It’s All About Love

5th July 2015

The C

ity o

f Corin

th

• Regarded the most influential city of Greece.

• The population = 650,000

• 250,000 free citizens and 400,000 slaves.

• A major center of commerce - wealthy and

very materialistic.

• Great interest in Greek philosophy and

wisdom.

• Very religious —at least 12 temples were

located there.

Con’t next slide

The C

ity o

f Corin

th

• The most infamous of these temples

was dedicated to Aphrodite

• Another temple dedicated to Apollo

• City was notorious for its immorality.

• A new Greek verb was eventually

coined: to “Corinthianize” meant to

practice sexual immorality.

1 Corinthians 13Verse 1-3

• And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

• If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not

have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries

and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move

mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I

possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I

may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 areas that Paul highlighted whereby Corinth Christians consider very important:

1. Gift of tongues speaking

2. Gift of prophecy and knowledge

3. Faith

4. Generosity and sacrifice

• If I speak in the

tongues[a] of men or of

angels, but do not

have love, I am only a

resounding gong or a

clanging cymbal.

•  If I have the gift of

prophecy and can

fathom all mysteries

and all knowledge,

• Gift of tongues

speaking

Without love, it is

nothing.

• Gift of prophecy and

knowledge

Without love, it is

nothing.

• and if I have a faith

that can move

mountains, but do not

have love, I am

nothing.

•  If I give all I possess to

the poor and give over

my body to hardship

that I may boast,[b] but

do not have love, I

gain nothing.

• FAITH

Without love, it is

nothing.

• Generosity and

sacrifice

Without love, it is

nothing.

• Essentially, Paul was saying:

Why are you, Corinth Christians, be so

consumed with issues that aren’t as

important as the pursuit of love.

• What’s the point of bickering over who

has more/better spiritual gifts or

knowledge?

• Love needs to permeate throughout

our fellowship in EVERYTHING we do!

• Love will feed into every aspect

of our Christian lives.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

• 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,

it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not

dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not

easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with

the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts,

always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

• More corrective in nature.

• Paul’s intention was to shape this

description of love to fit into the

crisis in Corinth.

Paul’s description of love has 3 simple parts.

• What love is…

– Patience

– Kind

• What love always

does…

– It rejoice with the

truth

– It always protects

– It always trusts

– It always hopes

– It always perseveres

• What love is not…

– It does not envy

– It does not boast

– It is not proud

– It is not rude

– It is not self-seeking

– It is not easily

angered

– It keeps no record of

wrong

– It does not delight in

evil

If we can put Paul’s intent with this paraphrase:

• Love is patient and kind, unlike you

Corinthians in the way you treat each

other. Love is not jealous, as you

folks are. Love is not boastful, like

you are. And so forth and so on…

• What are the qualities of love that is lacking

in our church to build a sense of family?

• What qualities of love do we fall short in

handling conflicts, misunderstanding, sins,

hurts and disappointment?

• What quality of love is necessary for us to

share our faith?

Kendama