Over the next 2 weeks I want to go over 1 Corinthians 13, also known as the love passage. I love this section because it’s such a rich & deep text. Paul was writing to a church in turmoil. Their problems were numerous, including a man sleeping with his step mother. Just coming off of talking of unity among the body of Christ, Paul goes on to talk about love. I want to focus on this because there’s this idea that “love wins”, dictating not that God is love, rather that love is god; which is turning love into an idol, placing something in God’s rightful place. While love is an aspect of God’s charter we need to remember that God has other, equal attributes (like justice).
1 Corinthians 13:1
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
I read over this and it convicts & humbles me, because it reminds me that I can preach about the differences in doctrines, and supporting verses backing up these doctrines, but if there is not love in me or in what I am preaching I might as well be yelling at a wall or shouting gibberish. This begs the question, what is love & how can I show it and preach, teach & talk?
If God is omniscient, or all knowing (Psalm 139:2-6, Isaiah 40:13-14), then that means he knew that we would one day we would rebel against Him and He loved us so much that He created us anyway. That we would not choose God, rather we would choose to serve ourselves. This would be like getting into a relationship with someone because you love them knowing full well that they would cheat on you, but perusing them anyway.
Through knowing that we would rebel also meant that He would have to create a way for us to be able to come back to Him, that one day He would reconcile us to Himself. To show how great His glory is and how far reaching and all consuming His love is. That one day God would become man, not losing His divinity but adding humanity to Him, to become the God-man, Jesus Christ, becoming the all perfect sacrifice.
He lived the perfect life, in perfect loving communion with the Father at all times; living a sinless life because of this. He lived the life that we should have lived. He took the curse of death & sin upon Himself. That, as Paul says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” That He would be killed & crushed to appease God’s wrath against sin & sinners. He drank that cup, and drank it in full for those whom are His.
He will call us to Him, in His time. He will perform the miracle, or divine intervention, that is the starting work of our salvation. This is the Gospel, the good news, that God would love us enough that He would save some of those who were destined for Hell. That He would take those who would never choose Him, and would give them the gift of salvation & reconciliation to Him.
The way that we can make sure that we preach, teach, sing & talk about love is to do these with the Gospel, or the great outplay of God’s love. To make our lives God centric and focusing on spreading the Gospel in everything we do. How are you spreading the Gospel?
