Final Call

Well, if the Lord’s people would
make their way back again to that well-worn section in your
Bibles, 1 Corinthians, and specifically to chapter 16. You thought I’d lost my way,
didn’t you? We left off here more than a month ago, and we
are Purposing not only to finish this dynamic epistle, but to
finish well, finish strongly. Some asked me if I was just going
to lop it off there in verse 12 and move on, but as I hope
that you’ll see this morning, there’s not only richness in
the words before us, but even in the words that follow. This
letter, one of Paul’s longest, has been intense in its depth
and wide-ranging in its scope. Paul has only just provided a
deep study of the wonderful and promising doctrine of the resurrection,
chapter 15, but he’s moving on now, finally, to closing this
epistle. And as we have seen, his transition
here back to this final chapter is rather abrupt. It snaps the
reader back to reality. To hear Paul move so quickly
from heavenly glory, which awaits every believer, to such a material
topic as a monetary offering intended to allay hunger in Jerusalem. But that’s exactly what Paul
does. It’s rapid. He suddenly transitions from
the hope of resurrection to the subject of famine relief. And
this Paul addresses in the first four verses. He tells them that
he hopes to be present for the collection of the church’s gift,
but that elicits thoughts not only of his own visit to Corinth,
but Timothy and Apollos’ potential visit as well. In short, we saw
a month ago that he communicates to them that he, Paul, is coming. And that was very much a warning
to the Corinthian church. They had much for which they
needed to get in order before his arrival. Paul is coming. Timothy, on the other hand, Paul’s
timid child in the faith, might come. And that too was a warning
to the Corinthian church. Paul has to admonish them repeatedly. When he comes, please be nice.
And then Apollos. Apollos, their highly favored
shepherd. Remember the one that so many
were throwing adulations and affection toward. They were ready
to divide the church over personality. the personality of Apollos. Well, this had to sting because
Paul says he’ll come in time. He’s not coming now. He is too
distraught over what’s going on in the church of Corinth to
even go there as their shepherd. Sad. And there’s still room in
this letter for Paul’s more personal greetings. They’re at the end
of every one of his letters, but those will have to wait because
Paul has two final admonitions for his beloved church. An exhortation
to readiness, which we’ll see in verses 13 and 14, and an exhortation
to submission in verses 15 through 18. We’ll consider the only the
first of those this morning and just so you get a feel of how
I It’s kind of a strange reading a strange reason to read the
entire chapter, but I want you to get a feel of how dislocated
verses 13 and 14 are they just seem to be dropped in as one
final exhortation to his church. So for that, I want to take the
chapter in its entirety once again, beginning in verse one.
Chapter 16, verse 1, now concerning the collection for the saints,
as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also on the
first day of every week, each one of you is to put aside and
save as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I
come. When I arrive, whomever you may
approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to
Jerusalem, and if it is fitting for me to go also, they will
go with me. But I will come to you after
I go through Macedonia. For I am going through Macedonia,
and perhaps I will stay with you, or even spend the winter,
so that you may send me on my way wherever I may go. For I
do not wish to see you now just in passing, for I hope to remain
with you for some time, if the Lord permits. But I will remain
in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective service
is open to me, and there are many adversaries. Now, if Timothy
comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid. For
he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am. So let no one despise
him, but send him on his way in peace, so that he may come
to me, for I expect him with the brethren. But concerning
Apollos, our brother, I encouraged him greatly to come to you with
the brethren. And it was not at all his desire
to come now. But he will come when he has
opportunity. Be on the alert, stand firm in
the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in
love. Now, I urge you, brethren, you
know the household of Stephanas, that they were the first fruits
of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves for ministry
to the saints, that you be in subjection to such men and to
everyone who helps in the work and labors. I rejoice over the
coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaus, because they have
supplied what was lacking on your part, for they have refreshed
my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men. The churches of Asia greet you.
Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord with the
church that is in their house. All the brethren greet you. Greet
one another with a holy kiss. The greeting is in my own hand,
Paul. If anyone does not love the Lord,
he is to be accursed, Maranatha. The grace of the Lord Jesus be
with you. My love be with you all in Christ
Jesus. Amen. It is not unreasonable
to think of these few short verses in verses 13 and 14 as a summary
of the entire epistle. Indeed, they’ve had many errant
ideas and practices exposed there in Corinth, things for which
they had not been alert. Paul calls them to alertness,
and in great degree, this was a church, a body of believers,
that was vacillating somewhere between genuine faith and doubtful
apostasy. Paul therefore urges them to
stand firm in the faith. We can conclude as well that
this church, not unlike our present-day society, was uninformed and therefore
confused about gender roles in and outside of the church. And
so Paul tells them, act like men. And this was obviously a
rather weak church, susceptible not only to cultural whims, but
especially the devil’s own influence. And Paul tells them, be strong.
But if there is one character quality that the church in Corinth
lacked, it was brotherly love. And so in verses 13 and 14, they
are an apt synopsis of the whole of this epistle. but it is greater
even still. These verses are a short summary
of the entire Christian life, given the trials and temptations
sure to face you and I. Paul gives his final call here
in verses 13 and 14. He’s issuing a final series of
imperatives, exhortations, admonitions, I would call these abiding directives
for the Christian because they’re not just for the church in Corinth.
There’s every bit as much for you and I as well. And so, essentially, a follower
of Christ must, first of all, be spiritually attentive. Would you look back at verse
13? Be on the alert. It’s one word in the Greek, be
on the alert. This word is a military word.
Alertness or watchfulness for the movements or the advance
of the enemy. Be on the alert. But Jesus also
used this word, and he used it plentifully. Jesus used it to
urge his disciples to readiness for his return. Be on the alert,
Jesus warns in such verses as Matthew 24, 42, 25, 13, and others. Even in the parallels, likewise
in Mark and Luke, Jesus also uses the same word to urge the
apostles to a prayerful watchfulness there in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Keep watching and praying, Jesus pleads. Paul here is in no way
speaking exclusively of living with an eye to the Lord’s return.
That’s a matter of fact. We should all do that all the
time, watching and waiting. But Paul uses this same exhortation
to alertness in two other places in his writings, Colossians 4.2
and 1 Thessalonians 5.6. I think I can just communicate
those to you without having you turn there. Colossians 4.2 says
this, devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude
of thanksgiving. A lot of times somebody will
say that they’re praying for me, or I’ll hear somebody suggest
that they’re praying for so-and-so, and I’m often inclined to ask,
exactly how are you praying? For what are you praying? To keep alert in our prayer is
to know exactly. It’s like an arrow to the heart
of whatever it is we’re requesting. Keep alert. in your prayer, Paul
says. And then in 1 Thessalonians 5,
16, here in that passage, Paul cautions the Thessalonian believers
about spiritual darkness, such as we face in our day, in our
land, spiritual darkness, and then he presses them. So then
let us not sleep, as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”
Now, he is not. He is not telling them not to
sleep at night, not to take a nap, as blessed as those are, if you
can do it. He’s not saying that we can’t
physically sleep. What he’s talking about here
is a spiritual slothfulness, a spiritual slumber that just
ignores all that’s going around. Instead, he says, let us be spiritually
alert and sober. And he’s not talking about drunkenness
there. He’s talking about a seriousness
that sees what’s going on in the world and responds in prayer. This then is a spiritual watchfulness,
a watchfulness for the dangers of spiritual error and habit. Think back on the various faults
into which the Corinthians had fallen. Division over personalities. I am of Paul, I am of Apollos,
I am of Peter, and so on. Division over personalities.
They didn’t see it coming. They didn’t see just how destructive
this practice would be. What about affection for the
so-called wisdom of the world? the world thinks that the gospel
is foolishness. And the Thessalonians, or rather
the Corinthians here, had basically begun to buy into the world’s
wisdom. We don’t want to be fools for
Christ, after all. What about this? The acceptance
and an indifference to a grossly sinful practice in their midst,
that a young man had taken his father’s wife, not his mother,
we don’t believe, but he was having an affair with his father’s
wife. They were tolerating it. They
were embracing it. To them, it was just kind of
libertine, a mark of their acceptable acceptance of these practices.
Lawsuits against fellow believers, an abuse of their Christian liberty,
putting their preferences above their brothers and sisters in
Christ. Problems related to marriage,
cozying up to idol worship, And even the Corinthian worship service
was not off limits to their self-centered ways. And it’s a fitting appeal,
this verse, to be on the alert. It’s a fitting appeal, not just
to the Corinthians, but to us as well. Instead, this church
had many errant ideas and practices exposed, things for which they
had not been alert. 1 Corinthians 7. Would you just turn there briefly?
1 Corinthians 7 and scroll down
to verse 29. They thought that this world
was all there was. And so dating and marriage and
all, you know, they thought that this was all there was. Verse
29, but this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened so
that from now on those who have wives should be as though they
have none, and those who weep as though they did not weep,
and those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who
buy as though they did not possess, and those who use the world as
though they did not make full use of it, for the form of this
world is passing away. Did you know that? Do you see
that? They weren’t alert. Would you
turn over to chapter 10? Paul had cautioned them about
their predecessors, the Israelites, and their inclination to grumble
and sin against God at every turn. In verse 12, if you would,
therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does
not fall. You are not above it. You are
really no, qualitatively no better than they. You have need of the
same grace of God that they did. Let him who thinks he stands
take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you,
but such as is common to man. And God is faithful, who will
not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the
temptation will provide a way of escape also that you will
be able to endure. We never have an excuse for sin.
Never. We sin because we wanted to sin. We sin because we weren’t watchful. And so this is a great exhortation
for us to consider. We have to think of it. We have
to be watchful over ourselves, over our habits, over our affections,
what do we love, over our language, over our thought life. We have
to be watchful over our doctrine, what we believe, what we read.
Some people want to think that they can just take up any old
book and read it and somehow be magically protected. because
they’re a Christian. That’s how Christians are led
astray. What we expose ourselves to for spiritual instruction
is a very delicate subject. We have to be watchful over our
prayer life, Philippians 4.2. We have to be watchful over one
another. We have to watch sinful tendencies
developing and lovingly come alongside and confront our brothers
in sin. We have to be watchful over our
weaknesses, and as my Puritan brother John Brown said, we have
to be watchful over our strengths. We tend to be proud in our strengths
and think that we are beyond stumbling like Peter did. We
have to be watchful over evil, savage wolves as Paul calls them
in Acts chapter 20, false teaching, error. We have to be watchful
over trends in the church and in our society. We have to be
watchful. The opposite of that is a careless
naivete, to which Paul also cautions.
Listen to this, 1 Corinthians 15, do not be deceived. Bad company
corrupts good morals, remember that? Become sober-minded as
you ought and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God.
I speak this to your shame. If we just naively proceed on,
carelessly wandering about, accepting every idea and thought that comes
along, We will be devoured. Listen to
1 Peter. 1 Peter 5, 8 says, be of sober
spirit, be on the alert. Why? Your adversary, the devil,
prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. He’s
out there. He’s lurking. He’s watching. He wants to isolate. He wants to watch for someone
who’s weak. He wants to watch for someone
who’s discouraged. He wants to capture them and
devour them whole. And these abiding directives
for the Christian, a follower of Christ, must first of all
be spiritually attentive. He must be vigilant. Second of
all, a follower of Christ must be spiritually resolute, firm,
committed in their Christianity. Look at verse 13 again, be on
the alert, stand firm in the faith. In addition to their naive
carelessness, which resulted in their imbibing and adopting
so many dishonorable ideas and practices, they were also very
capricious, just kind of whimsically given to change. And so this
exhortation naturally blends with the previous. They heard
the truth. They acted upon it. and then
they soon began to waver. As a result, they vacillated
between a vibrant faith at one moment and being drawn right
back into the world at the next. This tendency Paul addressed
by his admonition, stand firm, know what you believe, and do
not be moved. And Paul leaves no room for misunderstanding
his particular concern. It was their faith. It was their
Christian faith, the Christian faith that hung in the balance.
They were wavering with regard to the most basic element of
Christianity, their faith. Paul used this very word when
he sought to call the Galatians. Remember the Galatians? Who were
ready to cash it all in in order to import works into justification
by faith, into salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. Paul used
this very word. when he saw the Galatians wanting
to add works of the law back into the equation of salvation.
Galatians 5.1, listen to this. Paul says it was for freedom
that Christ set us free. Therefore, keep standing. Keep standing firm and do not
be subject again to the yoke of slavery. Do you know it hasn’t
even been two years since members of this church capitulated into,
remember this, those of you who are here, Eastern Orthodox faith. You know what they did? They
turned their back on the whole doctrine of justification by
faith, and just like the Galatians, went right back into justification
by works. Paul says, don’t do that. Stand
firm. Stand firm on the convictions
that you have by which you’ve been saved. So it’s spiritual
steadfastness that Paul urges here. And this steadfastness
is not, as one put it, not like a dead post driven into the ground,
but a living tree that fixes its roots ever deeper into the
soil. We are steadfast in our faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. We will not be moved. This is
a vibrant living faith that grows in confidence in one’s convictions. This kind of spiritual steadfastness
was Paul’s great hope for all of his churches. Listen to Philippians
127. Only conduct yourselves in a
manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come
to see you or remain absent, I will hear that you are standing
firm in one’s spirit. with one mind striving together
for the faith of the gospel. He wanted his people to be steadfast. Again in 4.1 of the same book,
Philippians 4.1, therefore my beloved whom I long to see, my
joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. What a joy it would be for Paul
and his fellow workers if he were to hear of the faithful
perseverance of his believing church members, to the Thessalonians,
1 Thessalonians 3.8, now we really live. If you stand firm in the
Lord, you can hear the enthusiasm in his voice. And yet a final
admonition to them in that same epistle, in the second epistle
rather, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were
taught. Even with their great track record,
he knew they had a history or they had the potential to wander
away. Paul didn’t want them to be,
as he put it to the Ephesians, carried about by every wind of
doctrine. We count that in pride. We count
that as noble. We count that as scholarship.
It’s foolishness, Paul says. You’re playing with fire. It often begins by yearning for
something new, something novel, something different, And it usually
comes from some flash-in-the-pan personality who’s here for a
while and gone soon. Dabbling in error would ultimately
lead to uncertainty and doubting. So this standing firm, standing
firm is standing firm in the faith that you placed in the
Lord Jesus Christ, in his gospel, that he died for your sin. And
you believe it, and you’ve placed your faith in it, and your faith
will not be moved. There’s the third. The follower
of Christ must not only be spiritually attentive and spiritually resolute,
he must be spiritually valiant. It’s a great, great word here.
He must be spiritually valiant, courageous. Now watch what happens. Buckle up here. Act like men. Now, give me a minute. We can
conclude as well that this church, not unlike our present day society,
was uninformed and confused about gender roles both in and outside
of the church, and so Paul tells them to act like men. Now, the translation here, act
like men, somewhat obscures the original a bit. Literally, it
says, be men. But given the strange confusion
of our day, I don’t want any of you ladies to take that too
literally. We’ve all observed women with
questionable moral inclinations to watch how they conduct themselves
deepening their voice, their haircuts, their clothes, a backward-facing
baseball cap so that they look just as much a stud as the other
shortstop. It’s the whole bit. They are emulating what they’ve
seen men do. And so acting like men in that
sense is not what Paul is talking about here. Ladies, he is not
telling you to act like a man. I suppose the question is, is
Paul speaking exclusively to men here in this passage? That would certainly simplify
things. What does it mean to be a man?
Genesis 3 points to leadership. It points to work, hard work,
providing. It points to service to his bride. It points to courage and bravery
and boldness and tenacity. When we hear the more modern
version of this appeal, man up. We know, or at least we used
to know, what that means, don’t we? Be brave. Be bold, be courageous. And in order to be more direct,
many translations just said that. Listen to this. The Good News
translation translates be men as be brave. The New Century
version, have courage. The NIV, be men of courage. You see, they wanted to blend
it all together. The New King James, be brave.
The New Living Translation, be courageous. You get the point. I think that courage and bravery
and the like are behind what Paul says here. But literally
speaking, he just says, be men. He assumes that that’s what men
are supposed to be. And what is urged is what one
called a Christian manliness. We lack that in our day. The
Corinthians lack that in their church. And given the situation
in the Corinthian church, we can now better grasp Paul’s exhortation
here. The men were not acting like
men. They were acting like a bunch
of little boys, frankly. Choosing sides, quibbling amongst
themselves, swayed by the world, demanding their own way, taunting
others with their own God-given gifts. They were behaving like
a bunch of schoolyard boys, not men. I mean, listen to the way that
Paul speaks to this very church. If you wanna turn, go ahead and
turn, we have all kinds of time. I’m on point two. Three. I’m in trouble already. 1 Corinthians 3 verses 1 and
2. And I, brethren, could not speak
to you as spiritual men, but as men of flesh, as two infants
in Christ. You’re a bunch of schoolyard
boys, toddlers. I gave you milk to drink, not
solid food, for you are not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even
now you are not yet able. And this idea is sustained throughout
the epistle. You’re like a bunch of little
boys. Turn to 1 Corinthians 14. Let
me for sake of time. 1420 says this, brethren, do
not be children in your thinking. And he’s speaking very much to
the women as well. Do not be children in your thinking,
yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. He calls
them all to grow up. Back, if you would, to chapter
16. And so Paul says to a church
full of men, thinking and behaving like little boys, be men. But beyond that, what lay ahead
of the Corinthians as a church called for serious and yes, seriousness
and courage. The world was pressing in on
the church and the fires of persecution were literally being stoked.
There was a real potential of trouble ahead, and in that sense,
Paul’s exhortation is right in line with many other biblical
exhortations. Listen to this. The Lord, speaking
to Moses, Deuteronomy 31.6, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or tremble at
them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He
will not fail or forsake you. Moses, speaking to Joshua, Deuteronomy
31.23, Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the sons
of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and I will be
with you. Joshua 1.6, where did Joshua
get this idea? From Moses. Where did Moses get
this idea? From God himself. Joshua 1.6,
be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession
of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Psalm
31, 24 of David. Psalm of David says, be strong
and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord.
This isn’t just a man thing. I’ll tell you what this verse
brings to mind for me. There’s a famous account recorded
in Fox’s Book of Martyrs. If you have never read it, you’re
overdue. It is an eye-opening, earth-shaking
book because he literally chronicles the martyrdom of the church through
the centuries. One particular account about
two early reformers in England, servants of the Lord, Hugh Latimer
and Nicholas Ridley. They had the difficult calling
in God’s providence to be pastors during the reign of infamous
Queen Mary Tudor. Known better as Bloody Mary,
a Roman Catholic. Now at first, Ridley was merely
harassed by her, but eventually he was arrested and imprisoned
in the Tower of London. Latimer soon joined him there,
and both men were given the opportunity to recant of their reformed ideas,
justification by faith. Both of them refused to recant. Both were sentenced to death
by burning. And as the execution began to
play out that morning, fire was set to the wood around Ridley
first. And Latimer now famously cried
out, be of good cheer, Ridley, and play the man. Be of good
cheer, Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day, by God’s grace,
light up such a candle in England as I trust will never be put
out. Play the man. Man up. Or as Paul says it, be men. There’s
a fourth. The follower of Christ must be
attentive and resolute and valiant and robust. You see that again
in verse 13, be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act
like men, be strong. And this exhortation, be strong,
very plainly goes hand in hand with the previous. It’s one thing
to have great courage, quite another to have the spiritual
and physical strength to exercise such courage. Because of the
extremely challenging circumstances that were surely coming to the
Corinthian church, More than courage was needed, strength
was needed. But Paul here isn’t just referring
to manly strength. Corinth, as we’ve seen, was a
weak church. It was given to cultural whims
and led astray by the devil. And so it’s no wonder that Paul
tells them to be strong, but Paul isn’t urging human strength
of them. acquire human strength by hitting
the gym, the weights, and so forth. This is subtle, but the
verb here, according to Greek grammar, it’s in the passive
voice. This isn’t something we do ourselves.
It literally is, be made strong. You pray for the grace, but it’s
God that will do the work. We’re made strong by the Lord,
and undoubtedly, it is spiritual strength that Paul is urging.
This is not the strength of human effort. Paul prayed for this
for the Ephesian church, Ephesians 3.16, that they would be strengthened
with power through his spirit in the inner man. What a great
prayer request. I’ll pray that for you. If there’s
one thing I’d ask for you, pray that for me. Be strengthened
with power through His Spirit in the inner man. As Paul says
it later at the end of that epistle, 610, finally be strong in the
Lord and in the strength of His might. Don’t try to stand in
this world in your own strength. You’re a casualty before the
war has even begun. To the Colossian believers, Paul
wrote that he prayed for them specifically, that they would
be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might
for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience. You like patience? Ask the Lord to give you strength. And so when Paul employs these
four imperatives, commands in this verse, he’s speaking straightforwardly
to the sinful tendencies that he’s addressed throughout this
letter. Reckless and carelessness, petty
selfishness, downright childishness, and the moral weakness of the
church. But there’s still one last exhortation
that Paul has to give, and this one covers them all. A follower
of Christ must be spiritually attentive, resolute, valiant,
robust, and affectionate. Would you look at verse 14? We’ll
take it in full. Be on the alert, stand firm in
the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in
love. If there’s one character quality
that the church in Corinth lacked, it was brotherly love. Sad. Now we tend to think of Paul
as a doctrine guy, right? Kind of stoic, sitting up in
an ivory tower just telling us what right things to believe.
Paul was sold out to biblical doctrine, that’s absolutely true,
Paul was that, but he was also zealously committed that believers
live out their Christian lives in a loving manner. You see,
Paul knew the Lord’s words, John 13, 35, by this, this love, all
men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for
one another. And so it became a hallmark of
his epistles. In almost every one of his epistles,
he addresses this need of doing what we do in the sphere of love. Ephesians 5.2, walk in love. Just as Christ loved you and
gave himself up for us, walk in love. Let everything you do
be done in love. Galatians 5.13, you were called
to freedom. Do not turn your freedom into
an opportunity of the flesh, but through love, serve one another. Romans 13.10, love does no wrong
to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment
of the law. Romans 1.29, let love be without
hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to
what is good. Ephesians 3.17, You are rooted
and grounded in love. Ephesians 4, 2, with all humility
and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another
in love. Love drives everything, and love,
love between the brothers and sisters in Christ, is the calling
card to the world. If they don’t see that we love
one another, what do they want of Christianity? Even in this letter, Paul often
drops lessons on love to the Corinthians. Unmistakably, Paul
is not only addressing the Corinthians’ lack of love, but he frequently
extols the virtues of Christian love. 1 Corinthians 8, 1. Concerning a thing sacrificed
to idols, knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. What a take
home that is. Knowledge makes arrogance. Love
edifies. Only love upbuilds my brothers
and sisters in Christ. First Corinthians 14, pursue
love, which means we do not now have it. Pursue love, earnestly
desire spiritually gifts. There’s nothing wrong with desiring
an additional spiritual gift, but we have to pursue love. But the more prominent feature
of this epistle was Paul’s exposure of the dearth of real brotherly
love in the church in Corinth. Why would anyone want to go there? Listen to this. The absence of
love was very evident in the development of those factions,
and Paul addresses it head on. I figuratively applied to myself
and Apollos for your sake so that in us you may learn not
to exceed what is written so that no one of you will become
arrogant in behalf of one against the other.” There was pride. Pride distilling through the
church because of what camp they were in. How ridiculous is that?
The absence of love was evident also in their treatment of one
another in the institution of marriage. Remember, men were
being harsh toward their wives. Wives were deciding to divorce
their husbands. The absence of love was evident
when they would drag a brother into court. Paul addresses this
head on. Does any one of you, when he
has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the
unrighteous and not before the saints? How unloving is that? Paul, draws conclusion on this
and gives his opinion at the end, why not rather be wronged?
Why not love your brother enough to let him have whatever it is
you’re quibbling over? On the contrary, you yourselves
wrong and defraud, and this even to your brethren, who Paul implies
you ought to love. The absence of love was prevalent
The absence of love was evident when they put meat offered to
idols above their brother’s conscience. I don’t care what he thinks of
my, this is my, this is my liberty. I have freedom in Christ to eat
whatever I want to eat. The absence of love was evident
when they flaunted their own particular spiritual gift, so
that 1 Corinthians 12, 21, Paul summarizes, the eye cannot say
to the hand, I have no need of you. When Paul says that, he’s
implying that that’s the way people were functioning, as if
they didn’t need one another. I can take care of this church
on my own. The absence of love was evident when they rudely
gorged themselves at the so-called love feast while their brothers
went hungry. First Corinthians 11, in your
eating, each one takes his own supper first. One is hungry and
another is drunk. Do you despise the church? Do
you hate God’s church? Do you hate the people of this
church? These examples and so many more
reveal a very problematic lack of love in the Corinthian church.
So absent was this most precious commodity of love that Paul was
led to write, remember, an entire chapter on love, chapter 13. Listen just to a few verses from
there, 1 Corinthians 13, verse one, if I speak with the tongues
of men and angels but do not have love, I’m a noisy gong or
a clanging cymbal. If I do not have love, I am nothing,
verse two. If I do not have love, it profits
me nothing. Verse three. First Corinthians three, a summary
statement, love never fails. True Christian love does not
quit. In the middle of that great chapter
now, faith, hope and love abide these three. All great qualities,
great Christian qualities, but the greatest of these, Paul says,
is love. Paul isn’t even charging them with doing what they do
with love. He says it even more forcefully
here, and I want you to notice this in closing. Everything they
do is supposed to be done in the realm of love. In love, Paul
says. This is a favorite device of
Paul’s, where both the doer and the recipient are found in the
same sphere of God’s influence. It’s the church. Ephesians 4.2, Paul said it,
showing tolerance for one another in love. Ephesians 4.15, speaking
the truth to one another in love. Ephesians 5.2, walk in love. Love is supposed to be the sphere
in which the Christian operates. And if his fellow brother or
sister in Christ is in that sphere too. It makes love easy. What does it mean to do something
in love? It means to be others oriented,
to think of them first, to put them first, to do what we do
on their behalf with excellence, to do what we do on their behalf
for their edification, not our own. And when Paul says, let
all that you do be done in love, he means everything. Serving
others, leading others, confronting others, counseling others, modeling
to others. Everything that we do is supposed
to be done in love and to God’s glory. What a great verse to
examine ourselves before we go to the Lord’s table. Let’s do
that in prayer.