WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.220 Now, if you have your Bibles, can you turn with me to the book of 1 Corinthians? 00:00:11.500 --> 00:00:15.599 From now up until the summer holidays, we're going to be in chapter 13, but for today, 00:00:16.140 --> 00:00:20.839 by way of introduction, we're going to read Paul's introduction and thanksgiving. So 1 Corinthians 1 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:28.000 and the first nine verses, the words will be up on the screen also. And so let's hear 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:37.420 God's word together. Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and our brother 00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:45.039 Sosthenes, to the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be his 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:50.560 holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:57.740 their Lord and ours. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:00:58.439 --> 00:01:05.799 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:12.659 been enriched in every way, with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge, God thus confirming our 00:01:12.659 --> 00:01:20.019 testimony about Christ among you. Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait 00:01:20.019 --> 00:01:28.000 for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:35.859 blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with 00:01:35.859 --> 00:01:46.000 his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. And now let's stand together once again so that we can call on 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:48.000 God's name in prayer. Let's pray. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:58.060 Lord, as we've just read what Paul could testify about the church in Corinth, we thank you for 00:01:58.060 --> 00:02:06.480 what's true of your church at all times and in all places, that we are those who you have called 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:16.460 to yourself to be your holy nation. We thank you that as your people we enjoy your grace. 00:02:16.920 --> 00:02:24.659 We thank you for the reality that you give gifts to your people so that we might serve one another 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:32.659 and we might serve the world. We thank you for that promise that we will be kept until the return of 00:02:32.659 --> 00:02:39.780 Jesus. We thank you for that promise that you are faithful to your church and to your people and that we 00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:50.659 enjoy fellowship with the Lord Jesus through the gift of your Spirit. Lord, may we be so thankful 00:02:50.659 --> 00:03:00.979 for the church. May we pray for one another. May we work for unity. May we seek to encourage 00:03:00.979 --> 00:03:10.739 and build one another up as we recognize that the church is your design and plan. The church is your 00:03:10.739 --> 00:03:19.879 treasured possession. Lord, we ask that you would fill us and fill us increasingly with your love. 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:30.239 Help us to be those who love the gospel, that good news of your saving grace. And we ask that you'd help us 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:37.439 to share that love, that we would do that within the church, that we would be sharing your word together 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:45.460 and praying for one another and seeking to encourage one another to persevere. And that we'd be sharing 00:03:45.460 --> 00:03:53.260 your love with the world and showing kindness and mercy and compassion and declaring the good news 00:03:53.259 --> 00:04:04.060 of salvation in the Lord Jesus. We ask that you would encourage us in our mission here in Becclew, 00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:14.259 that we are called to be disciples who make disciples, that you call us together as a church to be a light 00:04:14.259 --> 00:04:25.300 for this city. And we ask that you would enable us in our words and in our actions to be faithful to you. 00:04:26.019 --> 00:04:32.339 That in the way that we live together, we would demonstrate the transforming power of your love 00:04:32.339 --> 00:04:38.319 and grace such that people would want to know about Jesus as they see the way that we live together. 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:46.360 We pray that you'd give us wisdom and help as we look to communicate the hope that we have, 00:04:46.459 --> 00:04:50.680 that we would do that with gentleness and respect, but we would do it with the help of your Spirit 00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:59.860 and in your power. And Lord, we pray to see many coming to this church, wanting to know the truth, 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:03.740 wanting to know more about Jesus and coming to be saved. 00:05:03.740 --> 00:05:11.699 Lord, we pray for your church, not just here in Becclew, but we pray for your church in Edinburgh 00:05:11.699 --> 00:05:19.980 and in Scotland. And we ask that wherever your word is read and preached, wherever Jesus is declared 00:05:19.980 --> 00:05:26.860 to be Lord and God and the only Savior for sinners, that you would take that word and that you would 00:05:26.860 --> 00:05:33.280 apply it to hearts and lives and you would bring real and lasting change. Lord, we pray that you would 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:39.819 revive your church here in Scotland, that you would encourage those who perhaps feel downhearted and 00:05:39.819 --> 00:05:47.500 weak and small. Let us know that you are with us, that you are present to help us. Lord, we pray, 00:05:47.639 --> 00:05:53.399 especially giving thanks for the church in Bonner Bridge and Lairg, thanking you that in your 00:05:53.399 --> 00:06:01.719 providence they have called Ben Fidion to be their next minister. We thank you for that church and its 00:06:01.720 --> 00:06:09.120 witness. And we pray that they might look ahead with great expectation to what you will do among 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:15.240 them. And we pray for Ben and for Hannah and the girls as they prepare for that move. We ask that 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:20.960 you would encourage them and equip them. Lord, we thank you for the gift they've been to us and we pray 00:06:20.960 --> 00:06:28.960 that they would continue to be used in your service up north. Lord, we thank you that you are a God who 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:37.539 bears our burdens. Lord, we recognize in our church family, in our own families and connections that 00:06:37.539 --> 00:06:45.560 there are many who are bearing burdens of different kinds. Some to do with illness, some to do with work 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:56.179 or with financial challenges, some to do with mental health issues, some facing particular spiritual 00:06:56.180 --> 00:07:04.100 temptation. Lord, may you draw near and may you comfort and may you provide help and deliverance. 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:10.280 And Lord, again, we pray for people who are suffering around the world, as we've seen 00:07:10.280 --> 00:07:20.079 the reports coming from Israel and Palestine. Lord, we pray for peace. Lord, we pray for families who are 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:27.199 mourning. We pray that the tension wouldn't escalate, but rather it would be brought to an end. 00:07:28.479 --> 00:07:33.099 Lord, we ask that on both sides there would be a looking to Jesus, the Prince of Peace, 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:38.799 to bring lasting peace in hearts and lives. We thank you for your church in Israel and Palestine, 00:07:38.799 --> 00:07:45.419 and we pray that you protect and encourage and strengthen them to be able to serve and to bear 00:07:45.420 --> 00:07:51.740 testimony to the peace that passes understanding that's found in knowing Jesus as Lord. 00:07:52.660 --> 00:07:58.720 And Father, we pray again for the nation of India, and we pray mercy. Mercy for those whom we love and 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:05.600 pray for. Mercy for those ministries that we have been connected with and heard about for many years. 00:08:06.280 --> 00:08:12.620 Lord, as your people suffer along with the rest of their country, we ask that you would uphold 00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:19.060 and you would enable them to testify to true and living hope found in the Lord Jesus. 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:25.819 And Lord, now as we come to read your word again, we ask that you would speak its truth into our hearts 00:08:25.819 --> 00:08:32.980 and that you would be pleased to bless us and do us good. Now we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:08:32.980 --> 00:08:48.399 Amen. Now if you turn again in your Bible to 1 Corinthians chapter 13, we are going to look at that 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:53.659 in just a moment, but just by way of introduction. So we're thinking for the next five or six weeks 00:08:53.659 --> 00:08:59.840 about love as the most excellent way to think about how Paul describes love here in this section. But I 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:06.759 just wanted to introduce for us very briefly Corinth, the city, the culture, and the church, so that we 00:09:06.759 --> 00:09:14.000 sort of understand where this chapter fits. So as a city, Corinth was a very significant one in the 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:20.759 first century, a population of maybe 80 to 100,000. It was the wealthiest city in Greece at that time. 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:28.700 It was a major multicultural centre, had a huge stadium, a massive outdoor theatre, and a really large 00:09:28.700 --> 00:09:36.700 market district. So it was a thriving place. It was dominated by a temple that stood on a hill just 00:09:36.700 --> 00:09:41.180 on the outskirts of the city. That was a temple to the goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of love. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:49.140 And it was served by a thousand women priestesses by day who then became prostitutes by night, giving us 00:09:49.140 --> 00:09:56.320 some insight into the kind of city it was. And what about the culture of Corinth? We know that every city 00:09:56.320 --> 00:10:04.560 has its own unique culture, different features. Well, in Corinth, historians recognise a couple of 00:10:04.560 --> 00:10:11.740 things that really dominate. It was famed for having many patrons. So that's a very wealthy class of folks 00:10:11.740 --> 00:10:18.320 who then hired people known as clients. And so you worked for money, you worked for food, but in exchange 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:24.960 you gave support. You gave good public relations, you gave social and political support to your patron. 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:31.860 And all this served to make sure that status was a really big deal in Corinth. Social division was a 00:10:31.860 --> 00:10:38.800 really big deal in Corinth between the classes. And you can see that as you read 1 Corinthians. So 00:10:38.800 --> 00:10:45.680 there's patrons, but they were also in Corinth famous for being wild, especially with regards to sexual 00:10:45.680 --> 00:10:53.600 immorality. There was a saying in 1st century, to be a Corinthian, which meant that you partied hard, 00:10:53.600 --> 00:11:02.659 that you followed the lifestyle of that temple up on the hill. And it's into this city and this 00:11:02.659 --> 00:11:08.820 culture that the church comes, that the gospel comes. So 1st in Acts 18, Paul comes to the city and 00:11:08.820 --> 00:11:13.759 he plants the church. We discover there's lots of opposition from the synagogue. They don't want to 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:19.500 know. There is suffering for Paul in bringing the gospel, but he has that vision from God, 00:11:19.500 --> 00:11:26.679 encouraging him to take heart and to stay because God had many people in that city. So he stayed for 18 00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:34.879 months. And so this letter is then written to this young church. And I want to read that introduction 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:39.659 because it was a reminder of the fact that when Paul thinks about other Christians, he thinks of 00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:44.340 them, first of all, as being those who are in Christ. And when you read the details of a letter, it's 00:11:44.340 --> 00:11:48.620 remarkable how he thinks of them. He thinks of them as being God's church. He's confident of God's 00:11:48.620 --> 00:11:52.980 grace in their life. He's confident that God has given them gifts that will build up the church. 00:11:53.060 --> 00:11:57.259 He's confident of God's faithfulness. He's confident that these people enjoy fellowship with 00:11:57.259 --> 00:12:03.440 the Lord Jesus. But nevertheless, as we get into the heart of the letter, we discover that there are 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:10.320 many problems in this church. They need to know how this gospel that they have received then works 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:17.900 itself into their life, and especially into life in the church. We discover this is a church that's divided. 00:12:18.860 --> 00:12:25.379 Which leaders should they follow and hold in highest esteem? It's a church divided because of human pride, 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:34.100 divided because of great acts of immorality going on among believers. They would sit down for fellowship 00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:40.220 meals, and you'd see a class divide. Spiritual gifts were being used not to serve others, but 00:12:40.220 --> 00:12:47.320 in unhelpful ways to make much of themselves and their gifts. That's our context for chapters 12 to 14. 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:54.240 So this is the setting for this wonderful chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. If you've got time in the next few 00:12:54.240 --> 00:13:02.019 days, read this letter, and you'll see all of these things play out, and then see how this emphasis on love 00:13:02.019 --> 00:13:10.340 fits in. Love as the most excellent way. So having said that, let's read 1 Corinthians together. 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:16.579 Chapter 13, just at the end of chapter 12, verse 31, it says, 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:23.419 And yet I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, 00:13:23.620 --> 00:13:30.899 but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:36.059 and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:42.299 but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to 00:13:42.299 --> 00:13:49.919 hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient. Love is kind. 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:56.740 It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others. It is not 00:13:56.740 --> 00:14:04.600 self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, 00:14:04.899 --> 00:14:12.860 but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:19.419 Love never fails, but where there are prophecies, they will cease. Where there are tongues, they will 00:14:19.419 --> 00:14:24.620 be stilled. Where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 00:14:24.620 --> 00:14:31.000 But when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:36.779 child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of 00:14:36.779 --> 00:14:44.139 childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. 00:14:44.700 --> 00:14:53.080 Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain, 00:14:53.080 --> 00:15:04.259 faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. Amen. Love is the most excellent way. That's 00:15:04.259 --> 00:15:13.020 Paul's message. But he knows that he's writing to a people who are being pulled by competing stories. 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:20.060 And what's true in first century Corinth is true in the 21st century here in Edinburgh, that as a church, 00:15:20.059 --> 00:15:26.399 we are being presented with two different stories to answer the question, what's life all about? What 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:34.379 is the good life? What is love all about? Story one is the story told by our culture. 00:15:35.199 --> 00:15:43.259 And that story focuses very much on love yourself, on you be you. There's an emphasis on personal 00:15:43.259 --> 00:15:52.220 fulfillment, a concern for my needs, asking the question, what's in it for me. In other words, 00:15:52.299 --> 00:16:00.039 by and large, we are encouraged to put I and me at the center of the story. And we hear that a lot. 00:16:00.659 --> 00:16:07.200 But then there's story two, and that's told in God's Word. It's heard in the gospel. And that's a story 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:14.560 of the God who is love, who has always existed, and in eternal fellowship of perfect love, Father, Son, 00:16:15.020 --> 00:16:25.920 and Spirit. In God's Word, we discover God's love for the world in the sending of his one and only Son, 00:16:26.460 --> 00:16:33.960 Jesus, who loves us so much that he dies on the cross in our place for our sins, so that we might 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:39.800 be forgiven and have eternal life. And we discover that by faith in this Jesus, we are brought into 00:16:39.800 --> 00:16:49.940 enjoyment of the love of our triune God. And in the gospel and in God's Word, there is a focus on 00:16:49.940 --> 00:16:59.700 love, the love of Jesus, and the way of Jesus, which is the way of love. We think about Jesus as one who was 00:16:59.700 --> 00:17:06.580 humble, leaving the glory of heaven to become one of us, to represent us, and to die as our substitute 00:17:06.580 --> 00:17:14.660 and our sacrifice. We think about that sacrificial love of Jesus, the self-giving, self-denying love 00:17:14.660 --> 00:17:23.620 of Jesus. We recognize in the love of God, one that is marked by grace, not love for those who deserve it, 00:17:23.619 --> 00:17:31.159 but love to those who don't deserve it. So in the story told by the church, the story of the gospel, 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:38.559 the story of God's Word, it's God and his love that stands at the center. And to borrow an illustration 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:43.500 from C.S. Lewis, the love of God and the God of love is the sun that shines bright in the sky, and it's 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:51.439 also the light that we are to live by, day by day. But what's happening in Corinth and what happens in 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:56.860 Edinburgh is that these two very different stories are constantly competing for our hearts, for our 00:17:56.860 --> 00:18:03.440 attention, so that we have to choose day by day which path am I going to take, which voice am I going 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:16.000 to listen to in this moment? What's God's desire for his church? What's his desire for us? Is that we would 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:21.900 receive his love and that love would change our hearts? It would transform our lives and it would 00:18:21.900 --> 00:18:31.599 shape then how we love others. As the New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg rightly says, love is the 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:40.059 centerpiece of the Christian ethic. Determining how we love should be, how we live should be love. So that's 00:18:40.059 --> 00:18:44.880 why we're going to spend a few weeks thinking about love is the most excellent way, to borrow from Paul's 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:50.460 term and to then consider what Christian love looks like, and especially we'll keep coming back to the 00:18:50.460 --> 00:18:59.160 example of Jesus. With the goal that whatever we find ourselves doing, whoever we find ourselves with, 00:18:59.220 --> 00:19:04.680 whether we're packing lunches for children, getting ready for school, whether we're filing reports for 00:19:04.680 --> 00:19:09.860 the office, whether we're listening to a friend and their struggles, whether we're engaging on social 00:19:09.859 --> 00:19:16.919 media, whether we're enjoying a coffee with someone from our church family, all of those situations and 00:19:16.919 --> 00:19:24.699 many, many more would be shaped by knowing God's love for us in Christ. And that would determine then 00:19:24.699 --> 00:19:32.279 how we interact. Before we get into our text, just a helpful definition I came across this week of what 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:38.039 it means to have love, to use Paul's expression. Gordon Fee, another New Testament scholar, says, 00:19:38.039 --> 00:19:47.000 to have love is to be towards others the way God in Christ has been towards us. The love of God 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:58.819 determines and defines our view and our application of love. What is Paul trying to do in this chapter? 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:04.859 What would he have the Word of God do for us today? Anybody's writing to a church that's divided, 00:20:04.859 --> 00:20:13.179 a church that's engaged in power plays, a church that's marked by social divisions of various kinds, 00:20:14.119 --> 00:20:20.019 where members are acting for self against the good of the church, where they're being influenced by the 00:20:20.019 --> 00:20:25.779 culture, and that's the story that they are listening to. What Paul is doing is he's telling us again 00:20:25.779 --> 00:20:36.639 the better story, the story of the God of love and the love of God that has that transforming 00:20:36.639 --> 00:20:44.519 quality about it to create a holy nation, to create the people of God who then live for God and who show 00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:52.539 God's love in the world. So we're really going to just stick on that, that love is the most excellent 00:20:52.539 --> 00:20:57.440 way. We're going to see it in these first three verses in 1 Corinthians, and then we're going to go 00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:05.980 wide and we're going to see it through the Bible. So to 1 Corinthians 13. It's a beautiful chapter, 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:12.480 isn't it? We've probably heard it read at weddings. Perhaps some of us maybe even had it read at our 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:20.319 weddings. But the question right now is, why is it here? Why in 1 Corinthians and why here at this point 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:29.579 in his letter? Well, Paul wants to remind the church, he wants to remind us that love is central. 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:38.919 First of all, love is central in this argument he is developing in chapters 12 to 14, which is all 00:21:38.919 --> 00:21:47.319 about spiritual gifts, one of the big issues going on in this church. So let me very briefly show how he 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:55.879 points to the centrality of love in these chapters. So in chapter 12, he's establishing principles to do 00:21:55.879 --> 00:22:03.079 with spiritual gifts. So in verse 7, first principle, to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given 00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:09.639 for the common good. The Spirit gives gifts to Christians for the good of the church. It's first 00:22:09.640 --> 00:22:19.520 principle. Next principle, verse 12. Just as a body, though one has many parts, but all its parts form one 00:22:19.520 --> 00:22:27.460 body, so it is with Christ. Church is one body with many parts. Jesus is the head. Each member has a unique 00:22:27.460 --> 00:22:36.300 part to play. Third principle, verse 24 and 25. God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the 00:22:36.299 --> 00:22:41.619 parts that lack it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should 00:22:41.619 --> 00:22:47.799 have equal concern for each other. In the church, every member is to be valued and cared for. Every 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:56.480 spiritual gift is to be valued. So there's some of those principles. And then chapter 14 moves on to 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:03.639 talk about, here's how to use spiritual gifts when the people of God gather together in worship. 00:23:03.640 --> 00:23:10.060 So there's the principles now being worked out in practice in chapter 14. Just a couple of things to note. 00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:19.920 In verse 26, we see Paul's repeated emphasis that spiritual gifts are given for the sake of the church, 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:28.880 for the sake of others. End of verse 26, everything must be done so that the church may be built up. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:37.160 Using our gifts so the church may be built up. And also, the way we use these gifts, Paul says, 00:23:37.800 --> 00:23:47.520 it must be for the sake of mission. So chapter 14 and verse 23 and 24, one of Paul's emphasis is that 00:23:47.520 --> 00:23:54.740 church services should have a measure of order so that it's clear to people who come in what's going on. 00:23:54.740 --> 00:24:03.579 And especially, it's clear that people can hear the gospel. So we use spiritual gifts for building one 00:24:03.579 --> 00:24:08.359 another up and for the sake of mission, so that people who are not believers can hear the gospel. 00:24:08.740 --> 00:24:14.720 So chapter 12, principles. Chapter 14, practice. Right at the center is chapter 13. And what's 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:20.740 the driving heart of all of this? It's love. Love determines how we use spiritual gifts. 00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:29.880 Love determines how we worship. Love determines how we go about mission. Love is central, Paul is saying. 00:24:30.579 --> 00:24:36.579 We receive the love of God in and through the Lord Jesus, and that then informs and transforms our love 00:24:36.579 --> 00:24:45.079 for God and love for others. The problem that Paul recognizes in Corinth is that they were really 00:24:45.079 --> 00:24:49.339 excited about these dramatic gifts, and we'll think about the dramatic gifts. They weren't so excited 00:24:49.339 --> 00:24:57.179 about the principle of love for others. The heart of the problem was a heart problem. The story they 00:24:57.179 --> 00:25:03.500 were listening to was me first, not God first, not the good of the church first. They weren't being 00:25:03.500 --> 00:25:10.480 controlled by this most excellent way. They weren't reflecting God's love for them in the Lord Jesus. 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:20.860 Before we move on to dig a bit deeper, I wonder, do you see the danger? Do I see the danger there? 00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:31.920 When we think about the way our culture and society talks to, or maybe especially disagrees with others, 00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:44.259 it's fairly easy to spot a loss of civil dialogue, a loss of politeness. It's very easy to be quick to 00:25:44.259 --> 00:25:55.300 outrage. And then in a church, it becomes really easy for our beliefs not to be matched by our practice 00:25:55.299 --> 00:26:03.899 as we begin to hear the story and follow the example of the world around us. So, we need to ask God's Word 00:26:03.899 --> 00:26:11.139 to examine our hearts on this very practical issue of how does the love that we receive 00:26:11.139 --> 00:26:23.659 play out in the love that we show or indeed don't show. Verses 1 to 3, Paul is saying that love is central 00:26:23.660 --> 00:26:28.440 to the Christian way of life. We could summarize these verses by saying that a religious life, 00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:34.019 a spiritual life without love, in God's eyes, is worthless. 00:26:36.820 --> 00:26:44.700 Verse 1, if I speak in the tongues of men or of angels but do not have love, I'm only a resounding gong 00:26:44.700 --> 00:26:54.120 what a clanging symbol. If a person is able to speak in another language that they've never learned 00:26:54.120 --> 00:26:59.920 so that someone else might hear God's Word in their mother tongue, or if someone is able to speak in the 00:26:59.920 --> 00:27:04.160 language of the angels, wow, that sounds an amazing gift. But Paul says without love, 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:07.440 that's just a lot of hollow noise. 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:15.460 I'm sure we've all been really glad to have Kellen back singing live. It does so much for our worship, 00:27:15.600 --> 00:27:21.900 I think. But imagine if, instead of playing the piano, you got up and started smashing some cymbals. 00:27:22.580 --> 00:27:27.820 Maybe we'd be happy to go back to our recording, wouldn't we? And what Paul is saying is that the 00:27:27.819 --> 00:27:41.439 speaking gifts without love is just so much ugly noise. Verse 2, if I have the gift of prophecy and 00:27:41.439 --> 00:27:47.299 can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but do not 00:27:47.299 --> 00:27:56.980 have love, I am nothing. If a person is able to explain God's Word to someone else, if someone 00:27:56.980 --> 00:28:05.779 has the insight into God's Word, if someone has a powerful faith but has no love, 00:28:08.120 --> 00:28:13.559 while others may think much of those gifts, Paul is saying in God's eyes, 00:28:14.779 --> 00:28:25.940 it's nothing. I am nothing without love. Verse 3, if I give all I possess to the poor and give over my 00:28:25.940 --> 00:28:33.180 body to hardship that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. What's the gift in view here? 00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:39.039 The ability of self-sacrifice and self-denial, giving up our possessions, giving our body to suffering, 00:28:39.140 --> 00:28:50.600 but without love? It's just self-serving. That person would gain nothing. Again, what Paul is saying is 00:28:50.599 --> 00:28:58.439 that love is central, must be central to our discipleship and to our mission. These three 00:28:58.439 --> 00:29:06.000 verses contain one basic truth, that God cannot use loveless Christians for His glory. We need to be 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:17.659 controlled by, motivated by the love of God, not looking for our own glory. Last week, well, a couple of 00:29:17.660 --> 00:29:24.120 weeks now ago, Friday afternoon at five o'clock, George IV Bridge, our car developed a problem. 00:29:24.860 --> 00:29:35.019 The engine lost power, and the clutch wouldn't engage. Stuck, going nowhere, no movement, dashboard 00:29:35.019 --> 00:29:47.400 warning lights. Paul gives us 1 Corinthians 13 verses 1 to 3 as dashboard warning lights for the church. 00:29:48.579 --> 00:29:56.599 God's love is the engine that is to drive our love and our service for Him and for others, 00:29:56.599 --> 00:30:01.119 and there is a huge problem if we become disconnected from that love. 00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:14.559 God's love in Christ is to be what engages our hearts and creates movement to mission and to loving 00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:23.259 one another. We need to know and be filled by and to live out of the love of God. 00:30:23.259 --> 00:30:33.740 A really basic question then. What does God want from you and from me today and in this coming week? 00:30:34.879 --> 00:30:40.400 Put yourself in a number of different situations. Imagine sitting down at the family meal table, 00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:48.220 or imagine yourself at your workstation, or at your computer at home and you're responding to 00:30:48.220 --> 00:30:54.140 the latest social media feed, or you're with a fellow Christian in church. In all those moments, 00:30:54.180 --> 00:31:01.839 and in so many more, what does God want for you and for me? He would want us to know God's love in 00:31:01.839 --> 00:31:10.160 Christ, to believe the gospel and to live in that good news of God's love for us in sending Jesus to be 00:31:10.160 --> 00:31:15.980 our Savior. He'd want us to enjoy that love, that that would be the story that would grab 00:31:15.980 --> 00:31:22.360 our hearts, that would captivate our heart and our mind, and that we would then share that love 00:31:22.360 --> 00:31:29.539 in our fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, in our mission in the world. 00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:37.240 Love is the most excellent way. That's what Paul says. Now, just to back this up to help it hopefully 00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:43.160 stick in our hearts and our minds, let's just really briefly look at four ways the Bible, if we go wider, 00:31:43.160 --> 00:31:51.980 the Bible reveals love as the most excellent way. First, we see in the Bible that love is God's 00:31:51.980 --> 00:32:00.580 greatest gift. You see that here, end of chapter 13, verse 13, and now these three remain, faith, 00:32:01.200 --> 00:32:12.380 hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love. How does anyone come to know the love of God? How does 00:32:12.380 --> 00:32:19.140 anyone come to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus? Is it the case that we go to bed one day as an enemy 00:32:19.140 --> 00:32:23.660 of God, we wake up the next day, and we just decide that we're going to love God from now on? 00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:29.100 That we just make that? No, the answer is it's a gift of God's love and a gift of God's grace. 00:32:29.740 --> 00:32:36.040 The Bible speaks to us of the love of God the Father who chooses His people, who takes the initiative 00:32:36.039 --> 00:32:44.399 to save, who sends His Son on a rescue mission. The Bible tells us of the love of Jesus the Son, 00:32:44.859 --> 00:32:53.299 who in obedience to the Father, in love for His Father, obeys the law that we break, goes to the 00:32:53.299 --> 00:32:59.519 cross in our place, dying to save sinners so that anyone who puts their faith and their trust in Jesus 00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:06.879 will enjoy forgiveness and eternal life. And the Bible tells us of the Holy Spirit who, in love, 00:33:07.379 --> 00:33:15.720 applies the truth of the good news about Jesus to our hearts, who comes to live within us. The God of 00:33:15.720 --> 00:33:22.799 love comes to live in His people. So it becomes clear to understand that you and I were not saved by our 00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:32.700 own ability. We're not saved by our goodness. We are saved because God pours out His love in our hearts. 00:33:34.039 --> 00:33:45.779 So as the Apostle John says, we love because, and only because, God first loved us. Love is God's greatest 00:33:45.779 --> 00:33:53.339 gift because it's what saves us. Because it's what saves us and brings us into His family. So that Christian 00:33:53.339 --> 00:34:01.039 love, our love, is to be motivated by a sense of gratitude for that love that we have received. 00:34:01.700 --> 00:34:09.480 And it's powered by the Spirit of love that dwells within us. God is love, and the greatest gift He's 00:34:09.480 --> 00:34:17.280 ever given us is Himself, as He pours His love in our hearts. So love is the most excellent way because 00:34:17.280 --> 00:34:24.079 love is God's greatest gift. We can think about it in another way, though. Love is the most excellent way 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:31.480 because love is what we were made for. And for this, let's go back to the beginning. Let's go back to 00:34:31.480 --> 00:34:38.079 Genesis. And there in the book of Genesis, we discover that we are, as people, created by God 00:34:38.079 --> 00:34:49.920 in His image, in the image of the God who is love. And we are made to know and enjoy Him and His love, 00:34:49.980 --> 00:34:57.599 and also to love one another as fellow image bearers. And then as a church, we also come to know that God 00:34:57.599 --> 00:35:08.059 is our Father in heaven. And in God's family, love is the key family value. Every church could have 00:35:08.059 --> 00:35:17.159 that sign on the wall. In this family, in God's family, we do love. And as people made in God's 00:35:17.159 --> 00:35:25.799 image, we are made, indeed, we are commanded to love God and to love others. We are part of the family 00:35:25.799 --> 00:35:32.000 of the human race, and so we owe love to others. And especially, we are called to love the family of 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:39.340 faith. We are to have a special kind of love for one another in the church. And we see how important 00:35:39.340 --> 00:35:45.039 love is that we are made for it when we think about, for example, the Ten Commandments. Exodus 00:35:45.039 --> 00:35:50.820 chapter 20, what do we find? That we can break the Ten Commandments down into two sections. The first four 00:35:50.820 --> 00:35:57.820 are all about love for God, and the next six are all about love for others. When Jesus is asked, 00:35:57.820 --> 00:36:02.200 what's the greatest command? How do you summarize the Lord? Jesus said, love the Lord your God with 00:36:02.200 --> 00:36:07.200 your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. We are made as people 00:36:07.200 --> 00:36:15.120 in God's image to love, to love God, to love others. So the question we need to ask ourselves, 00:36:15.220 --> 00:36:20.039 then, is why is there so much hate in the world? And indeed, if we're honest, why is there so much hate 00:36:20.039 --> 00:36:25.480 and anger in our own hearts? Why is there so much sadness, and why is there so much brokenness? 00:36:26.900 --> 00:36:36.219 And the answer is sin, Genesis 3. This sin that spoils and pollutes and corrupts the image of God, 00:36:36.820 --> 00:36:44.259 that breaks relationship. This sin that, instead of allowing love to go up to God and out to others, 00:36:44.260 --> 00:36:49.940 turns in on oneself, creating so much hurt and sadness. 00:36:52.880 --> 00:36:58.840 That's why the gospel is good news, because what's Jesus come to do? Jesus has come to break the 00:36:58.840 --> 00:37:03.500 stranglehold of sin in our lives. Jesus has come to break the power of sin. Jesus has come to make us 00:37:03.500 --> 00:37:11.480 new creations in Christ who are able to love God and to love others from a new heart, having been forgiven 00:37:11.480 --> 00:37:16.539 of our sin. So love is the most excellent way, because love is what we were made for. 00:37:17.619 --> 00:37:21.820 Love is also the most excellent way, because love, according to Jesus, is the badge, it's the 00:37:21.820 --> 00:37:29.780 distinguishing feature of the Christian. For this, we can go to John chapter 13. So this is just after 00:37:29.780 --> 00:37:36.199 Jesus has washed his disciples' feet, and he washed his disciples' feet, anticipating that he would serve 00:37:36.199 --> 00:37:42.239 them in a far greater way by dying on the cross in their place for their sin, indeed doing that for 00:37:42.239 --> 00:37:47.000 all who trust in him. And there in John chapter 13, at verse 34, Jesus said, 00:37:47.859 --> 00:37:56.859 A new command I give you, love one another as I have loved you. By this shall all people know 00:37:56.860 --> 00:38:06.400 that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. That's the distinguishing mark of the 00:38:06.400 --> 00:38:13.860 church. Now, we know that cultures and nations and people groups, we have unique markers. 00:38:16.660 --> 00:38:23.240 Scotland are unique markers. Our guys walk around in kilts, we drink iron brew and whiskey, 00:38:23.239 --> 00:38:29.859 and we are sunny and optimistic by nature. True, isn't it? Perhaps. 00:38:32.159 --> 00:38:36.199 Sometimes you can tell where a person is from, from how they look, how they sound, how they dress. 00:38:36.799 --> 00:38:45.579 Christians, we should be known because of how we love, because of this Christ-like love in us, 00:38:45.579 --> 00:38:52.219 where we are ready to put others first, where we are ready to be humble, 00:38:53.239 --> 00:38:59.839 where we are quick to be self-giving. We are called to be ambassadors of Jesus. 00:39:00.839 --> 00:39:07.379 We represent him in the world, in the message that we declare, that the good news that's found in him, 00:39:07.659 --> 00:39:12.919 and in our way of life, that we should look like Jesus. We should be little Christ's Christians. 00:39:12.920 --> 00:39:22.980 We are a holy nation. And our governing principle is love, that we enjoy that love that we receive, 00:39:23.059 --> 00:39:29.240 and we share that love that we enjoy. So, love is the most excellent way because it's the badge of 00:39:29.240 --> 00:39:37.960 the Christian. And love is the most excellent way, finally, because love never fails. This is from 00:39:37.960 --> 00:39:44.900 verse 8 here. Love never fails, but where there are prophecies, they will cease. Where there are 00:39:44.900 --> 00:39:51.659 tongues, they will be stilled. Where there is knowledge, it will pass away. Those great gifts, 00:39:51.980 --> 00:39:56.720 spectacular gifts that the church was celebrating, Paul's saying, they won't be there in heaven, 00:39:56.780 --> 00:40:03.420 but love will be. I recommended a few weeks ago, I'm going to recommend again, wonderful sermon from 00:40:03.420 --> 00:40:08.980 Jonathan Edwards, Heaven at a World of Love. You can find it online or find it in print. It's a beautiful, 00:40:08.980 --> 00:40:21.619 beautiful sermon. But imagine with me for a moment, a world without jealousy. Imagine a world free of 00:40:21.619 --> 00:40:33.400 anger, no slander or gossip. Imagine a world where your words or your actions and attitudes were never 00:40:33.400 --> 00:40:38.760 misrepresented. Imagine a world without misunderstanding. Imagine a world without misunderstanding. 00:40:41.760 --> 00:40:51.180 And then imagine, as an individual, being unlimited in your ability to love. Never too tired, never too busy. 00:40:52.900 --> 00:40:59.680 Imagine being unlimited in who you loved. Not choosing to love some and ignoring others. 00:40:59.679 --> 00:41:08.839 Imagine being 100% completely committed to the good of others always. 00:41:10.919 --> 00:41:20.139 And then imagine a world where nothing ever spoiled or polluted that love. Imagine 00:41:20.139 --> 00:41:26.119 where perfect love lasts for all eternity. 00:41:26.119 --> 00:41:38.460 Friends, this is heaven. This, as Christians, is our true home. This will be our culture and our story. 00:41:38.900 --> 00:41:46.980 Love, perfect love, God's love. And what Paul is calling us to, what the Bible calls us to, 00:41:47.980 --> 00:41:52.299 is to live in that love, to live with that culture day by day. 00:41:52.300 --> 00:41:58.740 We want to, as it were, lessen the culture shock for the day when we get to heaven, 00:41:59.380 --> 00:42:04.600 to live day by day enjoying that love and sharing that love. 00:42:06.400 --> 00:42:08.660 Paul says love is the most excellent way. 00:42:09.700 --> 00:42:14.680 And since that's true, what should you and I do as we close? 00:42:14.679 --> 00:42:23.179 First of all, we should seek this love. If you're here today and you're not a Christian, 00:42:23.699 --> 00:42:30.919 know that God would give you His love. Know that God has sent His Son Jesus to show you the full 00:42:30.919 --> 00:42:36.339 extent of His love, that He would die in your place for your sins so that by faith you might be forgiven 00:42:36.340 --> 00:42:45.460 and have new life. If you're growing cold in your love for Jesus, if you feel that you're backsliding, 00:42:46.900 --> 00:42:50.740 seek again this love. God would give it to you. 00:42:53.539 --> 00:43:01.880 Well, we turn from our natural love of self to our faith in Jesus and to enjoy God's love. 00:43:01.880 --> 00:43:09.079 So we're called to seek this love. We should also, secondly, share this love. 00:43:11.160 --> 00:43:16.500 Think about your coming week. Think about what's already in your diary. Think about the stuff that's 00:43:16.500 --> 00:43:22.240 not yet in your diary. Think about those tens, hundreds, perhaps thousands of interactions you 00:43:22.240 --> 00:43:30.039 will have with different people this week. Each of them represents a chance to show the love of God 00:43:30.039 --> 00:43:36.779 to someone else. So let's ask for God's grace to show love to our brothers and sisters in Christ, 00:43:37.440 --> 00:43:43.239 that we would be those who would encourage others, that we would build others up, that we would bear 00:43:43.239 --> 00:43:50.300 others' burdens, that we'd speak well of one another, we'd speak the truth to one another. And ask for grace 00:43:50.300 --> 00:43:58.759 to show love in your community, in your particular sphere, so that God's love might fill the hearts of 00:43:58.760 --> 00:44:07.000 others, that someone might be drawn to Jesus because they see his love in us. So let's seek this love, 00:44:07.040 --> 00:44:15.120 and let's share this love. And finally, as Christians, let's savor this love. Let's delight in and treasure 00:44:15.120 --> 00:44:23.180 God's love for us in Christ. Think about it, and think about it often. The wonder of the gospel. 00:44:23.179 --> 00:44:30.699 Sing about it when you're at home or when you're in the car. Read about it in God's Word or in good books, 00:44:30.779 --> 00:44:38.379 because no love compares with God's love. No story is as good as God's story of his love for us in Christ. 00:44:39.619 --> 00:44:44.759 Love is the most excellent way. Let's pray together. 00:44:44.760 --> 00:44:58.780 Lord, our God, thank you that the Bible is so full of your great love and your desire to save people 00:44:58.780 --> 00:45:07.600 and to bring them to yourself and to give the hope of an eternity of perfect love. 00:45:09.160 --> 00:45:13.140 And Lord, we thank you for showing us your love in sending Jesus. 00:45:13.139 --> 00:45:24.059 May each one of us seek your love. May each one of us call on Jesus as Lord and Savior, 00:45:24.879 --> 00:45:34.099 returning from sin to trust in him. May you help us to share his love with others, Christians, 00:45:34.339 --> 00:45:38.119 non-Christians, family, friends, colleagues, people in our community. 00:45:38.119 --> 00:45:49.299 And may we do that as we are constantly receiving and being refreshed by your love in our lives. May we 00:45:49.299 --> 00:46:00.079 savor, may we delight in your goodness to us, your love and kindness for us. May that always warm our 00:46:00.079 --> 00:46:11.159 hearts. May it always lead us to praise and to worship. We ask it for your glory and for our greatest good. 00:46:12.039 --> 00:46:12.299 Amen. 00:46:12.300 --> 00:46:26.660 Now let's finish our time this morning. Again, as Kellen will lead us in the hymn, Grace. 00:46:26.659 --> 00:46:28.659 Amen. 00:46:28.659 --> 00:46:30.739 Amen. 00:46:43.000 --> 00:46:43.519 Amen. 00:46:43.519 --> 00:46:52.380 Your grace that leads this sinner home 00:46:52.380 --> 00:46:57.820 From death to life forever 00:46:57.820 --> 00:47:04.059 And sings the song of righteousness 00:47:04.059 --> 00:47:10.500 By blood and not by merit 00:47:10.500 --> 00:47:24.000 Your grace that reaches far and wide 00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:29.119 To every tribe and nation 00:47:29.119 --> 00:47:36.039 Has called my heart to enter in 00:47:36.039 --> 00:47:41.440 The joy of your salvation 00:47:41.440 --> 00:47:47.039 By grace I am redeemed 00:47:47.039 --> 00:47:52.239 By grace I am restored 00:47:52.239 --> 00:48:02.239 And now I freely walk into the arms of Christ my Lord 00:48:02.239 --> 00:48:18.239 Your grace that I cannot explain 00:48:18.239 --> 00:48:24.239 Not by my earthly wisdom 00:48:24.239 --> 00:48:30.239 The prince of life without a stain 00:48:30.239 --> 00:48:35.239 Was traded for this sin 00:48:35.239 --> 00:48:41.239 By grace I am redeemed 00:48:41.239 --> 00:48:46.239 By grace I am restored 00:48:46.239 --> 00:48:57.239 And now I freely walk into the arms of Christ my Lord 00:48:57.239 --> 00:49:12.239 Let praise rise up and overflow 00:49:12.239 --> 00:49:18.339 My song resound forever 00:49:18.340 --> 00:49:25.340 For grace will see me welcomed home 00:49:25.340 --> 00:49:30.340 To walk beside my Savior 00:49:30.340 --> 00:49:35.340 By grace I am redeemed 00:49:35.340 --> 00:49:40.340 By grace I am restored 00:49:40.340 --> 00:49:50.340 And now I freely walk into the arms of Christ my Lord 00:49:50.340 --> 00:49:55.340 By grace I am redeemed 00:49:55.340 --> 00:50:00.340 By grace I am restored 00:50:00.340 --> 00:50:11.340 And now I freely walk into the arms of Christ my Lord 00:50:11.340 --> 00:50:20.539 Let's stand for the benediction 00:50:20.539 --> 00:50:26.539 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 00:50:26.539 --> 00:50:28.539 And the love of God 00:50:28.539 --> 00:50:31.539 And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 00:50:31.539 --> 00:50:33.539 Be with you all 00:50:33.539 --> 00:50:34.539 Amen 00:50:50.539 --> 00:50:52.539 Amen 00:51:20.539 --> 00:51:22.539 Come on 00:51:22.539 --> 00:51:25.539 Love you all 00:51:26.539 --> 00:51:41.059 Most of the glory the Lord 00:51:41.059 --> 00:51:49.539 And and and and-