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Love Never 'Ends
Lesson 14- May 31, 2015
Devotional Reading:
Ephesians 3:14-21.
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13.
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Hosea 6:1- 6.
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Galatians 5:19-26 .
2 Thess. 1:1- 5.
2 Thess. 3:1- 5
Eph. 3:14- 21.
1 Corinthians 13.
Love and the Knowledge of God.
Abounding in Steadfast Love.
Guided by the Spirit.
Increasing Love for One Another.
Love and Steadfastness.
Filled with the Fullness of God.
Love Never Ends.
KEY VERSE: Now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;
and the
of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13.
CENTRAL THOUGHT: Love: The Greatest Gift of All
LESSON OBJECTIVE: To understand Paul's claim of love as the
greatest gift of all
1
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have
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 do not have love, I am
nothing. 3 Ifl give away all my possessions, and ifl hand over my body
so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or
arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable
or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the
truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all thir,gs, hopes all things, endures
all things.
8
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end;
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I have ... If I give ... and if I hand over, " these deeds and possessions are
conditional. Love is the condition, the prime factor enabling effective use
of spiritual gifts. Without love, tongues become no more than noise. Gifts
of prophetic powers, understanding all mysteries and all knowledge, having
all faith, faith to remove mountains availeth nothing without love. The
value of love is finally demonstrated in the closing verse. Giving away all
possessions or sacrificing one's body accomplishes nothing without love.
II. Characteristics of Love: Vv. 4-8a. From the absolute necessity of
love, Paul provides a detailed description of love. He tells us what love is
and what love is not, as he addresses the divisions in the church at Corinth.
His technique involves arriving at what love is by the indirect method of
saying what love is not. But he is also direct and says what love is.
Verse 4 definitively states that love is- patient and kind. Then we
succinctly are told what love is not- envious, boastful, arrogant; and rude.
Next, we are told that love is not irritable or resentful (5). Verse 6 informs
us that love rejoices in truth and not in wrongdoing. Verses 7 and 8a affirm
other deeds of love. It bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. The
final characteristic to speak to the perpetuity oflove indicates that it has no
end. This was the love of God personified in Jesus, the Christ.
III. The Greatest of These Is Love: Vv. 8b-13. How does Paul reach
the conclusion that of faith, hope, and love, love is the greatest? At least
three factors were considered: 1) After his discussion and conclusion
pertaining to the other gifts as being nothing without love, love is given a
prime position. 2) The character of love was reviewed. Its qualities, as
listed, were worthy of emulation. 3) The declaration that love never ends
enhanced the position of love tremendously, as the other gifts had
limitations and restrictions over which they had no control. Prophecies
would end; tongues would cease; and knowledge would be halted. The
third factor emphasizes that the partial will give way to that which is
complete. This becomes a fundamental principle. We see it reflected in
Verse 11 where Paul refers to life experiences. When a child, he spoke,
thought, and reasoned as a child. But, childish things were put away when
he became a man. Seeing in a mirror dimly at one point then seeing face
to face at another, is symbolic of the partial giving away. Having
considered all of these factors, Paul recognized the existence of faith, hope,
and love. Clearly of the three, the greatest is love - to the glory of God!
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God introduced a new kind of love in Christ. This love was unlike the
world had ever seen. Love as practiced and experienced in the GrecoRoman world tended to be of two types: 1) "Eros, " used for love to define
intense physical desires, a wish for a romantic interlude was sexual in
orientation and often had a diminishing carry- over effect. It is interesting
that neither the verb nor noun form of "Eros" is found in the New
Testament Scripture. 2) "Philos" was more of a brotherly, sisterly
affection, a love of father and mother. But "Agape" or God's love in
Christ presented a new understanding and type oflove much different than
"Eros" and "Philos." It was rarely used by secular Greek writers.
However, Agape was widely used in the New Testament text. Agape love
is self-sacrificing, long suffering, redemptive in intent and results. The best
manifestation of this love is reflected in God's love for us in the
incarnation, cruCifixion, resurrection, and second coming of Christ.
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Some realities are difficult to explain and to define. For some people,
the word love is like that. I recall a discussion between a group of
churchmen defining the word love. They had been successful with other
words, but love had them stalled. Finally, one man said, "It may be difficult
to define love, but it is easy to recognize it by the way it acts. " I am not
sure where this man discovered this powerful truth, but the men accepted
it and were led in another direction. Looking at 1 Corinthians 13, the men
began clarifying and defining to their mutual satisfaction what love is.
How deeply in love with Jesus are you? Show, don't tell!
DISCUSSION STARTERS
1. How patient should love be? Explain.
2. What is meant by love bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things?
Are we speaking literally?
3. Going beyond the list of things in the lesson that love is and is not,
make your own list and share it.
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