THE
MORE EXCELLENT WAY
Introduction:
A. My family and I, while on a
vacation trip several years ago, visited Eureka
Springs, Arkansas in the
Ozarks, where the largest and most famous
annual
Passion
Play
is presented, depicting the crucifixion and resurrec-
tion of Christ.
1. There's a story about an
actor who was playing the part of Christ in the
Passion Play in the
Ozarks.
a. As he carried the
cross up the hill a tourist began heckling, making
fun of him , and
shouting insults at him.
(1) Finally, the
actor had taken all of it he could take.
(2) So he threw down
his cross, walked over to the tourist, and
punched him
out.
b.
After the play was over the director told him, “I
know he was a pest,
but I can't
condone what you did. Besides, you're playing the part of
Jesus, and Jesus
never retaliated. So don't do anything like that
again.”
(1)
Well, the man promised he wouldn't.
(2) But the next day
the heckler was back worse than before, and
finally the
actor exploded and punched him out again.
c.
The director said, “That's
it! I have to fire you! We just can't have
you behaving
this way while playing the part of Jesus!”
(1)
The actor begged,
“Please give me one more chance. I really
need this
job, and I can handle it if it happens again.”
(2) So the director
decided to give him anther chance.
d. The next ay he was
carrying his cross up the street. Sure enough,
the heckler was
there again.
(1) You could tell
that the actor was really trying to control himself,
but it was
about to get the best of him.
(2) He was
clinching his fists and grinding his teeth.
(3)
Finally, he looked at the heckler and said, “I'll
meet you after the
resurrection!”
2.
Sometimes
it's hard for some, professing to be Christians, to behave like
Christians ought to, and
we react like people of the world would react to
situations.
a. We go about carrying
our crosses, and then someone crosses us, and
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we lose our
composure and lash out to get even.
b. We are no different
than the world. No one could tell us apart.
B. But the Bible shows us that
we're to be better than that.
1.
It teaches us to exercise love in all
of our relationships with one
another.
2. Listen to these passages:
a.
ROMANS
12:18
“If
possible, as far as it depends on you, be at
peace with all
men.”
(NASV)
b.
EPHESIANS 4:1-3
“...walk in a
manner worthy of the calling with
which you have been
called, with all humility and gentleness, with
patience, showing
forbearance to one another in love, being diligent
to preserve the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (NASV)
c.
HEBREWS
12:14
“Strive
for peace with everyone, and for the
holiness Without
which no one will see the Lord.”
(ESD)
d.
I PETER
1:22
“Seeing
ye have purified your souls by obeying the
truth through the Spirit
unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see
that ye love one
another with a pure heart fervently:”
(KJV)
“unfeigned”
love means “not
pretending”
or “not
hypocritical” love
3. Now all these verses say
the same thing.
a. It may be difficult
at times, and not everyone is easy to love, but
Jesus, through the
Holy Spirit, commands us, as much as possible, to
live together in
peace and harmony as brethren in His body the
church.
b.
PSALMS
133:1
“Behold
how good and how pleasant it is for
brethren to dwell together
in unity.”
B. There are some chapters in
the Bible that are consider classics. Scholars
call them “standard
chapters” because they feature a particular topic all
the way through.
1. For example:
a. Psalm 23 is
the great chapter on God's comfort and care.
b. Hebrews 11 is
the great chapter on faith.
c. I Corinthians 15
is the great chapter on the future final resurrection
2. And, when we think of
love, we typically think of I Corinthians 13.
a. I Corinthians 13 and
Psalm 23 are called the most popular chapters in
the Bible.
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b. They have been read
on many occasions—for weddings, funerals and
during times of
illness, comfort and meditation.
c. And they are truly
balm for the human heart no matter in which
setting they are
applied.
C. But the fact is that,
regardless of how dearly I Corinthians 13 is held in the
minds of people, the
average person has no idea about what its true mean-
ing really is.
1. The average person, who
thinks of love only in terms of warm fuzzys,
positive thoughts,
emotional stirring, tugging at the heart-strings, and
other pleasant and
pleasurable responses—the average person will read
the chapter, and
comment on how wonderful, beautiful and profound
it is, and miss the
real context of the chapter and its real purpose.
a. The description of
love is beautiful on the surface.
b. But, it's even more
beautiful and profound when we uncover the
great truths it
teaches.
2. I Corinthians 13 lies in
its context as a part of chapters 12 and 14--
a. and is in contrast
to the spiritual gifts that were temporarily placed in
the church to
strengthen the church and confirm the spoken Word
until the New
Testament was complete.
b. Some brethren in the
church at Corinth were abusing and misusing
these gifts.
(1) Some were
jealous of the gifts others had. Some had received
no gifts at
all.
(2) There were also
divisions and contentions and accusations.
(3) There was
confusion and disorder in the church services.
(4) They had
misunderstood the nature and purpose of the 9 gifts
distributed
by the Holy Spirit throughout the church to certain
ones. They
were...
(a) Word
of wisdom (the gospel message)
(b) Knowledge
(supernatural knowledge of the scriptures)
(c) Faith
(miraculous faith—the power to exert unnatural
influences)
(d) Healings
(power over diseases)
(e) Miracles
(to heal all manner of diseases)
(f) Prophecy
(the ability to foree and forecast coming events)
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(g)
Discerning of spirits (the ability to look into the hearts of
hypocrites
and false apostles and expose them)
(h)
Tongues (the ability to speak in languages not previously
learned—It
was not babbling or jibberish such as what peo-
ple
claim today—Corinth was a crossroads on major trade
routes,
so there were people of all nations and languages
visiting
the city)
(i)
Interpretation of Tongues (Tongues could only be
exercised
if there was someone present to interpret and give
the
understanding to the speaker)
c. These 9 gifts were not
given to make one member more powerful and
important than any
other member of the church.
d. The spiritual gifts
were the credentials of the apostles, and those on
whom they laid their
hands to pass on the gifts—for the purpose of
introducing
themselves to unbelievers as being men of God and not
charlatans or fakes.
e. Now from the context
it seems that some members were ready to walk
out and quit.
(1) Paul talks to
them about the church, as in a human body, is a
body of people
with differing abilities in characteristic and num-
ber, but all
are important to the overall functioning of the body.
(I Corinthians
12:13-27)
(2) Now we must not
lose sight of the fact that the purpose of the gifts
was not
primarily for the benefit of those that received them, but
for those who
were receiving the message of the gospel from these
Christians at
Corinth.
4. Chapter 12 closes
with the words: “But covet earnestly the best gifts:
an yet shew I unto
you a more excellent way.”
(V-21)
a. The way of love—that
which would be around long after those 9
temporary gifts had
ceased—love is the more excellent way.
b. We're ready now to
build upon this foundation and look at the
characteristics of
true love in chapter 13.
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DISCUSSION:
A.
I CORINTHIANS 13
is
divided into 3
parts:
1.
I CORINTHIANS
13:1-3 is
the first division and points out the impor-
tance of love:
a.
(V-1) “If
I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not
have
love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”
(1)
In the first century, at the entrance to most pagan temples, there
was a big gong
or cymbal hanging. When people came to
worship they
would hit the cymbal or gong in order to awaken
the pagan gods
to listen to their prayers.
(2) Paul was
pointing out that even if a Christian could speak with the
greatest of
eloquence in every language, but didn't possess love
for a fellow
Christian or the lost, then their life as a Christian was
just as
useless as this ridiculous pagan act of pounding on a gong
to awaken
non-existent gods.
b.
(V-2) “And
if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries
and all knowledge, and if
I have all faith so as to remove
mountains, but do not have
love I am nothing.”
(1)
If you think you are a super Christian, will a commanding know-
ledge of the
Bible, and you know philosophy and theology and
psychology
and all the other ologies, but you don't have love,
what's all
your wisdom and knowledge worth?—absolutely
nothing.
But if you do not have love for God to fully do His will
and love for
others, your knowledge is absolutely worthless!
(2)
In Galatians 5:6
Paul says that
“the only
thing that counts is
faith working through
love.”
c.
(V-3) “And if
I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I
deliver my body to be
burned, but do not have love, it profits me
nothing.”
(1) He didn't say
“If I give 10%”. He says if I give everything--
empty my
bank account, sell everything I have to give to the
poor and
needy—but I don't have the kind of love God wants,
there is no
blessing for my generosity from God. He counts it as
nothing. I
may as well kept everything.
(2) That's how
important God's kind of love is.
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d. So, Paul is saying
here by way of the Holy Spirit, that if you attend
church services
every time the door is open, if you read your Bible
every day, if you
pray, if you help the needy, visit the sick, and do
everything a
Christian ought to do, but you don't manifest God's
kind of love in
your life—it's all worthless! You might as well have
stayed home.
e. So, obviously, the
practice of love in our lives is very important,
much more
important perhaps than we ever realized before.
(1)
Jesus says in JOHN 13:34
“A new
commandment I give you:
Love one another. As I
have loved you, so you must live one
another.”
(2)
That, folks, is our standard: To love God as Jesus loved God.
To love the
church of Christ as Jesus loves His bride, the church.
To love one
another as Christ loves us.
Love others
through Jesus' eyes.
(3) And notice
that Jesus says this is a commandment, not a sugges-
tion.
(a) And God
never commands us to do anything that we can't
do.
It's a matter of want
to.
(b) The
Bible teaches that love is something we can control.
2.
So now, let's look at what this kind of love is
like.
This is the second
part
of I CORINTHIANS 13—VS.
4-8
a. The Greek
language—the language of the New Testament has basic-
ally
4 words for love:
(1)
Agape—brotherly
love, charity, the love of God for man and the
love of man
for God. Reverence. Sacred devotion.
(2)
Storge—natural
affection as between parent and child; family
relationships.
(3)
Philia—affectionate
regard, friendship, loyalty to friends, family
and
community.
(4)
Eros—intimate
love, passion.
b.
The love of I Corinthians 13 is AGAPE
love—brotherly love; the
love of God for
man and man for God. The love Jesus commanded
for us.
Agape
is “a
caring, self-sacrificing commitment which shows itself
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in
seeking the highest good of the one loved”.
B.
THE 15
CHARACTERISTICS OF AGAPE LOVE SHOWING
WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE AND
HOW IT ACTS IN EVERYDAY
LIFE:
1.
(V-4)
Selfless
“love is PATIENT”.
a.
Why do you think the Holy Spirit put this one first?
(1)
How often, when we are affronted or offended, do we form an
immediate
judgment
without
taking time to find out the facts or
motivations.
(2)
The Greek word comes from two words meaning long-tempered.
I
like the KJV which says that love
“suffereth long”...it's
long-
suffering.
b.
“If
you're patient, you're slow
to anger,
you endure
personal wrongs
without
retaliating.
You bear
with
others' imperfections,
faults and
differences.
You
give them
room to change,
room to
make mistakes
without
coming down hard on them.” (Steven
Cole)
2.
(V-4)
Selfless “love
is KIND”.
a. This is the next
logical characteristic of true love, because kindness
is
patience in
action.
b. The Christian's
response to harsh treatment is kindness.
c.
Jesus said in LUKE
6:33, 35
“And
if you do good to those who do
good to you
what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the
same
thing...But love your enemies, and do good, and lend,
expecting
nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and
you will be
sons of the Most high; for He Himself is kind to
ungrateful and
evil men.”
d.
Kindness motivates others toward positive change.
3.
(V-4) Selfless
“love is NOT JEALOUS”
a.
The jealous person wants what other people have for himself or her-
self.
b. The jealous person
will not applaud the success of others and
wants all the
attention.
c.
JAMES 4:2
“You
desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet
and
cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel...” (ESV)
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4.
Selfless “love
does NOT BRAG
5.
and is NOT ARROGANT,”
a.
Bragging and Arrogance are sometimes called the ugly
twins,
and
both grow out
from selfishness, personal rights, and pride.
b.
One commentary says,“Jealousy
is wanting what someone else
has.
Bragging
is trying to make others jealous of what we have.
Jealousy
puts others down; bragging
builds us up.” (The
MacArthur New
Testament Commentary, I Corinthians)
c. Selfless love
isn't focus on self, but tries to build up the other person
d. The humble, loving
Christian realizes that all he has is an undeserv-
ed blessing from
God (I Cor. 4:7). The real Christian doesn't boast,
but thankfully
serves others.
6.
(V-5)
Love “does
not act UNBECOMINGLY”.
a.
Another version says of love, “it
is not rude”.
b.
Love does not needlessly
offend
on purpose.
c.
Love has good
manners,
is courteous,
polite,
sensitive
and
tactful.
d. Love, in wishing
the best for others, expresses itself through
modesty
and moral
purity,
so as not to be offensive
or
a poor
example
or a stumblingblock
to
others.
7.
(V-5)
Selfless love, “it
does not seek its OWN.”
a. It is not
selfish and does not demand its rights!
b. Aren't you glad
that Jesus didn't demand His rights? He could
have stayed in
Heaven, and we would never have had a chance at
obtaining
salvation.
c. True love is
never selfish nor feels deserving.
8.
(V-5)
Selfless love “is
NOT PROVOKED”.
a.
The KJV says,
“is not easily provoked”
b.
The Phillips Version says
“It is not touchy”
c. A quick-tempered
person is like a bomb.
(1) Look at the
devastation they leave behind.
(2) A
quick-tempered person is definitely selfish and shows
personal
weakness, lack of self-control and impatience.
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9.
(V-5)
Selfless love “does
NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT A WRONG
SUFFERED.”
a.
The Greek word here is an accounting term.
b.
As applied here,
“love does not keep a tally of wrongs and bear a
grudge until
everyone is paid for.”
Another
version says that love
“keeps no record of wrongs.”
c. There is no
place in a Christian's heart for “personal justice” or
“getting
even” or retribution or revenge.
(1)
ROMANS
12:19
“Dearly
beloved, avenge not yourselves, but
rather
give place unto wrath; for it is written, Vengeance
belongeth
unto Me, I will repay saith the Lord.”
(2) Instead of
seeking personal justice, turn it all over to God
and seek
ways to return good for evil.
(3) “But
what if that doesn't make me feel vendicated?”
(a) Then
you learn to live with it;
(b) Or,
learn to forgive and leave it behind.
(4) To react
as the world would, is to open the door for Satan to
come in
and destroy everybody concerned along with a lot
of
collateral damage. It is never right.
10.
(V-6)
Selfless love “does
NOT REJOICE IN UNRIGHTEOUS-
NESS
11.
BUT REJOICES
WITH THE TRUTH.”
a.
The Moffatt version says, “Love
is never glad when others go
wrong”
b. To rejoice in
truth is to be happy when behavior is seen to be
harmony with
God's Will.
c. As we said in
the beginning, love is more than happy, fluffy good
feelings.
Love is also seen in the Holy Spirit's admonition for
Christians
to “reprove,
rebuke and exhort with all long suffering
and
doctrine.” (2
Timothy 4:2).
(1) Love is
seen in discipline and correction, and that is not
often
pleasant, but is necessary to help and brother or sister
correct
behavior and to protect the church from worldliness,
error,
and false doctrine.
(a)
This is often called “tough love”.
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(b)
Parents are familiar with this when it is necessary to
discipline
misbehavior
(c)
Proverbs 13:24 “He who spares his rod hates his son,
But
he who loves him disciplines him diligently.”
(d) God
also disciplines His children—Christians, through
the
command for us to watch out for each other, and when
and
where necessary reprove, rebuke and exhort, with
patience
and Biblical teaching. All of this is a part of
Agape
Love.
(e)
Revelation 3:19 “Those whom I love, I reprove and
discipline;
be zealous therefore, and repent.”
(2) I was a
university student and took a couple other students
with
me to church services one Sunday night. They did not
have
the same appreciation for worship Christians should, so
they
were not as reverent as they should have been. During
the
invitation song one of them leaned over with some
remark
that got the others giggling. I got caught up in it my-
self
right along with them.
(a)
After services the song leader took me aside and said,
“Stan
I'm very disappointed in you. I thought of you
better
than that.”
(b)
Well I was mortified with a mixture of embarrassment,
regret,
and anger—thinking at first, well who was he to
confront
and judge me.
(c)
As I thought more about it, I realized just how wrong I
was,
so I went to the songleader's home and thanked him
for
his rebuke.
(d)
It was just what I needed, because I couldn't see that my
university
environment was influencing me little by little
to
let down my guard as a Christian and as an example.
(e)
In fact, I might not be a preacher today if it hadn't been
for
that little one-sentence rebuke by a Christian who
cared
for my soul.
d. “There is a
fine balance to love. Although love is kind and
overlooks
the faults of others, it does not compromise the truth or
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take a
soft view of sin.
(1) To
allow another person to go on in sin whether it is known
sin
or a blind spot, is not to seek his best; it is not love.
(2) Love
will sensitively confront and correct precisely because it
cares
deeply and know that sin destroys.
(3) Love
rejoices with the truth.
(4) Love
gets excited when it hears of spiritual victories.
(5) Love
encourages by expressing joy over little evidences of
growth.
(6) John,
the apostle of love, wrote, 'I have no greater joy than
this,
to hear of my children walking in the truth' (3 John 4).”
12. (V-7)
Selfless love BEARS ALL THINGS.
a. The
Greek wording here can go in either of two directions:
(1) either to
bear up under
(2) or, to
protect by covering.
b. If the context
allows the first meaning, to bear up under, then it
would be the
same as “endures all things” at the end of V-7.
c. So it may be the
second meaning—to protect by covering.
(1) In other
words, Love doesn't broadcast the problems of others
to others
whether true or not.
(a)
Talebearing or Gossip, even though so common, is
among
the sins that God says Hates in Prov. 6
(b) In I
Timothy 5:13 the Holy Spirit says of people who do
this
“they go around from house to house; and not merely
idle,
but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things
that
not proper to mention.” and further on in verse 15
He
goes on to say of these folks, “for some have already
turned
aside to follow Satan”.
(c) The
reason gossip is so evil is because it is murder in the
heart
that Jesus talked about in His sermon on the mount.
It
is character assassination; it ruins reputations;
tears up
churches;
separates friends and is always associated with
exaggeration
and lying.
(d) It
also reject's the Holy Spirit's pattern for resolving
disputes
in Matthew 18 by not going first to the offender.
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(e) To
use old Western terms, a gossip is a back shooter, a
coward.
(f)
REVELATION 21:8 says “...the cowardly and
unbelieving
and abominable and murderers and immoral
persons
and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their
part
will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone,
which
is the second death.”
(9) As you
can see, someone who gossips cannot claim to be a
loving
person.
d. But gossipy
tongues could be easily stopped if there were no
gossipy ears
to perpetuate the wickedness and enable the sinner.
(1) I
Timothy 5:22 warns us not to participate in other men's
sins.
(2) The right
thing to do when you hear someone trying to tell
you
gossip is to say, “Now let me stop you right there. Have
you
talked to that person?”
(3) And the
Bible teaches that you should go further and exhort
them
not to carry gossip.
“Brethren,
even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who
are
spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each
one
looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one
another's
burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.”
(Galatians
6:1-2)
d. Love defends
the character of the other person as much as
possible
within the limits of truth and righteousness
e. God's best is
to forgive and renew relationships.
f. Love bears all
things.
13. (V-7)
Selfless love BELIEVES ALL THINGS.
a. Another
version says, “Love always trusts”.
(1) This
doesn't mean being gullible.
(2) But it
does mean that love is not suspicious, but love is slow
to
blame.
(3) Love does
not doubt the other person's character and motives
without
good reason, even if his actions offended you.
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b. In other word,
love believes the person innocent until proven
guilty.
Don't we believe that way in our nation's justice system?
Why don't we
believe that way in the Kingdom of God?
14. (V-7)
Selfless love HOPES ALL THINGS.
a. Love is not
pessimistic. It expects one to succeed, not to fail.
b. And if failure
does occur, love does not look at failure as final.
c. Love is
familiar with Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things
through
Christ who strengthens me.”
and Romans
8:28 “And we know that all things work
together
for good to them that love God, to them who are
the called
according to his purpose.”
d. Love hopes all
things.
15.
(V-7) Selfless
love ENDURES ALL THINGS.
a.
The Greek word for endures
is a military term meaning to sustain
the assault of an enemy.
(1) It
carries the idea of holding up under trial, or
(2)
Perseverance in spite of difficulties.
(3) Love
hangs in there, but not with just a stoic, passive attitude,
but
manifests a positive, triumphant spirit that sticks it out.
16.
(V-8)
Love never fails.
C.
The third section of I
CORINTHIANS 13: (8-13)
closes the chapter by
returning to the
superiority of Love which endures over the limited
spiritual gifts which were
soon to pass away.
CONCLUSION;
A.
And the last verse of the chapter says “But now
abide faith, hope, love,
these
three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1. We are living in the last
days of faith, hope and love.
2. When Jesus comes again
there will be only one.
a. Faith will be
replaced by the sight of Jesus' coming.
b. Hope will be resolved
by reality.
c. But the time will
never come when we can do without love--
(1) Love is eternal.
(2) I JOHN 4:8
“The one who does not love does not know God,
for God is
love.”
(3)
“...if ye forgive men for their transgressions, your Heavenly
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Father
will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, than
your
Father will not forgive your transgressions.” (Matthew
6:14-15)
B.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It
does not envy,
it
does not boast, it is not easily angered or
quick-tempered,
it does not brood over injury.
Love
does not delight over wrongdoing but
rejoices
with the truth. It bears all things,
believes
all things, hopes all things, endures
all
things, perseveres through all things.
Love
never fails. (I
Corinthians 13:4-7)
This
passage is not just about Love; it is about
each of
us. It is about what we are each called
to
become and what we will each become as we
mature
emotionally and spiritually.
To
really get a sense of the size of the task
ahead
and to be true to ourself as to whether we
truly
do love, simply replace the word love and
it in
this passage with your name and read it
aloud:
“___is
patient, ___is kind. ___does not boast,
___is
not inflated. ___is not rude, ___is not
self-seeking,
___is not easily angered or quick
tempered,
___it does not brood over injury.
___does
not delight over wrongdoing but
rejoices
with the truth. ___bears all things,
believes
all things, hopes all things, endures all
things,
perseveres through all things.
___never
fails. (I Corinthians 13:4-7)
