Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13
"What's So Great about Love?"
Intro.
1. Some qualities of love:
a. Love was the hinge on which the law and the prophets hung, Matt. 22:40.
b. Part of the fruit of the Spirit, Gal. 5:22.
c. The “more excellent way” (hyperbole: “beyond measure,” from “excel, exceed”), 1 Cor. 12:31 (1 Cor. 13).
d. Love never fails, 1 Cor. 13:8.
e. Love’s enduring nature makes it “the greatest,” 1 Cor. 13:13.
2. So then: “What’s so great about love?”
I. LOVE THINKS WHAT MUST BE THOUGHT.
-While refusing to think (keep account of) evil, 1 Cor. 13:5.
A. We Are What We Think (Prov. 23:7).
B. Our Thinking Must Be Right Before We Can Ever Love, Phil. 4:8; Col. 3:1-3.
II. Love learns what must be learned.
A. Love is Humble, Willing, and Eager to Learn and Grow in Love for God and Others, Matt. 22:37-40.
B. Love Learns the Word of God, Jno. 14:23-24 (necessary inf.).
III. Love says what must be said.
A. Love Speaks the Truth of God, Eph. 4:15.
1. With longsuffering and kindness, not rudeness and ill-will, 1 Cor. 13:4-5.
2. With conviction and urgency, 2 Tim. 4:2.
3. Love rejoices in the truth, 1 Cor. 13:6.
B. One Who Speaks Truth to You is Not Your Enemy, Gal. 4:16; Prov. 27:6.
IV. Love does what must be done.
A. Love Acts Like God:
1. Toward our enemies, Matt. 5:43-48.
2. Toward our brethren, Jno. 13:34-35; 1 Jno. 3:16-18.
B. Love Obeys God to have Fellowship with God, Jno. 14:15; 1 Jno. 2:5 (1 Jno. 5:3; Phil. 2:8); 2 Jno. 6.
1. Love corrects children, Heb. 12:5-6.
2. Love accepts correction (from God, parents), Heb. 12:7 (9).
Conclusion
1. Love is the “greatest” because it abides, it endures, 1 Cor. 13:13.
a. Love fills every crevice of godly character, moves every action of obedient faith, and serves every soul in need.
b. By love, we know God, 1 Jno. 4:8.
2. Those who “love one another” are born of God and know God, 1 Jno. 4:7.
By: Joe R. Price
Posted February 8, 2020