The Greatest of These

good many years ago when I first started
in ministry I spent a considerable
amount of time earnestly seeking the
lord as to what direction the focus of
my ministry should take I asked him
should my emphasis lie on evangelism
equipping God's people to obey the Great
Commission to make disciples of all
nations I asked him should I concentrate
on helping people find their spiritual
gifts in fulfillment of the biblical
command to earnestly desire spiritual
gifts so that we could be of service to
God and of service to each other and I
asked him Lord do you want us to be more
or less a traditional Church in which we
just find pleasure in meeting together
and in meeting with God and finding the
stability that comes out of that I did
that kind of searching because ministry
is a little bit like engaging in a
construction project if you don't know
where you're going and if you don't know
what blueprint to follow then you end up
doing a lot of zigzagging and at the end
you have nothing to show for it and so
for a season that was my prayer as I
started in ministry and as I recall for
several months nothing much happened
until all of a sudden one day there came
the answer and the answer came in a way
that I can only describe as coming in
the form of a revelation from the Lord
it wasn't like I heard any voice I had
no visions it it wasn't a you know goose
bumpy kind of experience it was just a
sudden revelation of what it was that
God wanted me to be about in ministry
and when the answer came it was so
simple as I remember it that I
almost literally burst out laughing
because here is what the Lord put in my
heart he said concentrate on building a
people who will love the Lord their God
with all of their heart soul strength of
mind and who will love their neighbor as
they love themselves and he said to me
at least that was the impression that I
received that if I concentrated on that
everything else would take care of
itself because you see if we love god
and we love our neighbor then evangelism
is a natural side effect of our walk
with God and our love for our neighbors
and if I love God and if I love my
neighbor then finding and cultivating my
spiritual gift so that I can serve God
better and serve his people better is a
natural byproduct of my walk with God
and if I love God and I love my neighbor
that I value life in community and I
want to give myself in service to God's
people that's a good many years ago now
that that happened but from that day to
this whenever I find myself in a
situation where I'm in danger of being
confused or I'm tempted to speed out or
I'm tempted to lose my way because we
live in a world with many different
agendas and many different ways of
getting pulled I always retreat back to
that moment of Revelation whenever I get
confused whenever I wonder god what are
you about what am I supposed to be doing
I always reach each tree tree to the
question does this help God's people
love God better does this help God's
people to love each other better and if
the answer to that is yes then i can
give myself to it wholeheartedly knowing
that i cannot
possibly go wrong and if the answer is
no then I know that is a distraction
from the central purposes of the gospel
and so it is that here in 1 Corinthians
chapter are in the book of Corinthians
having spent all this time in chapter 12
outlining for us the importance and the
virtues of spiritual gifting Paul now
comes to this great chapter that we know
as the love chapter 1 Corinthians
chapter 13 and while many a young couple
uses it at their wedding as an
expression of their love for each other
and that is appropriate understand it's
not really written as a romantic love
chapter I mean it applies but it's
really written for Christian community
and in the time that we have this
morning want to walk you through some
very basic principles that are outlined
in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 it's one of
these chapters we read easily over it
and and we think we know what it says
but it actually has a pretty profound
message that creates a balance for the
Christian life so listen again how Paul
introduces it actually at the end of
chapter 12 you may have missed that we
didn't read it together 1 Corinthians 12
31 Paul says eagerly desire the greater
gifts and now I will show you the most
excellent way and then he launches into
the great love chapter 1 corinthians
chapter 13 so as we look at that just
quickly this morning if we can't want
you to notice three things first of all
Paul says love trumps everything listen
again to how he puts it in the first
three verses of I speak in the tongues
of men and of angels but have not love I
am only a resounding
ding gong or a clanging cymbal if I have
the gift of prophecy and confirm all
mysteries and all knowledge and if I
have faith that can move mountains
that's that's no insignificant gift when
is the last time you know you made a
mountain move if I have faith that can
move mountains but have not love I am
nothing if I give all I possess to the
poor and surrender my body to the flames
but have not love I gain nothing what's
he saying well he is comparing the
relative importance of the gifts of the
Spirit as opposed to the fruit of the
Spirit we talked about that a number of
weeks ago let me just briefly summarize
it this way the Holy Spirit is the
agency of the Godhead who imparts to us
the benefits that we have in Christ God
in Orthodox Christianity is pictured as
Trinitarian three-in-one and we speak of
God the Father we speak of God the Son
and we speak of God the Holy Spirit each
of them has a different role in creation
and in Redemption god the father is the
one who decides that he wants a family
of children that's why he wants us to be
in His image and in his likeness the son
is the one who makes it possible not
only originally in the creation of the
universe but he makes it possible in
Redemption by giving his life and being
raised from the dead so that we can
qualify to be in the presence of God and
to be his children but the Holy Spirit
is the one who comes into the world to
make real the blessings that we have in
Christ and as we've seen in the past he
does that in two ways he does that by
coming into our
hearts what Brad long used to call the
spirit with Ian to transform us from the
inside out and he does that by coming
upon us to empower us to do the will of
God and so the spirit within changes us
from the inside out so that our
character becomes more like the
character of Christ Paul talks about
that in Galatians chapter 5 22 and 23
the fruit of the Spirit is love joy
peace patience kindness goodness
faithfulness gentleness and self-control
against such there is no law if you are
united by faith in jesus and the holy
spirit lives in you and you grow in him
then your life changes from the inside
out and the ultimate manifestation of
that is the gift of love you now
consider others better than yourselves
and you pour your life into others as
you become conformed to the image of
Christ the spirit upon is the anointing
of the Holy Spirit to equip us to do the
work of God through spiritual gifts and
that's what Jesus talks about acts 18
you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem Judea and Samaria
and to the ends of the earth the spirit
upon spiritual gifts are the power tools
to do the work of the kingdom and what
Paul is saying we need both to have the
fruit of the Spirit without the gifts of
the Spirit can make us wonderfully nice
people but relatively powerless over
against the evil that is in the world
and by the same token to be anointed by
the Holy Spirit with spiritual gift so
that we have faith to move mountains
without having the fruit of this spirit
makes us
tremely dangerous because now we have
power but we exercise it without life
and so what Paul is saying here is
spiritual gifts are really important you
need spiritual gifts to be able to do
the business of the kingdom but he says
the context the spiritual gifts always
has to be loved and if you don't have
love that it doesn't matter what your
gifts are you are a noisy gong and a
clanging cymbal you are useless from
God's perspective now understand his
argument here his argument is this the
reason he puts it this way and places
the fruit of the Spirit within the
context of the gifts of the Spirit is
because gifts of the Spirit without the
fruit of the Spirit very quickly becomes
an exercise in self aggrandizement it
becomes a way of boasting about my gifts
it's like giving a kid in your house a
buzz saw and then watching him destroy
the furniture because he is so enamored
with his own power because you see
that's the context of the first book of
Corinthians these Corinthians who became
a Christians and Paul second missionary
journey and if and when we get back to
the book of Acts will we'll get into
that whole story but these corinthians
were unusually gifted spiritually they
had been raw pagans they had come to
faith in Christ the Holy Spirit had been
poured out upon them to such a degree
that earlier on in 1 Corinthians chapter
1 here's what the Apostle Paul says he
says I always thank God for you because
it is grace given to you in Christ Jesus
he says for in him you have been
enriched in
every way it all your speaking and in
all your knowledge because their
testimony about Christ was confirmed in
you therefore you do not lack any
spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for
the Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed
these were people who overflowed with
the presence and the power of the holy
spirit in their lawyers so what was the
problem spiritual gifts does not make
you spiritually mature in fact they were
babes in Christ he talks about that a
chapter or two later on 1 Corinthians 31
brothers I could not address you as
spiritual but as world lay near infants
in Christ and he goes on to explain what
a bunch of babies they are and how
they're fighting and they're jostling
and they're arguing with each other and
spiritual gifts in that context become a
means of competition I can speak in
tongues better than you you're not as
spiritual as I am oh by the way i can
speak prophetic words and God really
honors it and you should see what
happens when I pray for that person God
heals them all and maybe he does but
have I speak in the tongues of men and
of angels and have not love I'm a noisy
gong and a clanging cymbal so what's
Paul say it doesn't matter how gifted
you are if you're not using your gifts
to build up the body if you're not
moving in love to help and encourage
somebody else to become everything that
they can be in Christ you're a noisy
gong and a clanging cymbal you're
wasting your time you're wasting your
energy Paul says love trumps everything
and spiritual gifts whatever your gift
is well there is a gift of Finance
whether it's a gift of relation you know
whatever your gift
is spiritually speaking the motivation
has to be not self aggrandizement not
all look at me I'm finding my identity
in my gift no no it has to be how can I
use this gift to serve somebody else if
I have the gift of Prayer if I have the
gift of speaking if I have the gift of
prayer or whatever it is that I have the
gift of the purpose is using it so that
other people can be blessed and built up
otherwise I'll say it one more time
we're just blowing smoke and God does
not want us to blow smoke so that's
Paul's first observation here love
trumps everything then he goes on in
this passage and he explains to us he
defines to us what love looks like he
goes on vs. 4 6 & 7 again love is
patient love is kind it does not envy it
does not boast it is not proud it's not
rude it's not self-seeking it's not
easily angered it keeps no record of
wrongs does not delight in evil rejoices
with the truth it always protects always
trusts always hopes always perseveres
I've said this before Paul loves making
lists and he loves making lists because
he knows what slippery customers we are
he knows that given half a chance we
think what he has to say doesn't apply
to us and so he always spreads it all
over the place so that everybody knows
exactly what do you saying now he
defines love in part because in his
world as in our world today we live in a
world where love is so broadly defined
and so universally abused that it has
virtually lost its meaning I want to
show you
and it's a picture of three young men
this story has been in the news for
about two weeks and it's been in the
news because this fella here and this
fella here joined together in a gay
marriage a number of years ago then they
got sort of tired of each other and they
wanted to spice up their sex life a
little bit so they started cruising and
they met up with his dude in the middle
and they decided they both liked him and
they wanted him to be part of their
union with him but they were already
married so what do you do they divorced
each other and in the process of
divorcing each other there now busy with
lawyers trying to find some legal way of
defining a threesome as a marriage and
when challenged or asked about it here's
what one of them says we just want to
say that love is love it should be
multiplied not divided it shouldn't
matter if you're in a three way or in a
four-way relationship and that's where
society is going because once you reject
biblical values in terms of marriage
then who is to say that marriage is only
between two people why not three why not
four and you mark my words as time goes
on that's where the push in our society
will go because once you throw scripture
out of the window you can redefine
reality on the basis of the loudest
voice now these three want to have
children what do you think is their plan
well their sisters have offered to serve
as their surrogate mothers I don't know
how that's going to pan out but pity
those children because they're going to
be a tad confused
about the reality of life and I'm not
bringing this story up to point fingers
or to say we don't live in a very
complicated world I bring up this story
to say that the definition of love is
increasingly being twisted and in the
name of love we are permitting all kinds
of things that are far removed from a
biblical basis and so it's very
important for you and me to understand
what love looks like from a biblical
point of view talked about that and not
too long ago let me just quickly review
what love from God's perspective looks
like as the Apostle Paul defines it here
three quick components to laugh number
one it's wanting God's best for the
other person Scripture teaches we've
been created in the image of God God
wants a covenant relationship with us he
wants our love for him to exceed our
love for anybody else the greatest
commandment is to love God the second
one like unto it is to love your
neighbor you separate those two then you
have no basis to decide what human love
looks like and so then you end up being
led in whatever direction your emotions
take you leave a mom here she talked to
me after we did a series of messages a
while back on on homosexuality and gay
marriage and and she's allowed me to
share this story she has a son who's gay
and she's been struggling with the sons
desire that she meet his gay lover and
she and her son are going to meet today
to try to figure out what does love look
like how do I love my child and yet
stand firm on what God has ordained in
terms of human sexuality so always
remember that no matter how many people
are pulling on you the ultimate question
and still is what does God say about
this life and about this relationship
not only that but biblical lava this is
also equally important we must honor
people's right to make their own choices
we must honor people's rights to make
their own choices remember the parable
of the prodigal son prodigal son comes
to the Father give me my share of the
inheritance what does the father do well
the father gives it to him and he lets
him go why because love must be freely
given and while it's important for you
and for me to to love somebody enough to
debate with them and to argue with them
and to try to keep them on the straight
and narrow if at the end of all of that
they make a decision knowingly and
deliberately to walk in a particular
direction that is contrary to biblical
truth whether that's your kid or your
grandkid or your mom or your dad or your
uncle or your ad that comes a point at
which you say I have to let you go
because the other alternative is to be
nitpicking and fighting all the time and
that accomplishes absolutely nothing the
prophet Ezekiel got the balance right
years ago when the Lord told him this he
said son of man I have made you a
watchman for the house of Israel so here
the word I speak and give them warning
from me when I say to the wicked a
wicked man you will surely die and you
do not speak out to dissuade him from
his ways that wicked man will die any
for his sin not the next phrase but I
will hold you accountable for his blood
but if you do warn the wicked man to
turn from his ways and he does not do so
he will die for his sin but you will
save
yourself what's he saying I see somebody
strating and I do not warn him I'm
responsible that's pretty heavy duty
because most of us are pretty scared to
point out somebody else's seeing but if
I warn him and he goes ahead and follows
the course of action that he is desiring
to then I am not guilty of his
blood he is deliberately and knowingly
taking his own staff part of loving
people is you set them free to make
their own choices knowing they are not
free to escape the consequences of their
choices but you cannot be their
conscience and nagging them isn't going
to help because it will just make them
fight you that much more so true love
means wanting God's best true love
setting people free even to choose wrong
paths painful and full of heartache as
that may be particularly if somebody's
close to you and you really love them
and of course number three it means
extending grace whenever possible and to
extend grace means that first of all I
put myself in their shoes ever notice
how easy it is to be judgmental about
somebody's behavior when you haven't
really figured out why they're doing
what they're doing are what it is that
is driving them it is very helpful to
remember that but for the grace of God
there isn't a one of us who couldn't
fall flat on his or her fanny do you
know that about yourself it's the grace
of God it keeps you standing believe you
me so put yourself in other people's
shoes understand their situation doesn't
justify sin doesn't under just doesn't
justify rebellion but it is the reality
of life and then extend forgiveness as
many times as you need to extend
forgiveness and pour yourself into their
lives as many times
you need two legit illegitimate Lee and
biblically not to be codependent or
support them in ways that they ought not
to be supported in but in ways that will
open their hearts to the reality of the
gospel that's painful business because
it may well mean that your love gets
thrown in your face you know what's
thinking about this the other day if I
look back over the years of ministry
with lots of highlights and there are
some pretty significant lowlights but
you know the one thing that if I look
back on it that I have found the most
painful and you will a lot of you can
identify with this you pour yourself
into somebody's life you honestly wish
and hope and pray for God's best and
they come out of very broken places they
start living life and they become big
enough to walk on their own and before
you know it they turn their backs and
throw your love in your face and off
they go flying away totally ignorant
about the impact that they leave on the
lines of people that have loved them
anybody here identify with that could
happen to your kid could happen to
people that you work with in community
or in the church that's an incredibly
painful thing I'll never forget when I
first began to experience that kind of
rejection in the early years of ministry
you got to understand I grow up I didn't
know what rejection was I was cocky
little kid I think but life had sort of
always gone my way I gotta do ministry
and began to discover slander and gossip
in stories that weren't true and people
who in some cases I thought were my
friends are they embraced it
wholeheartedly and I said to myself what
in the world is going on in the middle
of feeling very thoroughly sorry for
myself because if you've never been
there you don't know how sorry for
yourself you're prone to feel when that
happens to you
the words of 2nd Timothy 2 came to mind
just a little phrase consider Jesus and
all of a sudden it dawned on me that
here I was feeling sorry for myself
because I was experiencing some broken
relationships and I you know in many who
knows what I contributed to those broken
relationships right certainly not being
perfect and here was Jesus he was
absolutely perfect and what they do to
him they nailed him to the cross and I'd
put things in perspective for me that
loving people is expensive business you
know that forgiving people is expensive
business somebody has to pay the price
every time you forgive somebody you're
paying the price to equalize that
relationship and you learn real quick
what the flesh is made of and how much
you need Jesus and that's why Paul here
and this passage talks about love being
patient and kind not proud not
self-seeking not easily angered not
keeping track of wrong there's any flesh
left in your life or in my life you get
into those kind of relationships I tell
you you spend the night as I did many
many a time preaching servants to people
that think God never got preached
because I thought they deserved I could
understand those disciples when they
said you know to Jesus at one good Lord
you want me to call down fire from
heaven on them and Jesus system you
don't know what spirit you are off the
sort of man hasn't come to destroy but
to seek and to save do you know what I'm
talking about that's what love looks
like and that's what the spirit wants to
work in your life and in my life and you
don't know what leaves in you until you
find yourself in a situation where you
have excuse my language been screwed
over or wrongly abused or wrongly used
and you will know how much you need
Jesus well one more thing Paul then says
love trumps everything he then defines
love as sacrificial
self-giving regardless of the cost it's
God's kind of agape love and then he
clenches his argument that fascinating
argument it is he says love is eternal
love never fails where there are
prophecies they will cease where there
are tongues they will be stilled where
there is knowledge it will pass away for
we know in part and we prophesy in part
disappears now there's different
interpretations of what he means by when
perfection comes the newer translation
of the NIV is when completeness arise
the word in greek is telling us it's the
end of the matter there are those who
think it is the completion of the Canon
of Scripture and when the Canon of
Scripture was completed spiritual gifts
were no longer necessary because we have
the written and the recorded Word of God
and this is a school of thought that
says spiritual gifts of the nature
described in these chapters have ceased
to be we call them cessationists if you
listen to any of John MacArthur's
broadcasts on the radio he is a
cessationist doesn't necessarily buy
into the argument that one that the
perfect is the completion of the canon
but he certainly is a very staunch
cessationist spiritual gifts described
in these chapters no longer happen
because we have the word of god I don't
believe that I believe that spiritual
gifts continue to be active throughout
the age of Scripture and I agree with
most commentators that the perfect when
it comes refers to the completion of the
age of redemption it happens when Jesus
comes back he purifies this whole world
with his fire he gets rid of everything
and everybody that refuses to bend the
knee before his authority and he will
establish his eternal Kingdom and
everybody will be perfected in love for
God and love for each other and when
that perfect comes to things are going
to happen spiritual gifts are going to
disappear and I'll explain to you in a
moment why and number two love will be
perfected why do spiritual gifts
disappear because spiritual gifts are a
poor man's way of trying to put into
words the realities of the kingdom that
is to come do you ever find yourself in
a situation for example where you just
cannot comprehend what a relationship
with God looks like where you cannot
comprehend what loving broad totally
impassionate Lee could ever look like
what loving your neighbor passionately
and totally could ever look like what
the new creation could possibly look
like and the chances are we don't why
because it is a whole other world and
spiritual gifts as described in these
chapters tap into the powers of the age
to come Paul describes it this way we
look we see a poor reflection as in a
mirror then we shall see face-to-face
now I know in part and then I shall know
fully even as I am fully known now we're
accustomed
glass mirrors that are an accurate
reflection of your image when you look
into the mirror in Inchon days that
wasn't the case they were mirrors of
polished metal they were a poor
reflection spiritual gifts are a poor
reflection of eternity they're a
foretaste the retouch their power tools
that God can help us tap into but they
are not the ultimate reality the
ultimate reality comes when we are in
the new creation and we see face to face
we will be fully known and it will be
totally clear and the only way that I
can try to describe it is you did you
ever have those moments those moments
are revelation when suddenly you see
something the light bulb goes on like
what I described earlier where where are
you just all of a sudden you see it and
it's not like you knew anything in
addition to what you had with but you
see it well that's what eternity is
going to be like you will see it you
will know fully even as you are fully
known and so God doesn't have to reveal
himself through dreams or or through the
kind of imagery that you see throughout
scripture where God is is trying to get
us to understand see from God's
perspective his problem of communication
is picture it this way picture yourself
was a little ant in an anthill and
you're an adult over here and you're
trying to communicate to these ants down
here who you are and what you look like
well you speak a different language you
can't even begin to comprehend and
spiritual gifts are God's way of trying
to get at that but how much better when
you stand fully in his presence and you
know that you know that you know so
spiritual gifts cease in the age to come
I often joke
that the only people you know around
here that are going to be employed in
the age to come is maybe a Roberta and
horatio teams all the rest of us we're
going to be out of work nobody needs to
preach nobody needs to do evangelism
nobody needs to do any healing it's all
there it's all done for I think we'll
find something to do but it won't be
that at the same time everything that
separates us from each other will be
totally gone we will know fully even as
we are fully known remember Adam and Eve
in the garden before they fell into sin
they were naked and they were not
ashamed if you've ever had a moment of
intimacy whether with a spouse or with a
friend where it's like the two became
one then you have but a small foretaste
of what that eternal union with God and
with God's people it's going to be like
imagine no hiding no secondary motives
nothing that cannot be revealed because
somebody's going to take advantage of me
I can truly be myself I can be loved for
who I am I can fulfill God's destiny for
me and for all eternity I'm going to
keep expanding into everything that God
has for me which is why faith and hope
in addition to love are going to
continue for all eternity that's like
going to be heaven heaven now here's
what Paul says that's this whole point
this is what you're aiming for he says
this is where God's going that's where
God's taking you through union with
Christ so now he says since spiritual
gifts are going to be gone and eternity
is going to be characterized by perfect
love and friendship raining what do you
think ought to be a priority and what
ought you to be boasting it ought you to
be boasting in your gifts of money or
power or communication skills or your
charm are you with those are
important than their tools that God
wants you to use for the building up of
his community but they're not going to
last for all eternity they're gonna
they're not going to be necessary
anymore so what matters what matters is
love so what should you and I be
concentrating on we should be
concentrating on developing the fruit of
the Spirit we need to be cultivating
what it is that God is calling forth in
us we need to grow up in Christ which is
why he says when I was a child I talked
like a child I thought like a child I
reasoned like a child when I became a
man I put childish ways behind me and
then verse 13 now these three remain
faith hope and love but the greatest of
these is love so let me finish up with a
couple of very practical questions first
of all do you love the body of Christ
think about that do you love the church
specifically for those of you that are
part of this community do you love this
community do you love the people in it
are you willing to give your life to
them share your resources with them
share your heart with them now I of all
people know there's lots of reasons that
we might not want to do that because
it's costly it's expensive but it's what
Jesus did its what he died for and it's
what he wants to build he wants to build
a body that reflect him and that
involves a commitment in your part and
on my part of being part of community
and letting the Lord work in our lives
and in our relationships until the
values of heaven become increasingly the
values of the here and now are you
hearing me God in Christ has done it all
and when you stand before him on the
final day and he says well you know did
you love my people and you're going to
say well they were a bunch of
cantankerous whatever see how far that
gets you and Lord they hurt my feelings
and they misunderstood me and they
didn't want to respect me for you see
how far that gets you on that final day
because he's going to say for those
tears I died I poured out my life to
transform you and them from the inside
out so that together you could be a
reflection of heavens values so will you
give your heart will you give your life
will you give your resources will you
commit yourself to being part of a
community that God can so filled with
his presence that the world knows of the
gospel is real because you can speak
with the tongues of men and of angels
and you can have faith to move mountains
and you can give your body to be burned
but if you don't have love you run his
ego and you're a clanging cymbal pray to
God that he will pour that kind of grace
into each of our lives so that his
purposes will be accomplished in our day
you