The Unconditional Expressions of God s Love 1 Corinthians 13:1-7

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1 The Unconditional Expressions of God s Love 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 This lesson s Bible passage is possibly the most known and is frequently quoted at weddings, graduation ceremonies, and motivational speaking events, and in campaign tours and church sermons. Love is a word that is difficult, if not impossible to explain; thus, God defines it for us through the words of the Apostle Paul. Since God created this aspect of life we call love, which is so vital to us all, Paul faithfully depicts its characteristics in detail. His thoughts did not originate in him, but were the direct result of experiences given to him by the Father. Paul evaluated these deeply personal experiences and identified them in his writings as to action, behavior, and heart. The concepts were primarily intended to convey how God loves each one of us unconditionally. The practical application of this for us resides in the fact that we can only love others to the degree in which we are experiencing the same love with the Father. Therefore, love needs to be seen as a natural outcome and overflow of His love in us, lest we consider these qualities a human endeavor. Let s look at Paul s written definitions of love and observe how God transfuses His love in us, then extends that into an opportunity and ability to love in a similar fashion and share it with others.

2 1. Love is long-suffering and patient There were many in the Corinthian church who were frustrated over others views on scripture and impatient with people as they grew into their spiritual gifts and various roles. One way to always come back to reality is to recognize how God loves us in this regard. (1 Cor. 1:11) Do we see God as being patient and long-suffering with us? He tolerates delays without complaining; He is understanding of our strengths and faults and remains even-tempered despite our ups and downs. The image of a God becoming annoyed and seeking punishment for justice sake is impossible to reconcile with His demonstrations of persevering love. As we experience and recognize His patience and long-suffering with us, it will be an inspiration and resource for us to do the same for others. 2. Love is Kind For the Corinthians, being kind and considerate with each other was not necessarily an important goal. For example, when celebrating the Lord s Supper, some arrived early and ate everything before others arrived and drank so much they became drunk! (1 Cor. 11:21-22) Paul sarcastically said to them, Shall I praise you in this? The kindness of God embodies our awareness that His love is a soft-touch, full of understanding, benevolence and tenderhearted involvement. The more we are enraptured in the goodness of His love, the more thoughtful and kindhearted we become in our expressions of love toward others. 3. Love is not envious or jealous Members of the early church at Corinth were oftentimes green with envy over others teaching and speaking abilities, deciding to whom to listen and whom to ignore. Announcements like I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas, or I am of Christ illustrated these critical and biased opinions. (1 Cor. 12) God s love for us does not instill a spirit of covetousness or comparison, nor does it display a sense of envy over another s accomplishments and achievements. From its fullness, it is not envious, resentful, or seeking others' talents or gifts. Instead of jealousy, it extends congratulations and well wishes. 4. Love does not brag nor parade itself before others It appears that Corinth was not short on people who loved to boast about their own skill in acquiring knowledge and teaching it to others. Paul confronted such

3 grandstanding with these words: Do not think beyond what is written and none of you should be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. (1 Cor. 4:6) Love is not pretentious, nor does it maintain a belief that others do not rise to the same level of accomplishment equal to or greater than one s own. God s love for us never displays an attitude of bluster or the need for a believer to blow His own horn. It is modest and unpretentious while quietly reaffirming His consistent affection. 5. Love is not arrogant Those in Corinth demonstrated an attitude of self-importance, arrogance and egotistical thinking. Many felt they had outgrown the apostles spiritually and expressed this boldly. Paul again resorts to sarcasm and dresses them down with the following words: We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak. But you are strong! You are distinguished, we are dishonored! (1 Cor. 4:8-13) Unconditional love has no desire to grasp for power in Christ-centered leadership. Corinthians arrogance presumed themselves supremely talented and gifted, in contrast to the embodiment of God s love which is continually humble, having a heart of servanthood. 6. Love does not behave rudely or unseemly Pagan worship in temples created the temptation for unseemly behavior within the church. Paul declared, It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you that is so horrendous, that even the unbelieving Gentiles didn t demonstrate; and this activity is a son with his father s wife! (1 Cor. 5:1) In its literal sense, love does not commit that which is shameful. Love is considerate of the needs of others as it restrains itself from being course, ill-mannered, selfish and from looking for opportunities to gain an advantage over another. A person who behaves unseemly exhibits behaviors which testify to their belief that they are unique and more highly-valued than others. This view will then justify unrighteous behavior which will cause them to act as if they are the enlightened ones within the community. 7. Love does not seek its own 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Cor. 2:4-5) These words were written by Paul to express his unconditional love for those in Corinth.

4 Love is not narcissistic, in nature, having a continual need to be on display and to be served by others. The paradoxes of Christ help explain this quality of love which expresses the thought, If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all. (Matt. 9:35). This is an excellent example of how Christ did not seek His own gain amongst people and how completely Paul adopted a similar attitude in serving the church. Within this definition of love, we discover our desire to glorify God and care for others from His infinite resources. 8. Love is not easily provoked The Corinthian believers had earned the reputation of becoming angry and offended quickly, which motivated them into the court system, ready for a legal fight. 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no man among you wise enough to decide between members of the brotherhood, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is defeat for you. (1 Cor. 6: 5-6) Love is not prone to being thin-skinned or offended easily. In all situations, it is thoughtful of present conditions, having the sensitivity and wisdom to evaluate and anticipate the needs of others while always seeking to establish steady presence and peace. Therefore, love does not lead to emotional outbursts, disruption and harsh divisions. 9. Love does not take into account a wrong suffered This verse is not implying that we cannot lovingly shed light on the injustices caused by others. Instead, Paul uses a mathematical term and instructs us not to hold or tally grudges, which only causes anger and resentment. Some translations exhort us not to keep score of others sins. How can we demonstrate love toward those who have hurt us? We do this from our own sense of relief in God s love, ever reminiscent that He does not keep score but completely forgives us of all our sins and mistakes past, present, and future. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, 32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32) 10. Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness or wrongs God s unconditional love has a unique quality inherent in it which does not praise or exalt the unrighteous behavior of individuals or groups. People who appear to have been rewarded in their lack of character and unpunished by those who would normally hold them accountable can create the appearance that improper behavior is all right. In the Corinthian church, those abusing spiritual gifts were praised by other abusers. And because they were not confronted by those in leadership, the reputation of an uncontrolled assembly of believers spread everywhere. Yet, it is God s unconditional love in us that celebrates and motivates righteousness. For Christ s

5 love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. (2 Cor. 5:14) 11. Love rejoices in the truth Love rejoices in the truth because real love cannot exist without it. If you have ever tried to hide the truth with a lie to hold onto a relationship or remain presentable in the public eye, you have likely discovered hypocrisy seldom remains hidden. The reason for this outcome is that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Since this is His nature, and because He is committed to the reflection of His character from ours, we will always be compelled to love people from the life that is Christ who is the Truth. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) 12. Love bears all things Love has the need and assurance of being supported by someone or something that has supernatural strength. It assures us of the commitment God has to us in His love. Life on earth will at times place us under tremendous pressures that will cause us to grow weary and discouraged. It is His unconditional love and support that accepts the responsibility of carrying our spiritual, emotional and physical problems in this life. It is God in Christ whom we depend upon for rescue and rest. 28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matt. 11:28-30) 13. Love believes all things Love continues to believe in the best in people because of what God is doing within every person that has, or will ever live on this earth. We may not see this taking place, nor do we often see immediate results. Yet, we are aware we will one day see the eternal and positive outcomes of His love manifested. This quality of love can give us new lenses through which to look at people who have deeply harmed us. Does this mean that God s celestial love for said people gives us the ability to love them immediately? No, it does not. But because love believes all things, we know it is not an impossible task to one day reconcile and reinstate the love that has been damaged by human acts. We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) 14. Love hopes all things Love hopes all things, as New Covenant literature does not contain the human sentiment: I hope it happens. The New Covenant provides the absolute assurance that our inspired thoughts from God will be fulfilled. We have assurance and the belief

6 that God has already heard our requests, seen our desires and is aware of our goals before they arrived on our stage of life. 15. Love endures all things Love between individuals will usually remain committed in good times, but must also have the capacity to endure the painful and most difficult of times. Even when occasions arise that appear to be impossible to overcome helping a person heal, assisting in the pain of illness, shouldering the grief of a family member or friend s death, encouraging someone through the loss of a job or a gut-wrenching divorce love is defined in enduring all things. 16. Love never fails This one statement becomes the capstone for all the previous definitions of love. Our relationship with God is not based on our level of commitment to Him, it is instead centered on His eternal commitment to us which is summed up in this verse. You will never be a failure in God s eyes. (1 Cor. 13:8) God has designed and equipped the church with spiritual gifts, the various elements intended to unite us in service with one another. The means by which we remain unified and effectively help each other is our love for one another. The idea was expressed by Jesus to His disciples in the Gospel of John the day before He went to the cross in chapter A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 (Text) 13 1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. 8 Love never fails.

7 Discussion Questions 1. Recall the person or people who have harmed you the most in life. Are these characteristics of God s love helpful to your healing? 2. Who in your life best fits this example of love and how has that benefited you? 3. Do you agree that these aspects of love are unconditional in nature and are only fully expressed to us by God? 4. Is it true that each of us has the capacity to express this type of love, dependent on our exposure to and experience of God s love for us? 5. Out of the various elements of His love, which stands out as the most meaningful? 6. If over the centuries the church had had a genuine understanding of this purest love, what is the likelihood there would be divisions and hierarchies within the church? 7. If you were to add to the list of descriptions of unconditional love, what would you add and why?

8 Summary Some within the assembly of the Church at Corinth struggled with pride, arrogance, and narcissism when it came to the reception and utilization of spiritual gifts. With that, the door opened to comparisons regarding who was greater at achieving good works through the public display of their ministries. The focus needed to turn to not what was being done in front of others but how motivated each was in terms of love. The care and concern of the saints should have been the priority, not the spiritual splas h and public display of gifts being performed. At the end of Chapter 12, the Apostle Paul challenged each of them to strive for the greatest gifts, which created the transition into Chapter 13 which we now call the Love Chapter of the Bible. The reaffirmation of what was most important comes at the end of verse 13. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Bill Rose 2017 Church at the Lodge S. School Street, Sundays, 9:30 a.m. P.O. Box 2677, Grass Valley, California Bill Rose, bill@churchatthelodge.com Conversations in Christ Radio Show - KNCO 830 AM Dial, Sundays, 8:30 a.m.