I assume everybody marked their
Bible at 1 Corinthians chapter 13 that Brother Tony read, but
I'd like us to first turn to Ephesians chapter four. Our subject is obviously love,
Christ who is love. Let me begin this way. As maturity
and growth occur in a body of believers, certain things come
about. Certain changes occur. You say,
how do you know that? Well, after 40-something years,
if you're paying attention, you notice things change when you're
in a body of believers. We notice when our own bodies
change, don't we? if it's significant enough and
therefore we'll notice changes in the body of Christ if we're
part of it. And these changes are clearly
a sign of the working of the Holy Spirit of God in a body
or in a church. It should give us assurance if
we recognize these changes in our local assembly and these
changes are clearly told, not only from experience have I observed
this, but the Word of God teaches us that that's what's going to
happen. All of God's people receive gifts. Now we all know we receive
the gift of God who is the Lord Jesus Christ, the gift of faith. Those are gifts. And that's Christ
in us, the hope of glory. But some of God's people receive
other gifts as well. If you look here at verse 11
of Ephesians 4, do we see it says, and he gave some apostles
and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and some teachers. Now, why? Why is this the way
it is? For what purpose? He doesn't
wait long to tell us, look at verse 12. It's this way for the
perfecting and that's the maturing of the saints, for the work of
the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. That's
how we're taught. He gives men who have gifts,
some of these gifts, and those men teach us and we learn. We're edified in Christ that
way. Now how long will it take, will
it be this way? Look at verse 13, till we all
come in the unity of the faith. and of the knowledge of the Son
of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of
the fullness of Christ." Now what that's saying is how long
will it be? Well, until we either die and
go to be with Christ or until he returns. That's how long it's
going to be this way. This is how God's ordained that
he's going to teach his people, that he's going to edify us.
This is how Christ also gets all the glory. That's the reason
it's the way it is. He gets the glory this way, because
he said, I'm gonna do it this way. Then when he does it this
way, then he gets the credit for it and the glory, not those
who he uses as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teachers and
so forth. All right, and that's a good reason, isn't it? That
Christ gets the most glory that way. Now turn back to 1 Corinthians,
and we're gonna spend our time primarily in chapter 13, but
believers are all sinners. God's shown us that. And we don't
need to know what particular sins we've each committed to
believe that all have sinned to come short of the glory of
God. In fact, the more ignorant we are, the less we know about
one another's sin, the better off we are. We don't need to
be talking about that amongst ourselves. But the same is not
true about God's gifts to his people. The more we know about
that subject, the better we are. Look first at chapter 12, verse
1, and this is what it says. Now concerning spiritual, and
this all comes before the chapter of love. It begins in chapter
12. Now concerning spiritual gifts,
brethren, I wouldn't have you be ignorant. I wouldn't have
you be misinformed. I wouldn't withhold that information
from you. God reveals that he gives gifts
and to whom he gives them and how he gives them and why. Now,
believers are not all alike in terms of their spiritual gifts
and abilities. That's what that just says. But now look at verse
four. Now there are diversities or
differences of gifts, but it's the same spirit. It doesn't matter
whether we perceive a certain gift as a, I know amongst us,
if somebody gives a child one of those spinner things, that's
nice. If somebody gives them a bicycle,
that's a big deal, isn't it? We make differences, don't we?
The gifts of God, I'll tell you what, God's people, we'll see
one day, They were wonderful, no matter whether we perceived
them as small or great. But every one of God's children
receives gifts, and some have several, some have many, some
have fewer. But no gift is deserved or merited. That would be a payment and not
a gift, wouldn't it? Let's get that out of the way.
We don't earn any gift that God gives. He gives them as it says,
severally, as he sees fit. Therefore, there's no place for
pride in the recipient of any spiritual gift, whether they
be few or many. Look at verse 11. It says, but
all these worketh that one in the selfsame spirit, dividing
to every man severally as he will. God gives. Do we see that? God gives the
gifts. God gives severally as he will.
Henry Mann said this, and I think it's a marvelous thing about
this subject. Let those who have few gifts
be thankful for them, and those that have many gifts be humbled
by them. Do you want to hear that again? Let those who have few gifts
be thankful for them, and those who have many gifts be humbled
by them. These differences in the body
of Christ are likened to a human body. Talk a minute about that. You know, a foot and a hand are
not alike. The youngest one, we could go
down to the nursery and those children wouldn't know the difference.
That's my foot, that's my hand, and they're not the same. That's
pretty simple, isn't it? Verse 14, look what it says.
For the body is not one member, but many. And if the foot shall
say, because I'm not the hand, I'm not of the body, is it therefore
not of the body? That's absurd, isn't it? The
ear is not like the eye, and yet they're part of the same
body. Look at verse 16. And if the ear shall say, because
I'm not the eye, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not of
the body? So who makes the difference between the gift of the preacher,
the teacher, or the hearer? Why does one have the gift of
giving and another believer has the gift of hospitality. Why
does one have only a few gifts and another has several? The
answer is in verse 18. Do we see it? But now hath God
set the members, every one of them in the body, as it has pleased
Him. Henry Mann used to say this,
whatever God's given us to do is a gift. And we ought to do
it with all our might, all our strength, pour everything there
is into it. There was a fellow who for years
did the simplest thing, the simplest thing. He would come in and see
that Henry had a glass of water. That doesn't sound like a, he
was never on the TV, he never preached, he never taught, he
never did anything. But I tell you what, Henry always had a
glass of water there. And that was a gift God gave
him, and folks loved him for it, appreciated him for it. Even
though it wasn't what we'd call high profile, it wasn't a bicycle.
It might have been a little spinner thing to most folks, but it was
important in God's sight. You know, if everyone was a preacher, We'd be a body of all mouths.
Now there's a sobering thought in it. We'd all be mouths. That wouldn't be good. Look at
verse 17. If the whole body were an eye,
where would be the hearing? And if the whole were hearing,
where were the smelling? Look now at verse 19. And if
there were all one member, where were the body? But now are they
many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say into the
hand, I have no need of thee. Nor again the head to the feet,
I have no need of you. Nay, much more these, those members
of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary. You
know what's important about that verse? Do you see it does not
say that, nay, much more those members of the body which are
feeble are necessary. It doesn't say that, does it?
It says those that seem to be. If something seems feeble to
us that the Lord's done, then we're seeing it wrong. We're
seeing it wrong. That man getting a glass of water
was the same as Henry Mahan standing up to preach. I'm telling you,
it was in God's sight. Do we see that? And that man
did it faithfully. Now, let me give you an example
of that. You ever see these fellas, strong
men? They give one of these. Buddy, they're showing these
off. They got some guns, and they're going to show them doing
this. Have you ever seen one of them do this? Look. Flexing those little fingers
like this was going to bulge or something. You say, that's
ridiculous. Well, does that mean the little
finger is not as important as the bicep? Let me tell you a
story. Many, many years ago, I was helping
some fellas out in a restaurant, and I walked into their freezer.
And I got in there, and the door swung shut. Well, I tell you
what, I had some guns back then, but I couldn't get out. I couldn't
figure out how to get out of that thing. And I kept looking
and looking, and the light was on fortunately, but the sign
had worn off. You know how you got out of the
place? The door was broken. But the emergency way to get
out was a little hole right below the broken handle. And it's on
all of them. And you know what? If you just
stuck your little finger in there and push, the door would pop
open and out you came. Now what's important? These or
this? Do we see that? We may seem to
be unimportant to some folks, but not in God's sight. And therefore,
we ought to cherish one another no matter what the gifts are.
That's what this is saying. It just seems to us. But I'll
tell you, for one another in gifts, there's always a purpose. And at seeking the glory of the
Lord Jesus Christ, whom we serve and in whom we're all a part,
there's no unimportant parts, no matter what they seem. Look
at verse 23. And those members of the body which we think to
be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor. And our uncomely parts have more
abundant comeliness. The key to understanding this
verse is right there. It says, and those members of
the body which we think. Boy, we think wrong so often,
don't we? We don't think. We just don't think right. Our
thinking is still tempered with sin. We may think it's less honorable,
but no gift of God is less honorable. The old man, that's him talking,
when he just thinks, well, that guy who got the glass of water,
he's not important. He could not be here tonight, and it wouldn't
matter. It would to Henry. It would to Henry. And whatever God gives us to
do, whatever gift it is, do it with all our might, strength,
and for his glory. We just think it that way. I
tell you what. If I'm an elbow, it's not my place to go, well,
I'd be a better mouth than you. That's just not true. It's just
not true. I may be an elbow, but I wouldn't
be a better mouth than Gabe Stoniker is, because Gabe is the mouth
God's appointed to be in this place. He's given him that gift.
And you know, if we were just thinking wrong, if we get that
all backwards, one day when the sole of the foot You know, I
thought of this illustration. The eye is important, no question.
And the eye might think, you know, if I was a foot, I'd never
stub my toe. I'm smarter than that. And the
foot, on the other hand, one day, if the sole of the foot
could just see what the eye has to see. There's a purpose sometimes
in us not knowing everything, not seeing everything, of us
having the place, the gifts that God's given us, and no more or
no less. Look at verse 25 with me. That
there should be, it's the way it is, that God's put this body
together, the way it is for this reason, that there should be
no division, no schism, in the body. but that the members should
have the same care one for another. There should never be a division
among us folks, amongst believers. The foot needs the ear to hear
the rattle of the snake, and the ear needs the foot to spring
away from the poisonous stake that is so close. Brethren, no
matter how different we are, no matter the gifts, we need
one another. We should have, as it says here
in verse 25, we should have the same care one for another. We
should have care for one another. All treat each other the same.
We ought to forgive each other when we don't. Take thought. We each should give as much thought
about the other as we do about ourselves. I'm so convicted by
that. I ought to be thinking about
you more than I am about myself, or certainly as much. And I'm
sorry, I'm ashamed to admit to you that I don't, that I don't. I tell you what, if you want
a happy back, you say, what? A happy back. You know what?
Scratch it once in a while when it itches. Or on the other hand,
what's better than backing up to somebody and saying, I got
a place here I can't reach. Can you scratch that for me?
Or how about this? A happy back is one that somebody
came up and just gave him a little pat. Said, I love you, brother. Thinking about you, brother.
Do we see what makes a happy back? What about, you want a
happy ear? Say sweet things to it. Say kind
things. Send whispers of love now and
again. Do we see what I'm saying with this? You want a happy mouth?
Well, let the ear listen to it once in a while. Do we see that? All right, look at verse 26.
And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it.
Or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.
We weep with those who weep, and we rejoice with those who
rejoice. Why? We care one for another, despite
our differences. Look at verse 27. Now ye are
the body of Christ, and members in particular. Now, instantly,
the day we met Christ, we became It was revealed to us that we
were members of his body and our behavior changes towards
our fellow believers. We care one for another. I care
about you like you were my own hand. I care
pretty much about this. And by God's grace, we'll care
one another that way for each other. And you say, well, we're
different. No, we're unique by God's design,
but we're one in Christ. And by his grace, we can love
each other that way. We all get the gifts of God,
few or many. There's always some evidence
of these gifts, and we should all honor and cherish these gifts.
But let me ask you this, all these gifts, is that all we get?
Is that what we get when we become believers? We get some gifts.
How often have you told your children, well, Christmas is
not all about gifts. Well, unfortunately, it usually
is. But that being a believer is
not all about these gifts. Okay? Look at verse 31. He says,
but covet earnestly the best gifts. It's okay to want the
gifts. It's okay to desire the best
gifts. The one who would not be honored
to have God give us the gift of teaching children or the honor
of just coming up and saying, buddy, I love you. Calling somebody
who's sick, saying, I'm thinking about you. I hope you feel better.
Just all these gifts are wonderful, but that's not all there is.
It says here, but covet earnestly the best gifts, but yet I show
unto you a more excellent way. There's something way better
than these gifts. A more excellent way. These gifts
may constitute some of the things we do, we're enabled to do by
the spirit and power of God, and not everyone can do everything,
but what's coming now constitutes Not what we do, but who we are. You know there's a difference
in what we do. You ever meet somebody who does
something on the outside and then down the road you find out
they're not like that inside. What this is saying is that God
gives gifts and that's outwardly what we appear. But there's something
better than that. It's something he does on the
inside. What's coming now constitutes who who we are, and look at verse
1 of chapter 13. This is what's better than the
gifts. Though I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become a sounding
brass and a tinkling cymbal. No matter how eloquent I may
be, I can convince folks, perhaps, that I'm a Christian, or even
that I'm a preacher. But if I have not love, I'm just
an irritation. I'm a troublemaker, that's all
I am. Look at verse two, and though I have the gift of prophecy
and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though
I have all faith so that I can remove mountains and have not
love, I'm nothing. I'm nothing. I may be able to
do some things, but I'm nothing in God's sight. See, even if
I appear to have all kinds of gift, if there's no love, I'm
nothing. Christ is all, and all Christians
love God, love Christ, and love one another. Everything else
is nothing. It's just, there'll come a time
when nobody's gonna care. When we're in our Lord with him,
nobody's gonna care who preached. Nobody's gonna care who the apostles
were in that regard. Nobody's gonna care who had the
highest position and all these things. Verse three says, and
though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, See, that's
something I can do. And though I give my body to
be burned, I can do that. If I don't have love, it's going
to profit me nothing. Folks can go through the motions,
be generous with money and profess that they'd die for someone,
be martyrs. But without love, it's still
nothing. Love is so essential that it is not the gift God gives
a few or to some or even most. Love is the gift God gives absolutely
every believer. There's a reason we're called
Christians, because God gave us Christ. He gave us love. It
is evidence that we know Christ, who is love. Without love, we
are nothing. No matter how much we counterfeit
other gifts, the absence of love sooner or later tells on itself
and will be revealed at the last day. Do you remember those fellows
who came our Lord talked about? He said, uh, they appeared before
the judgment and said, Lord, Lord, you know, he said, he said,
depart from me. I never knew you. And they said,
Lord, Lord, wait, wait, wait. He said, I preached, I prophesied. And another one said, Lord, I
cast out devils in your name. I did that. And another said,
we did many wonderful works in thy name. You know what they
didn't say? The defense they didn't give? What did Peter say? I know what
you've done. Now what's in your heart? Peter
said, Lord, you know I love you. Not one of those fellows said,
Lord, I love you. I love your people. That's the
only defense that's going to mean anything if that love has
been put in the heart. If we are wondering, do I love
the brethren? Well, here's the measuring rod.
Listen for a moment. And Lord, help us not to examine
one another in this, but examine ourselves as we go down through
this. I need not to question how you
measure up, but see how I measure up in this. Here's, look at this
presentation of love. Verse four, love suffers long
and is kind. Love envieth not. Love vaunted
not itself. Doesn't put itself first. Love
is not puffed up. What that's saying is that we're
patient with the faults of others. We're not jealous or envious
of the prosperity of others. We're not proud of ourselves
or puffed up with pride. And what I'm telling you these
verses mean is just what Henry wrote in his commentaries. But
verse 5 says, love doesn't behave itself unseemly. Love doesn't
seek her own itself. Love is not easily provoked.
Love thinks no evil. Love's not rude, but rather humble
and courteous. Love yields our way to your way. Love's not touchy, resentful,
or easily offended. Love looks not for faults, but
thinks the best of others. Look at verse six. Love rejoices
not in iniquity, but love rejoices in the truth. Love is not glad
when things go wrong for others, and love loves truth. Verse 7
says, love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things. That means love covers unfortunate
news with silence. It means love believes and looks
for the best in our brethren. It means that what love cannot
see, it hopes for in the brethren. Love will endure trial, sorrow,
sickness, disappointment, hurt feelings, and even great offenses. And verse eight says, love never
fails. But whether there be prophecies,
they shall fail. Whether there be tongues, they
shall cease. Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
Love never fails, but endures until the end. Christ does not
exemplify these things, folks. Christ is these things. Christ
did not fail. He endured to the end, even the
cross. He took our sin and gave us his
perfect righteousness. He died in our place. Why? He
loved us, despite what we are, and he loves us still. That's
what he did, but also who he is. I want us to notice something
before I leave these few verses. I saw this for the first time
this week. In order to teach us, his people, what love is,
The Word of God refers a great deal in this portion of Scripture
to what love is not. Verses 4, 5, 6, and 8. You notice there it says, love
suffers long and is kind. Love envieth not. Love vaunteth
not. Love's not puffed up, not behaved.
Why is that? By nature, we know a lot about
unlove. Does that make sense? We know
a lot about unlove, which is sin. In these verses, it's talking
about love's not hatred, love's not envy, love's not pride, love's
not unseemly behavior, love's not iniquity, love's not provocation,
love's not evil, and love doesn't fail. Why is it like that? That's
what we know about. We know about hatred, envy, pride,
iniquity, provocation, evil, and failure. We know a lot about
that, don't we, by nature? God, in this portion of Scripture,
tells us in words we can understand and identify with what love is
not. And therefore, perhaps we can
enter into what love is. Our first instinct is always
unlove. We require God's Spirit to subdue
the old man and allow the new man to love. love God and love
one another. Before we can love, we must first
see ourselves for what we are by nature, unlove, that's sin. Then we can see Christ who is
love. Now, turn to John 13 with me
for a minute. John chapter 13. We cannot be in Christ a part
of Christ a new person in Christ without love and evidence of
this love. Christ is love. The new person
in us is just like Christ. It's love. Look at John 13 verse
34. A new commandment I give unto
you that you love one another is I have loved you that you
also love one another. By this shall all men know that
you're my disciples if you have love one for another. What that says, look around here
for just a minute, look at one another and let me ask you, do
you see somebody here that you love? Not your parents, not your
spouse, not your children, someone who once was a complete stranger,
but now is a brother or sister in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
you love them, you love them. That's the evidence that we're
in Christ. That's not normal. We meet strangers
out and about. We don't immediately go, Hey,
how are you? And start hugging up on them
and asking them how they are. And that's not normal, is it? No, that's evidence. And I know
some are easier to love than others. Some of us are hard to
love. I'm ashamed to admit, I see that in myself too often. But
Christ loved us when we were nothing but sin. Surely we can
love one another despite our sin. Go back to Ephesians 4 for
just a minute. Ephesians chapter 4. You see, salvation does not require
us Do you want to hear that again? Salvation does not require us
to love one another. Salvation is complete in Christ.
He's done all the loving, all that's required. And yet, without
love, there's been no salvation in us. Love is an evidence of
salvation. We don't love one another in
order to be saved. We love one another because we
have been saved. Let me see if I can illustrate
this. How would one of your children
prove in a court of law that they were your child? How would
you prove that he was your dad? Nobody knows you, knows your
past, says, well, I'm his son. You know how they do it? Simple.
All they got to do is get one drop of blood, one hair, one
cell. or a little piece of skin, something,
and they can do a DNA test and find out, are you his son? It proves unequivocally, you
are a child, a rightful heir. God's children can be unequivocally
identified by the test of love. Love is the DNA of his heirs,
of his children. He said, by this shall all men
know you're my disciples. What? If you love one another.
Edifying, look at Ephesians 4 verse 11. And he gave some apostles, some
apostles, we read this earlier, for the purpose of perfecting
the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of faith, and
so forth. Look at verse 15. But speaking
the truth in love, may grow up unto him in all things which
is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined
together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth according
to the effectual working and the measure of every part maketh
increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. The way we know we're God's children
is if we love one another, if we love Christ. God's children, we do love each
other. Not like we should, not like
we will someday, but we do love one another. And our Lord keeps
pouring out His gifts in His people, raising up this one and
that one, that His body may grow, but the greatest thing there
is, is love. Every one of His people get that
gift. The greatest gift is love. Now, find 1 Corinthians 13, I'll
give you one more thing and we'll be through. 1 Corinthians 13. The other beautiful, revealing
aspect of love being described as not certain things. Love is
by nature what we are not. But unlove, not love, is what
Christ The man Christ Jesus never was. I know that's a double negative,
but let me see if I can show you what I'm talking about. Have
you got 1 Corinthians 13? Look at verse 4 with me. Love
suffers long. Christ suffered long. Oh, did He suffer. Can you imagine
33 years away from your Father, whom you loved, who you were
one with? 33 years away from him. And love is kind. Christ certainly
was. Love envieth not. What did he
have to envy that we had or anybody else? Love vaunteth not itself. The closest thing I could think
of where Christ went to the fore. You know when it was? when he
came out of the Garden of Eden and a mob came to take him. And
you know what he did? He stepped up there and said,
I am he. Let these depart. He put himself
out there for the sake of his children. That's love. That's love. And then it says,
love's not puffed up. Verse 5, love did not behave
itself unseemly. Christ never did one thing, ever. No behavior, ever. that was unseemly. Love seeketh not her own. He
didn't seek his own, his own will, his own way. Love is not
easily provoked. The closest I could think about
that was one time he seemed to be provoked. You know when it
was? He went in the temple and they were buying and selling
and cheating his people in the name of his father. And he wouldn't
have it. He was provoked. It says, love
thinks no evil. He never had an evil thought.
That's beyond my comprehension to fathom. Love, Christ rejoices
not in iniquity. Christ rejoices in the truth
because he is the truth. Christ bore all things. Et Calvary
he bore it all. Christ believeth all things.
Christ hopeth all things. Christ endureth all things. Christ
never failed, not one time in anything he did, certainly not
in the salvation of his people. Whether there be prophecies,
they shall fail. Whether there be tongues, they
shall cease. Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
But look at verse 13. And now abideth faith, hope,
and Christ, and love. These are three gifts, but the
greatest of these is Christ. If we have Christ, if we have
love, we have it all. We have all we need. Well, I
hope this has been a blessing to you and that the Lord will
bless His word. Okay, Brother Dwight, come and lead us in the
closing hymn, if you will.