come, but not necessarily solely about things to come. Because the prophets would give, you know, the inspired word about situations in their day, you know, and challenges to the nations of the day. They gave the Word of God. And so they were the inspired speakers of the Word of God. If I understand all mysteries and all knowledge, if I have this gift of wisdom and knowledge so that nothing is a mystery to me, and though I have all faith, All faith. You see, Paul is using extremes here. He's saying, if I could, if I could have all faith. It's impossible, isn't it? Do you know anybody who's ever had the faith other than the Lord Jesus Christ to say to a mountain, remove, and it is removed? No. Paul said, Christ says it's possible. But have you ever known it? No. So you see, Paul is talking about the very extreme. If it were possible to have this incredible gift of faith so that you could remove a mountain, but have not love, what good is it? What good is it? I am nothing, he says. Nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, if I give out everything I have, I'm the most charitable person in the church or in the world. And though I give my body to be burned, even if I become a martyr for the Lord Jesus Christ and the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, but have not love, it profits me nothing, nothing at all. That's how important love is to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's so important that Paul is saying that everything else is nothing and unprofitable without it. He's not saying that we shouldn't have love and we shouldn't aspire to have love that can remove a mountain. Of course, the Lord Jesus Christ urges that upon us, doesn't he? To have the faith as large as a mustard seed. How small that is. But love is the key. Love is that key that turns the lock of profitable nets. And that's what we should be looking for. And it's sad to see in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ so much being done from selfish motivations. People wanting gifts and wanting positions in the church because of how it will benefit them. There are people who go into the ministry because they want to be something in the church. They want to be noticed. They want to stand out. They want to be heard because they have something important to say. You know, that's all about me. But the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ was all about those people that were hearing him. and doing them good. Do people go into the ministry for that? Because that is the motivation that the Lord expects, that we will be a blessing to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and do good to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a sacrificial ministry, the pastorate. And that's how all men ought to look at it, that are going into the pastorate. But sadly, that is not the case. We see in many churches this desire to be something. I said before, everybody wants to be a chief. Everybody wants to be a pastor. They have a pastor of the music. They have a pastor of the youth. They have the pastor of the cutlery. That's an exaggeration, isn't it, friends? But you get the point, don't you? They have a pastor for everybody. You go to some churches, they, you know, it runs into two figures, the number of pastors that they have. Because everybody must be somebody. Why? Is it because it does the church good? No, friends. It's not that at all, is it? It's because some, they want position. They want to be as good as other people or better than other people. They don't want to be a blessing to other people. But Christ says, unless your motivation is love, whatever position you rise to is a waste of time. Pointless. It will profit nothing. You, nothing. And the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, nothing. So we must look to ourselves, mustn't we? We must make sure that we do not have this mindset. We must make sure that we have Christ's mindset. We must be those people who want, as we've sung about, we want the mind of Christ to dwell in us day by day so that we think about others and our concern is for others and our concern is to edify the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and do good for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in everything. And love is the key to that. If we love our brethren, then we will want that. And if we love our brethren as the Lord Jesus Christ has loved us, we will certainly want that, won't we? Well, secondly, he tells us the character of this type of love. Verses four to eight. Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up. So let's just have a look at these. Love suffers long. Do you see that? Now remember the type of love that we are talking about. We are not talking about a sentimental type of love. We're not talking about a love between a husband and wife necessarily. I know this text is often used in marriages, isn't it? And rightly so, because we're talking about a pure type of love, a sacrificial type of love, aren't we? And that's the type of love, over and above that sensual love, that a husband and wife should have for one another, isn't it? That's what their marriage needs to be based on. It must not be based on that sensual love. When the world talks about love, that's how it talks about love, doesn't it? That's why people think they have to jump into bed with one another before they get married, to see if they're a good fit. You know, that is secondary to the love that you must have for one another. The care, the concern, the desire to be a blessing to that person and to enjoy that person's company. That must come first, mustn't it? Surely. Or else everything else just won't work out. It won't last. And that's why marriages don't last. Because it's built on the thrill rather than the concern. Paul is talking here about this pure type of love. But it is a love that we see demonstrated to us. It's the love of God, isn't it? So the best demonstration we have of this is the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can't, he is love because he is God and everything he did and the way that he dealt with every situation was out of love. So when we're talking about long suffering, which our God is, and we're told here to suffer long, that's what it means. It means that we're willing to endure for a long time. It doesn't mean that we put up with everything forever. Because our God doesn't, does he? Long-suffering towards us, not willing that any should perish. But if people will perish, they will perish. Long-suffering towards somebody does not necessarily mean that you put up with everything because it's not good for them, is it? So if your child starts really throwing a tantrum and starts smacking you or something, you're not going to put up with that for very long, are you? No, not because it hurts you, because it might very well not hurt you very much if a young child starts smacking you, but because it's not good for that child. That child needs to know. boundaries. That child needs to know that it's wrong. That child needs to grow up not being that type of child that will flash out just because it can't get its own way. You see? So love, yes, but not a sentimental, emotional love. This is a love that is a pure love that cares about the person. cares enough to chastise a person if that is necessary, but out of love, not out of wrath, out of love. So it's long-suffering, it endures for a long time, and it's kind, it's good to other people. Love does not envy. It does not look at another person and desire what other persons have or desire what other people are. It doesn't begrudge them. That's a part of envy. You see, when you see somebody having something that you wish you had, you begrudge it to them, don't you? You think you should have it. You're not happy that they've got it and you want it as well. You think you have a right to it. That's envy. And love is happy that other people have something and have attained something. Love does not, in any way, feel that they should not have it. Does not envy. Love does not parade itself. That means it vaunt itself and want the limelight and always want the attention. There are some people like that, aren't there? Is not puffed up, not proud, not arrogant. You know, so that can't be spoken to. Always right. No, it's not proud, it's not arrogant. Love does not behave rudely. It's not unkind in that rude way towards other people and put them down all the time. It does not seek its own. It's not about me in this relationship. It's about you in this relationship. That's love, isn't it? Now you think about a marriage. The best marriage is, the Lord telling us, is this. Is when the husband, and he tells us not only here but in other places, doesn't he? When the husband's concern is for what is good for the wife. And what's the best for the wife. And when the wife's concern is what's good for the husband and what's best for the husband. That is the best relationship, because they will always be looking after one another, always be caring for one another, won't they? And that's what Paul is talking about here, not seeking its own, but seeking the good of the other, is not provoked. Now, it doesn't mean that you can't be provoked, and sometimes, you know, there is a case for righteous anger, isn't there? But it means that you're not easily provoked. You're not the type of person who is touchy and always on edge and can't be spoken to as you jump down somebody's throat. It is not provoked. Thinks no evil, unless they have just cause to think it. It doesn't mean think no evil in the sense of have bad thoughts or sinful thoughts. It means think no evil of the other person. We're talking about love, aren't we? So it's thinking no evil about the person, what they're doing, unless we have just cause for it. The Lord Jesus Christ wasn't blind. He didn't go through life blind to the sins of the Pharisees, did he? He caused them whitewashed sepulchres. Well, he certainly did think evil of them, didn't he? Of course. Because he had just cause to think evil of them. You see? But we don't go around thinking the worst of people. We don't go around looking for the worst in people. We think the best of people until we have a right and just cause to think otherwise about them. So, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity. You don't rejoice when somebody else falls into sin and is overtaken by iniquity. It's not something that makes you happy when you see another person fall. It does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. That's what really stirs your heart, when you see your brothers and sisters growing in the truth, growing in the knowledge of the things of God, growing in grace, growing in those things that are of God, bears all things. And again, we do bear all things, don't we? But again, the Lord Jesus Christ, He was the one that turned around to Peter and said, get behind me, Satan. Wasn't he? Why did he do that? Because it was for Peter's sake. Peter had to be chastised. Peter had to realise that what he was doing was wrong. Believes all things. Again, we believe all things unless we have reason not to. hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. It never fails. This type of love can't fail, can it? Because it's all about others and caring for others. And we have to realize, friends, that this love is a love that transcends emotions and feelings. It's a love that puts yourself out there. It's a costly love. And it's a love that sometimes must, for the sake of others, discipline and chastise because we care that much about other people to discipline them and chastise them. Now this is very important because we are told in many circles that love means you don't do that, that love means you don't ever judge another person. How many times have you been told that? I'm sure you've been told that as Christians, haven't you? Oh, you know, that's not love, is it? You're judging. Not love. We're allowed to judge. We must judge. We must be discerning people. When the Lord talked about judging, judge not lest you be judged, He's not saying that you should not judge. He says you should be careful. in your judgments. He says, first take the plank out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. It's not that you shouldn't take the speck out of your brother's eye, it's that you've got to deal with the plank that's in your own eye first. You see? So judgments are important. And if we love our brother, what will we do? We will deal with the plank that's in our own eye so that we can help our brother with the speck that's in their eye, won't we? So it's not this type of love that accepts all. The ecumenical movement, that's their byword. You know, that is their standard. If you want to know what the ecumenical movement joins together on, it's love. They say, we all love Jesus Christ. No, they don't. No, they don't, friends. They say they do, but they all love their opinion of Jesus Christ. Most of them have no worthy opinion of Jesus Christ whatsoever. And what they believe and what they teach about Jesus Christ is an abomination in the eyes of God. It's not love. It's just sentiment, isn't it? People join together in fellowships and they say, well, you know, we join together on the basis of love. No, they don't. They join together on the basis of the lowest common denominator in theology that they can find. You know, they throw out all the good stuff and they're left just with a few basic rudimentary sentiments. Biblical sentiments. That's all they're left with. They have to, because they have so many differences. That's not love, is it, friends? No, friends. If we really love people, if we really care about people, then we will care for their souls. And if we really care about people, we will care, if they are Christians, about their growth in God and their standing with the Lord Jesus Christ. If we really care about people, we will care about them and we will show that we care about them in every way. That's what Paul is advocating here. Now, thirdly, He talks about the enduring nature of love. Love never fails, he says. It doesn't fail. The one thing that will endure, even in heaven, is love. The love of God. It can't be otherwise, can it? Love will be found there. when all else is gone. Let's see what Paul is talking about here. Now, when you look at these last few verses of the chapter, there's two ways that our Reformed theologians look at it. Firstly, they look at it as saying that all else will fail, and when the Lord Jesus Christ comes again and we see the Lord Jesus Christ face to face. Okay? That is a very prominent view. There is another view that actually is not talking about seeing the Lord Jesus Christ and meeting the Lord Jesus Christ. It's talking about when the Bible is complete. So we're going to have a look at it, we're going to see what we think. But let me say this, it doesn't matter in one sense, because what we're being told here is that prophecy and tongues and those miraculous gifts will fail. They will. They are transient. They have a purpose. And when that purpose is met, they will be no more. You see? That's what we're being told. Because, very important again, because we're told that gifts, those spiritual gifts, are for the church for all time. And there's nothing in the Bible that tells us they are not for all time. Well, here we have it. Here we have it. So let's have a look. It says, love never fails, but whether there are prophecies, they will fail. They will come to an end. There will come a time when you'll look for a prophet and there will be no prophets. Whether there are tongues, they will cease. They will come to an end. There will come a time when tongues will have a definite ending. Their purpose will be met. They have done their job. Whether there is knowledge, that is miraculous knowledge, wisdom, knowing things that you can't possibly know any other way that God has revealed it to you, it will vanish away. It's going to disappear from the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the question is, that most people ask, is when? And that's the wrong question. The question we should be saying is, No, not the question is, but the thing that we should be observing here is that they will. That's what we're being told. We're not told when, are we? We're just being told that they will. So they have a time and they have a purpose. And when that time and purpose has been met and it's up, they're gone. They're gone. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away with. You see, it's needed no more. Now the question is, what is it that is perfect? Is it the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, most certainly it's the Lord Jesus Christ. He is perfect, isn't he? But is it he who is being referred to here? Or is it the Bible? Perfect in the sense of complete. We have all that we need to know, all the prophecies that we need to know, all the knowledge of wisdom that we need to know, all the tongues conveyed to unbelievers we need to know in the Bible. It is complete. So which one is it? We read on. When I was a child I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man I put away 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 just as I also am now." Now those who believe that this is talking about the time that we will see the Lord Jesus Christ and be with the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of time and this world is all done with and we are in heaven, they believe that this is our childhood. But the Bible doesn't talk about that, does it? The Bible talks about a period of time when we are children in Christ. But the Bible tells us that we've got to grow up, and that we've got to mature, and we've got to become men, doesn't it? Here, now, we've got to become men. Now what is it talking about here? It's talking about a period of time, or it could be talking about a period of time in the church, when we were like children. We didn't have the word of God, but we had other things that sufficed. We were the church in, if you like, in its childhood, in its inception, in its early years. That's a good one, isn't it? Early years. And what did we need then? You see, there were so few churches, it was possible for prophets and for apostles to serve the early church and get around the early church with the word of God. It was possible to do that. But when, by the end of the apostles, The church had spread so far that became an absolute impossibility. Twelve apostles could not get around the whole of the church. There couldn't be enough prophets to serve the whole of the church and keep the church fed on the food of the Word of God properly and established on all that they need to know. And by that time, we had the complete Word of God, so that everybody could have all that they need to know, all that could feed them, all that they could possibly want. By that time, we had the complete Word of God. So we put away those things of our childhood. He's not saying childish in the sense of pathetic and things that are only fit for children. He's saying childish things that were for just the early years, because we have Now that which will feed us and give us all, all things, all knowledge, all understanding of those things that God wants us to know. So it could be talking about that, couldn't it? The Word of God. Now here comes another problem. For now we see in the mirror dimly but then face-to-face. Now, people say, well, they can only be talking about seeing the Lord Jesus Christ face-to-face, doesn't it? And we will see him face-to-face and talk with him face-to-face. But look at Numbers chapter 12 and verse 8. Verse seven, not so of my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings. You see, the face to face there, he does speak to Moses face to face. Moses sees him, he goes in, he talks with him face to face, but he doesn't actually see him, does he? He's not seeing God, has he? He's only seen the back of God. He hasn't seen Him face to face. So what does it mean? It means that God tells him everything he needs to know without anybody in between. There's no prophet standing between him and Moses. to hear the word of God and then relay it to Moses. Moses has it straight from the mouth of God. And what is God telling him? God is saying, this is what this face-to-face communication is. It's plainly the things that Moses needs to know, not things that are dark sayings. So again, when we come back to 1 Corinthians and chapter 12, and it's talked about seeing face to face, it could be speaking, 1 Corinthians 13, sorry, and verse 12, it could be talking about the word of God, because in the word of God, we have plainly all that God wants us to know, without having to go to the prophet, or an apostle, We now have it. It's there. God is communicating with us face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I am known. How am I known? I'm known intimately. I'm known fully, aren't I? And that's how I am known. And then I will know all all that God wants me to know. I will have the full revelation of God. That's what it's saying to us. So I think you can see now which side I'm on. I think it's the Word of God that's being spoken about here. When we have the Word of God in its complete form, we have all that God wants us to know, and therefore All those things of our formative years as a church of Jesus Christ, all those things that were for those years when we were growing as a church of the Lord Jesus Christ, not us, but the church as a unit, have been done away with. And the remarkable thing is, they were. And they were done away with when the Bible was complete. And the last contributor to the Bible was the very last apostle alive on earth, John. And when he died, there were no more apostles, there were no more prophets, there were no more tongues, There were no more words of wisdom. They had gone. They had ceased. They had served their purpose and done their job. You see, friends? Clearly that's what it's talking about, isn't it? And lastly, and now abide faith, hope and love. These three, but the greatest of these is love. beyond all other things, the greatest is love. And that's what we should be aiming for. And that's what we should pursue. It says, verse 14, pursue love. That's the most important. And that's what will make all our work and all that we do in the church and all our service in the church and all our fellowship in the church meaningful. love. Let's pray. Our gracious God and our loving Heavenly Father we come into your presence and we do praise and thank you Lord that you are a God of love that you loved us so very much and gave yourself for us and we do pray Lord that you would be with us now and that you would help us to be like yourself, that we may be, O Lord, those who love one another as you have loved us, that we may love the world with your great heart of compassion and pity, that we may have this pure love, this, O Lord, love that puts others first and cares so much that we are willing, O Lord, to give all Lord, we do pray that you would be with us and help us. In Jesus' precious name, Amen.