123 - The Sign of Christians is to Love One Another 2#
123 - The Sign of Christians is to Love One Another 2
(JP Text Group - Happy Angel Compilation)
The topic I am sharing is: The Sign of Christians is to Love One Another, Part Two:
1 Corinthians 13:1-10:
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and 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, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 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. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank You! We seek You because we are in need. Lord, we desire to be loved, so we first receive Your love from You. You want each of us to love one another. Lord, we humbly dedicate the time ahead to You, let Your love fill our hearts, gain strength from Your words, and be able to pass this love on, so that the world may see that we love one another. Lord, bless every brother and sister who seeks You, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen!
The sign of Christians was discussed last time; it is not about holding a Bible or wearing a cross necklace, but rather that loving one another is our sign, Amen! When we love one another, the world will recognize that we are disciples of Christ. If we hate one another, the world will recognize that too. We have a good testimony; people will say this is a believer in Jesus. If everyone carries a cross bag that says 'Immanuel' and fights on the street, others will say, "That is a believer in Jesus."
What kind of testimony do we give to God in front of people is extremely important. From the moment we believe in Jesus, our lives no longer belong to ourselves; we represent Jesus Christ, Amen! Being called Christians means believing in Jesus Christ. What if problems arise? What is the solution to these problems? Many denominations have emerged in the country, attacking one another; the Charismatic movement looks down on the Fundamentalists, and the Fundamentalists attack the Evangelicals. Many factions attack each other, which is not pleasing to God.
Because mutual attacks lead to disunity, Jesus hopes that we are a group of people who love one another in Christ. On the way to the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed for His disciples, praying to the Father for those who follow Him: "Lord, I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but that You protect them and give them a united heart." What does unity mean? It is not just gathering people together; if people are gathered but their hearts are not united, that is not unity. Only when we have the same mind and are wholeheartedly together for the glory of the Lord, that is a united group, Amen! No matter where you gather, the church should hear the words of Jesus Christ, and the pastor should preach to love one another. Thus, wherever we go, we are a united group, Amen!
When we go to other churches, they welcome us because of unity, because they feel you are my brother or sister and are willing to welcome you. The importance of unity is having a heart that loves one another. I have been to many churches, and they have warmly welcomed me. Why is that? It is simple; because you can bring the message of Jesus Christ to that church, Hallelujah! In the message, we are united; the sign of Christians is to love one another, and love can achieve unity, Hallelujah!
1 Corinthians 12 talks about many spiritual gifts. What are spiritual gifts? They include the gifts of prophecy, speaking in tongues, healing, performing miracles, the gift of prophecy, and the gift of discerning spirits. These are all spiritual gifts. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul also tells us how to use these gifts. Chapter 12 tells us what spiritual gifts there are, and chapter 14 tells us how to use these spiritual gifts. In between, there is 1 Corinthians 13, which is the chapter of love.
Many people refer to 1 Corinthians 13 as the chapter of love. Why did Paul have to insert this section in the midst of discussing gifts? Because it is too important. Gifts are good, but if they are not done with love, they can become extremely harmful. Brothers and sisters, remember: if a person does not have love, the greater the gift, the more prideful they become. Paul had great gifts; he could speak in tongues, prophesy, discern spirits, and heal. All kinds of gifts seemed to be in Paul. Paul said: I have a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, so that I would not become conceited because the revelations I received were so great, Amen! This means that the gifts he received from God were immense.
Imagine if there were such a person in our church who could speak in tongues, prophesy, discern spirits, heal, and preach. That would be a good thing for our church. It is definitely a good thing, so I wish that you all have such gifts. However, there is one point: if such a person serves not out of love, they will become a person who divides the church, which is a very scary thing. Why do I say this?
The Corinthian church was a very important church with many gifts. The city where it was located was prosperous, and they had a lot of knowledge. The church was thriving, but there were significant problems within the church. The believers had many gifts, everything we just mentioned.
So many gifts appeared in the Corinthian church, yet it was also one of the most chaotic churches Paul established. Having gifts is a good thing; this church should have been very revived. But it was not like that; the church was very chaotic. Because everyone thought they were great, many conflicts arose. In this situation, Paul wrote a letter to the believers in the Corinthian church, telling them that pursuing gifts is very good. Paul compared gifts with love. Paul said: although we have gifts, there is one thing that is higher than gifts, which is "love." Without love, all gifts become our capital for pride, leading to disputes, judgments, and even becoming a capital for tearing each other down.
The people in the Corinthian church were eager to pursue gifts. Paul, by discussing gifts, told them: If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love. Is this not a comparison with "love"? On earth, we all want to pursue visible material things. For example, houses, money, status, power, but all of these will eventually pass away. They will all become nothing. The last verses read: 'All of this will ultimately come to nothing.' Amen! This world will one day pass away; even non-believers know that the problems in this world are increasing, the environment is deteriorating, and the glaciers in the North and South Poles are melting, causing sea levels to rise. The earth's resources are becoming scarcer, and problems are multiplying. What should we do in this situation?
Our descendants may not be able to survive anymore. God gives us a hope: God says that one day, this world will be rolled up like an old garment. Amen! Why? Because this garment is old, and God will make a new one, and that new one refers to what we call the new heaven and new earth, Amen!
Our hope must not be in this world. Even if you own many houses and cars in this world, where will these things go in a hundred years? They will become nothing. The world does not understand this; they think that having enough is good. They work hard to earn more, and this becomes their goal. Just like the Corinthian church, they desperately pursued gifts, thinking that was great. But Paul told them there is something better, "which is love," Amen! The material things you have in this world will one day become nothing. I just mentioned that gifts include preaching, knowledge, speaking in tongues, prophesying; these gifts will also pass away. They will also cease.
Brothers and sisters, this is why we emphasize in the church that if you are willing, speak in tongues. Because tongues have a time limit. One day, there will be no need to speak anymore. When we see the Lord Jesus, there will be no need to speak in tongues; the kingdom of heaven has its own language. There will be no need to preach anymore; why? Because we will see the Lord Jesus, and He will tell us directly, and I will not need to stand here to preach anymore. Such things will come to an end one day. It is indeed true.
What about knowledge? From childhood, think about how long we have spent learning knowledge in our lives? From a very young age to a lifetime, some people are always learning knowledge. Knowledge will also pass away after we die. Many things people pursue will one day become nothing.
What is everlasting?
1 Corinthians 13: And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Faith: Faith is everlasting, hope is also everlasting, and love is everlasting. Among these three, the greatest is love. If your neighbor is very wealthy, has a large house, and has very luxurious furnishings, is that good for you? Does it relate to you? Not at all. Now suppose your neighbor is very wealthy, has a very luxurious home, and is very loving, often invites you to his home, and says, "Make this your home." This is beneficial to you.
Similarly, a person with love in their heart can bring benefits to others, Amen! Correctly using material things in this world will benefit us and can also benefit others. Likewise, in the church, if we correctly use these gifts and love one another, these gifts will not only benefit us but also benefit others, Amen! Only love never fails. Paul describes himself: I was once a persecutor of the church, but now I have changed; I am different, I am striving.
Philippians 3:12: But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.
Why does Paul say this? If Paul thinks about his past every day, he will not be able to serve. In the past, he persecuted Christians, killed Christians, and did many bad things. But Paul said, I do not look back; I strive toward what is ahead, aiming for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Amen!
Brothers and sisters, I hope each of you does not look back. If something happened yesterday, let it go. You should look at Jesus in your life, Hallelujah! If you focus on the past, on sad things or grievances, we should be like Paul. Although Paul’s past was not good, he said: I strive to forget what is behind and press on toward what is ahead. What was he doing? Paul wanted to use the remaining time and all his energy on one thing, which is the gift of love. Let love govern each of us.
Here Paul tells us that although there are gifts, we must pursue God's love even more, using love to govern these gifts. Only by using love correctly can we love those who are unlovable, regardless of what kind of person they were in the past, or what they did in the past; it does not need to be counted because everything will pass away. If you have an enemy, thinking of them makes your teeth grind. What will happen to that hatred in a hundred years? It will all become nothing. The people we hated when we were young, or those we had grievances with, after twenty years, when we see that person again, is that hatred still there? No, it is gone. You will say, "How could we fight over such trivial matters when we were young?" At that time, we were very immature.
How does God see us? God looks at each of us from eternity. Do our little actions and cleverness count in God's eyes? This is why God does not hold our faults against us. Because God loves us, God is a God full of love; He Himself is love. Because of the existence of love, when He sees our shortcomings, He does not hold them against us. When He sees our sins, He says: "I love you, so I laid your sins on my Son." From that moment on, my justice was satisfied, and I can love you, Amen! "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength." Thank the Lord.
John 13:34-35:
34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.
Loving one another resolves many conflicts in families and between nations. It really is like that, brothers and sisters. If a family loves one another, there will be no conflicts in that family. Why do Chinese people say that the relationship between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law is difficult? Because the personality differences are too great, and many concepts are different, leading to a lack of mutual understanding. You think you are right, and I think I am right; in this situation, conflicts arise, and love for one another is lost.
What does God tell us is the solution to these problems? It is to resolve all conflicts with love. Love can cover a multitude of sins, Amen! Love can cover many wrongs. What does this mean? When your heart is filled with God's love, you will not sin. If we hate one another, many problems will arise, Amen!
We receive God's love from God and give it out, which is beneficial to ourselves, and others will also benefit from us. Doing so can also bring glory to God, Hallelujah! So love is not just words on the tongue; it is practical action. Do not let love remain in words and speech. There must be a concrete action, Amen!
Brothers and sisters, as you listen to the sermon, I can only give you one method: love must be acted upon. If you only listen, it will not have much effect. But if you can act out this love and apply it to those around you, we will benefit ourselves, and those around us will also benefit!
Matthew 6:1-4
1 Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Jesus personally teaches us: Be careful. This is a reminder for us to pay attention. You must be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others. Some people do good deeds for the sake of fame, to let others know. I remember once during a major natural disaster, some people donated money desperately, and those people said, "How much do I need to donate to make the headlines tomorrow?" The answer was a specific amount, and they donated that much.
Brothers and sisters, is this truly a good deed? It is indeed a good deed, but the purpose is different. This is what the Lord Jesus teaches: Do not practice your righteousness in front of others, and the following sentence is very important: "to be seen by them." If we do good deeds and people see them, that is fine; it is a good thing. But it is not to deliberately let people see. Can you understand? "Look at me, look at me, I am doing this," that is showing off.
I once went to a church where they gave me this testimony: Every time someone donated a lot of money, the pastor would say, "Everyone wait a moment; I have an important announcement. Someone has donated money to our church." This person would come forward, take out a large stack of money, and slam it on the table. The pastor would count the money in front of all the brothers and sisters and then say how much this person donated, giving glory to God. Then it would end.
Brothers and sisters, is what Jesus just said the same as what this person did? It is the same; he indeed did a good deed, and this money can indeed help the church, but he "deliberately" let people see. Such good deeds are not remembered by Jesus because "they have received their reward in full." Amen.
A deed done out of love will not do such things. During the Wenchuan earthquake, many people donated money, and then they disappeared. But many Christians stayed behind to help the locals quietly. Do you know? No one knew, but our God knows. This must be done out of love because the bright things have already been done by others. What remains is important; those who do these things quietly are not doing it for fame or profit, but truly because of God's love in them, Hallelujah!
I have many coworkers who are now going to Pakistan, Syria, and other war-torn countries to preach the gospel. No one knows they are there; they will not say, "I am going here or there." No one knows them; they risk their lives every day to preach the gospel, and one careless moment could lead to their death. Their lives are in danger at all times. What is their purpose in doing this? To glorify God, so that those people can receive the gospel, Hallelujah! Without love, who would give up their life to do such things? This is the true love that comes from God. If a Christian does something, they want the whole world to know; such love is actually self-serving.
But Paul tells us to pursue God's love. This love may not be known by people; only God knows it, and the reward is also given by God. Thank God! When we have God's love inside us, this love will have rebuke and some unpleasant words. But the words we should speak out of love, Amen! If we see that brothers and sisters are indeed going astray and not aligning with the Bible, we should remind them. Remember: the purpose of doing this is very important; it is not to attack them, not to humiliate them, but for the sake of loving them. This is what we need to do, Amen!
The entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 tells us this. We need to discern which love does not come from God and which love comes from God. For example, when someone sins, we need to remind them with love. Such love comes from God because it is for our good, Amen! Love is not merely indulgent; indulgence is not love; it is pampering, which ultimately harms them.
I have mentioned the fruit of the Spirit before; the last one is self-control. If you love a person without any self-control, letting them do whatever they want, it will ultimately harm that person. I once heard a story: in a very wealthy family, the mother spoiled her child excessively. The child did whatever he wanted. When the child did something wrong, the father would scold him, and the mother would immediately argue with the father.
As the child grew up, he became reckless and ultimately committed a serious crime and ended up in prison. When he was about to be executed, he made one last request to the judge: to see his mother before he died. When the mother came, he said to her, "Mom, I want to nurse." His mother laughed and said, "You are over twenty years old; what do you want to nurse for?" The child said, "This is my last request before I die." The mother felt very sad that her child was about to die, and after so many years of raising him, she felt grateful. "If you want to nurse, then nurse." The mother let the child nurse, and as a result, the child bit off the mother's nipple. At that moment, the son said, "If you had used your love to stop me when I was very young and told me that this was wrong, I would not have ended up like this."
Brothers and sisters, indulgent love is not necessarily love. If we do things out of love, even if the person may not understand the mistakes pointed out to them, and they humiliate you, it does not matter. You did it out of love. One day, this person will understand, Amen! Love is not merely tolerance; it is not without principles. Love can cover a multitude of sins. Only when we have God's love can we do such things; otherwise, why should we offend others? "You made a mistake; whatever, you will bear the consequences; what does it have to do with me?"
But why do we need to tell them? Because we love them, Amen! Regardless of whether they can understand it now. This is what we, as Christians who love one another, need to do. Always remember, the starting point is because we love them, not to ridicule them, accuse them, or humiliate them; that is not love from God.
The verses we just read mention: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. After writing so much, can we do it? We cannot. Why can't we do it? Because this is the love that Jesus has for us. This is not a definition of love; this is the action principle of love, which must be acted upon.
What is the definition of love? The first letter of John tells us: God loves us, not that we loved God first, but that God loved us first and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. This is God's love; this is the definition of God's love.
This part is not something you can just recite; it is something we must act out with God's power. We cannot do it ourselves; Jesus did it. Brothers and sisters, let me give you a method to understand how to interpret this verse: add "the love of Jesus Christ" in front of "love." This is not our love; it is the love of the Lord Jesus, Amen! The love of Jesus is patient and kind; the love of Jesus does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, the love of Jesus never fails.
Only Jesus can do this. So what should we do? Are we willing to have such a principle of action? Yes, we must first understand that Jesus loves you this way, so you can love others this way. In our church, there are new brothers and sisters who may know nothing about God and do not know how to serve God. They will look at how we do it.
For example, if every time we come to church, we say, "Brothers and sisters, peace in the Lord!" the new brothers and sisters will learn from you. They will also say, "Brothers and sisters, peace in the Lord!" This is a way of love. We see how Jesus did it and then follow Him to do it.
First, you must know how Jesus loves you. The love of Jesus for us is patient, Amen! Only the love of Jesus never fails. This is God's love. The Lord Jesus came to this world, and His love is manifested here. He healed lepers; why did He heal them? Because He loved them and had compassion for them, Amen! Because love has kindness. Why did Jesus talk to the Samaritan woman about the gospel? Because love has kindness; He wanted this woman to benefit.
The whole city knew that the Samaritan woman had a very bad reputation and pointed fingers at her, but the Lord Jesus did not point out her sins. Instead, He told her, "You have received my living water," Amen! Was He not always providing? So this woman was changed. Amen!
Jesus was with tax collectors and sinners at the bottom of society; why? Because He loved them, Hallelujah! Brothers and sisters, do you see? Jesus came to this world to seek and save the lost. He is willing to heal them and be with these poor people, actually because He loves them. This love comes from God; it looks not at the surface but at the true expression of the heart. If there is no love, would you be willing to be with a sick person? There is a saying: "No filial son by the sickbed." Why are there no filial sons? Because their patience and faith have been worn away.
Brothers and sisters, if Jesus Christ did not have this enduring love, He would have slapped us dead long ago. In three and a half years, Jesus gave everything for these disciples, willing to die for them. Who was by His side just before He went to the cross? Was there a disciple? No, they all ran away.
If we do not know this is God's love, we cannot love others. We say, "Lord, so you love me like this." In fact, people with sin in them are not much different. Peter is not much stronger than Judas; they are actually quite similar. But we do not look at the two of them; we look at Jesus' love for them, which is an unchanging love! Amen!
Whatever we do, we must have God's love inside. Start from this love, for the benefit of others. There is a testimony: a sister felt that Jesus was so good after believing in Him. The pastor often said in church that we are God's messengers, and God's love is in us, so we should preach the gospel to those around us. The sister preached the gospel to a married male colleague out of 'love,' and as a result, it led to a broken family. She became the third party. Is this the love of Jesus?
Jesus loves us very much, but did Jesus ever tear a family apart? Did Jesus ever say, "Don't live with your wife anymore; follow me instead"? Seeing this outcome, we know this love certainly did not come from Jesus. The love of Jesus is to benefit others. What was just mentioned is that she was using the banner of Jesus' love to do her selfish things. This love came from within her, not from God's love.
We must first understand how God loves us so that we can love others with the love of Christ. Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:1: If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
The tongues of men refer to local languages. How many local languages can you speak? One, two, three, four, five... that is already quite good. Even if you can speak many local languages, if you do not have love, it is useless.
And the tongues of angels refer to speaking in tongues. There are two types of tongues; one is local languages. For example, during the early church, when Peter and the others received tongues in the upper room and were filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter began to preach, and others were amazed, saying, "How is he speaking in our native language?" This is the tongues of men. Amen!
For example, I do not understand Korean, but when I praise God in Korean during prayer, and someone who happens to be Korean hears me, they might say, "This person is one of us, a Korean," and come over to greet me in Korean. I would say, "What are you saying?" They would say, "You just spoke in Korean." I would say, "I don't know Korean." They would see the power of God. This is one type of tongues. Speaking the language of other countries unintentionally is the tongues of men.
The second type is the tongues of angels. The second type of tongues is a language we do not understand ourselves. For example, some people have a monotonous language, like "dee dee dee," while others might say "la la la." In short, these words are not understood by us; that is the tongues of angels. Even if you do not understand, it does not mean God does not understand. Just know that when you speak this way, it is enough to build up your spirit. Amen! This is a good thing; it is definitely a good thing, and it is beneficial to us. However, if you can speak in tongues but do not have love, it is of no benefit to others; compared to love, speaking in tongues is nothing. This does not mean we should not pursue tongues; that is not the point. The point is that when you have such a gift, you must have God's love inside you even more.
Paul said: If I do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. Striking a gong makes a 'bang' sound, and that sound is the same as the sound of tongues. You might ask, what use are those two sounds? Can the sound of a gong have the sound of love? No, if we speak in tongues without love, it is just as useless as that gong. It has no effect, no benefit.
"If I have the gift of prophecy," this is powerful. I can preach; this is a gift! I have the gift of prophecy; I can speak for God. I can explain the Bible to you clearly. But without love, this gift is of no use, Amen!
Brothers and sisters, some say that pastoring is very simple; you preach four times a month; who cannot do that? It is not like that. If it were so, why are so many people unable to serve? Because there is no love. Just preaching without love is useless; that is being a teacher, not a servant whom God delights in.
Next, it says, "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."
Isn't this ability great? Look, first, "I can fathom all mysteries." Did Solomon have such an ability? He could tell the origins of all things in heaven and earth. Even the dogtail grass on the wall, he could tell you about God's grace. He possessed all kinds of knowledge.
"And if I have a faith that can move mountains." This means his faith is very strong; he believes in God very much. His faith can move mountains. Jesus once praised faith, saying, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move." This person has such faith, which is impressive. But if he has the ability to preach, can fathom all mysteries, has all kinds of knowledge, and has great faith, if he does not have love, he is nothing, Amen!
So in the church, it is not about comparing whose gift is greater or whose knowledge is more or who has been around longer. It is a place to give love. It does not matter how many gifts you have; how much love do you have? The amount of love a person can give out is actually how much they have received from God, Hallelujah! Such gifts are good for us, but using love to operate these gifts is what is truly good.
Chapter 14 continues to discuss the management of various gifts, first using love to manage gifts: "If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast."
Such a person is highly respected in the world. Such a person is impressive; they deserve our respect. "And if I give my body to be burned," actually, Paul is telling a story here;
Giving one's body to be burned, in the original language, means: it can be self-promoting. This is a story from India. An Indian man, after believing in Jesus, wanted to show off. He said to those around him, "You can burn me to death, but after I die, you must write this on my tombstone: This man was burned for Jesus." His purpose was to let future generations know what he did. He saw others being martyred, so he wanted to burn himself. This is close to self-promotion.
In the original language, 'giving my body to be burned' is very close to the word 'self-promotion.' He did this to boast that he is better than you; you died of illness, but I died for Jesus. Can you compare with me?
Without love, it is of no use, Amen! "Without love, it is of no benefit to me." Brothers and sisters, good deeds are good, but not all good deeds come from love. Many people's good intentions have interests behind them. There are motives behind them. This is a very scary thing. But love will definitely produce good intentions. Can you understand this? Good deeds are not necessarily out of love. If someone gives you ten thousand, it is not necessarily out of good intentions. Always remember this. But if it is love, even if that person does not give you a penny, but is willing to help you, that is beneficial to you.
Loving one another will definitely lead to good deeds. All who believe in Jesus are willing to have good intentions. This includes other religions, which say you must do good and be good to others, but the purpose is very important. Other religions are law-based; you must do this. If you do not do it, you will be reincarnated as a cow, a pig, or a duck.
But in Christ, it is different. Because Jesus loves you so much, you should love others in the same way. Is it not different? Because the starting point is from God's love, the motive is love. A motive of love can bring benefits to others, Amen! Thank God!
Love is patient and kind; it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. The original meaning is: Love is patient, love is kind; love does not envy, love is not vain or boastful. This is God's love; this is the love of Jesus Christ.
The meaning of patience is: You love others, but they may not know you love them. Instead, they may hurt you, so you need to have patience. "Love does not envy" means: Do not feel uncomfortable about those who are better than you or those who have more than you. Do not covet what others have. All of this starts from Christ, and love does not envy. To solve this problem is love. God's love can make you not envious. Envy produces bitterness, lies, false testimonies, and schemes to harm others. But when your heart is filled with God's love, the problem of envy will be removed.
Let me tell you a story from the Old Testament: In 1 Kings 21, there was a very famous king of Israel whose wife was Jezebel. This woman was very malicious. King Ahab saw that his vegetable garden next to the palace was too small and wanted to expand it, but the land belonged to a man named Naboth. He discussed with Naboth, "I want to exchange land with you; I will give you more land or money." Naboth said, "No, I can swear to God that this land was left to me by my ancestors; I cannot sell it for any amount." Now King Ahab was very upset; he coveted someone else's land. The more he thought about it, the better he thought Naboth's land was. His malicious wife asked, "What happened, my king?" He told her. His wife said, "No problem; I will make that land yours." Do you know how she did it?
Jezebel called a few thugs to pray with Naboth. During the prayer, she told these two thugs, "When you pray with him, say that Naboth blasphemed God during prayer." They would testify together because the Bible says, "Two witnesses can condemn a person." These two thugs said, "We all heard it; Naboth blasphemed God during prayer." When Jezebel heard this, she said, "Kill him." They killed Naboth, and when he died, the land belonged to Jezebel. Then Jezebel said, "Do not worry, my king; that land is yours." The king was quite happy. Then the prophet came and said, "What have you done?"
Brothers and sisters, is this not due to jealousy? It is actually greed inside; he thought that land was too good; why can’t he have it? If there were love, this situation would not have happened. Because love does not take; love gives, Amen! The church is a place to give love, to receive from God, Amen!
Never look for love from your brothers and sisters; it is hard to find. Do not look for love from those around you; it is hard to find. You must seek it from God. "Love is patient and kind." This is not ours; it is from Jesus Christ. You receive from Jesus, and you must give it out. In the church, we must give love, not seek it from others. Why do you not love me? Why can’t I love you? This is how we should ask ourselves. Thank the Lord!
"Does not do shameful things" refers to not doing shady things. "Does not keep a record of wrongs"; do not always remember the bad side of others. God hopes we can live long in His love. God hopes we can always be joyful. How can we always be joyful? When God's love fills your heart, you can be joyful. Let us think about why the Bible tells us that today you are not under the law but under grace, because grace can bring you joy, but the law will kill your joy.
Brothers and sisters, after you believe in the Lord, you can choose to live in love or to live in hate. You can choose to live in grace or to live under a curse. Of course, you want to live in grace. An important point: The Bible tells us: Love does not do shameful things, does not seek its own benefit, does not keep a record of wrongs. When you keep track of the wrongs others have done, holding onto them for a long time, hate fills your heart. Is that so? Brothers and sisters, it is not that God wants to curse us; it is that we are unwilling to let go of hate, and we curse ourselves.
Some do not understand this and say, "God does not curse us." Yes, God has never cursed you. It is you who curse yourself. When a person’s heart is filled with hate, can they be filled with joy? No, they cannot. Just thinking of that person makes them tremble with anger. Love is absent from them.
Why do I mention this aspect? In love, you can tolerate others and forgive others. In fact, when you forgive others, God's love fills you, and hate is taken away. If you do not forgive them, it is not that God wants to curse you; it is that when you hold onto hate, love becomes ineffective. I wish brothers and sisters would be filled with God's love. You say, "I cannot do it." That is okay. You say, "Lord, I want to forgive them, but I cannot. Please give me strength." Pray like this, and God will surely give you strength.
"Does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth." Evil does not come from God; it comes from the devil. All truth, good deeds, and virtues come from God. When we love the truth, we will certainly possess these virtues and accomplishments, which God will freely give you.
"Always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." This is very important, "always"! Always protects; we can tolerate good things, but when bad things happen to us, it becomes very difficult to tolerate. I read the original meaning of these "always." To protect; it includes several aspects. First, it is like a vast heart that can accommodate others. In the original language, the meaning of "to protect" is a Greek word that has an image.
When they see a word, they think of a picture, and the word for "to protect" is like a huge container that can hold many things. When we think of "always protects," we think of you as a huge container; no matter how much others throw into it, you will not be full. This is the way of protection. The Lord Jesus protects us this way.
The second meaning is to cover others' faults like a roof. Like a roof, covering all faults makes them invisible. The third meaning is to be a shelter and protection for others like a roof.
To protect means not to expose others' issues and to be a protection for others. When you see someone speaking ill of another person in front of you, you should say, "Stop. You should love him." This is protection. You are protecting others. This way, Christians truly love one another. Gossiping will cause many disputes. If we love one another, love can stop these disputes!
"Love never fails." Do not let disputes never cease; let love never cease, Hallelujah! The meaning of never ceasing is: it will never depreciate, it will never fall, it will last longer, it will never fade, it will never perish, it will never stop. In the future, in the kingdom of heaven, there will be no need to preach anymore. When Jesus comes again, will we need to preach? No, because everything will be finished. When Jesus comes again, will we need to prophesy? No, because everything will be revealed. When Jesus comes again, will we need to preach the gospel? No, because everything will be finished.
"Prophecies will cease." They have not ceased yet; the time has not come. When Jesus comes again to end this world, prophecies will no longer be needed.
"The ability to speak in tongues will cease." It has not ceased yet; when Jesus Christ comes again, there will be no need to speak anymore because everything will be finished!
"Knowledge will also pass away." Should we stop learning knowledge now? Do not go to extremes and say that after believing in the Lord, we should not learn knowledge; we should only learn God's word. Do not go to such extremes. Jesus has not come yet! Now we need to learn knowledge; we need to teach our children to study well and to know more about the knowledge of the world. This is necessary; knowledge has not ceased, Amen!
We need to know God's knowledge, which is correct. Paul and Peter had a very different understanding of God's knowledge. Why? Because Paul’s wisdom and knowledge were deeper.
What we know now is limited; our understanding is also limited. What I speak is also limited. But when "the perfect" comes, everything will end. The perfect refers to: when Jesus Christ comes, we will face Him face to face. Amen!
Now many things are unclear to us, which is normal. It is impossible to have a complete understanding of the Bible; it is impossible to fully understand God's matters. We can strive to pursue love, Amen! When Jesus comes again, everything will be clear. What we know now is limited; when Jesus comes, He will give us the unlimited, and we will know everything, just as the Lord knows us, thank God!
I wish brothers and sisters, before Jesus Christ comes, in this last age, can love one another. Having gifts is certainly good, but let love operate your gifts. Having knowledge is certainly good; teach your knowledge to others with love. If you have the gift of preaching, the gift of tongues, the gift of healing, these are all good; use these gifts to love those around you.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank You! Thank You for giving us this "chapter of love," just as Paul hoped that the believers in the Corinthian church would use love to manage and operate these gifts. In our church, many people possess these gifts of the Holy Spirit. I hope my brothers and sisters will use love to operate these gifts and serve one another with love because we are good stewards of God's various gifts.
Lord, let us apply the "principles of love" we know in our lives, receiving love from God and giving love out again. It is not that we love God first, but that God loved us first, so we can love one another. Lord Jesus, You have placed this love in my heart. Let me, this week, rely on the love You give me to act out love. Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Lord Jesus, thank You. You will give me strength, and let us become a group of people who love one another. Glory be to the name of Jesus Christ. Thank and praise the Lord. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen!