We turn in Scripture to 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 13. It would be nice to read all of 1 Corinthians chapters 12, 13, and 14, but we will not do that this afternoon. We begin reading at 1 Corinthians 12, verse 27. and read through 1 Corinthians 13. The text is 1 Corinthians 13 verses 1-3. 1 Corinthians 12, beginning at verse 27, coming to the end of speaking of the church as many members yet one body. Verse 27, Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles, are all prophets, are all teachers, are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? but covet earnestly the best gifts, and yet show I unto you a more excellent way. 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. 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 and have not charity, I am nothing. 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. Charity suffereth long and is kind. Charity envieth not. Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 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. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 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. 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. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity." So far the reading of God's holy infallible Word. The text is chapter 13, verses 1-3. 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. 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 and have not charity, I am nothing. 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." Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 13 is one of the best known chapters in the Bible. And understandably so. Because Christian love is central to the life of every believer. For example, when in Galatians chapter 5, the Apostle Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit, he begins by mentioning love. It is love that is the first fruit mentioned. You could even interpret the fruits of the Spirit there as if love is the overarching fruit and everything else is to be understood under the heading of love. When in Colossians 3, Paul speaks of articles of clothing that the Christian needs to put on, articles of spiritual clothing, he comes to the climax of it by saying this, and above all these things, put on charity. When our Savior gave His upper room discourse, speaking to His disciples the night before He was crucified, Jesus emphasized the importance of love by saying, And then He went on and He said, It's not an overstatement to say that love is at the root of the Christian faith. After all, it was God's own love for us that moved Him to elect us in Jesus Christ and send Jesus Christ to redeem us from our sin. In 1 John 3, the Apostle John puts it as powerful as possible when he says, God is love. And here in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, we have an entire chapter devoted to love. In which the Apostle Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, waxes eloquent on the subject of love. Praising love as the highest virtue of all. This afternoon we begin a series of sermons on this chapter. I've been wanting to preach a series on 1 Corinthians 13 for a number of years already, but I've put it off again and again. There are, I suppose, a number of reasons why a person might be attracted to this chapter and yet be hesitant to take on an in-depth study of this chapter. First of all, we know that the subject of love has been greatly abused in our day, both by the ungodly culture around us and also by churches that are willing to condone and embrace every kind of sin under the banner of love. And as a kind of reaction to that, we might be less inclined to study a chapter that emphasizes love as an overreaction. Second of all, we know that the subject of love is a very challenging subject. When we look at the demands of love and what love really looks like, we know that we can be even seriously defective in this area. To love is the most demanding, most difficult activity of the Christian. Perhaps it's exactly for these reasons that we should take up a chapter or a study on this chapter. That we might grow in the exercise of love. That through meditating on this chapter, we might mature in the virtue of love. We are always in need of exercising more love. So we begin a new series on 1 Corinthians 13. My intention is to go through this chapter, or go to this chapter, every time we have an applicatory sermon. However, because this series might be a somewhat lengthy series, upwards of even 10 to 15 sermons, I also want to go to this chapter at certain intervals between the celebration of the Lord's Supper. So that may be every month and a half. Celebrating the Lord's Supper every three months. So every month and a half, we turn again to 1 Corinthians 13. This morning we have an introduction to this chapter, looking at the first three verses. We take as our theme the priority of love. We notice three things. First, we look at the important context. Second, the powerful illustrations in these verses. And third, the encouraging reminder. By itself, 1 Corinthians 13 is a very beautiful and powerful chapter. However, the real power of this chapter is found when you read it in the light of its context. And there's two main contexts in which we should look at this chapter. First of all, there's the context of the book as a whole. When you read through Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth, it becomes obvious that though this was a church whose members were filled with rich blessings and rich gifts, This was also a church whose members were filled with great pride and self-centeredness and independentism and division, and there was trouble. It was a church whose members were filled with rich spiritual blessings and gifts. This is even how Paul begins the letter. Right away in chapter 1, verses 4 and 5, Paul writes this, I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ, that in everything ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance and in all knowledge." Right there in verse 5 we see that this was a congregation God had richly, richly blessed. They were enriched in everything. And Paul singles out two specific gifts which the Corinthians were especially blessed with. utterance, which is the gift of being able to speak, and knowledge, which is the gift of deep spiritual knowledge, knowledge of the doctrines of scripture. Then if we keep reading in chapter 1 in verses 6 and 7, we read this. even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that ye come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." These Corinthians were not behind any other church in the spiritual gifts they enjoyed. In fact, there was no other church that had been blessed with such a varied and such an extensive distribution of supernatural gifts. Jesus had determined to bless this church to the fullest, and they had experienced and enjoyed an overflowing of heavenly grace. And yet, just as the members of this church were all filled with wonderful gifts and abilities, able to perform miracles and healings and all kinds of things, There was also a great deal of trouble in this church. Pride had entered the hearts of these saints so that they began to compete with each other and walk over each other. And their great gifts were in fact the occasion and the excuse for behaving this way. And the result was very destructive. First, the saints in Corinth began to use their deep spiritual knowledge as an excuse to tolerate and Walk in sin. On the one hand, they would say, oh, a man is committing incest. That doesn't matter. In fact, we show our spiritual maturity by being able to tolerate such heinous sin in our midst. Tolerating open adultery. Divorce and remarriage. Young people shacking up together. This is actually a mark of spiritual maturity on our part. And on the other hand, they would say, I can eat meat offered to idols, even if it hurts other members in the church. That's their problem. If they are weak and they don't have that knowledge, that's not my problem. I'm strong. I'm spiritually mature. I have this gift, so I can do what I want with this gift, even if it hurts my fellow members in the church. That's not my problem. Then second, as a result of this pride, different factions rose up in the church. I'm of this clan, you are of that clan. You are the one who thinks this way, so you are of Apollos. You are the one who thinks this way, so you are of Paul. And you are of Peter. And it seems that even bearing the name of a certain apostle was cause for personal pride and boasting. Every person had his own righteous cause to defend. And the problem in it all, of course, was this. The saints had taken their eyes off the Lord and had turned their eyes on themselves. They had forgotten that they had not made themselves to differ from any other. They had forgotten, as 1 Corinthians 4 says, they had forgotten that everything they had, they had received it from the Lord. And the members were doing everything they could do to promote their own name and their own ends. That's what the church in Corinth was like. And it's in the light of that context that we must understand 1 Corinthians 13. These saints knew their doctrine. Notice that, beloved. These Corinthians didn't have a doctrinal problem. Things here weren't like how they were in the churches in Galatia. There, there was a doctrinal problem. Here, it was different. Here, there was no love. They didn't understand what love actually looked like. They were proud. That's why in chapter 10, Paul writes, So far as the saints in Corinth were concerned, all of their blessings were unshakable evidence that they indeed stood firm in their faith. Look at how richly blessed we are. But in fact, these saints were on the verge of falling because they had lost touch with Christ and were relying on themselves. Self-absorption, self-congratulations, self-confidence. These were the carnal factors at root. in the Corinthian problem. And that's where 1 Corinthians 13 fits into the book as a whole. After giving instruction on how to deal with certain problems, saints are going to court against each other, suing each other. Others are tolerating incest. All kinds of things. After giving instruction on how to deal with all these problems, Paul comes to chapter 13 and he says, this is what you need. This is your problem. You need love. So for Paul, this beautiful chapter on love is not just a moving description of a lofty ideal. It's not just a chapter Paul wrote so that people would have something to read on their wedding day. That's often when we read 1 Corinthians 13. No, this is the remedy. This is the solution for the deep difficulties and tensions that are afflicting the church. Love is kind. Love is patient. Love is humble. Love does not seek her own. Love thinketh no evil. So that's where 1 Corinthians 13 fits into the context of the book as a whole. But not only is there the context of the book as a whole, there's also the more immediate context of chapters 12-14. In chapters 12-14, Paul specifically addresses the use of certain gifts in the church. As I said, the saints in the church at Corinth were filled with all kinds of spiritual gifts. The problem was that the saints in the church at Corinth were inclined to rank these gifts. There were saints in Corinth who had the gift of speaking in foreign languages without even having to study them. There were saints who had the gift of interpreting. There were saints who had the gift of healing. The gift of performing miracles. The gift of teaching. And because the saints had become so proud, they were constantly comparing themselves to each other in the church. And everyone wanted to have those gifts that were judged by the members to be the best and most important gifts. And of course, speaking in foreign languages was judged to be one of the best, if not the best of the gifts. So in 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul addresses this problem. He first addresses it in chapter 12 by emphasizing the unity and the diversity of the church. In chapter 12, we know this chapter, Paul emphasizes that all the members of the church have their place and calling in the body of Christ. Not everyone is an eye, not everyone is an ear, but as God has given everyone his gift, that person needs to use it for the good of the body. He will also continue to address this issue in chapter 14 by emphasizing that the use of speaking in tongues and teaching is not to show off, but to serve others in the church. Don't use your gifts as a display of yourself, but use your gifts to serve the other members in the church. And right in the middle of those two chapters, we find this beautiful description of love. And what Paul emphasizes is that with all the gifts, the many gifts that the saints had in the church at Corinth, love must be the context in which they exercise and express these gifts. The goal is not the gift itself. The goal is the use of the gift for the good of the church. Therefore, whatever gifts you have, love takes the priority. Love is the greatest gift of all. Love is the more excellent way than everything else you Corinthians are looking at. That's the setting of this beautiful chapter we want to study. We can pause here for a moment to make some important remarks about how we are then to view 1 Corinthians 13. And the first remark we can make is this. The love that Paul is speaking about here in 1 Corinthians 13 is the love that exists and that is exercised in the church. Paul's focus is not on the kind of love that should characterize a husband and a wife in marriage. Paul's focus is not on the kind of love that should characterize how we should love our unbelieving neighbor. Paul's focus is not on the kind of love that exists between God and His people. Certainly, application has to be made towards all those different areas where love needs to be exercised. But Paul's focus here, according to the context, is on the love that should characterize the members in the local instituted congregation. That's where we have to make our first applications to as we read this chapter. Do I have gifts? What has God blessed me with? Am I using these things for the good of the other members of this body? That is the more excellent way. That's love. instead of coveting those gifts which are showy, instead of lording my gifts over others in the church, or being proud because I have this gift or this intellect or this ability, or keeping my gifts to myself simply for my own personal enjoyment, the more excellent way is the way of love in the church. The second remark we can make is this. Paul is not setting love over against the gifts that God has given to these saints in the church. Does Paul set love against wisdom or against knowledge or against prophesying or healing? Not at all. These things are a great blessing to the church. Many of these things are vital for the church. But if they are to be used with profit, and not just for personal profit, but for the good of the whole church, they must be set in the context of love. What is the motive, what is the strength of all Christian activity? There is only one answer. It is love. Gifts are good to use. Knowledge is of genuine usefulness. But the best way to use them, really, then the only way to use them is in love. The saints in the church at Corinth were like many gifted musicians who were all playing in one orchestra. But they were like many gifted musicians in an orchestra who were simply choosing to play their own pieces of music at the same time. One playing Beethoven, one playing Mozart, one playing Bach, another playing Copland. All these musicians, very gifted, talented musicians. But they battle against each other. And as they battle against each other, the beauty of the music turns into an ugly cacophony of chaos. So Paul does not seek to diminish the gifts of the Corinthians. In chapter 14, he tells them to excel in the gifts God has given them. Their knowledge or their speech. What he wants is to restore the heart and soul of their church life. A restoration found in a God-centered exercise of love. The third remark we can make is this. When we look at 1 Corinthians 13 in the light of its context, we come to understand what true love is all about. How do you define true love? Well, it's very difficult to define in 1 Corinthians 13. We're going to look, Lord willing, at all the things that characterize what love looks like. Yet, right at the beginning, I think there are two words that we can pick out that define for us what true love looks like, that summarize what love is. First, attachment, and second, self-sacrifice. Attachment to the body, attachment to the church. and then self-sacrifice for the sake of the good of the church. That's what God's love is for us. God attaches Himself to us in a bond of love. And then, for the sake of that attachment, God makes the greatest self-sacrifice that there is. He gives up Himself to die the shameful, bitter death on the cross that we might be one with Him. That's what Christ's love looks like too. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. For his friends, that it's attachment. Friends. And then, sacrifice. He lays down his life for his friends. That's what love looks like in marriage. Attachment. That's why two people, a man and a woman, get married. God has given them a love for each other. Attachment. And then self-sacrifice. And that's what our love for each other is like in the church. I love this church. I love her members. I love who she is as the body of Christ. I attach myself to her. That's why church membership is natural and so important. I share in her life. I participate in her functions. I live as a living member of the church. Attachment. And then, self-sacrifice. Because of that affection and attachment, I lay down my life for her. I use my gifts for her. I deny myself for her and for the members that make up the church. Her happiness is my happiness. So I use my gifts, whatever those gifts may be, to the use of edifying. And, to use the language of 1 Corinthians 14, verse 12, I seek to excel in my gifts for the edifying of the church. That's exactly the difference between self-love and love for others. Self-love says, I delight in myself. Love for others says, I delight in them. I think we can say a little bit more here. And I received these thoughts as I was reading through a commentary this past week. We can ask the question, does all this mean that everyone in the church is going to agree on everything? That's exactly where love comes in. Because we're all different. We may not agree on everything. In fact, we don't agree on everything. I'm not talking about confessional matters. I'm not talking about those issues where Christ as the head of the church has spoken in his word. I'm talking about adiaphora, things that are indifferent. What kind of carpet we put in church, whether we keep these flowers at the front of the church sanctuary, and things like that. What does love do? Well, love first of all attaches itself to the church, where there is disagreement on these matters, and then love seeks to serve however it can, even in the way of self-sacrificing. And that's exactly where true unity will come. True unity will come not when everyone thinks the exact same thing. True unity will come when all of the people with all their varying ideas and ideals, and who are each gifted with their own spiritual gift, and are gifted with deep knowledge of spiritual truths, just like the saints in Corinth were gifted with. They are willing and lovingly anxious to sacrifice and use their gifts and sacrifice their own will for the sake of the body. And when you see that happening, that's where you see love. And where you see that love, that love that is very hard, That's where you turn to the Lord and thank the Lord for working that love in the hearts of the members of the church, because that's Christ being reflected in the lives of the members of the church. That's the context. As we move on, everything we've said so far in this sermon helps us to understand the powerful illustrations that Paul uses in the first three verses. Let's turn immediately to those examples. There are five illustrations that Paul gives. First, in verse one, Paul writes, though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity, I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. When Paul says, though I speak with the tongues of men, what Paul is talking about is the Spirit-given ability to speak in foreign languages. That was a gift that God had given to certain of His people in the days of the apostles and in the church at Corinth. It happened already on the day of Pentecost when the 120 disciples came down from the upper room and as they went on the street and met with the people, they were able to speak to the people in their own native language without any learning, without any training. Some people were given the ability to speak all at once in a foreign language with perfect grammar and syntax. That happened not just on the day of Pentecost, but as I said, throughout the days of the New Testament, when the scriptures had not yet been fully written. But this was a gift that only certain people were given, even in the apostolic church. Some of the people, not everyone, had this gift of speaking in foreign languages. And the Corinthians, from the way that this letter is written, The Corinthians probably ranked this gift as one of the greatest, if not the greatest gift a person could have. In their minds, speaking in tongues was the mark of spiritual maturity. When Paul goes on in verse 1 and he says, though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, Paul is simply exaggerating the point. It's not as if Paul is implying that there's some special secret language that the angels speak and certain men are given the ability to speak this language. What Paul is doing is using hyperbole. He is exaggerating. Paul is giving extremes, pushing examples to their limits, in order to make the point that it doesn't matter what language you can speak, or how far you can go with the gift, unless love is the motive. Without love, it's all nothing. So what Paul is saying is this, imagine if I could speak every single language, and I could speak any language I wanted to at any given time, and even speak how the angels speak and communicate. It's nothing. It's nothing if I don't have love, if I'm not motivated to use it for others and their profit. And Paul says, I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Children, think of something like a gong, or think of cymbals. And what can you do with a gong? You can't do much. All you can do with a gong is hit it, and it gives a rather hollow, empty sound. It's not worth much. There's very little variety in sound. And the interesting thing is this. Not only does a gong have an empty sound, but there's evidence also that in the days of the Apostle Paul, gongs and cymbals were used in the worship of the pagans at their pagan temples. So what Paul is saying is this. If I don't have love, I can speak all I want, but it's empty. And not only is it empty, but I won't sound any different than how the pagans sound in their temples. If love isn't my motive, what I do in church when I stand up and speak in tongues or speak in foreign languages to someone is really no different than a pagan rite. It's just paganism. Idolatry within the walls of the church. This is perhaps especially an important word for ministers I may be as gifted as Apollos or as gifted as Chrysostom, who was called the Golden Mouth. I may be as gifted as some of the church fathers, but if I don't have love, it is of no use. In verse 2, Paul gives two more illustrations. First, Paul says, and though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, What Paul is talking about there is the knowledge of spiritual things, the knowledge of the triune God, as He has revealed Himself in His Word and in Jesus Christ. The word mysteries refers to those things that were once hidden to God's people, or things that God's people did not fully understand, but now they've been revealed to God's people so that they understand them more fully. When you come across the word mysteries in the New Testament Scriptures, think of things such as Jesus' incarnation, His birth, His coming to the earth. Think of Jesus' atoning death on the cross. Think of how the church is now a universal church and the Gentiles are brought into the church. These were mysteries. These were things that God spoke about in the Old Testament, but God's people did not so clearly understand them in the Old Testament. But now with Jesus' coming, His first coming, and with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, these things are more fully understood. These are mysteries. The word knowledge has the idea of knowledge of doctrine, having right doctrine, knowing everything that is in every single dogmatics book. And the word prophecy has the idea of being able to communicate these things to others, being able to teach others, being able to prophesy or preach. Paul views as one of the greatest, if not the greatest gifts, because it benefited others. And now what does Paul say? He says, you may know exactly how to teach someone. You might know exactly how to comfort someone. You may be able to preach so that people are hanging on your every word. But if you don't have love, it's nothing. Yes, I may read every issue of the Standard Bearer and the Beacon Lights and the Theological Journal. And I may read five other magazines on the side, and I may know every doctrinal distinction there is, and I've memorized thick dogmatics textbooks, and I may be able to debate and win against everyone in the world, but if I don't have love, it's nothing. Again, Paul is not disparaging knowledge. He's not discouraging knowledge or prophesying. In chapter 14, Paul speaks very highly about prophesying. But the point is, if you don't have love, it's nothing. Then still in v. 2, Paul says, another illustration, if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains and have not charity, I am nothing. And Paul there is talking about the kind of faith that is so strong That a person never wavers. He never grows discouraged. He never becomes weak in his faith. His whole life might be falling apart all around him. He might be called to go through what Job went through. All his children dying in one day. Losing everything he had. And while the rest of us might react towards going through such things by being discouraged and faltering, maybe even doubting God's promises and His goodness to us, this man who has this kind of faith is as strong as a rock. Always walking perfectly. Always being able to say, all things are working together for my good. And Paul says if you have that kind of faith, faith that never falters, faith that is never doubting or questioning, It would be nothing if you didn't have love. Finally, in verse 3, Paul gives two more illustrations. 1st Paul writes, Again, Paul here is exaggerating the point. He says, if I give away every little morsel that I have, and I don't even just plop it down in one big bag at the feet of the apostles, but I carefully and calculatingly divide up all that I have in such a way that I gain the best profit and the best result from it, Oh, that's certainly the best thing that a person could do, isn't it? To be the best possible steward of my possessions. Using the things God has given me in the best way. And Paul says, but if you don't have love, that too is nothing. If I do it out of legalism, I do it to get recognition like Ananias and Sapphira did. If I do it because of peer pressure or because of my own inclination to be a good steward of my things for my own sake, it means nothing. And then finally, Paul writes, and though I give my body to be burned and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Again, he's exaggerating the point. If I endure the greatest suffering and give my body to be burned, maybe I'm willing not only to give all that I have to the church, but I'm even willing to lay down my life and give my most precious possession for the church, my own life, and I do it without love, it profits me nothing. And you know that was a problem for people during the days of the apostles and afterwards. Monks going into monasteries, people called stylites, sitting on poles for days and months and even years. People even antagonizing the Roman government so that they might be burnt at the stake. And they do it without love. Why would you do something like that if you're motivated by love? They do it without love. It profits them nothing. The obvious conclusion then is this. Everything vital in the Christian life must be wrapped up in love. Love is the greatest of all. Children, we could put it this way. Five minus one equals zero. Now you do the math there. How does that work? Five minus one equals zero. Paul gives five examples. speaking in tongues, being able to prophesy, having rock-solid faith, giving all that I have, even laying down my life, if I do all these things, even do them together, and yet I don't have love. It's zero. It's nothing. Well, in the rest of the chapter, Paul is going to explain what love looks like. I briefly summarized it by saying love is attachment and love is then acting out of that attachment and that affection by giving oneself and being patient and being kind. The rest of the chapter is going to explain for us what love is and what love looks like. But we must end this afternoon with an encouraging reminder. And this is where this sermon is an applicatory sermon. The encouraging reminder is this, though we are nothing without love, we have been given Jesus Christ. As we experienced it this morning, we are partakers of Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ does nothing without love. It was love that brought Jesus down from heaven to Bethlehem to be born of a virgin. It was love that moved Jesus to perform miracles and to preach the gospel. It was love that led Jesus to lay down his life, not to be burned, but to be crucified to the cross. It was love that moved him to go through the fighters of hell. In fact, we could even put it this way, Jesus Christ is the incarnation of the love of God. Just as God is love, so Jesus is love. Jesus is the love of God revealed in human flesh. And we partook of Jesus Christ this morning. We ate him and we drank him. Jesus lives within us. Jesus, by his spirit, dwells in us. So that as Jesus lives in us and through us, and we live out of Jesus, love is going to be what characterizes what we do. In fact, we can end this sermon this afternoon by doing a kind of exercise. We can read 1 Corinthians 13. by replacing the word charity with the name Jesus. And it will make perfect sense. We begin at verse 4 and we read, by replacing the word charity with the word Jesus. Jesus suffereth long, and Jesus is kind. Jesus envieth not. Jesus vaunteth not himself. He is not puffed up. Jesus does not behave himself unseemly, seeketh not his own. Jesus is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil. Jesus rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. Jesus bears all things. And just think of who he is as a member of the church. He's a member of the church too. He's the head. This is how he interacts with us. Jesus bears all things. Jesus believes all things. Jesus hopes all things. Jesus endures all things. Jesus never fails. But the great reality is this, though we are nothing without love, we have been given Jesus. That's the point. Jesus lives within us so that more and more as Jesus lives within us, 1 Corinthians 13 is a description not just of love and not just of Jesus, but a description of you and me. This does not mean that we suddenly become the picture of what love is. No, but it does mean that we have a small beginning of reflecting the love of Jesus that's described in these verses. So that instead of reading Jesus's name in the place of the word charity, we could more and more read and we more and more should be able to see our names there. In Christ, 1 Corinthians 13 is a description of you. And of what your life as a Christian will look like more and more. So that's a personal exercise for us. Maybe we can do that here this morning. Let's read these verses again, inserting now our own name into these verses. You suffer long. And you are kind. You envieth not. You do not vaunt yourself. You are not puffed up. You do not behave yourself unseemly. Maybe I should be putting it this way. I suffer long and I am kind. I envieth not. I do not vaunt myself. I am not puffed up. I do not behave myself unseemly. I do not seek my own. I am not easily provoked. I think no evil. You rejoice not in iniquity, but rejoice in the truth. I rejoice not in iniquity, but rejoice in the truth. I bear all things. I believe all things. I hope all things. I endure all things. I never fail. Is that a description of you, beloved? This is why we might not want to study 1 Corinthians 13. It's much too demanding Much too challenging. This is our encouraging reminder. Yes, it's only as we live out of Christ that we can behave this way. But this is the high calling we have been given. This is exactly what Paul is putting before the Corinthians. In all the mess that the church at Corinth was in. This is what Paul is putting before them. This is the mark that we are pursuing after. And out of the power of the cross of Jesus Christ, out of the means of grace, even the preaching and the sacraments, this is more and more what we are pursuing and how we will live by God's grace. This is the more excellent way God is calling us to walk in. Thanks be to God that He has begun this good work in us. And He will continue to perform it day by day until the day where we will enjoy that love perfectly in heaven. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, Thy Son Jesus Christ is so beautiful to us. He is perfect in every way. We pray that more and more we might come face to face with Him, and more and more also live out of Him. Apply this word to our hearts and to our lives. Fill us with love. And may we be known, even by those around us, as those characterized by the love of Christ, the love of God. In Jesus name we pray, amen.