The Most Excellent Way

1 Cor 13:1-13

Most of us are very familiar with this chapter. In fact, you probably are more familiar with what this chapter has to say than any other chapter in 1 Corinthians. It is so well known that when asked this week what love is, one of the preschoolers said, “love is kind, love is patient.” But, you probably don’t understand it in the context of what Paul is talking about.

I use this text in most of my wedding ceremonies to talk about love. Yes, it’s talking about love and how to treat others, but it isn’t about relationships, it’s about how to act towards one another in worship service!

Think about what we have been talking about the last few weeks. How to act in worship and this thought is right in the middle of all that Paul was saying about how to act in worship.

PRAYER

I. Love In Context

A. Love is a gift

1. In Chapter 12, Paul talks about the spiritual gifts that they were all fighting over.

2. Paul never uses the terminology gift, but it is implied by the phrases he uses.

a) READ 12:29-31

b) What were those greater gifts?

c) READ vs 1-2

d) He talks about a gift and then says but don’t have love.

e) It’s one of those general gifts we mentioned last week in Rom. and Eph. that all Christians should have.

B. The gift of love in worship

1. Here as in most references to love in the New Testament, Paul uses the Greek word agape

2. Paul wants them to show good will and respect to each other in worship.

3. He goes on to define that love even more in vs 4-8a

a) patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, not proud, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrong, does not delight in evil

b) rejoices in righteousness, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

c) love never fails.

4. Interesting combination of descriptions

a) Paul tells us as much of what agape is not as what it is.

b) It’s very plain to see that agape is meant to elevate the other person.

c) Is based in righteousness

d) Believes in the best of the other person

e) Is everlasting

5. The others gifts would vanish over time

a) Tongues, prophecies, knowledge will all end

b) agape love will be a part of worship for as long as man is a part of worship.

II. Maturity In Worship

A. Time to grow up

1. I had a couple of people remark on a comment I used last week. More than one person thought I was right but bold to call people useless Christians. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I always believed we need to deal with reality of our situation. Sometime being blunt is the only way to get us to see our reality.

2. Paul has been doing the same think throughout this book.

a) That he loves these people there is no doubt.

b) That he needed to slap them with reality a little bit is also obvious because they weren’t seeing how far they were drifting from God without that blunt discussion of their faith.

3. In these last few verses Paul gives them another gentle slap of reality.

a) READ vs 11

b) Translated; grow up! You’re acting like little children fighting over a ball.

c) Mature Christians realize that any other gift without love is a gift from God that is being misused.

B. We need to learn that same lesson

1. As a church, any church, we need to learn the same lesson the Corinthian church needed to learn.

2. When we look to the other’s needs in our worship of God, we will be a church that does many things to connect each other with God.

3. We will also not worry about a pecking order, because that isn’t what we are about.

4. We are about praising God to the fullest with whatever gifts he has blessed us with.

5. True Story - Fred was a trash man in Dallas. A very poor trash man at that. He lived in a shack at the edge of a city dump. In the early 70’s during a campaign, some college students talked to him about Jesus and his love for everyone. He was excited about Jesus and soon became a Christian. Fred couldn’t speak well, had no money or decent clothing, just a great love for the Lord. The church there bought him tracts which he left at the homes of people whose trash he picked up. Over the years many of those people also became Christians. In 1980 Fred died. At his funeral, more than 3000 people came to pay last respects including the mayor of the city. A great many of them because this poor trash man with a heart of gold used his one gift of leaving tracts with people and stammering out why he loved Jesus when asked.

C. The greatest of these is love

1. Paul ends by talking about the 3 most important aspects of Christianity.

a) Faith, hope and love

b) Faith will end some day when we see God in heaven

c) Hope will end someday when it become reality.

d) Yet God will always be agape love, and he is for eternity.

2. If you will practice agape, you’ll be using the greatest of all spiritual gifts.

3. The one that will last forever.