08 Sep Nothing without love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. ¹³ So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I’m going to make a statement that I hope will resonate with many of you. And if this statement is true for you, I want you to make some noise at the end of it. No, it’s not “If you love Jesus in this place make some noise” statement. It’s different one. Are you ready? This is it – “I LOVE MY CHURCH!” Anyone? Okay, I realized I might be bias since I’m one of the pastor of this church but nevertheless it’s true. I love ROCK Sydney church and I especially love ROCK Sydney International where God put me as the lead pastor. I count it as one of the greatest privilege in my life to be able to teach the Bible to you on weekly basis.

As I looked back on what’s been happening in RSI in the last 1.5 years, I found many reasons to be thankful. In the last year and a half, I have seen people come to know Christ. Not only to accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord, but I have also seen many of us grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ. And this is extremely encouraging. Many of you finally get what the gospel is through this church. By that I do not mean you have Christianity as your religion and you go to church on Sunday. No. That’s superficial. By getting the gospel, I mean your eyes were finally opened to the beauty of the glory of Christ. You finally understood for the first time the meaning of Jesus paid it all. That you were dead in your trespasses but God being rich in mercy made you alive in Christ Jesus. And the reason you are saved had nothing to do with you but purely by his grace alone. You experienced gospel explosion that transformed the way you see your Christian life. By show of hands, how many of you get the gospel for the first time in this church? Look around.

Now, next question. For those of you who get the gospel, how many of you fail to live out the gospel this week? Just this week. Raise your hands. Look around people. We have many mess up people in this place. And this is encouraging. I love the fact that this church is filled with imperfect people who are saturated in the gospel. I love the fact that some of you understand the gospel enough to raise your hand to let others know that you don’t have it altogether but it’s okay because Christ has it all together. This church will always have an open door for those who struggle. Whatever your struggle is, we welcome you with open hand. If you are a drug addicts, come. If you are a sex addicts, come. If you are struggling with pornography, if you have a broken family, if you are prideful, if you are poor, if you are rich, come. Even if you are a murderer, come. Cathline will sit next to you and keep you company. We believe strongly in the power of the gospel and that nothing is too hard for the Lord. He can save anyone and he is strong enough to help anyone in their struggle. This church is a place where it is okay to be not okay. I think we did well in this area. But there is other area that is concerning to me.

Let me explain. At RSI, we love the gospel. We are about growing deep in the gospel and reaching wide with the gospel. I love the fact that many of you not only come to church but also serve in the church. I love the fact that our ushers greet you with smiles. I love the fact that the host welcomes you with Scripture. I love the fact that the praise and worship team leads us to exalt Christ week after weeks. I love the fact that you guys sing loud. I love the fact that there are people who run sound and lighting so that you can hear clearly and have better experiences. I love the fact that there are people who run multimedia so that we have lyrics for the songs and Scriptures to read. I love that we give offerings out of abundant of joy in our heart instead of obligation. I love the weekly proclamation of the gospel from this pulpit. I love the fact that we celebrate the Lord’s Supper and remind ourselves of Jesus’ sacrifice weekly. I love that we recite the great commission and remind ourselves that we are people on mission. I love the fact that we get to mingle and chat with one another after the service. I absolutely love the fact that some of you decides to help with the chairs even though you don’t have the eyes for it. I love the fact that most of you sacrifice one of your weeknight to be planted in MC. I love the fact that some of you were teaching the kids and the teens in the morning service and still come to RSI to celebrate God’s goodness. It’s an absolute joy for me to witness it. Some of you might be wondering where I am going with this. This is where I am going. Do you know that it is possible to do all of those and gain nothing at the end of the day? This is the strong warning of 1 Corinthians 13.

I know this is not the common way we think of this text. 1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most well-known Bible passage. You hear it often quoted in both Christian and non-Christian wedding. And almost every time this passage is quoted, some people goes, “Aww… that’s so sweet.” But let me tell you, this is not what Paul had in mind when he wrote it. This text is not about marriage but it is about local church. And this is not a sweet text. This is a very frightening text as it exposes the failures and weaknesses of the Corinth church. In order to correctly understand this text, we have to read it in the context of a local church.

Let me give you the context of this love passage. In chapter 12, Paul is talking about spiritual gifts within the church. Every Christian has a gift. No one is without a gift. And Paul is telling them that it is very important for every members to exercise their gifts. But what happen is, there are many members in the church of Corinth who have a wrong view of their gifts. They are obsessed about their gifts and see their gifts as a sign of spiritual maturity. Then there are others who feel superior others because of their gifts. They are convinced that if you have this or that particular gift, you are more loved by God. And in chapter 14, Paul zooms in specifically on the gift of speaking in tongue. Some members in the church of Corinth elevated the gift of tongue above other gifts and began to abuse it. Paul says that the gift of tongue is cool but it is not more important than other spiritual gifts. It is just one of the gifts of God. So that’s chapter 12 and 14. And sandwiched between these two chapters is chapter 13, the love chapter. The point Paul is trying to make is not to make you go “Aww” but to make you go “Ouch.” Paul wants to show the church in Corinth that they are missing the point. Yes spiritual gifts are important but the purpose of all those gifts is for them to love another. Without love, the spiritual gifts means nothing. Love stands supreme above all other gifts. Are you with me?

So, let’s get into the text. Three things that I can see in this text. The importance of love; the description of love; the supremacy of love.

The importance of love

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 – If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

This part of the text is extremely sobering. Paul is giving us two strong warnings. First, you can be extremely gifted and have not love. Verse 1. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong of clanging cymbal.” Let me put it in our everyday language. You can speak in tongue every morning and night. You can speak to Archangel Gabriel in the morning and Lucifer at night. You can memorize scripture and quote scripture to all your friends. You can write blogs telling everyone about Jesus. You can post pictures on Instagram with Scripture in it. You can share the gospel with all your friends in University or at work. But if you have not love, you are just making noisy noises “bong, bong, bong, bong, bong.” It has no harmony or melody. It is meaningless. Then he continues in verse 2. “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” Translation: You can have the power to tell your friends that he will get HD in his exam without studying and it happens. You can say to a girl, “baby you are mine” even though she does not like you and somehow she ends up marrying you. You can know the reason why God choose A and not B and all the mysteries of the Bible. You can pray for someone who has cancer and they are healed. You can go to a funeral, stare at a corpse, command them back to life and he comes alive. But if you have not love, it serves no purpose. Paul says “I am nothing.” He does not say that the gifts are nothing but he says that he is nothing without love.

This is a strong warning to all of us. Every commentators basically agree that the faith Paul has in mind in here is not a saving faith but a faith that moves mountain. It is the kind of faith that draws people to you and your works. It means this. God could have used you mightily and you are not Christian at all. It is possible to have the gifts of the Spirit without experiencing the grace of the Spirit. It is possible to do many things for God and never love God. You don’t believe me? Jesus himself says in Matthew 7 that there are many people who do signs and wonders but yet at the end of their life Jesus says that he never knew them. This is extremely sobering.

This is a warning for us as a church. A lot of time, we mistake talents for characters and gifts for grace. We assume that because someone is talented and gifted that he or she must have Christ-like characters and live in the grace of God. Let me give you one case study. Let’s say that Bob grew up in a broken Christian family. His parents were divorced when he was young and because of it Bob left the church and grew up with bitterness and anger in life. He hated his parents. He had a temper problem and addicted to alcohol. But one day his friend brought him back to church. And pretty soon, the people in the church found out that Bob was extremely gifted in singing and playing electric guitar. Since Bob was a Christian from child, the people in the church encouraged Bob to start using his gifts. And he did. Bob was so gifted that the people in the church adored him and affirmed his gifts. The next thing you knew, Bob was leading worship. Very soon, people in the church began to look up to Bob and even wished they were Bob. They told Bob how blessed they were when he led worship. Now, Bob has an influence. Bob has a platform. Bob is serving Christ and the church. And everyone assumes that Bob is walking with God. God is using Bob. And because of it, Bob starts to think, “I am used by God. Therefore I must be walking with God. The grace of God is working in me and changing me into Christ-likeness.” But is he? Not at all. The truth is Bob continues to live with bitterness and anger. Do you see what happen? We constantly mistake talents and gifts for characters and grace. The evidence of walking with God is not gifts but love. Can you see the evident of love in you? Are you growing in Christ-like characters? It is possible to do, do, do, do and be nothing. That’s the first warning.

The second warning is this. You can be extremely good and have not love. Verse 3. “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” This is very scary. You can sell all your wealth and give it to the poor. Sounds very biblical right? You can serve at church from morning to night every Sunday. You can sacrifice yourself for others. You can even die as a martyr for Christ! But if you have not love, it’s worthless. It is very possible to make spectacular sacrifices without love. You gain nothing. This is different from the first warning. If the first warning is about being gifted, the second warning is about being good. Because some people would say, “Yes, the gifts does not matter. What matter is about being a good person.” And Paul says no to both. It is very possible to be very virtuous and doing it for self-gain. It is possible to make many sacrifices for others and do it for selfish reason. You don’t do it because you love others but you are trying to build your self-worth through it. At the end of the day, all the sacrifices you make is all about you. Paul is telling us not to mistake being good with a heart that is transformed by the grace of God. We need to ask ourselves, “What is my motivation in doing good?”

Let me give you another case study. Husband and wife. The husband is as bad as one could be. He is alcoholic, abusive, jobless and an adulterer. The wife is as good as one could be. She is very patient, kind, nice, and respected. And over the years, the wife continues to sacrifice herself for her husband, endures the suffering and treats her husband with kindness. Think about everything she had to go through over the years. It’s terrible. The wife looks at her husband and says, “Look at how much I love you. You have no idea what I went through because of you. And I am still here after so many years.” The wife feels that she is very loving toward her husband. Here is what’s interesting though. What happen when the husband finally come to his sense and start living rightly? We assume that they will be happier right? Surprisingly, research shows a high percentages of times, that when the spouse who messed up finally get their life together, the marriage falls apart. Wait? What? How is it possible? It’s simple. Because the reason behind all those sacrifices is not sacrificial love but rather self-love. The need to be a saviour, the need to be needed. They love the fact that they can sacrificially love the other person. Their love is never about the other person but it is all about them.

Let’s take this text and apply it to the context of our church. It is possible for me to preach the gospel every single week with passion and zeal but have not love. It is possible for our church to have the right theology and solid doctrine but have not love. It is possible for us to serve in the church every single Sunday with our gifts and have not love. It is possible for us to gather for MC to study the Bible and have fellowship with one another every week and have not love. It is possible for us to be sacrificial in our giving to the church and the poor, for us to adopt children, for us to go on mission trips, but we have not love. Get this. Without love, everything we do gain nothing. We are nothing without love. Paul is not saying that all our gifts and everything we do is nothing. But unless it is love that drives the use of our gifts and our doings, then it is worthless. Now, can you see why this passage is very frightening? You are not meant to go, “Aww” when you read this passage. So, what is love?

The description of love

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – ⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Paul lists out 15 descriptions of love. And what is interesting about this list is that this is the list of all the things the Corinthians are not. It is the list of what is wrong with them. Throughout this letter, Paul uses all these descriptions to highlight the problem with the church in Corinth. This is a direct rebuke of a lack of love in Corinth. So, here is what I want us to do. I will list all 15 descriptions of love and give very brief explanation on each. And as I do that, I want you to substitute the word love for your name and see if that description is true of you or not. And I want you to count your score. Let’s see how many you get out of 15. Are you ready?

Love is patient – It does not mean you are patiently waiting for the love of your life to finally say yes to marry you but it means endurance in the face of suffering. It is being patient toward those who do not love you without seeking retaliation.

Love is kind – It means you actively seek to do good toward others, including people that you don’t like. It is to show affection toward those around you.

Love does not envy – You do not desire what other people has. You do not compare what you have with what others have in all things.

Love does not boast – You do not brag about what you have that others don’t have and make them jealous of what you have.

Love is not arrogant – You know that everything you have is a gift that you receive. You are not puffed up to think that everything is about you. You are free to let others people talk about themselves and not turn every conversation to be about you.

Love is not rude – You are not pushy or demanding. You are considerate toward others and do not say things to shame others, even if they are wrong.

Love does not insist on its own way – You seek to promote others before yourself. You are okay with being second and elevate other people’s preference before your own.

Love is not irritable – You are not easily angered. You are not a ticking bomb waiting to explode at any given chance.

Love is not resentful – You do not keep score. You keep no records of wrong. You are quick to forgive and forget. What happened in October 2002 stay in October 2002 and does not go to 2019. What happened last week stay last week and does not makes its way to today.

Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing – You do not enjoy to see others fail, including people that you don’t like and your enemy.

Love rejoices with the truth – You look for opportunities to affirm others who have done well. When other people do a better job than you, you are quick to admit and delight in it.

Love bears all things – You never tire to support others, even in the worst of circumstances.

Love believes all things – You never assume the worst and always give people the benefit of the doubts until all facts are known.

Love hopes all things – You always hope for the best and quick to give second chances. You do not lose hope for people to repent of their sin and change for the better.

Love endures all things – You persevere to the end and do not quit half way in the way you love people.

How are we doing? Anyone get perfect score? Let’s see how many Jesus we have in RSI. Anyone get zero? Let’s see how many Satan we have in here. Anyone feel good about their score? If you do, you are not doing it right. This list supposes to make us realize how bad we are at loving one another. Let me make two observations about love based on this list. First, love does. It is obvious that the description of love that Paul gives consists of verbs. It tells us that love is not just a word but it involves decisions and actions. You can say you love someone a million times but if you never do anything for that person, then your love is a lie. Love always involve a doing. Are we clear on that? However, action alone is not enough. How many of you ever heard this statement, “Love is not a feeling; it is a commitment”? I understand what this statement is trying to communicate. Indeed in our culture, too many people easily give up on love because of feeling. They no longer feel the love they once had and give up on their marriage due to lack of feeling. And this statement is conveying the truth that even when you don’t feel like it, you need to love anyway. I get that. But I don’t think that’s enough. Love is a commitment. But it is more than just a commitment.

The second observation I want to make based on this list is, love delights. The descriptions Paul gives not only convey actions but also emotions. Love does not envy, it is not irritable, loves rejoices in truth, love hopes etc. While love is surely more than feelings, it is not less than feeling. To love someone you need both action and affection. Let me borrow John Piper’s illustration. Let’s say that it is a 10^th wedding anniversary of a husband and wife. So the husband comes home from work with a bouquet of roses in his hands. The husband wants to surprise his wife. Rather than entering the house straight away, the husband press the door bell and wait for her wife to open the door. And when the wife opens the door, she sees her husband on his knee with a bouquet of roses in his hand. He says, “Happy 10^th anniversary babe. This is a bouquet of roses for you.” And the wife replies, “Oh babe, that’s so sweet of you. They are expensive. Why did you do it?” He replies, “Because it is my duty. Well it costs me $200. But I read in the internet that it is my duty as your loving husband to buy you flowers for 10^th wedding anniversary.” What is wrong with that answer? You know what is wrong with the answer. Action without affection is empty. So let’s rewind the story. Ding-dong. “Happy 10^th anniversary babe. This is for you.” “Oh, babe that’s so sweet of you. Why did you do it?” The right answer is, “Because it is my joy to see you happy. Because it brings me happiness to see you smile when you receive this roses. Nothing makes me happier than seeing you happy. In fact, I already booked your favourite restaurant for dinner tonight. Put on something nice and let’s enjoy our night together.” My friend, that’s love. Love not only requires you to do the right thing but also the feel the right way. Love involves both action and affection. Love without action is a lie and love without affection is empty.

The description of love in this passage supposed to shatter our ability to love. Because it is impossible for us to love like this on our own. How do we love one another then? If you look at these 15 descriptions of love, there is only one name that you can substitute for the word love and this description is completely true. That name is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the fulfilment of love. Christianity is first and foremost about God loving us in Jesus. Jesus succeeds where we failed. Jesus completes all the verbs of love and that’s how he loves us. My friend, this is how we are loved. And this love does not crush us but gives us hope. It gives us the security to admit our failures in loving like Jesus. Yet Christ is committed to love us, save us and secure us. And this love is life-transforming. The more you taste the sweetness of this love, the more you can love like him. His love will help us love the way he loves. It is only when we realized how we are loved in Christ that we can truly love others.

The supremacy of love

1 Corinthians 13:8-13 – ⁸ Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. ¹³ So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

This is staggering. Paul concludes his exhortation on love by telling the church in Corinth on the supremacy of love above all. Paul gives two illustrations to make his point. First one is of a child growing up. When a child is still a child, he think and act like a child. But when the child become a man, he gave up his childish ways and he is acting and thinking like a man. The second illustration is one of a mirror. When you see someone in a mirror, you only see a reflection. But when you see that person face to face, you do not need the reflection. I know you do not see Jesus’ name in these verses, but Paul is actually talking about Jesus’ love. If you want to be able to love others, you need to look at Jesus’ love for you. And there are two ways to look at Jesus’s love in this passage.

First, look to the future. Paul says that there will come a time where all spiritual gifts will come to an end. Prophesy will come to an end. Speaking in tongue will come to an end. Healing will come to an end. But there is one thing that will never end. Love never ends. And that is why love is supreme above all other spiritual gifts. In verse 9, Paul says that right now we know in part but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. What does Paul mean by this word perfect? This word perfect comes from a Greek word “to teleion” which means the goal, purpose, fulfilment and consummation of a design. So for a fish, it’s to teleion would be to live in the ocean, exploring the depth and the width of the ocean. With another word, Paul is referring to a time where you and I will enjoy the fulfilment of everything we are created for. It is the consummation of God’s plan for our lives. When will this happen? Paul answers in verse 12 that right now we see in a mirror dimly, but then will come a time where we will see face to face. The phrase face to face is used all the way throughout the Bible to describe a moment in time where we will experience the fullness of God personally and intimately. What is Paul taking about? Paul is talking about the time where we will see and experience God for all he is. He is talking about Christ’s second coming at the end of history. This is what Paul is saying. You may think that you know Christ’s love right now. You may think that he is beautiful right now. But wait. What you know of Christ right now is only partial. It is only a foretaste of what is to come. There will come a time that you will know that Christ is indeed really loving. Christ is indeed really beautiful. Christ is indeed really glorious. You and I are designed to be face to face with Christ and his glory and that day is coming. Our best experience of Christ’s love right now is nothing but a splash of water. We were made to experience a gushing waterfall of Christ’s love and that day is coming. Look toward that day.

Second, look to the past. Pay attention to verse 12. “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” The word fully known is in the form of Aorist tense in Greek. It means a single past action that’s already happened. Paul is saying that our knowledge of Christ is only partial right now. A time will come where we shall know fully. However, Christ’s knowledge of us is different. Christ did not know us in part. Christ knew us fully. And the word know does not only mean knowledge but it is a word that describes intimate knowing. Christ knew us intimately from the very beginning. He is never surprise of us. Christ did not love us because we are good. In fact, Paul argues otherwise. Romans 5:7-8 – ⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This is the love of Christ toward us. He died for us while we were still his enemies. He knew everything there is about us from the very beginning and he still chose to love and save us. There is nothing you can do or happen to you that surprise him. You cannot surprise God. He knows all your hidden sins he knows all your dirty thoughts. He knows your failure to love. Nothing is hidden from him. He knows you fully. And yet he loves you fully.

This is the very definition of love. 1 John 4:10 – In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Make no mistake. God’s love for you is not free. It is not cheap. It costs Jesus his life to love you. He paid the price of sin for you. At the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” With another word, at the cross, Jesus lost the face of God. God turned his face from Jesus. Why? So that you and I who put our faith in Jesus have the guarantee that we will never lose God’s face. We shall see him face to face. So here is the confident that we have. That one day, we shall experience perfection of love. And that day is settled once and for all when Jesus died at the cross for us. Right now, in all our imperfection and weakness, Christ knows us fully and loves us completely. He does not change his mind about us. And a time will come where we will delight in the fullness of his love for us forever. That is why Paul concludes in verse 13, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Two quick applications on how this love changes us as a community and I am back to my seat. First, we are free to love one another boldly. Let me tell you a secret. To love another is always risky. Always. We know that in this side of eternity, no one can love another perfectly. That means that we will get disappointed. We will get hurt. We will experience betrayal. We will get let down. But we choose to love anyway. Why? Because that’s how we are loved in Christ. The gospel has changed the fundamental of our heart. We know that we are deeply flawed but deeply loved at the same time. Christ loved us perfectly right now and we will one day experience the perfection of his love. We have all the love we need in Christ. Now, we no longer love people for our sake but we love them for their sake. We can risk loving one another boldly because of Christ. We are not afraid of getting hurt. We can love those who are hardest to love and we can love the least lovely.

Second, we are free to love one another truly. Here is what I mean. Because we love others for their sake, we are not afraid to confront them when they are wrong. Love does not mean we let other people do whatever they want as long as they are happy. Love means risking the relationship because we love them. We are not afraid to tell other people of their sins because it is not about us. It is for their sake. And let me tell you, people can tell the difference when you confront them for your sake or for their sake. And a heart that has been transformed by the gospel desires to see other people grow in Christ and is not afraid to confront whatever stopping them to do so.

Now, can you imagine this kind of community where we love one another boldly and truly? When we love like this, the world will pay attention. John 13:35 – By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for another. Not by our gifts, not by our works, but by our love for one another. This is what I desire to see in our church. May we be a community who love one another boldly and truly.

Discussions:

1. What is the context of 1 Corinthians 13 and why is this a frightening text?
2. “You can be extremely gifted/good and have not love.” Between one who is gifted/good, which one do you think we more often mistaken as ‘true Christian’? Discuss.
3. “Love is not a feeling. Love is a commitment.” Explain why this statement is true and not sufficient at the same time.
4. Look at the 15 descriptions of love in verses 4 to 7. What does Paul try to accomplish with this list? How is it different from how we often hear 1 Cor 13 being used?
5. “But when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” Some preachers argue that the ‘perfect’ refers to the completion of the Bible. When we finally have the Bible, we no longer need spiritual gifts. Reading this phrase in the context, is this a valid interpretation? Why or why not? (Hint: verse 12).
6. Faith, hope and love are the three crucial elements of Christian life. Why love is the greatest of these? (If you are stuck in 5 and 6, contact me for more hints).
7. We are free to love another boldly and truly. List out daily life applications on how we can love another boldly and truly in our MC.