In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul, in verse 1, says,
And now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not
have you ignorant. And then he begins to talk about
the diversities of gifts. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when he
went back to heaven, gave to the apostles and to the early
believers some unusual, powerful spiritual gifts. They had the
power of prophecy. They had the power of healing. They had the power to preach
the gospel in other languages. They had the power to heal the
sick. In Mark chapter 16 he said these
signs shall follow them that believe. They shall lay hands
on the sick and they shall recover. If they drink any deadly thing
it shall not hurt them. It shall take up serpents and
shall not be bitten fatally. And then in Hebrews chapter 2,
if you'll turn over there just a moment, in Hebrews chapter
2, Paul writing again warns us to listen to these gifted men,
these men endowed with special powers, special gifts, special
miracles. He says, Therefore, Hebrews 2,
1, therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the
things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them
slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and
every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of
reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation
which at the first," now listen, "...began to be spoken by our
and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him, these apostles.
God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders and
diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his
will. Now you must remember, when our
Lord God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake
to our fathers in times past by the prophets, hath in these
last days spoken to us by his Son, Jesus Christ." The Old Testament
was written, and they had the Old Testament. Christ came and
preached the fulfillment of the Old Testament in himself. He
was the fulfillment of the priesthood. He was the fulfillment of every
sacrifice. He was the fulfillment of every
prophecy. and he confirmed his witness by miracles. He said
in John 5, John the Baptist came bearing witness of me, my heavenly
Father bore witness of me, and the works that I do bear witness
of me. When John the Baptist sent a
messenger to Christ to find out if he was the Messiah, Christ
sent the messenger back and said, go and tell John how the dumb
speak and the lame walk, and the deaf hear, and the blind
see. And Nicodemus came to Christ and said, no man can do these
miracles you do except God be with him, unless he be of God.
Now when our Lord sent his disciples out to preach this new gospel,
and it was newly revealed. It's no new gospel, it's the
old gospel, but newly revealed, newly manifested in Christ, newly
fulfilled in the Savior. He sent them out as sheep among
wolves, and he sent them out with signs and miracles and wonders. God bearing them witness with
these signs and miracles and wonders. God sent these disciples
out with the ability to perform these mighty deeds, these mighty
works, as a witness. confirmation, credentials of
their ministry while the New Testament was being written.
Now, I have never read in all of the readings in church history
and in the sermons of the greatest preachers of all ages, and I
have never seen in my lifetime any positive proof that any of
these gifts are now being performed in the Church of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I'm not talking about the gift of faith. I'm not talking
about the gift of eternal life. I'm not talking about the ability
to give and to support the weak and these things. I'm talking
about just what you know what I'm talking about. Speaking the
gospel in other languages the ability to raise the dead, the
ability to give sight to the blind. Now God can give sight
to the blind. But I do not see that any minister
of the gospel needs this witness now. He has the word of God.
And if they speak not according to the word of God, it's because
there's no light in them. And I do not see where any minister
of the gospel today needs the ability to give hearing to the
deaf and power to walk to the lame. Christ said, if they hear
not the word of God, they won't believe, though one rose from
the dead. And people who are trying to duplicate these miracles
and run around talking about they have the gifts of healings
and the gifts of tongues and the gifts of miracles, they don't
have any such thing. It's nothing but fraud, that's
all in the word is. These disciples had a reason
for it. just as our Lord had a reason
for it. These gifts, these miracles were signs and a witness and
credentials that these men were of God because they were preaching
a new message to their day, the fulfillment of the Old Testament.
And while these gifts were still prevalent in the church, the
church at Corinth was having an argument over them. They were
having a dispute, they were having problems. So Paul writes to them
in 1 Corinthians 12, and he says in verse 28, verse 27, Now you
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, gifts of healing, helps, governments,
diversities of tongues. Are all apostles, are all prophets,
are all teachers, have all workers of miracles? Don't be jealous
of one another. Don't quarrel over these gifts.
Does everybody have the gift of healing? Of course not. Does
everybody speak with tongues? Does everybody interpret? Covet
earnestly the best gifts. Paul said there's nothing wrong
with you people in Corinth wanting to see and to experience and
to participate in the best gifts. But he said, I'm going to show
you a better way. I'm going to show you something
more important. And down here, when he came down
to the end of it in verse 8 of chapter 13, look at verse 8.
Love never fails. Whether there be prophecies,
they shall fail. Prophecies, no matter how good
they are, are just in part. We know in part, we prophesy
in part. Whether there be tongues, they
shall cease. A man could stand up here and
speak the gospel with a tongue of the most brilliant, wonderful,
matchless art are on earth. And it sounds like a little baby
babbling compared to what we'll hear in glory. It won't be worth
a plug nickel. And whether there be knowledge,
we think we know some doctrine. We think we know something about
the Bible. It shall vanish away because knowledge, what little
knowledge we have now, is going to give way to a clear revelation
of His glory. And we'll look back at ourselves
at the pinnacle of our spiritual wisdom. We say we're just kids.
We knew nothing. Now we know as we have been known.
But love, that's something else. So in verse 31 of 1 Corinthians
12, he says, covet the best gifts. They're useful. God will use
them in his way for his glory, to do his will, to preach his
gospel. But I'll show you a better way.
Now this chapter is divided, if you will, into three parts.
The first three verses give us the importance of love. The second
part, chapter 13, verse 4 through 7, gives us the attributes of
love. And then the last part, verse
8 through 13, gives us the permanence of love. Now, I'm preaching to
myself tonight, not just to you. I've said this again and again.
I'll repeat it. I'm not asking God to give me
more theological knowledge. I would like to know more about
his word. I'm not asking God to give me wealth. As the years go by, I can see
that contentment and joy and peace are more important than
anything this world's got to offer. I am daily getting more
interested in two things, the first of which is love for Christ
and love for his people. and the second is a genuine godly
humility, knowledge of myself and my own unworthiness. And
so I'm preaching to myself tonight. This study is not directed to
anyone in particular, but to everyone in general, the pastor
included. So we see the importance of love.
Now let's come to verse 1. And Paul said, Though I speak
with the tongues of men and of angels, if I have If I can stand
up here and preach the gospel in Spanish and English and French
and German so that everybody will hear the gospel in his own
tongue and preach it like an angel and don't have love, I'm
like a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the
gift of prophecy, everybody gets all excited over folks that can
talk about telling when Christ is coming and what's going to
happen, every advent and every event and every sub-event right
on down the line. What if I have the gift of prophecy
and I understand these mysteries? And what if I have knowledge
and what if I have faith so that I could lay hands on the sick
or move mountains and not have love? I am nothing, nothing. The Apostle Paul is saying it's
better to get excited over a person that really loves somebody than
over a fellow that just healed a blind man. We get all excited
over somebody coming to town who laid hands on somebody sick
and they were healed, and Paul says if he doesn't have the love
of Christ, he's nothing. Don't ask for his autograph because
it's not worth having. And though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, Though I give my body to be burned, we get
excited over the martyrs, and that's fine. I read Foxe's book
of martyrs. I read it a second time, and
I laid it aside. And I have not love. It doesn't
profit me one thing. Not one thing. Now Christ said
the whole law of God was wrapped up in two laws, to love God with
all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. That's
the law of God. Christ said, by this shall people
know you are saved, if you love each other. John wrote, he that
loveth not knoweth not God. It's just that plain. He that
loveth not knoweth not God. And then our Lord, I just saw
this yesterday, last night I was reading this, John 17. Turn over
there just a moment. John 17. This is holy ground here, John
17, it's the priestly prayer of our Master. And he says in
John 17, the last verse, when he closed the prayer, this is
the end of the prayer, he says, And I have declared
unto them thy name, and I will declare it. And here's the reason,
that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them,
and I in them." You think about that. That the love wherewith you love
me may be in them, and I in them. If Christ dwells in us, Christ's
life dwells in us, and Christ's love dwells in us. And then in
the last verse of 1 Corinthians 13, our text, Paul says, and
now about it faith, hope, and love, these three, but the greatest
of these is love. Now then, I've read this chapter
many, many times, and I've preached from it, but I've never done
what I'm going to do tonight. I'm going to, one at a time,
there are 14 attributes of love given between verses 4 and 8,
14 attributes of love. An attribute is a characteristic.
We talk about the attributes of God. God is holy. God is love. God is just. God is righteous.
God is truth. Those are his attributes. The
attributes of love here. Now first of all, I'm going to
give you the negative attributes. The negative attributes. Now
look at verse four. The first negative attribute
is this. Love envieth not. And we're talking
about true Christian love. We're talking about the love
of Christ in us. It does not envy. You see it
there, the charity, love suffereth long and is kind, love envieth
not. We're going to take the negative
attributes and then the positive attributes. All right. Envy. What is envy? Envy is a name
for many evils. Envy houses a multitude of evil,
ferocious beast. Jealousy, malice, hatred, grudges,
but chiefly envy is this, this is envy, and love does not envy,
and this is what envy is. Envy is the pain one feels at
the superior talents prosperity, gifts, or success of another
person. That's what envy is. It is that
disappointment which I feel, or that pain which I feel, at
the success or at the attention that another person is getting,
or at the prosperity another person is enjoying, or at the
talents another person possesses. or at the prosperity of another
person. It's the pain I feel when that
person gets what I'm not getting. Now love does not envy. That's what he says right here.
Love envieth not. But true love rather rejoices. It rejoices at the success or
prosperity or superior talents of another person. And then secondly,
the second negative attribute, love vaunteth not itself. What does that mean? It means
just this, simply. Love doesn't show off. Love doesn't
do works of kindness and love to receive praise from men. Love
doesn't show off. In other words, you've met people
that paid no attention to a person lest they were in a group of
people. They showed no affection, they showed no response, they
showed no attention to the individual unless somebody was around to
see them. That's showing off. That's vaunting itself. True
love does not do works of kindness to receive praise or attention,
but it does it solely from the motive of affection. Love doesn't
show off. And then the next negative attribute
of love, true love is not puffed up. True love is not conceited. True love is not arrogant. True
love is not proud. When we love a person, we want
to praise them, not ourselves. We want to magnify their gifts,
not our own. We look to their welfare, not
our own. Love is not conceited. It is
not arrogant. And then the next negative attribute,
love does not behave itself unseemly. You know what that is? Every
good commentary I looked at had this to say about this negative
attribute, does not behave itself unseemly. True Christian love
is not rude, but it's courteous. Courteous. Now, one writer made
this comment. Christian manners spring from
Christian manner. Christian manners is that which
we are without. Christian manner is that which
we are within. Christian courtesy is the offspring
of Christian character. And if Christian courtesy is
missing, Christian character is missing too. Do you know that
Peter plainly says in his book, be courteous to one another. Be courteous. That's what he
says. You want to see that? 1 Peter 3, 8. Be courteous. Love is not rude. It is not rude. Love is courteous. 1 Peter 3,
verse 8. Let's look at it here a moment.
1 Peter 3, verse 8. Finally, be ye all of one mind,
having compassion one of another. Love as brethren. Be pitiful. Be courteous. All right, the next negative
attribute It does not behave itself unseemly, it's never rude
or arrogant. Love seeketh not her own. Now I said this to the boys and
girls this morning. I was talking to them about getting
along in the family, living together as brothers and sisters in peace
and joy. And I made this statement and
I found it somewhere, I don't remember. Love seeketh not her
own. The person who seeks his own
happiness without concern for the happiness of others will
never find happiness. Love seeketh not her own. Because our Lord said, it is
more blessed to give than to receive, and true happiness is
found in making other people happy. True happiness. True love could never enjoy anything
alone. A palace alone is a prison to
the person who loves. Not to the greedy, but to the
one who loves. It'd be a prison. Love has not
a wish. Now listen to this. This is good.
Love has not a wish, a desire, an aim, or an aspiration. that is bounded by the limits
of self. In other words, the Lord taught
us to pray, give me this day my daily bread. No, He didn't.
He said, pray give us this day our daily bread. Love could never
enjoy a feast if you were hungry. Never. Love could never enjoy
warmth if you're cold. Love could never enjoy help if
you're sick. That's right, love can never
enjoy anything alone. It seeketh not its own. And then,
the next negative attribute, love is not easily provoked. Now this is a place where all
of us need to do a little bit of housecleaning and homework.
True love, what we're saying here is, true love is not touchy. resentful and easily offended. Are we easily offended? Then
we're not the recipients of true love if we're easily offended,
resentful, touchy. Be careful, don't offend that
person. He's easily offended, sensitive. Here's what one writer
said, this really, I thought this was a masterpiece. He said,
we take this person, self, whom we call by our name, whom we
cover with our caresses, whom we idolize in our vanity. We
clothe this person's self in gaudy clothes of our own conceit,
and then we put him up on an exalted pedestal where he is
acutely sensitive to any change of wind or weather. And this
exalted idol that is clothed in the gaudy clothes of our self-conceit,
is quick to take offense, so he must be petted and pampered
by all who come his way. He's full of suspicion. He's
keenly alive to criticism or neglect, either real or supposed. If it's not real, he supposes
it is. Or he's careful to take the title chief of sinners but
he believes himself to be the chief of wisdom. Isn't that descriptive? When we take ourselves, the author
there is saying, and we put ourselves up on this exalted pedestal,
we are making ourselves susceptible to the wind and to the weather
and to the challenges and to these things. If we're down here
in the dust where we belong, we're protected from those things.
If you're already broken, you can't be broken. If you're already
fallen, you can't be knocked off your pedestal. If you're
already the chief of sinners, ain't nobody gonna take your
place. And nobody's gonna offend you. They're not gonna offend
you because you know that what they say is truth, whatever it
is. And we're not easily offended.
All right, then the next negative attribute of love, thinketh no
evil. Now, he doesn't mean this, there's
no person who doesn't think evil thoughts, everybody thinks evil
thoughts, there's nobody that's immune from that, and that's
not what we're on here at all. But what he's saying is this,
the person who truly loves others, does not think on the wrongs
which have been done to him, but he forgives them. As God
has forgiven him, he forgives his friend and remembers them
no more. He doesn't think on these evil
things. He doesn't think on these supposedly
neglects or wrongs. One version puts it this way.
when it says love is not easily provoked, the next line, and
remembers not evil. Having forgiven the friend, he
doesn't bring it up anymore. He doesn't bring it up either
to the friend or in his mind, to mull over it and to think
about it. I've found this, let me give
you a little illustration here, I've found this to be true, and
I've done it many a time, I've hit that nail that fingernail
with a hammer, or I'd have been hitting that other nail, but
I hit this nail a many a time. Holy, you know, whack it good.
And boy, it throbs. Oh, every beat of the heart just
feels like it's going to come off there at the end. So you
pour something on it and then wrap it up. And the more you
think about it, the more it hurts. But you know, I found this. If
you go on about your business and don't think about it, after
a while you forget it. Now, the pain may still be there.
The thumb is still hurt. But if you're thinking of something
else, not thinking of that thumb, you'll after a while even forget
that it's there. But you keep on thinking about
it, and the swelling seems to increase, and the blood begins
to darken it, and the pain just increases the more you think
of it. Now, if somebody's done you wrong in the past few days,
weeks, or months, or years, If you'll turn your attention on
loving and praying for that person and look at their good points,
you'll forget that. But the more you think about
that wrong, the bigger it's going to get. And the more pain it'll
cause. You keep thinking about that,
well, wonder why he said that. Well, he just ought not have
said that. And after a while, you're furious over something
that happened six or eight months or a year ago. I've done that,
haven't you? Just go back and think about what somebody did
or said, And it'll all just swell up all over again. And that's
the only thing you can see, feel, or think about at that time because
you brought it back to your mind. Now love, this is what he's saying,
doesn't remember evil. It forgets it. It puts it where
it belongs in the past. And then love rejoices not in
iniquity. Now a person that's a gossip
can't love. because a gossip rejoices in
iniquity. They've got something to tell.
But a person who loves, he doesn't find pleasure in his own sins,
let alone somebody else's. He doesn't find delight or rejoice
over his fault, let alone the fault of somebody else. He grieves
over other people's faults and infirmities, and he doesn't find
pleasure in repeating them, nor hearing them repeated. That's what that means, that
it does not rejoice in iniquity. Did you hear what so-and-so did?
No, tell me quick so I can go tell somebody else. That's rejoicing
in iniquity. Now that's the negative attributes
of love. Now let's look at briefly the
positive attributes of love. First of all, back at verse 4.
Here are the positive attributes. Now what I say negative attributes,
I'm saying love does not envy, love is not conceited and arrogant,
it's not puffed up, it's not rude, it does not seek its own,
it's not easily offended, it doesn't think evil, remember
evil, it doesn't rejoice in iniquity. All right, what are the positive
attributes? Now verse 4, love suffereth long and is kind. In other words, Love is not only
present in the good times, but in the bad times as well. You
know, when all of us got married, we stood in front of the preacher.
And the reason I remember this so well is because I repeated
over and over again, about every two months, to somebody else.
I've married couples, you know. And they stand in front of me,
and I say to this boy, Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish
this girl, in sickness or in health, in poverty or in wealth,
in the good that may light your ways, or in the bad that may
darken your days. And he says, I promise. And she
says the same thing. Now then, that's what he's saying
here. Love is not only present in the good times, it's present
in the bad times. And one writer said, a virtue,
and love is a virtue, a virtue that cannot endure suffering
is no virtue at all. It doesn't exist. Just as faith
that cannot endure trial is not faith, love that cannot endure
a test is not love. Exactly right. Love is patience. And it suffers
long. It suffers long. And it's kind. Love's patience is seen in not
being quick of resentment or hasty to revenge. Be ye kind
one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God,
for Christ's sake, forgave you. I said this one time recently, and I believe this is true. People are always talking, especially
in this day, they say, Preacher, what are the grounds for divorce?
Well, the Bible gives some grounds for divorce. It gives adultery
or fornication. It gives, if a believer is married
to an unbeliever, and this unbeliever will not remain with the believer
in the Lord, then let him depart. But where there In a family like
Charles and Phyllis and Darcy and I and Jack and Helen and
the rest of it, you don't have any grounds for divorce. There
aren't any grounds in this Bible for two believers to get a divorce.
It ain't there. You know why? You're supposed
to forgive. I'll tell you the truth. There aren't any grounds. It is not in God's Word. It's just not there. And before
God there aren't any grounds under heaven this side of hell
on which you can put away your wife or husband before God and
do it legally and scripturally and spiritually. Now he said
Moses gave you a writing because of the hardness of your heart.
That's why he gave it to you. Because your heart was so hard
and bitter he had to give you something. But where the heart
is broken and where the love of Christ dwells, we don't look
for grounds to split up. We look for foundations to build
on. Huh? Oh, Barney, you say, hey,
ain't that right? That's right. You talk about,
that's the truth. There ain't no grounds. Just
not there. All right, if you're looking
for grounds, I'll give you some because of the hardness of your
heart. I'll look up a ground for you. If your heart's so hard
and bitter against God, you want some grounds, Moses will give
you some, and you go on and live by the law and die by the law.
But if you want to live by grace, you've got to come to know Him.
All right, love, suffereth long. All right, now the next one,
verse 6. Love rejoiceth in the truth. The last line in verse
6, it rejoices in the truth, rejoices in the truth of the
gospel, rejoices when men and women are walking in the truth
of the gospel. Love, true love, and I'm preaching
to me now, has a wide, big heart, and love delights in the spiritual
growth of other people. I've run into churches that seem
to take delight in how small they were, and seemed to put a question
mark on every other church and every other preacher. Let's don't
do that. Love rejoices in the growth of
God's kingdom. Love rejoices in the spreading
of God's kingdom. Love rejoices when it can just
hear of somebody over yonder somewhere who knows the Lord. It rejoices in the truth wherever
it's found. Rejoices in the truth. And now
look at verse 7. Here are four strong statements. Love beareth all things. Now the best definition I've
found of that is a two-fold definition. The first one is love covers
all things. It covers all things. That is,
love will conceal a fault. Love will hide an infirmity in
another person rather than expose it. Love will hide it. Now hatred, envy, jealousy wants
to expose. It always wants to uncover and
let out all of the insects that are hidden there. But love wants
to put a lid on it. It covers all things. Love covers a multitude of sins. And then love, like a strong
tower, here's the best meaning. Love, like a strong tower, will
bear up under all assaults, and it refuses to quit loving. Love
beareth all things. Like that old tower, the waves
dash against it, and the wind blows against it, and the thunder
rolls around it, and that old tower just will not fall. And that's the picture here,
love beareth all things. We've got to absolutely admire
that kind of love, beareth all things. Love believeth all things.
What does he mean by that? Well, first of all, love to God
will believe his word. And then love to people will
believe in them. Love will believe in the object
of love. It'll refuse to believe an evil
report unless it's substantiated by fact, and then it's hesitant
to receive it. And then it'll be hesitant to
receive it. Love believeth all things. And
even when it's supported by the strongest evidence, love will
what? What's the next thing? Hope all
things. Hopeth all things. That is, It's
a genuine feeling and a confidence that that person will come back
to the principles of righteousness. He or she will come back. It's
more than optimism. It's more than a sunny disposition.
It's more than what we used to say, Fred, a PMA. Hope, love
that hopeth is based on expectation. I believe, I believe in this
person. I believe in this person. It's
a genuine feeling and confidence that that individual will come
back to the way of God. Hopeth all things. And then love,
what's this? This is the last attribute. It
endureth all things. Now listen to this. I've copied
this out of a writer. Through darkness and light, Through doubt and confidence,
through adversity and blessings, true love is persistent, and
its persistency is proof of its power. When love reaches that
stage of endurance, when love is submissive to God's
will, content with today but anticipating future joy, but
leaving that to God's will, this is love. This is love. It beareth all things, it believeth
all things, it hopeth all things, because it's an enduring, persistent
grace. Now listen to this. Enduring
love has entered into rest. We, let me give this example.
of what this man said. Evidently, I didn't feel that
got home. That last enduring love has entered
into rest. When we have believed on Christ,
we have entered into His rest. We have ceased from our labors.
We cease trying to prove anything. We cease trying to earn anything.
We cease trying to merit anything. We have entered into his rest.
You see what I'm saying there now? True love, where an individual's
concern has entered into rest. It's not trying to prove anything.
It's not trying to earn anything. It's not trying to merit anything. It has entered into a rest. It's
there. The person knows it. It'll never
change. It'll always endure. It is persistent. Nobody's going to change it.
Whatever comes or goes, it has reached a stage of growth where
that's just it, and that's all there is to it. You see what
I'm saying? That's what faith in Christ is.
When we reach that stage of faith in Christ, we have a mature faith. We have a full assurance. And we rest in Him. And when
we begin to love people that way, and I think some of you
love some people that way, I want us to get to where we love all
believers that way. Where there's never any doubt
about that relationship. There may be falls and there
may be rises, there may be pitfalls and troubles, there may be misunderstandings,
misquotations, misrepresentations, call it what you will, but that
love has entered into rest. And I don't have to prove anything.
I don't have to defend myself. I don't have to be insecure.
That's what jealousy is. It's insecurity. A person is
insecure. I hear people talk about, oh,
they want somebody to always be jealous of them. That's not
true love. That person is insecure. Any
time that jealousy is present, that person is trying to prove
something. They're not sure of anything, and they're insecure. But when a person Real, enduring
love enters into a rest. It just got a confidence about
it. Nobody's going to change it. It's that way, and that's
the way it's going to be. All right, now the last thing,
and I'll quit with this. The last few verses, 8 through
13, he says love never fails, prophecies will fail, and tongues
will cease, and knowledge will vanish away. Now about his faith,
hope, and love. Now here's what he's saying in
those verses just briefly. Everything about us is temporary.
On every side these objects for a while appeal to us. They excite
us. They awaken us. They fill us
with ambition and zeal. But everything, everything except
love is a passing thing. Everything. Even prophecies.
spiritual gifts such as tongues, healing, miracles, knowledge.
Something better is going to take the place of all these things.
But something better is not going to take the place of love because
there ain't nothing better. Now that's what he's saying.
There is nothing better. Love, knowledge can pass and
prophecies can pass and tongues can pass because something better
is coming along. But love can never pass because
there's nothing better. Nothing better. God is love. God is not faith, God is love. God is not knowledge, God is
love. And that's the reason it can
never pass. Now abide at these things, they're here, enjoy them,
profit by them, enter into them, earnestly covet them. But the
greatest of these is love. And if you want to give yourself
to, like I want to give myself to finding and possessing, at
whatever cost, the greatest gift, we've just been talking about
it tonight. Our Father, bless the message. Use it in my heart and my life. We read in Thy Word how the mighty
are fallen. we read in the hour