DIVINE LOVE
DIVINE LOVE
1 Corinthians – Chapter 13
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Sunday Evening Service, March 18, 2013
Sunday Morning Service
February 21, 2021
The mighty heart of the Apostle Paul stirred the pulses of the world. The fire and passion of His faith and love continually stir our hearts from generation to generation. When he wrote these passionate words of love, he gave us a measuring stick of soulish love vs Divine Love, the love of God. We are also exhorted that we can all live and love on earth in the realm of Divine Love.
If I could impart and deposit Divine Love into everyone to whom I am sent, friends and family, I would consider my life a success and I will have fulfilled a good work of a good life.
12:31: Covet earnestly the best gifts; and yet I show to you a more excellent way.
13:1: Though I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not love, I am become as a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
Beyond all this (the gifts and offices), I am showing you a way, (a way to reach the highest goal, and to achieve the noblest ambition.) Love surpasses the richest spiritual endowments.
Equally important with the gifts of the Spirit are the “fruit of the Spirit.”
Gal. 5:22-24: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
The harmony of the nine gifts and nine graces make-up a mature Christian character and provide conclusive evidence of one who is living in the Spirit and Christ living in us. First among those graces is love---the Divine Love of God which has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
Rom. 5:5: Hope makes us not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
God’s love for man is displayed in Christ Jesus. Rom. 5:8: God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
This is now reproduced in our attitude toward him and toward one another. It is not the Greek word agape in itself that has this force; it is the fact that the love described is Divine Love. This is God’s Love. We cannot get there from the realm of the soul (mind, will and emotions.) Divine Love is expressed in our emotions, but is not ruled by our emotions. Divine Love is only accessible by the Holy Spirit into the heart of God to receive His heart for His people.
1 Co. 13:1: If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels. This is a reference to the supernatural endowment of tongues and the speech of angels. Paul says, even if I command this power but have not love, I am no better than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
13:2: If I have prophetic powers: If I have prophetic powers which includes gift of prophecy backed by supernatural power, which is a higher gift than tongues, but which nevertheless is valueless without love. “And understand all mysteries and all knowledge” so as to have insight into the mind and purpose of God. The secret and hidden wisdom of God transcends all other forms of mystery and knowledge precisely because it is an unfolding of the love of God. “Wisdom is a mystery/of bleeding love unfolded” (C. Wesley). “If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains” – but even with such a gift as this, if I have not love, I am nothing.”
13:3: If I give away all I have: literally – if I turn all my property into morsels of food—though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor--- “if I deliver my body to be burned…” The charitable disposal of one’s property or the acceptance of martyrdom might indeed spring from love, but Paul implies that if such actions spring from any other motive, even that of religious obligation, they are valueless in God’s sight and bring no gain to those who perform them. If we give to the poor because we love God, that counts.
13: 4: Love is patient and kind. Love in verses 4-7 describes a character which is ruled by love. The character of Christ is here portrayed; we may go farther and say that the Trinity is here portrayed, since “God is love.” Naturally, then, these statements must be true of those of whose hearts the love of God has taken possession. The “patience” and “kindness” of which Paul speaks are included along with “love” in the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22.
13:4b: Love is not jealous or boastful. The word boastful denotes empty bragging. It is not so different from the “arrogance” which is mentioned next as incompatible with love. Paul criticized that inflated spirit earlier in 4:6: that you might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that none of you be puffed up one against another.
1 Co. 8:1: Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.
13:5: Love is not …rude. Love does not behave improperly or in an affected manner.
13:5b: Love does not insist on its own way: or seek its own interests. Love is not irritable—is not provoked to anger. We are to stir up one another to love and good works (Heb. 10:24).
13:5b: Love is not resentful. Love does not reckon up evil with a view to paying the offender back in his own coin. Love does not plot evil. Rom. 17:17: Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
13:6: Love does not rejoice at wrong. In true love there can be no room for spite. “Love rejoices in the right” ---“in the truth”.
13:7: Love bears all things. This presumably means something different from endures all things at the end of the verse, although the verbs are similar. “Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up (PT)
1 Peter 4:8: Above all things have fervent love among your selves; for love will cover a multitude of sins. We must be wise to not cover the sins of those we love thinking we are protecting them.
13:7b: Love believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love is always eager to believe the best and put the most favorable light on ambiguous actions and speech. It hopes against hope, and is always ready to give an offender a second change and to forgive him seventy times seven (Mt. 18:22).
13:8: Love never ends: literally “never fails. Love does not belong to this age only, but reigns in the eternal order. All love that depends on a material factor passes away with the passing of that factor; love that has no such dependence never passes away. But whether there be prophecies, they shall fail, tongues they shall cease, whether there be knowledge, it will vanish away for these are temporal manifestations of the Spirit given to minister and edify the Body of Christ to prepare the overcoming Bride of Christ to rule and reign with him through all eternity. I believe Paul is speaking here of the gift of the Word of Knowledge.
The Corinthian church was prone to take undue pride in their knowledge and thus was of no value isolated from love. The highest knowledge, the knowledge of God in Christ is far from passing away. This knowledge will attain transcendent perfection in the age to come and through eternity.
The Holy Spirit gives the gifts for the perfection of the church and to save the lost.
13: 9-10: In this present age which is soon to be superseded, our knowledge is imperfect, and our prophecy is imperfect. But when the perfect comes, then that which is in part shall be done away. When the perfect comes and the consummation is realized for which the sons of God at present long eagerly, the imperfect will pass away.
The Spirit is the pledge of the eternal heritage into which believers will enter. The present phase of our existence is to that coming perfection as childhood is to maturity. The mind and practice in which a grown man has given up childish ways. The Corinthians must recognize that the things to which they attached paramount importance were transient and learn to set the highest value on the things that endure forever.
Another figure of speech point to the contrast between present and future knowledge is the contrast between seeing a dim and distorted reflection in a metal mirror and seeing the direct reality. Although the figure of the mirror probably refers to the analogy of Moses. Yahweh says of Moses: “With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in dark speech, and he beholds the form of the Lord.”
“But then, says Paul, we shall see “face to face”.
Now leaving figures of speech behind, Paul declares this his present partial and imperfect knowledge will give way to knowledge so perfect that then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.
13:13: So, faith, hope, love abide, these three.” Faith here is not just the special gift of 12:9; 13:3, but the common response of all the people of God to His saving grace. Paul’s argument would have been satisfied with the conclusion that love abides; however, he makes a distinction between the three. Whatever form faith and hope may take, love remains unchanged in its nature even when it attains perfection; therefore, the greatest of these is love.
14:1: Make love your aim. Now he resumes his discussion of spiritual gifts.
“earnestly desire the spiritual gifts:’
Agape love penetrates every situation involving the believer; it is the beginning of every consideration and the end of all considerations. This is why it starts in Genesis, and it ends in Revelation. It encompasses the Pauline doctrine of 1 Corinthians 13 and the doctrine of Peter in 11 Peter 1:5-7. Love becomes the golden thread woven at first in God’s dealing with man and used to bind the heart of His Son to His Bride.
In order to be a bride, we have to know something about Him the rest of the world doesn’t know.
- Jesus is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Our High Priest, Chief Shepherd, The Bishop of the Church and the Apostle of our Faith.
- He is willing to share it.
- He is never selfish.
- He spares no expense for our comfort.
- He wants to share in intimacy.
- He shares His dreams, and mission.
Abundance is part of the blessing of His love. He can’t love without giving.
Lovers are givers.
We who are lovers look for opportunities to give. Our Lord is the greatest Lover of all. He gave his life for our sins that we might spend eternity in the Heart of God. He wants to give to us good gifts.
We share the joy in experiencing a personal, living, loving Savior. Christ bending over us with tenderness and in the absolute fullness of perfect love, drawing near in all the dark experiences of life whispering the calming words, “It is I”, “be not afraid.” “I am the Living One”. “As many as I love, I am the rebuking One and the chastening One (Rev. 3:19).
Isa. 43:1: Fear not: for I have redeemed thee. I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burnt; neither shall the flame kindle upon you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Christ has loved and carried us in the past. We rejoice in Christ’s love in the present; and now the future with all its unrevealed secrets, we are safe in Christ’s love. He is able to keep. Christ the Keeper of His people; our Shelter, our Citadel, our Stronghold; where He keeps us “in perfect peace.” Through all eternity, there is no limit to this deposit. All that belongs to us, he asks for us to cast all our cares on that grace of faith and trust his love. “He keeps us as the apple of His eye;” what touches us, touches Him.
Vision given to Pastor John Sielski March 2013
“Suddenly His Wounds Became Words”
“I had another vision awhile ago. I was standing behind the Cross. Jesus was hanging upon the Cross. As I looked, I noticed an engraving, an inscription, upon the back sides and throughout the lengths of both cross-beams of the Cross. Upon the vertical beam were the words, “You shall love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart and All Your Soul, and with all Your Mind and with All Your Strength.”
Upon the horizontal beam were the words, “You shall love Your neighbor as Yourself.” Then, the Spirit carried me out from behind the Cross, under and around Jesus’ right side. I looked up and noticed Jesus’ wounds in His body, how deep they were, and how many they were…from all of the beating and scourging. Suddenly, as I was looking upon Jesus’ wounds in His physical body, His wounds rearranged themselves in such a way as to form or spell words.
As in the times before, I felt the witness of the Spirit speaking expressly in my heart that, although Jesus Christ was the Word made Flesh; most do not yet fully discern or understand that the Specific Word made Flesh, was actually “All the Law and the Prophets”, “…made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Where the cross-beams intersected was simply found the word, “…love.” (Vision given to Pastor John Sielski).
Preached by: Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Scripture from K.J.V. Bibliography: The Four Loves by: C.S. Lewis, Lovett’s Lights on 1 Corinthians by C. S. Lovett, Solomon’s Secret by C. R. Oliver; Sermon, The More Excellent Way, preached by Carolyn Sissom, Feb. 14, 2010; Vision, “Suddenly the Wounds Became Words, given to Pastor John Sielski.