DEVELOPING TRUE LOVE AND A LOVING RELATIONSHIP WITH US
God is developing new members of his family. Therefore we need to be more like God, full of unselfish love. We must repent of our selfish, sinful ways and learn to resist them and thereby build truly loving character. This has always been the number one goal. Note what is said in the Old Testament.
Deuteronomy 6:4-6 NKJV 4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
Jeremiah 31:33-34 NKJV 33 "But this is the covenant that I will make.... I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, ...' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,...
Somewhere in the near future, everyone will know God and will have learned to love him. All mankind except the defiantly wicked will have a loving relationship with God. Wow! This is the goal of the core of God's Law The Ten Commandments.
Mark 12:28-31 NKJV 28 ... "Which is the first commandment of all?" 29 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 30 'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. 31 "And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
Jesus summarized the objectives of the Ten Commandments. The first ones are to teach us how to love God and the second part is to guide us as to how to love each other. Jesus stumped his rivals and critics with this analysis.
Matthew 22:34-46 NKJV 34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 Jesus said to him," 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment. 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." ….
46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.
Christ left his smart but worldly critics speechless.
BELIEVERS NEED TO PRACTICE SELFLESS, GODLY LOVE
Paul told the immature Corinthians that they needed to understand why they were given spiritual gifts. They were given for them to learn to start acting in a mature loving manner, and to understand agape love. They wanted gifts to show off more than to help others.
1 Corinthians 12:31 NKJV 31 But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.
Paul said it is fine to desire gifts but the better truly Christian way is..
1 Corinthians 13:1-2 NKJV 1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 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.
The Apostle Paul is using hyperbole to make his point. Even if they had the greatest amounts of tongues, teachings and knowledge and faith and used it without selfless love it is meaningless spiritually. Love is BOTH a gift and a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Note Gal 5:22-24. Without this fruit, talents and gifts are NOTHING.
1 Corinthians 13:3 BBE 3 And if I give all my goods to the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it is of no profit to me.
Charitable giving for virtue signaling or PR without love are meaningless spiritually. During the Vietnam war some young Monks were persuaded to burn themselves alive in an attempt to push for another administration in Saigon. All that was wasted effort.
1 Corinthians 13:4 MNT 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love envies not; love makes no parade, is not puffed up,
Gifts are like orchestra instruments when played badly as without agape love they are just strident, selfish music. Gifts used with Godly love are so beautiful. Wow!
1 Corinthians 13:5-8 MNT 5 is not rude, nor selfish, nor easily provoked. Love bears no malice, never rejoices over wrong-doing, 6 but rejoices when the truth rejoices. 7 It knows how to be silent, it is trustful, hopeful, patient, enduring. 8 Love never fails; but though there are prophecies, they will fail; though there are tongues, they will cease; though there is knowledge, it will be superseded.
Gifts like knowledge and languages and even a prophecy will fail but never love. Once all is known our special knowledge will be unnecessary.
WHAT ARE THE BEST SPIRITUAL GIFTS ?
Paul is in the process of answering this question. He is first explaining to the immature Corinthian church that first we must have agape love. All their virtue signaling and competition as to who is most spiritual is futile. After this lesson he continues to answer the question.
1 Corinthians 13:11-13 MNT 11 When I was a child I spoke like a child, felt like a child, thought like a child; now that I am become a man, I have done with childish things. 12 For now we see as in a mirror, and are baffled, but then face to face; now I know in fragments, but then shall I understand even as I also have been understood.
13 Faith, Hope, Love endure--these three; but the greatest of these is Love.
The big three gifts are FAITH HOPE AND LOVE. .The greatest is clearly love. Even with growth as long as we are human we understand only partially. Someday when Christ returns and we are fully born into God's family we will see and understand fully.
1 John 3:1-2 MNT 1 Behold what manner of love the Father has given us in allowing us to be called "Children of God!" And that is what we are. For this reason the world does not recognize us, because it did not know him.
2 We are God's children now, beloved; what we shall be has never yet been made manifest. But we know that when he is manifested we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is.
Remember no one can look at God directly face to face because he is awesome bright and powerful. We will be like him or at least made of the same spiritual material and can see him directly. Wonderful!
Paul has one more piece of advice to give us all and it is to desire a gift that will allow us to share the gospel with others.
1 Corinthians 14:1-3 MNT 1 Hotly pursue this love, yet seek earnestly spiritual gifts, and chiefly that you may prophesy. 2 For he who speaks in a "tongue" speaks not to man but to God, for no one understands him, but in the Spirit he utters secret truths. 3 But he who prophesies, addresses words to men that build up, encourage, and console.
The gift of prophecies means ability to teach and not just about prophecy.
Whether we teach in a public speaking forum or privately, individual to individual, it is so potentially valuable. It is valuable to the specific congregation and also to outsiders. We can encourage those depressed and also explain that God will resurrect all who have passed away. God is taking care of them. God is love.
