Now, if you recall, we ended
our lesson last week in verse 31 of chapter 12. Paul says,
but covet earnestly the best gifts. You remember the people
there in Corinth were desiring so strongly all these spectacular
gifts of the Spirit. And Paul says, covet earnestly
the best gifts, yet show I unto you a more excellent way. There
is something better than these supernatural gifts of healings
and tongues that the people were so taken up with. There's something
that we should desire more than knowledge, more than talents,
more than offices of the church. And that is what he teaches us
here in chapter 13. It's true love, true love for
God and true love for men. So he begins in verse one here
in chapter 13. Though I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels and have not love, I'm become as a sounding
brass or a tinkling cymbal. You know, the people wanted to
be able to speak in tongues. That was very important. And
nothing's changed. People still desire that in our day. You know,
the gift of tongues is something that they desire so much, make
a big deal about. But, you know, if I could speak
in every language known to man, not just one different language,
but all of them, if I could, but don't have love for God,
I'm nothing. Just making an irritating sound. Because you know if I could,
if I didn't have love for God and love for you, if I could
speak in every tongue known to man, it'd be a party trick. We'd have a cookout over at my
house and I'd be doing a party trick. That's what that would
be. Without love for Christ, without love for you. All that
would be doing is drawing attention to myself, not using it to edify
people and point people to Christ. And if I could speak with a silver
tongue, I mean the tongue of angels. You know, if I could
speak with a great preacher voice, you know, I don't have a great
preacher voice, but I mean, if I had that James Earl Jones voice,
right? That's a horrible James Earl
Jones imitation, but I mean, I wish I could speak like that
fella. If I had that voice and didn't
have God-given love, it'd just be noise. Just rattling noise. All the attention. would be a
migrate voice, not on Christ, not on the message. Oratory,
and we ought to be able to speak well, but oratory is not what
leads men to Christ. Being impressed with the preacher
is not what leads men to Christ. What leads men to Christ is the
gospel. It's the word. It's Christ himself. And the way we help one another,
you know, in our fellowship with one another and speaking with
one another, the way we can be a blessing to one another is
by showing genuine love to one another from the heart. That's
what real preaching is. Real preaching, regardless of
what your oratory skills is, is speaking of Christ with love
from my heart to yours. That's what true preaching is.
And without that, Paul says all that is is a sounding brass.
Just a gong. It's loud. It can get everybody's
attention. But it's dead. That gong is dead
and it can't make any noise until it's struck. And when it's struck,
it just proves it doesn't have any sound in itself. It doesn't
have the message in itself. Somebody else has got to strike
it in order to make it make noise because it's dead. And that's
the way all of us would be without love for Christ and love for
me. Paul says it'd be a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. You
know what tinkling cymbals were used for in that day? Idol worship. You found those tinkling cymbals
in the houses of idols. And without love, the best sounding
preaching, all it is, is idolatry. Without love for Christ. It's
just an irritating noise. And this love that we're talking
about here, genuine love, must come from God. It's given by
God in the new birth. Look over Romans chapter 5. This
love is what the believer receives in the new birth. Romans 5 verse
5. And hope maketh not ashamed because
the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost,
which is given unto us. That's how we receive this love
by the Holy Ghost, which is given to us in the new birth. It must
be given to us, and without it, we're nothing. Nothing but flesh
was the way we were born, which is nothing, just dirt. That's
all we are, without this love for God and love for His people.
Now, verse 2, Paul goes on, he says, 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 love, I'm nothing. You know, we'd be very impressed
with someone who had the gift of prophecy, who could tell us
the future events or could explain to us what the purpose of God
is and things we see happen in our day. Somebody could explain
to me the purpose of God in the events of our day. I'd be mighty
impressed because I've asked that question a lot. I wonder
what God's purpose is in this. But you know what? Balaam could
prophesy. And Balaam hated God and was
an enemy of God's people. Isn't that right? Look over at
John chapter 11. Caiaphas could prophesy. The
high priest, the year that our Lord died, he could prophesy. Look at that in John chapter
11, verse 49. And one of them named Caiaphas,
being the high priest that same year, said unto them, you know
nothing at all. nor consider that it is expedient
for us that one man should die for the people, and that the
whole nation perish not." Now that's the gospel message right
there, substitution. But look at verse 51. And this
spake he, not of himself, but being high priest that year,
he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation, and not
for that nation only, but that also he should gather together
in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. And look,
what was the the result of that. From that day forth, they took
counsel together to put him to death. Caiaphas prophesied, but
he hated Christ. He had him put to death. So just
being able to prophesy is not, you know, the thing that gets
us anything. Without love in the heart, that
prophecy, nothing. Without love. If I had so much
knowledge that I understood all the scriptures, a lot of scripture
is a mystery to me. But if I understood all the mysteries
of the gospel and all the mysteries of the word and could explain
it to you, but didn't have love, I'm nothing. If I could understand
the incarnation of Christ, how God could become a man and not
cease to be God, that's a mystery. If I could understand how God
imputed my sin to Christ at Calvary, And how He imputed the perfect
righteousness of Christ to me so that when God sees me, He
sees me as righteous and as holy as His Son. That'd be impressive. If I could understand the Trinity.
How God is three, yet one. Boy, that'd be impressive. But
if I don't have love, it's nothing. I'd have a deep head, wouldn't
I? But an empty heart. And you know what a deep head
with an empty heart does? This makes a hollow sound. There's
no heart in it. It's just it's hollow. And every
one of us would like to have more faith. If I had so much
faith and he's not talking here about saving faith, because if
you had saving faith that would remove mountains, you're something
because God gave it to you. He's talking about. the faith
of miracles, the ability to perform these miracles, and faith that
you can perform this miracle. If I had that kind of faith and
ability so that I could remove mountains, remove any obstacle
that's in our way, but don't have love for God and love for
His people, I'm nothing. And that's hard for us to understand
because men in this flesh would be very, very impressed by that.
God's not impressed. That's the way He's saying it.
Now, verse 3, And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor,
Until I give my body to be burned and have not love, it profiteth
me nothing. Now, if I give all my goods to
the poor and the homeless and don't have love in the heart,
it profits me nothing. That would benefit them, wouldn't
it? But it benefits and profits me nothing. Why would somebody
give all their money to the poor unless they loved them, unless
they cared for them? Well, lots of reasons. There's a good tax
write-off in it. You get the praise of men. You
get your picture in the paper, you know, giving them that big
check. I worked for a company one time. We put on two major
events over the course of the year, kind of moneymakers, and
we donated all the money to charity. Well, one year the paper didn't
cover it and the owner was going to quit doing it. He said, what's
the point in doing it if we don't get recognition in the paper?
No love. No love. That's what he all wanted
was recognition. It's possible to have an open
hand and a closed heart. It's possible to have a generous
giving hand and a selfish, stingy heart. That's so. Look over at
Acts chapter 4. This is what Ananias and Sapphira
fell into. Acts chapter 4. They wanted the praise of men. Acts chapter 4, verse 34. Now neither was there any among
them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or
houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that
were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet. And distribution
was made unto every man according as he had need. And Joses, who
by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, which is being interpreted
the son of consolation, a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the
apostles' feet." And boy, everybody's impressed with his generosity
and his faith, weren't they? We'll look at chapter five. But
there was a certain man named Ananias and Sapphira, his wife.
See, they saw this. They saw the recognition that
these people were getting, the thanks that they were getting.
Well, they sold a possession and kept back part of the price,
his wife also being privy to it. and brought a certain part
and laid it at the apostles' feet and gave it off as this
is the whole price. We're giving you everything.
But Peter said, Ananias, he saw through this. Why has Satan filled
thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and to keep back part of
the price of the land? Why did you do that? He had an
open hand, but a selfish heart. He wanted the praise of men.
He wasn't doing it as an act of faith or out of love for the
brethren. He wanted the praise of men. So it's possible to give
all your money to the poor But without love, it's nothing. What
if I died as a martyr, willing to give my body to be burned
at the stake? Would that get me anywhere? Now,
without love for Christ, it wouldn't. It might land me in a new edition
of the Apostles' Book of Martyrs, but it wouldn't land me in the
Lamb's eternal book of life, it wouldn't. Because the only
sacrifice God's going to accept is the sacrifice of his son.
And he's going to reject any other sacrifice because any other
sacrifice is self-righteousness. And this love here we're talking
about is not optional, not for the child of God, it's not. It's
the evidence of salvation. This is not optional. Look, 1
John chapter 4. This love is given to every believer
in the new birth. 1 John 4, verse 7. Loving, let us love one another,
for love is of God. And everyone that loveth is born
of God and knoweth God. It's given in the new birth.
This love is the evidence of salvation. This love is the evidence
of God the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts. Look at 1 John
4, verse 16. And we have known and believed
the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth
in love dwelleth in God. And God in him, God dwells in
him. If the Holy Spirit dwells in
your heart, how can you not be loving? You must be because God
is love. It's the evidence of a work of
grace. Look over Galatians chapter five.
This love is not optional because it's the fruit of the spirit
that's given to every believer. Without exception. Galatians
5 verse 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law.
The fruit of the Spirit is love. See, it has to be given to us.
It's not the fruit that we produce. It's the fruit of the Spirit
who dwells in us. And last, John 15. Love is not optional for
the believer because it's the command of our Lord. John 15,
verse 12. This is my commandment, that
ye love one another as I have loved you. It's his commandment.
Now, Paul, beginning in verse four here, back in our text,
he's going to describe love. This is true love that God puts
in the hearts of his people. Verse four, love suffers long. It's kind. Love envieth not. Love vaunteth not itself. It's
not puffed up. You know, we're long suffering.
for the people that we love. You know, if you really love
someone, you're patient with them. They got faults, but you're
willing to overlook them. You don't really see them because
you love them. Love just kind of glosses over it. If you really
love someone, you don't get angry with them too quickly. Occasionally
you do, but if you do, it's soon forgotten because you love them.
True love will suffer without resentment if we really love
someone. You know, we're truly kind to
the people that we love. We're tender with them. We're
compassionate with them. You see, love must show itself
by giving the very best that it has to the person that we
love. You're kind to them. We don't envy someone we love. You know, we're not jealous when
the Lord blesses them. My daughter has opportunities
that I've never had when I was her age. The last thing to enter
my mind is to be envious. I'm so thankful. I thank God
every day. There's opportunities. It's not
envious. You're happy when the Lord blesses one of them. You
know how I know Joseph's brothers didn't love him? They didn't
love him, their brother. You know how I know that? They were
envious of him. You don't envy someone that you
love. Love bondeth not itself, is not puffed up. True love will
never try to promote itself over those that we love. True love
does not make a person puffed up and proud. What do we have
to be proud of anyway? Everything we have, everything
that we are, is a gift of God. And if you have a gift, who made
you to differ? God gave it to you. Love doesn't
make a person proud. Now verse 5, he goes on, he says,
love does not behave itself unseemly. Love seeketh not aroam, is not
easily provoked, thinketh no evil. True love isn't rude. True love. If you really love
someone, you're kind to them. You're courteous to them. It's
easy to be around people who love you, isn't it? Don't you
enjoy being around people who love you? Because they're kind
to you. If they love you, they're kind
to you. They'd be nice to you because they want you to stick
around because they love you. That's why a boy's so kind and
loving to a girl. He's dating her. He wants her
to stick around. He's wooing her because he loves her. Self-righteousness
produces a hardness and produces a rudeness. Love produces humility
and courtesy. And love doesn't seek its own
at the expense of others. Now, love, there's nothing wrong
with getting what you need and so forth in this life, but love
won't seek those things at the expense of those that we love. Won't do it. True love won't
seek its own way. It won't seek its own rights.
It won't seek its own will. True love will seek the good
of those that we love because we love them. We want the best
for them. Love is the enemy of selfishness. That sums that up. Love is not
easily provoked to anger. And like I said a minute ago,
if it is provoked to anger quickly, it forgives and forgets. Just forgets about it because
you love them. You're not easily offended by
someone that you love. If you really love them, you
cut them a lot of slack. Here's what one of the writers,
I think it was Matthew Henry said, this is really good. Where
the fire of love is kept in, the flames of wrath will not
easily kindle. Not if you love someone. Love
thinks no evil. You just won't believe an evil
report about someone until there's just so much proof that it's
undeniable. And then, when it's undeniable,
and you must believe it, you hope for the best. We'll see
that in a minute. You hope for change. You're always hopeful.
That's why parents give their children so many chances. You
know, the law will throw them in jail, but the parents say,
oh, they're good. They'll change. They won't make
this mistake again. They say that because they love
them. They always think they're going to change. They always
hope the best. Verse 6, Love rejoiceth not in iniquity, but
rejoiceth in the truth. True love will never rejoice
in the fall of others. True love will only rejoice in
goodness and in truth. You know, I say this all the
time. It's human nature for people to think everybody else is just
like them. So we're quick to see when someone
acts like us or, you know, gives evidence that they think like
us. We're quick to see that. And we're quick to see it because
we understand it. We understand why they're doing that, because
that's how I am. Or a person who's loving, they're quick to
see the good in people, aren't they? And they're slow to see
the worst. But a person who's evil, who
lacks love, they delight to point out the evil in people. They
see it quickly because they understand it. They see what they understand. And a person who loves, sees
what they understand. And they're slow to believe the
worst in someone. Now, verse 7. Love beareth all
things. believeth all things, hopeth
all things, endureth all things. Now look this up, this is interesting,
beareth all things. That word beareth means to conceal
or cover with silence. Love will talk to a brother privately
about a fault, but won't expose him publicly. He'll cover Now,
I'm not talking about if it's something that's dangerous to
people, you know, it's a murder or child molester or something.
I'm talking about just if he's got a fault. It's not dangerous
to others. Love covers it up. Look at Proverbs chapter 10. Proverbs 10. Verse 12. hate stirreth up strifes, but
love covereth all sins. Look over in chapter 17. Chapter 17, verse 9, he that
covereth a transgression seeketh love, but he that repeateth a
matter separateth very friends. And in 1 Peter chapter Love covers, with silence, covers
these faults. 1 Peter 4, verse 8. And above
all things have fervent charity, fervent love among yourselves.
For charity, love, shall cover the multitude of sins. It beareth
all things. It covers those things. And love
believes the best about people, and very slow to believe the
worst. See, I'm not saying that love makes you act without wisdom,
where you simply will not believe the truth about someone, even
if it is a bad report. But even when the worst happens
and proves to be true, we hope for the best. And love endures
patiently with the people that we love, even when they do what
we don't want them to do. If you really love them, you
bear patiently with them. Now, verse eight, love beareth
all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things. I'm sorry,
that was verse eight. Love never fails. But whether
there be prophecies, they shall fail. Whether there be tongues,
they shall cease. And whether there be knowledge,
it shall vanish away. Love never stops. It never fails. You know, you
see this so often in our day. People get a divorce and you
ask them why. They say, well, I don't love
you anymore. Well, then you never did. Because true love never
stops. True love won't end even when
this life ends. Love will continue through eternity. It never stops. Every other gift
of the Spirit will end when Christ returns. That's right. When Christ
returns, there's no more need for prophecy. The future is clear,
isn't it? It's eternity. There's no more
need for preaching when Christ returns. We have Him. Prophecy
will cease. When Christ returns, there'll
be no more tongues. There's just going to be one heavenly language,
just like what was on earth before Babel. There was just one language
and heaven will just be one language, the language of grace. You know,
our knowledge when Christ returns is going to end. You know, we
think we've got some knowledge and some understanding, but when
Christ returns, we're going to have perfect knowledge, perfect
understanding, and we will realize how precious little we really
did know. Most of our so-called knowledge is going to be revealed
as foolishness. Now, I'm not talking about the
knowledge of Christ. That will never be revealed as foolishness.
But what will happen when he returns is we'll have perfect
knowledge of him. Now, verse nine, here's why knowledge
is going to pass 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. See,
we just know in part. That's why we can only preach
in part, because we just don't know. You can only tell what
you know. And that's why we can only preach
in part. But when Christ has come, we'll have perfect knowledge,
perfect understanding. And then when Christ returns,
we've seen Him, all the gifts of tongues, all the gifts of
healings, the things that people sought after so much in this
life. We're going to see them as just so trite, so just nothing. We'll see those things clearly
for what they really are. Why? Because we see them in the
light of Him. We've seen Christ face to face.
It's the same thing that happens when a child grows up. The things
that they love so much, they quit loving because now they've
matured. Look at verse 11. 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. You know, when a child is just
small, you know, they might speak with a lisp. And we love it.
It's so cute. I mean, you just don't want to
quit doing it. You know, when they finally quit
doing it, you're kind of sad. You just loved the way they talked,
you know. They used childish words. When
Holly was little, she made up a word, ammit. I am not going
to do that. I mean, I just thought that was the greatest thing ever.
She doesn't talk like that anymore. You know, that's speaking like
a child. We talk about childish things. But you don't talk that
way anymore when you're growing up and going to a job interview.
When you went to that interview, you didn't use ammit. You've
grown up. And one day, we're going to look
back and we're going to see how we talked of Christ. It was from
the heart. It was genuine. It was baby talk in light of
perfect knowledge. And children love their toys
and they ought to have them. They ought to enjoy playing with
them because there's going to come a day they don't enjoy it anymore.
When they grow up, they're not interested in it anymore. My
daughter, Savannah, loved Barbies when she was little. Damn, if
they go to the store and she'd see that Barbie aisle, you know,
it's all pink. And her eyes would just gloss over, roll back in
her head, you know. She got any money for her birthday,
she's headed to the Barbie aisle. I mean, she loved buying them.
She loved opening them. She loved playing with them.
I mean, just Barbie, Barbie, Barbie, Barbie. We had Barbies.
We don't have them anymore. She gave them all away to her
baby cousin. She's not interested in them anymore. Now thinks she's
interested in them and costs more money. Once we see Christ
face-to-face, it'll be like everything else will be like a toy we've
outgrown. No more interest once I've seen
Him. Once I've seen Him. There's just
no interest in anyone but Christ. Once we see Christ face-to-face,
we'll be able to put away our childish attitudes, our childish
toys, and our childish ways. Because when we see Him, we'll
be like Him. In verse 12, 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. Now we see through
a glass darkly. What Paul's talking about there
is looking in a mirror, but Paul's mirrors were made of brass. They're
just polished brass. They're not a mirror of glass
like we have today. When you look in that polished
glass, it's not very clear. You get an idea of the rough
shape, but you can't see any details. That's the way we are
now. It's like looking at Saturn through
a telescope. You can get an idea of what that
thing looks like, but you can't see any details. You're too far
away. That's how we know what we know of Christ now. But then,
face to face, we'll see Him as He is and understand Him as He
is and spend eternity praising Him for it. Now, verse 13, And
now, by the faith, hope and love, these three, But the greatest
of these is love. Here's these three graces, faith,
hope, and love. But why is the greatest of these
love? Oh, just like we looked at a minute ago, one day there'll
be no more faith. Faith is precious, light, precious
faith. But one day, faith's going to
be laid aside, it'll give way to sight. One day, there's going
to be no more hope. We cling to our hope now, it's
just, oh, it's so precious to us. But one day, hope is going
to give way to possession. But love will continue. It's just going to be perfect.
Years ago, it was 10, 12, 13 years ago probably, Bob Coffey
preached a message from this very chapter right here. And
if you were there that night, undoubtedly you remembered. I
was talking to Janet last night on the phone and I asked her,
do you remember that message? She said, yeah, I remember it.
And this was Bob's point. He went through it like I just
did. And he said, God, is love. That's true, right? We just read
that 1 John. Christ is the manifestation of
God's love. Isn't that right? God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten son. Christ is God's
manifestation of love. Then it does no harm to scripture
to replace love in this text with Christ. Let's read it and
I'll close. Though I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels, and have not Christ, I am become as a
sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal, just making noise. 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 Christ, 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 love, it profiteth me nothing. Have not Christ, it profiteth
me nothing. Christ suffers long in his kind, for aren't you glad
he suffers long, he's long-suffering? Christ envieth not. Christ voneth
not himself. Christ is not fucked up. Christ
does not behave himself unseemly. Christ seeketh not his own, is
not easily provoked, thinketh no evil. Rejoiceth not in iniquity,
but rejoices in truth. Christ beareth. All things. Boy, isn't that true? He bears
all. He bore our sins in his body
on the tree. And what did he do? Covered them
with his blood. Covered them with silence. Our
sins that raged against God is covered with the blood of Christ.
And now they're silenced. There's peace because Christ
beareth all things. He bore all the sins of his people
away. Christ believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things. How he endured the contradiction
of men against himself. Christ 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.
For we just 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 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, and Christ, these three, but the greatest of these is
Christ.