“And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether [there be] prophecies, they shall fail; whether [there be] tongues, they shall cease; whether [there be] knowledge, it shall vanish away… And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity. (1 Corinthians 13:3-8, 13)
As we conclude our introduction to this series, I thought it would be good to look at a basic outline for the remainder of our study. This outline comes from the writings of the Apostle Paul found in the book of 1 Corinthians 13:. In this passage, Paul covers two very important points concerning love: 1. Its importance – vs 3, 8, 13 2. Its characteristics – vs 4-7
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Let’s take a few minutes to look at this passage in detail…
Paul’s Teaching:
The Importance Of Love From The Writings Of Paul…
Vs 3 – “And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”
Here, Paul is helping us to understand that the motive of love is ABSOLUTELY necessary for us to please the Lord in an act of service we may undertake. If we would give sacrificially to meet the needs of the poor, or be willing to die for the cause of Christ, if these are not motivated by love for the Lord and others, they are of no benefit to us.
Vs 8 – “Charity never faileth: but whether [there be] prophecies, they shall fail; whether [there be] tongues, they shall cease; whether [there be] knowledge, it shall vanish away”
In this text, Paul is reminding us that love is the only gracious gift of God that will last for an eternity: The gifts of prophecy, tongues and knowledge have come to an end with the completion of the accrediting of the New Testament scriptures and the local assembly as the New Testament place of worship. But the gift of love (charity) will last forever.
Vs 13 – “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity”
Likewise, the gifts of faith and hope will come to an end at the second coming of Jesus. Love will last for an eternity because, even in eternity, we will continue to love our Lord and our spritual family.
The Characteristics Of Love From The Writings Of Paul…
“Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”
We will look at these in our next devotional.
Our Lesson To Be Learned: The Apostle Paul understood the great importance of love in our service to God and for the cause of Christ in this world. As we study love, we should always keep in mind that love is the GREATEST of all the fruits of the Spirit, it is the eternal motivating force that resulted in our salvation, our service to Christ and His never-ending glory.
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