General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ
Message One Loving the Lord and Loving One Another— the Most Excellent Way for Us to Be Anything and Do Anything for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ
Outline
IV. Love is the most excellent way for us to be anything or do anything for the building up of the church as the organic Body of Christ—12:31b--13:8a:
1 Cor. 12:31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And moreover I show to you a most excellent way.
1 Cor. 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
1 Cor. 13:2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
1 Cor. 13:3 And if I dole out all my possessions to feed others, and if I deliver up my body that I may boast, but do not have love, I profit nothing.
1 Cor. 13:4 Love suffers long. Love is kind; it is not jealous. Love does not brag and is not puffed up;
1 Cor. 13:5 It does not behave unbecomingly and does not seek its own things; it is not provoked and does not take account of evil;
1 Cor. 13:6 It does not rejoice because of unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
1 Cor. 13:7 It covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Cor. 13:8 Love never falls away. But whether prophecies, they will be rendered useless; or tongues, they will cease; or knowledge, it will be rendered useless.
A. The love described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 is the expression of the divine life (vv. 4-8a); furthermore, the fact that love is the fruit of the Spirit indicates that the substance of love must be the Spirit (Gal. 5:22); if we do not have love, our speaking is like that of sounding brass and a clanging cymbal, which give sounds without life (1 Cor. 13:1; 14:1, 3, 4b, 12, 31; 2 Cor. 3:6).
1 Cor. 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
1 Cor. 13:2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
1 Cor. 13:3 And if I dole out all my possessions to feed others, and if I deliver up my body that I may boast, but do not have love, I profit nothing.
1 Cor. 13:4 Love suffers long. Love is kind; it is not jealous. Love does not brag and is not puffed up;
1 Cor. 13:5 It does not behave unbecomingly and does not seek its own things; it is not provoked and does not take account of evil;
1 Cor. 13:6 It does not rejoice because of unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
1 Cor. 13:7 It covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Cor. 13:8 Love never falls away. But whether prophecies, they will be rendered useless; or tongues, they will cease; or knowledge, it will be rendered useless.
1 Cor. 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
1 Cor. 13:10 But when that which is complete comes, that which is in part will be rendered useless.
1 Cor. 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought as a child, I reasoned as a child; since I have become a man, I have done away with childish things.
1 Cor. 13:12 For now we see in a mirror obscurely, but at that time face to face; now I know in part, but at that time I will fully know even as also I was fully known.
1 Cor. 13:13 Now there abide faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Gal. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
1 Cor. 14:1 Pursue love, and desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
1 Cor. 14:3 But he who prophesies speaks building up and encouragement and consolation to men.
1 Cor. 14:4 He who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but he who prophesies builds up the church.
1 Cor. 14:12 So also you, since you are zealous of spirits, seek that you may excel for the building up of the church.
1 Cor. 14:31 For you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged.
2 Cor. 3:6 Who has also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
B. Love is not jealous, is not provoked, does not take account of evil, covers all things, endures all things, survives everything, and is the greatest—1 Cor. 13:4-8, 13.
1 Cor. 13:4 Love suffers long. Love is kind; it is not jealous. Love does not brag and is not puffed up;
1 Cor. 13:5 It does not behave unbecomingly and does not seek its own things; it is not provoked and does not take account of evil;
1 Cor. 13:6 It does not rejoice because of unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
1 Cor. 13:7 It covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Cor. 13:8 Love never falls away. But whether prophecies, they will be rendered useless; or tongues, they will cease; or knowledge, it will be rendered useless.
1 Cor. 13:13 Now there abide faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
C. We should be like God in our love for others, loving people without any discrimination (Matt. 5:43-48); the first one saved by Christ through His crucifixion was not a gentleman, but a criminal, a robber, sentenced to death; this is very meaningful (27:38; Luke 23:42-43).
Matt. 5:43 You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."
Matt. 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,
Matt. 5:45 So that you may become sons of your Father who is in the heavens, because He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
Matt. 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
Matt. 5:47 And if you greet only your brothers, what better thing are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
Matt. 5:48 You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matt. 27:38 At that time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left.
Luke 23:42 And he said, Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.
Luke 23:43 And He said to him, Truly I say to you, Today you shall be with Me in Paradise.
D. The law of the Spirit of life is the law of Christ as the law of love—Rom. 8:2; Gal. 6:2-3.
Rom. 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.
Gal. 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ completely.
Gal. 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
E. The law of love must be substantiated by the law of the Spirit of life so that we may be able to bear one another's burdens (v. 2; Rom. 8:2); but if we are filled with pride, we will be unable to bear others' burdens because we deceive ourselves by thinking that we are something when we are nothing (Gal. 6:3).
Gal. 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ completely.
Rom. 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.
Gal. 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
F. When the law of love is activated within us, we automatically and spontaneously will be shepherds who have the loving and forgiving heart of our Father God and the shepherding and seeking spirit of our Savior Christ—John 21:15-17; Luke 15:3-7.
John 21:15 Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs.
John 21:16 He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep.
John 21:17 He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.
Luke 15:3 And He told them this parable, saying,
Luke 15:4 Which man of you, who has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
Luke 15:5 And when he finds it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luke 15:6 And when he comes into his house, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.
Luke 15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner repenting than over ninety-nine righteous persons who have no need of repentance.
G. When the law of love is activated within us, our labor in the Lord is a labor of love (1 Cor. 15:58; 1 Thes. 1:3) in which we “support the weak” (Acts 20:35) and “sustain the weak” (1 Thes. 5:14); the weak refers to those who are weak either in their spirit or soul or body, or are weak in faith (Rom. 14:1; 15:1).
1 Cor. 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Thes. 1:3 Remembering unceasingly your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father;
Acts 20:35 In all things I have shown you by example that toiling in this way we ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
1 Thes. 5:14 And we exhort you, brothers, Admonish the disorderly, console the fainthearted, sustain the weak, be long-suffering toward all.
Rom. 14:1 Now him who is weak in faith receive, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his considerations.
Rom. 15:1 But we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those who are weak and not to please ourselves.
H. The church life is a life of brotherly love (1 John 4:7-8; 2 John 5-6; John 15:12, 17; Rev. 3:7; Eph. 5:2; cf. Jude 12a), and the Body builds itself up in love (Eph. 4:16).
1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God, and everyone who loves has been begotten of God and knows God.
1 John 4:8 He who does not love has not known God, because God is love.
2 John 5 And now I ask you, lady, not as writing a new commandment to you but that which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.
2 John 6 And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, even as you heard from the beginning, that you walk in love.
John 15:12 This is My commandment, that you love one another even as I have loved you.
John 15:17 These things I command you that you may love one another.
Rev. 3:7 And to the messenger of the church in Philadelphia write: These things says the Holy One, the true One, the One who has the key of David, the One who opens and no one will shut, and shuts and no one opens:
Eph. 5:2 And walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.
Jude 12 These are the hidden reefs in your love feasts, feasting together with you without fear, shepherding themselves; waterless clouds being carried off by winds; autumn trees without fruit, having died twice, rooted up;
Eph. 4:16 Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.
I. “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up”; we may listen to the messages of the ministry and become puffed up with mere knowledge—1 Cor. 8:1b; cf. 2 Cor. 3:6.
1 Cor. 8:1 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
2 Cor. 3:6 Who has also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
J. Our God-given, regenerated spirit is a spirit of love; we need a burning spirit of love to conquer the degradation of today's church—2 Tim. 1:7.
2 Tim. 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and of love and of sobermindedness.
K. As the branches of Christ, the true vine, we need to love one another in order to express the divine life in fruit-bearing—John 15:12-17.
John 15:12 This is My commandment, that you love one another even as I have loved you.
John 15:13 No one has greater love than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:14 You are My friends if you do what I command you.
John 15:15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all the things which I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I set you that you should go forth and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give you.
John 15:17 These things I command you that you may love one another.
Morning Nourishment
1 Cor. 12:31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And moreover I show to you a most excellent way.
13:13 Now there abide faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
2 Tim. 1:7 ...God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and of love and of sobermindedness.
We should be like God in our love for others... If we love only those who love us, we are of the same species as the tax collectors. But we are of the super, divine species, so we love the evil ones, our enemies, as well as the good ones. This shows how God as love prevails.
A proof that our vital group is prevailing is that we love people without any discrimination. Some Christian co-workers may feel that we should let certain persons suffer eternal perdition. They may say that they would not love certain persons, such as bank robbers. But while Christ was being crucified on the cross, two robbers were crucified with Him (Matt. 27:38). One of them said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, Today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (v. 43). The first one saved by Christ through His crucifixion was not a gentleman but a criminal, a robber, sentenced to death. This is very meaningful (CWWL, 1994- 1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” pp. 122-123)
Today’s Reading
The spirit that God has given us is our human spirit regenerated and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This spirit is a spirit of love; hence, it is of power and of sobermindedness (2 Tim. 1:7). We may think that we are very powerful and sober, but our spirit is not of love.
Paul says that we need to fan our gift into flame (v. 6). The main gift that God has given us is our regenerated human spirit with His Spirit, His life, and His nature. We must fan this gift into flame. This means that we have to stir up our spirit so that our spirit will be burning. Romans 12:11 says that we should be burning in spirit...We must have a burning spirit of love, not a burning spirit of authority, which damages. Whatever is mentioned in 2 Timothy is a requirement for us to face the degradation of the church...Under today’s degradation of the church, we all need a spirit of love fanned into flame to be burning in spirit. Love prevails in this way. We need a spirit of love to conquer the degradation of today’s church. We should not say or do anything to threaten people. Instead, we should always say and do things with a spirit of love, which has been fanned into flame. This is what the recovery needs.
The end of 1 Corinthians 12 reveals that love is the most excellent way (v. 31b). How can one be an elder? Love is the most excellent way. How can one be a co-worker? Love is the most excellent way. How do we shepherd people? Love is the most excellent way. Love is the most excellent way for us to prophesy and to teach others. Love is the most excellent way for us to be anything or do anything. Love prevails. We should love everybody, even our enemies. If the co-workers and elders do not love the bad ones, eventually, they will have nothing to do. We must be perfect as our Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48) by loving the evil ones and the good ones without any discrimination. We must be perfect as our Father because we are His sons, His species...The Lord Jesus said that He came to be a Physician, not for the healthy ones but for the sick ones. The Lord said, “Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill” (9:12).
Paul said, “To the weak I became weak that I might gain the weak” (1 Cor. 9:22). That is love. We should not consider that others are weak but we are not. That is not love. Love covers and builds up, so love is the most excellent way for us to be anything and to do anything for the building up of the Body of Christ. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” pp. 124-127)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” msg. 8
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