THE HEART OF CHRISTIANITY

“Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 HCSB) 

The message of the Bible is not difficult to understand.  I can sum it up in one four letter word: love.  From Genesis to Revelation, it is a love story—the romance of redemption.  I can distill all our responsibility down to one commandment: love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said that the essence of discipleship is our love for one another.  This is the heart of Christianity. 

Although it’s a simple message to express, the implications are profound.  Understanding this is easy; applying it is hard.  Yet, Scripture is clear, that out of the three essential virtues of the Christian life: faith, hope and love—the greatest of these is love.  It is foundational.  It is fundamental.  Love is the heart of Christianity.

There is no better passage to define the character of love, describe the conduct of love, and demonstrate the conquest of love than 1 Corinthians 13.  Those who practice such love have the heart of Christ transplanted in them.

The Apostle Paul begins by stressing THE PRIMACY OF LOVE (v.1-3)

Love is the main thing.  It transcends everything else in the Christian life.

LOVE TRANSCENDS ELOQUENT SPEECH, “If I speak human or angelic languages but do not have love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” (v.1) 

We can speak about love without showing it.  I can sing with great enthusiasm, “O how I love Jesus…” but unless I am devoted to obedience it is only noise.  I can passionately profess to love an unseen God, but if I do not love those I can see, who are made in His image, then it is just sound. 

I do think it is important to tell people we love them, but our performance exhibits the reality of the claim.  Actions do speak louder than words. 

LOVE TRANSCENDS EXPLAINED SCRIPTURE, “If I have [the gift of] prophecy” (v.2a)

We can be orthodox in doctrine and not have love.  The Pharisee is the poster child for loveless theology.

Prophecy is the spoken word of God.  We would never deprecate that—Paul does not.  He’s just saying that without love, the Bible can be used as a hammer.  It is often used to condemn—to beat down rather than build up. 

Don’t get me wrong, the prophets were forceful in denouncing sin and we should be.  But why?  Love motivates the message of repentance: our love for God and people compels us.  We recognize the assault on God’s holy character and the hurt caused to people by sin.  So, Jeremiah was characteristic of all the prophets, as a weeping prophet--a broken-heart of love. Paul said it elsewhere of, “speaking the truth in love” (Eph.4:15)

LOVE TRANSCENDS EDUCATED STUDY, “and understand all mysteries and all knowledge” (v.2b)

We can be educated and evil.  There was probably not a generation more cultured and yet more cruel than the Germans of the early twentieth century.  The Nazis could listen to Wagnerian opera and ignore the whistle of the trains taking Jews to the gas chambers.

Education is fine so far as it goes—but, it doesn’t go far enough. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.  You can know the Bible story of the Good Samaritan and never take a risk and bear the expense of reaching out to someone in love.  You can know the Gospel and never tell a lost soul about Jesus.  You can know every stanza of Amazing Grace and not be amazed—never truly worshipping God nor extending grace to other sinners.  The demons know about God and tremble!  Yet, their hearts are filled with malice and not love.

LOVE TRANSCENDS EXTRAORDINARY SIGNS, “and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.” (v.2c)

Satan has supernatural power, but no love.  People are easily impressed and swayed by the faith healers and so-called miracle workers.  They pack the auditoriums like people going to the circus.  Meanwhile, the preacher is packing his wallet or her purse with money, building multi-million dollar homes, flying around on his or her personal jet, living the lifestyle of the rich and famous, while some desperate little widow on fixed income sends her last dollar to him or her hoping for a miracle. 

Did you know that one of the means by which false prophets deceive people is by supernatural signs?  The Bible says that the Antichrist will deceive the world by his miracle power—power that comes from Satan himself.  Miracles are not enough unless the ministry is wrought in love.

LOVE TRANSCENDS EXCEPTIONAL SHARING, “And if I donate all my goods to feed the poor” (3a).

We can be motivated to give alms out of pride rather than love.  As has been well-said, “You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.”  There are people who will need money.  Sometimes they require something more costly: our time and energy.  Love should be the compelling force.

LOVE TRANSCENDS EXTREME SACRIFICE, “and if I give my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.”  There are those who become martyrs—not motivated by love, but by hate!  So a Muslim extremist straps a bomb to his body, explodes it in a crowded marketplace, causing murder and mayhem.  They do it to kill the enemies of Allah.  Innocents—including women and children--die in this unholy war.

Paul not only proclaims the primacy of love in this thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, but he presents THE PRACTICE OF LOVE as well (v.4-7).

Love isn’t just an emotion, it’s an action.  Paul doesn’t try to define love so much, as to describe it.  In the Greek text each of these terms is a verb.  They are in the present continuous tense which means attitudes and actions that have become habitual, ingrained by constant repetition. 

Love is the fruit of the Spirit as we respond in faith and obedience.  This is becoming like Jesus.  He is the only man to exhibit these perfectly.  We could insert His name in the place of love and accurately describe Him.  Being a follower of Christ means we take deliberate and decisive action to develop these qualities.

Let’s dig deeper and we discover that Paul points to MINISTRY: The Positive Disposition of Love.  This is WHAT LOVE IS.

Patient, “Love is patient.”  There is one kind of patience that puts up with difficult problems, but this kind puts up with difficult people.  It was a term used in the ancient world of a physician treating a chronic illness.

Peter came to Jesus, thinking he had this love thing figured out.  “Lord, how often should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Seven times?”  He seemed to expect a pat on the back.  Jesus, instead, challenged him, “Seventy times seven.”   That suggests an infinite number.  It is like the patience of God toward we who are so undeserving.  What if God treated us like we treat others?

Kind, “love is kind.”  When we love, we reach out to help others with deeds of kindness—even to our enemies.  Jesus said that loving those who love us isn’t a big deal.  Sinful people do that. We bless those who curse us.  We do good to those who hate us.  We pray for those who persecute us.  He said that marks us as children of God.  Is that how people would identify you? Someone has well said that, “The greatest thing a man can do for his Heavenly Father is to be kind to some of His…children.”

Balanced, “rejoices in the truth.”  Literally, it rejoices with the truth.  They are friends—so there is actually no conflict between love and truth.  Love without truth isn’t real love, it is liberalism.  Truth without love isn’t real truth, it is legalism.  This is a life of balance.

Protective, “bears all things.”  The NIV renders this, “It always protects.”  Literally, it means, “to cover over in silence.”  Love doesn’t delight in a scandal, but confronts the sinner privately in order to win them, not publicly in order to wound them.  Someone has well said that the church is the only army to shoot its own wounded.  Too often it’s true!

Trusting, “believes all things.”  Greek scholar, James Moffatt, translates this, “always eager to believe the best.” Love looks for the good in others.  It believes the best about others.  We refuse to be cynical and critical.

Hopeful, “hopes all things.”  We not only look for the best in others, we seek to bring out the best in others.  Someone looks at an old hunk of rock and sees worthless stone, but an artist sees the potential there and works to unleash his vision. People often live up to our expectations.  So, Jesus looks at Simon and calls him, “Peter.” He was anything but that at the time, but Jesus saw he would become a “rock” when He got through with him.

Enduring, “endures all things.”  People can disappoint us.  They may fail repeatedly—but love does not fail.  This is a picture of a soldier who will take the hill, even under heavy enemy fire.  He will not stop until he wins. 

A Christian is known for his ministry—love serves others—it is a positive disposition that leads to practical deeds.  Yet, there is another dimension and that is MASTERY: The Prohibited Distortion of Love. Here we learn WHAT LOVE ISN’T. 

By yielding to God’s Spirit, we can master these vices contrary to love. We must deliberately renounce them.

Love is not Envious, “love does not envy.”  This had become a real problem in Corinth as they were envious of one another’s spiritual gifts (see the context of chapters twelve and fourteen).   This problem remains in the church today.  We may envy another church’s growth. Preachers envy another pastor’s success.  Singers envy some other soloist’s applause.  Love rejects that self-centered spirit.

Love is not Boastful, “not boastful.”  It doesn’t put itself on parade.  Now, I love a parade…but not in church—not when it’s a parade of the flesh.  We live in a culture of Christian celebrity.  Churches are striving for, “The Greatest Show on Earth” and degenerate into a carnival.  It’s about entertainment, not worship, and is an abominable stealing of glory that belongs only to God!

Love is not Proud, “is not conceited.” Other translations render it, “is not puffed up.”  I think about a bullfrog puffing up before he croaks.  I heard about a frog who wanted to fly.   Watching some birds, he came up with a brilliant idea.  Two birds would hold a stick in their beaks, while the frog would be in the middle of them, holding the stick in his mouth.  So, the birds took wing and lifted the frog with them.  Spotting this marvel soaring aloft, an old farmer in amazement asked, “Who thought of that?”  The puffed up frog opened his fat mouth and said, “I did”  and down he went.  Hitting the ground--he croaked!  The Bible warns, “Pride goes before a fall.”

Love is not Rude, “does not act improperly.”  Rude rhymes with crude and lewd.  Love is never that.  It makes a fellow into a gentleman—and that is what he is: a “gentle man.” Love is polite; it is well-mannered.  Ladies, this applies to you too—and modern women seem increasingly given to being rude, crude and lewd.

Love is not Selfish, “is not selfish” This is the essence of sin, and that is the opposite of love. Love doesn’t ask, “What’s in it for me?”

Love is not Touchy, “is not provoked.”  Touchiness is too often tolerated in the church today—seldom seen as antithetical to love.  It is a spark from hell that can ignite a confrontation that leads to a conflagration and all that is left of the church’s unity and testimony is ashes!

Love is not Resentful, “does not keep record of wrongs.”  This is an accounting term.  When love forgives it writes off the debt and the book is closed!  Love will not bear grudges.  Love rejects bitterness.  Revenge is refused.

Love is not Self-righteous, “finds no joy in unrighteousness.”  It is tempting to find delight when others fall, in that it makes us feel superior.  People today enjoy hearing and repeating scandals.  Church folk are not immune to this.  Often “prayer requests” are shared about some moral mishap of a member and it is nothing but glorified gossip!

So, we have seen thus far the primacy and practice of love.  The third stanza of this beautiful love song points us to THE PERMANENCE OF LOVE (v.8-13). Life may end, but love lives on.  Since God is love, love is eternal. 

There is THE VICTORY THAT OVERCOMES ALL, “Love never ends.” (v.8a) The Greek word literally means that love never “falls” or “collapses.”  Love stands its ground.  It never withers under the heat of hate.  It never wavers in the face of hostility.  Not only does love stand the test of time, but it endures through eternity. “Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it.” (Song of Solomon, 8:7a). 

People will sometimes fail—they may reject our love no matter how relentlessly we reach out to them, but love never fails.  We are always the better for it.  Still, it is often the case that such love will break down even the hardest heart.  We may not even realize this side of eternity the legacy of love we have left behind.  Seeds sown in what seems barren soil today, may lie dormant for years, apparently wasted effort, that years later sprout and flourish. 

Then we find THE VALUE THAT OUTWEIGHS ALL:

“But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for languages, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.  But when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end.  When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I put aside childish things.  For now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face.  Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.” (v.8b-12)

When you measure the value of things in the scales of eternity—love outweighs them all.  Everything that we value in this world is fading away—it will all perish.  The precious metals will tarnish, the palatial homes will crumble, the luxury automobiles will become a heap of rust, and our designer clothing will wear out and be discarded.  The temporal we treasure will become trash.  Paul stresses here the transitory nature of this life compared to love.  These temporary things are not bad things—prophecy and tongues—those are not sinful things.  Yet, the Corinthians had acted sinfully concerning them because of their abuse of these gifts and the threat to the Body the conflict over them was causing.  Love was, and is the best gift.  There comes a time when prophecy and tongues give way and love remains.  Love, then, merited their focus.

LOVE IS THE VIRTUE THAT OUTLASTS ALL, “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love.” (v.13)  The Bible elevates love to the highest station.  Paul tells us it is the greatest thing in the world—it is a virtue unequalled by even faith and hope.  That isn’t a put-down of those great virtues—it’s just that love occupies the pinnacle. It is the crown jewel that adorns the believer’s head. There will come a day when faith will give way to sight.  There will come a day when hope will be fulfilled.  But love lives on.  Throughout the boundless ages we will revel in the love of God, exploring its fathomless depths and scaling its limitless heights.

If there is a chapter to memorize and apply in all the Word of God, this one should claim priority.  It is the heart of Christianity!