Love

Q: What does the Bible say about love?

The Bible teaches that love is essential, as seen in 1 Corinthians 13, where it emphasizes that without love, all actions and gifts are meaningless. The Bible highlights the profound importance of love throughout its teachings, especially in 1 Corinthians 13. Here, the Apostle Paul explains that love transcends all spiritual gifts and actions. Even if one possesses the ability to prophesy, has deep knowledge, or performs great deeds, these are rendered worthless without genuine love. This chapter illustrates that love is not just a feeling, but a vital expression of our relationship with God and others. Moreover, in John 13:34-35, Jesus commands His followers to love one another, stating that love is the distinguishing mark of His disciples.

Q: Why is love important for Christians?

Love is crucial for Christians as it is the evidence of their faith and the central commandment given by Christ. Love holds a paramount position in the life of a Christian, serving as both the evidence of one's faith and the core commandment given by Jesus. In John 15:12, Christ explicitly instructs His disciples to love one another as He has loved them, marking love as a defining characteristic of true discipleship. Furthermore, 1 John 4:7 reminds believers that love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. This underscores that love is not merely an optional virtue but is intrinsic to the believer’s new nature, enabled by the Holy Spirit. Thus, a lack of love can signify a disconnect from one's relationship with God.

Q: How do we know God's love for us?

God's love is demonstrated through the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ, as a propitiation for our sins. We can know God's love for us through the ultimate gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. According to 1 John 4:9-10, God's love was manifested in that He sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we could live through Him. The act of sending Jesus as the propitiation for our sins shows God's deep commitment to restoring humanity's relationship with Him. This sacrificial love illustrates not only God's grace but also His desire for believers to embody and share this love with one another, reflecting the nature of Christ in their interactions.

Alright, verse 31, you desire
and covet the best gifts which will equip you for whatever service
God called you to preach or teach or serve Him or glorify Him with
the good of the... But I'll show you something better
than all of it. I'll show you something better.
I'll show you a more excellent way. I'll show you something
that deserves more attention than these gifts. More important. Verse 1, Though I speak with
the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become
as a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. What's Paul saying there?
Well, I pray that God will raise up here men who have the gift
to preach the gospel. in this language and in other
languages like Brother Clark, Brother Weimer, Brother Milton
Howard, Brother Walter Gruber, who can hold the attention of
the people, who can instruct the people, who can inspire the
people and edify them in heavenly language, in truth, who can talk of God's
sovereignty, God's mercy and grace in Christ Jesus with great
liberty. We pray for liberty. We pray
for liberty. We pray for fluency of speech. We pray for the ability to get
across our point. And I pray God will give us that
ability to say what the Word says, to preach the truth of
Christ, the gospel of Christ, the doctrine of Christ with,
if you don't mind, eloquence, to hold the attention of people.
And yet, we can have all those things. And if that man preaching or
teaching or leading does not have true, sincere, God-given
love for Christ, and love for his people and love for the brethren,
all of his so-called liberty and fluency and ability and language
is no more effective than if you sounded a gong or tinkled
a cymbal. That's what he said. You can have liberty, but liberty
without love is nothing. You can have the doctrine. Like Brother Barnard used to
say, be straight as a gun barrel and just as empty. The words
may be there. The people may be there. The
effort may be there. The gift may be there. But the
Spirit of God is not there. It's a sounding brass and a tinkling
sound. And that's what he said. And
then in verse 2, and though I have the gift of prophecy, the gift
of preaching, we have men here who have the gift of preaching.
We have men all over this country who have the gift of preaching.
Though I have the gift and ability to preach, look at the next line,
and I understand all mysteries. The Bible talks about the mysteries
of Christ, the mysteries of the gospel. The mysteries of the
Gentiles, the mystery of Christ and His church, the mystery of
the resurrection. Behold, I show you a mystery,
Paul said, we shall not all sleep, though I understand these mysteries. How God can be just and justified. May God give us understanding
of those mysteries. Look at the next line, though
I have all knowledge. I have knowledge of those great
and sublime. and hidden truths of Scripture,
revelation of the patterns and pictures and types which the
religious world does not see. I have all knowledge, and though
I have all faith, I have a determined faith, I have a confidence of
my position in Christ. I have a confidence of my conversion. I have confidence in what I preach,
and confidence in my gospel, and confidence in my message,
so that no mountain will discourage me from saying what I believe. Listen, and have not love, nothing. I may be great in my own eyes,
and I may be great in the eyes of men, But to God I'm nothing. I'm nothing. And then look at
the next verse. And though I bestow my goods
to feed the poor, I bestow all my goods to feed the poor. Oh,
may God give us a generous nature, a giving nature, to take what
God has given to us and share it with others. Share it with
one another. Help the missionaries. Help the
young pastors in churches. Help the poor. Lift the fallen. Send out the gospel. And not
only to give what He has given to me, but be willing to give
myself. Listen. And though I give my
body to be burned, I'll be a martyr. I'll die for the cause of the
gospel. I'll give up every friend and
family and yea, my own life also. But now listen to the next line. Yet if I have not love, the prophets
leave nothing. That's the importance of it.
Now you say, preacher, what would possess a man to give his goods
to feed the poor if he does not love? Oh, lots of reasons. Lots of reasons. Ananias and
Sapphira didn't have any love. Because God killed them. I know
they didn't have a proper motive. They sold their property. They
didn't give it all. They said they did, but they
didn't. But what were they looking for? The praise of men. The praise of men. And did not
the Pharisee in the temple say, I give alms? Did not he say, I tithe everything
I have, give alms to the poor? Why was he doing that? He didn't
love the people. He didn't love Christ. He did
it for self-righteous purposes. And so, that's the reason a man
can do those things. I've got to have, my giving has
got to be with the right motive. The love of Christ constrained
me. So you see all those things.
That's the reason He says covet the best gifts. And yet I'll
show you something better, without which the gifts mean nothing. They're useless. See, love is
the commandment of Christ. Hold that place there and turn
to John 15. John 15. Love is the commandment of Christ.
John 15, 12. Look at it. He said, this is my commandment. This is my commandment, that
you love one another as I've loved you. That's my commandment. Love is the evidence of our salvation. Turn to John 13, just one page
back, verse 35. Listen. Verse 34, John 13, 34,
a new commandment I've given to you. that you love one another as
I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall
all men recognize that you are my disciples, if you have love
one to another." Love, you see, is the fruit of the indwelling
Spirit. It's the very first thing mentioned
when you mention the fruit of the Spirit. He talks about the works of the
flesh of these, but the fruit of the Spirit is love. That's number one, love. Then
joy, peace, long-suffering. Love is the gift of God. The
love of God is shed abroad in our hearts for the Holy Spirit.
Love is essential. Love, you see, is not a prerogative. Love is not even a priority. Love is not just a privilege
enjoyed by a few. Love is the very principle of
the new nature. It's the very nature that God's
given to us when we were born again. Let me show you that in
1 John 4. Love is not a prerogative. It's
not a priority. It's not a possession of a chosen
few. It is the possession and the
principle of the new nature. 1 John 4, verse 7, listen, Beloved,
1 John 4, 7, Let us love one another. Love is of God, and
every one that loveth is born of God. And he knows God. And he that loveth not knoweth
not God. That's not a prerogative. That's not a priority to him.
That's a possession. That's a principle. But God is
love. In this was manifest the love
of God toward us, because that God gave or sent his only begotten
Son into the world that we might live through him. Herein is love. It's not that we love God. He
loved us. and sent His Son to be the propitiation
for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us,
we ought also to love one another. No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells
in us. The opposite is what? If we don't
love one another, God does not dwell in us. That's what it is.
And His love is perfected in us. Look down at your early verse. But man say, I love God and hates
his brother. Well, he's a liar. For he that
loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God
whom he hath not seen? This commandment have we from
him, that he who loveth God love his brother also. Now, 1 Corinthians 13, let's
begin with verse 4. And I know this number is going
to Rock you. But there are 15 marks of love. Tommy, it won't be 61 minutes,
it's 28 seconds. I'm going to move briefly, but
this is so vital. You mark these and you buy them.
There are 15 of them. First of all, and people give
definitions of love. Here it is. Here's the definition.
Love suffereth long. Suffers long. That is, love makes
a person patient. And long-suffering with the faults
of others. He doesn't give up quickly. He's
willing to wait. Keep on loving. Secondly, love
is kind. It's tender. Love is gentle. Love is compassionate. Be ye
kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another. as God,
for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Thirdly, love envieth not. Love does not envy. Envy is the
very opposite of love. Nothing is more adverse to love
than envy. Love does not envy the gifts
and happiness and success of others, but rejoices in their
gifts and happiness and success. Love does not envy. It rejoices
in the happiness of others. And then, fourthly, love vaunteth
not itself. Love's not proud. Love's not
puffed up. It's not puffed up. You see that
love vaunteth not. That is, it's not puffed up and
proud and rash and egotistical. What have we to be proud of? What have we to be puffed up
about? The Scripture says, who makes you to differ? What you
have, you receive. So why do you boast? You have
no room for boasting. Love is not proud and arrogant
and puffed up. Fifthly, verse 5, love does not
behave itself unseemly. That is, love is not rude. People
who are rude do not love. Love is not unmannerly. Pride
and conceit produce rudeness. Pride and conceit produce arrogance. But love produces a courtesy
and a humility. Isn't that true? Love is courteous.
It doesn't behave itself rudely and unmannerly, but it behaves
itself humbly and with courtesy. And then six, love seeketh not
her own. This is a trend today. I do my
thing. I have my rights. That's not
love. Love does not demand its rights. Love is more concerned with your
rights than our own rights. Love does not seek my will and
my rights and my way and my comfort and my pleasure. It seeks the
comfort and pleasure of the one whom you love. Turn to Philippians
just a moment. Let me show you something over
here in Philippians 2. Philippians chapter 2, verse 3. Listen to this. Philippians
2, verse 3. Let nothing be done through strife. That's not the way God's people
get things done, or vainglory, seeking attention to myself. But let it be done in lowliness
of mind. Let each esteem the other better
than themselves. Not equal. Well, I think everybody
is equal to me. No, they are better than I am.
Look not every man on his own things. Look every man on the
things of others. You see, let this mind be in
you, which was also in Christ Jesus. That was the attitude
of our Lord. He said, I didn't come to be
ministered unto, but to minister. He was in the form of God. He
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but he was willing
to make himself of no reputation. Took on himself the form of a
servant. Was made in the likeness of men
and being found in fashion as a man. He humbled himself. He
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He had
our well-being in mind, and that's true love. Love does not seek
her own. All right, verse 5 again, the
last line. Number 7, love is not easily
provoked. What's the word there? Touchy. Touchy. Oh, so easily offended. Doesn't
even take a word. A glance can do it. A slight
can do it. Soul touching. People have to
walk on eggshells. You upset them. Be careful, you'll
get upset. That's not love. Love's not easily
provoked. Then listen to this. 8. Love
thinketh no evil. Love does not think the worst.
Love does not look for faults. Love does not carry about a suspicious
nature. But love thinks the best and
looks for the good. Thinketh no evil? And then number
nine, verse six, and love does not rejoice in iniquity. Love is never glad when somebody
fails. It doesn't rejoice in iniquity.
Love is not glad when someone goes wrong or someone falls. I read an article one time in
which a man said, what a man truly is in his heart, he wishes
others to be. If he's evil in his heart, then
he delights to point out the evil in others. If he's weak
in his own nature, he delights to find someone weaker. But if
he's strong, then He'll look for the strength in others because
He wants them to be like Him. So love doesn't rejoice in iniquity. What does love rejoice in? Verse
6, in the truth. I had an article in the Bulletin
Sunday. I don't know whether all of you read it or not, but
if you saved your Bulletin, go back and read it. What do we
sit around and talk about? What do we generally sit around
and talk about? What are we rejoicing? Do we
talk about error or truth? But if we spend our time talking
about error, what's wrong? We must rejoice in it. Do we
talk about bad things or good things? What do we talk about?
Is it our tendency to point out weaknesses in others and faults
in others and talk about others and bring up things in the past? Then that's what we're rejoicing
in. What we talk about and think about and discuss is what we're
rejoicing in. Do we rejoice in the bad or the
good? Do we rejoice in the strength or weakness of others? Do we
sit around and talk about the weakness of others or do we talk
about the strength? Do we talk about trials or do
we talk about blessings? What do we talk about? That's
what verse 6 is all about. Love does not rejoice in bad
things. in evil things, in iniquity,
it doesn't rejoice in error. Love refines its joy in truth,
in the mercies of God, in the strength of others. And then
verse 7, look at this, here's number 11. Love beareth all things. I looked
for something to help me on that and I found this and I think
it's good. Beareth all things. Beareth it. That is, what he is saying is
love covers with silence all things. Covers with silence. It will beareth itself. It will beareth. It will carry
it. It will beareth. It will cover
it with silence. Let me tell you why I believe
that is good. Turn to Proverbs. Turn to Proverbs chapter 10.
See if this is not is not relative. Proverbs 10, verse 12. It seems so to me. In Proverbs 10, verse 12. I keep 1 Corinthians 13. Go back
to Proverbs 10, verse 12. Listen. Hatred stirreth up strife. But what does love do? Covereth
all sins. It bears them in silence. Love
covers with silence all things. Now another, Proverbs 11, next
page, verse 13. A tail-bearer reveals secrets. Now that's not a loving person.
A tail-bearer is not a lover. A tail-bearer is a hater. But
he that is of a faithful spirit, he conceals the matter. He concealeth
them out. Or one other verse, Proverbs
17, 9. Proverbs 17, 9. Look at this. He that covereth a transgression,
or a weakness, or a fall, or a failure, or whatever, He just
covers it. He seeketh love. And He, this
scripture here says, He procureth it too. But he that repeateth the matter,
what's he doing? He separates very clearly. All right, back to the text.
That's number 11. Love bears all things. And number 12, love
believes all things. That is, it's better to believe
the best, isn't it? Do we not know this? Isn't it
better to believe the best and finally be disappointed? than
to believe the worst and destroy friendship. Isn't it better to
believe the best? James says that. Turn to James
3. You've got to look at this. This
is important here. James chapter 3. We are all by nature, our human
nature, we need to work on this so much. Beareth all things,
believeth all things, believeth all things. A report comes, yes,
I don't believe it. I don't believe it. James 3, listen to this, 14. James 3, 14. If we have bitter
envying and strife in our hearts, glory not. And don't lie against
the truth. This is nothing in which to gloat
if you've got bitterness and strife and envy. Verse 15, this
wisdom descended not from... You didn't get this from above.
This kind of spirit and attitude is not from above. It's earthly.
It's earthly. It's sensual. It's devilish. For where envy and strife is,
is confusion and every evil work, but the wisdom that is from above,
here's the wisdom that's from above, it's pure. It's peaceable. It's gentle. It's easy to be entreated. It's
full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and certainly
without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness
is sown in peace of them that make peace. So love, love believeth all things. Verse 7, back in the text again,
here's number 13. Love hopeth all things. What
does that mean? Well, what love can't see, it
hopes for. Is that not correct? What it
can't see, it hopes for. Somebody said, well, he'll never
amount to anything. If you loved Him, you wouldn't say that. You'd
say, right now it doesn't look too good, but I hope, I hope. One spirit which is devilish
and earthy says, well, she'll never change. But one who loves
her says, I hope she does. See, love, hope, it hangs on,
it hangs on, it holds, it holds. In verse 7, the next, in verse,
in number Number 14 says, love endureth all things. Love will
endure trials, it'll endure sorrow, it'll endure sickness, it'll
endure disappointment, it'll endure hurt feelings, it'll endure
an offense, it'll endure neglect, it'll endure why? Because Christ's
love endures for us. That's our example. He never stopped loving us. Boy,
we give him a lot of reasons to stop doing it. We give him a lot of reasons.
But love endures all things. And then here's number 15, verse
8, and it never fails. It never fails. It'll never cease,
not in this life, nor in the life to come. Because it's Christ
in you. It's the gift of God in you,
it's the grace of God in you. Now look at the next verse, verse
8. Love won't fail, but whether
there be prophecies, now where'd this whole thing start? Covet
the best gifts. Ask God to make you a good preacher,
good teacher, good instructor. He said a while ago, if you are
all these things and don't have love, you're sounding very So prophecy and preaching and
teaching will what? Will fail. That is, it will be
no more. There's coming a day when we won't need any preachers,
teachers, instructors, or at read-on. Whether they be tongues,
they'll cease someday. I'd love to have the gift of
speaking in another language, healing the sick, leadership,
influence. Someday those things will be
no more. Whether they be knowledge, it'll vanish away what knowledge
we have. That's right, someday our knowledge
of the Scriptures. What we know about the mysteries
of God. Some of you in here have studied. I have. I spent a lot
of time in this book. Of course, you know. Spent a
lot of time. But you know what knowledge I
have right now. is so small, so small, so insignificant,
that it'll vanish away. My knowledge of the Scriptures
and the mysteries of God and the doctrines are going to be
revealed someday for what it is. What? Limited. Look at verse 9, For I know in
part, and I preach in part. You say, I'm preaching the whole
truth. Now wait a minute, I haven't shunned to preach it, but I haven't
preached it yet. You know what he said? I have
not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. He didn't
say I preached the whole counsel of God. No angel could do that.
No seraphim could do that. No man could ever do it. No 10,000
men could do it, putting all their knowledge together. Because, listen, Think of it. Verse 10, when that which is
perfect is come. In other words, when my knowledge
of God is perfect, and my knowledge of Christ is perfect, and my
knowledge of the doctrines is perfect, and my knowledge of
the mysteries of the kingdom of God is perfect, when that
knowledge of love and grace is perfect, then that which is in
part shall be done away. our imperfect knowledge, our
weak faith, our so-called gifts to gracious talent, they'll appear
to be what they really are, children's toys. I think sometimes we read a little
scripture or we read a book and we think, boy, we've got a handle
on this thing now. You don't even, you haven't even
touched the handle yet. You don't got it, you haven't
even touched That's exactly right. That's what he's saying here.
That's what he's saying. Verse 11, listen. When I was
a child, I spoke as a child. I understood as a child. I thought
as a child. When I became a man, I put away
childish things. What's he talking about? He's
talking about right here as I stand here right now. I spent a lot
of time today on this message. I looked up things. I read other
things. I've read this before. I've written a commentary on
this. I've studied it. Other men have read all of their
writings and so forth. But when I really see what love
is, I'm going to lay down this partial knowledge, put it aside,
like I did when I put my blocks aside. Just like my mother If she were
alive today and lived down the street, she may have my blocks
and things and my little, I had a little old tractor with rubber,
what do you call those things? Tracks. Kept it for a long time,
played with it. But I don't believe I'd be able
to be interested in it tonight. I just, I hope not. It's what we like, it's funny.
And I'm telling you, we're going to laugh at ourselves someday.
Yes, sir. Someday when we know Christ like
we're going to know Him, then we shall be what we would be
and where we would be. We're going to look back on these
times when we sat and argued one another and divided and split
over some little thing we thought we knew. We're going to look
back and say it's just like two kids fighting over blocks. That's
exactly what it is. Utterly, absolutely asinine. That's the word you don't like.
But it is asinine. Describes it exactly. That's
what he's saying here. We just know in part. The smartest
one here doesn't know anything. If we think we know, we know
not as we ought to. That's what Paul wrote in Corinthians.
That's right, read it again, verse 10. When that which is
perfect is come, then that which is in part will be done away.
What's in part? We know in part and we prophesy
in part. The best man knowledgeable of
the mysteries and scriptures is a baby playing with toys. And then he said, that gave that
illustration. When I was a kid, I spoke like
a kid. And that's what I'm speaking
like right now. I'm just a kid. I'm just a baby. We think we're
such great doctors of theology. We're just babbling infants. Paul said he went up there and
heard some language, didn't he? That he couldn't even talk. I'm going to talk a language
someday that right now I couldn't even understand. And you couldn't
either, but we're going to talk it through. And we're going to
look back at these days And we're going to be sorry for some of
the conflicts we had over our smartness when we found out it
wasn't too smart. That's right. But now, verse
12, we see through a glass dimly, darkly. I've been standing up here trying
to see through these glasses. I've got to have them changed.
If it gets worse, I'm going to have to have somebody like these
black preachers come up here and read for me. What does it
say, brother? And he'll say it, and then I'll say it. That's the way I'm seeing it
right now. That's the way we see everything
spiritually. That's right. Very poor eyesight. Very poor. But then, face to
face, boy, with Christ. Now I know in part, and then
I'm going to know just like, how does God know you? Boy, I
tell you, how does God know you? He knows your thoughts before
you think of them and your words before you speak. That's how
much I'm going to know someday. That's right. Thank God, face
to face as I'm known. Then verse 13, there are three
main graces. Now, about his faith, that's
the faith by which we look to Christ. Look to a glass chimney,
but look. And we find in Him all we need,
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Hope. Hope by
which we wait for the fulfillment of all that He's done for us.
We wait for the righteousness of Christ in hope. And then love. These three. When I watch it, the greatest
of these is love. Why is it the greatest? Well,
faith is going to give way to silence. Then I won't need it
anymore. Hope's gonna give way to reality.
And I won't have hope anymore. But what about love? It never
changes. It's gonna be perfected. It's
gonna grow. And I tell you this. Love is really the evidence and
proof that I have those other two. Isn't that right? A fella can talk faith all he
wants to. He can talk hope all he wants
to. He can't talk love. Love ain't talk. Love's experience. He can't talk love. You can boast
of faith, you can boast of hope. You can get yourself, as far
as hope's concerned, in such a thing that nothing can move
you from that hope. But I'll tell you about love.
It's either there by the grace of God or it's not there. And
it's not in word only. It's in deed and truth. So the
greatest of these is love. Make that change. Make that change. All right, let's bow for prayer. Our Father, by Your grace, for
our eternal good, by the glory of Christ Jesus, not because
we love you and not because you need us, but because you loved
us and because Christ died for us and because we need you, grant
unto us this precious, eternal gift of a love for Christ, a
genuine, sincere, heart, love for Christ. But we know if we
love Him, we know if we love Him, and if His love is shared
abroad in our hearts, and we're in a living union with Him, then
we'll love one another. You'll share abroad this gift
of love in our hearts, and we'll grow in that love. Lord, teach
us Thy Word. Make it to be effectual. Let
us never be satisfied with ourselves or presume upon your mercies,
but continually come to Christ. Come confessing our sins, confessing
our needs, seeking thy face. Now bless the message tonight,
wherever it may be heard. Make it a blessing for your glory. I pray in Christ's name, amen.

Love

What does the Bible say about love?

Why is love important for Christians?

How do we know God's love for us?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Love

What does the Bible say about love?

Why is love important for Christians?

How do we know God's love for us?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book