The Gifts and the Fruit of the Spirit (Pentecost Sunday)

Please turn in your Bibles to, I was about to say Revelation, but we're not in Revelation.

We're in 1 Corinthians 12, 27 to 14.1.

We're taking a break from our regular series in the book of Revelation

to talk about the Holy Spirit and his gifts,

because today is Pentecost Sunday commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon God's people

after Jesus' ascension.

This was on the 50th day after Easter,

and that's usually when Pentecost is,

but we celebrate it for our purposes, 7th Sunday after Easter, which is Pentecost Sunday.

We're going to read from 1 Corinthians 12, 27 to 14.1.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father,

we thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ,

and for the gift of your Holy Spirit.

Exalt the name of your Son and fill us more with your Spirit as we dive into 1 Corinthians 12, 14.

Teach us how to understand the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit in their proper place

as you teach us in your Word,

so that we might be a church that pursues love and eagerly desires the spiritual gifts.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

If you are able, please stand for the reading of God's Word from 1 Corinthians 12, 27 to 14.1.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it,

and God has appointed in the church first apostles,

second prophets,

third teachers,

then miracles,

then gifts of healing,

helping,

administrating,

and various kinds of tongues.

Are all apostles?

Are all prophets?

Are all teachers?

Do all work miracles?

Do all possess gifts of healing?

Do all speak with tongues?

Do all interpret?

But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,

but have not love,

I'm a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

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 have not love,

I am nothing.

If I give away all I have,

and if I deliver up my body to be burned,

but have not love,

I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind.

Love does not envy or boast.

It is not arrogant or rude.

It does not insist on its own way.

It is not irritable or resentful.

It does not rejoice at wrongdoing,

but rejoices with the truth.

Love bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things,

endures all things.

Love never ends.

As for prophecies,

they will pass away.

As for tongues,

they will cease.

As for knowledge,

it will pass away.

For we know in part,

and we prophesy in part,

but when the perfect comes,

the partial will pass away.

When I was a child,

I spoke like a child.

I thought like a child.

I reasoned like a child.

When I became a man,

I gave up childish ways.

For now,

we see in a mirror dimly,

but then face to face.

Now I know in part,

then I shall know fully,

even as I have been fully known.

So now faith,

hope,

and love abide,

these three.

But the greatest of these

is love.

Pursue love

and earnestly desire

the spiritual gifts,

especially that you may prophesy.

This is God's holy

and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

Amen.

When the Holy Spirit

moved in power

during the first great awakening,

1700s,

the gifts of the Holy Spirit

that was manifested

among the people

was deeply polarizing.

And it divided people

into old lights

and new lights.

And Jonathan Edwards

there kind of emerged

as a bridging force,

someone to bridge

the old lights

and the new lights,

people who denied

the gifts

and saw these

as kind of a

manipulative

and sensationalist

acts

versus people

who saw it

as an essential

and important part

of the life

in the Holy Spirit.

And even today,

the manifestations

of the Spirit of God

and the gifts

of the Spirit

tend to have

that polarizing effect.

On the one hand

are what we call

cessationists

who believe

that the gifts

of the Holy Spirit

have ceased,

that's why cessation,

cessationists,

since the time

of the apostles.

And they often point

to the excesses,

manipulative tactics

and the disorderly practices

of charismatics.

And they accuse

the charismatics

of, quote,

zeal without knowledge

from Romans 10 too.

On the other hand

are the charismatics

who accept

the spiritual gifts

and denounce

what they see

as rigid formality

and spiritual lethargy

of those people

who deny

the spiritual gifts.

And they accuse them

in turn

of these verses,

1 Thessalonians 5,

19 to 20,

of quenching the Spirit

and of despising prophecies.

And our local church

and the denomination

we are part of,

Sovereign Grace Churches,

we believe

that the gifts

of the Holy Spirit

continue

to this day.

That's why we're called

continuationists.

And 1 Corinthians 12 to 14

teaches us

about the purpose

of the gifts

and the priority

of the gifts

so that we can put

the gifts

in their proper place

in our ministry.

And the main point

of this passage

is this,

pursue love

and eagerly desire

the spiritual gifts,

especially those

that build up others.

That's going to be

my main point,

which is almost

word for word,

14.1.

Or in short,

you could say,

chase the fruit

and crave the gifts.

Crave the gifts

of the Spirit

and chase the fruit

of the Spirit.

We're going to first

talk about craving

the gift,

deeply,

earnestly desiring

the gifts.

It says in verse 27

of chapter 12,

now you are

the body of Christ

and individually

members of it.

We are all

part of the

one body

of Christ.

There's only one body.

Christ does not have

multiple bodies

that would be monstrous.

He has one head,

one body,

one church,

the gathering

of his people.

But our unity

in Christ

does not negate

our individuality

because it says

we are individually

members of it.

And Paul is here

summarizing what he has

said up to this point

in chapter 12,

that God has designed

the church to be

an interdependent

body of believers,

not just a jumble

of independent limbs

that have been

put together.

the eye

can look at

a delicious

piece of fruit

all at once,

but the body

is not going

to get full

unless the hand

grabs the fruit

and brings it

to the mouth.

And the hand

can bring as much

fruit as it wants

to the mouth,

but unless the mouth

does its part

and chews it up

and swallows it,

it will bring

no nourishment

to the body.

And the mouth

can chew and swallow

as much food

as it wants,

but if the digestive

tract refuses

to digest it,

then you'll just

get indigestion

and die.

In some way,

you need the

digestive juices

to be able to

bring,

absorb the nutrients

into your body.

If any of those

members of the body

fail,

then you are

destined for

malnutrition

and eventual death.

The church of Christ

likewise,

Paul says,

using that same

analogy,

is an interdependent

body.

Paul restates

that same principle

in a different way

in chapter 12,

verse 7,

to each is given

the manifestation

of the Spirit

for the common

good.

To each is given

to each one

various gifts

for the common

good.

These gifts are

not meant to be

self-serving

or self-promoting,

but others building

for the common

good.

And that means

when a Christian

brother or sister

possesses a gift

that we do not

have,

it's no reason

to be jealous

or envious.

It's reason

to rejoice.

Thank you,

God,

for giving that

brother that gift

because now

that's going to

build me up.

You rejoice

in that.

Because of the

corporate nature

of the church,

a spiritual gift

that is given

to one of us

is given

for all of us.

And you've heard

the motto

of the three

musketeers

used earlier

by Shakespeare,

one for all

and all for one.

Each member

works for the

common good

and the whole

looks out

for the part.

Each member

works for the

common good.

As Paul says

in 1226,

if one member

suffers,

all suffer together.

If one member

is honored,

all rejoice together.

One for all,

all for one.

Then in verse 28,

Paul lists some

of the gifts

that God gives

to the various

members of the church.

And God has appointed

in the church

first apostles,

second prophets,

third teachers,

then miracles,

then gifts of healing,

helping,

administrating,

and various kinds

of tongues.

You can notice

that Paul numbers

the first three

gifts in order,

first,

second,

third,

to set them apart

from the other gifts.

And in doing so,

he also sets out

an order in which

these gifts function.

We see this exact

order of apostles,

prophets,

and teachers

functioning in the

life of the church

in the book of Acts.

As scattered Christians,

evangelized,

and Christian converts

are born in Antioch,

the church in Jerusalem

sends Barnabas

to Antioch

to establish the church

in Acts 11, 22.

And then Barnabas

recruits Paul

to join him

in this church

planting work,

and that's what

we call apostolic

or the word apostle

simply comes from

the Greek word

that means to send.

It's the same word

from which we get,

it's the same meaning

for the word missionary

which comes from

the Latin word

that means to send

or sending.

Nowadays,

when we hear

the word missionary,

we only think of

cross-cultural missionaries,

generally speaking,

or foreign missionaries,

but Paul was not

actually a cross-cultural

missionary

because he ministered

to other Greeks

and to other Greek-speaking

Romans

and to fellow Jews.

And so the Bible

uses the term

apostle or missionary

in a much more broad way

and it's referring

to pioneering

church planting work

in an area

that does not have

gospel witness.

And so after the apostles

are sent evangelize

and establish the church,

it says in Acts 11, 27

that the prophets

came down

from Jerusalem

to Antioch.

First the apostles

and then the prophets

to minister to the church there.

This is what

this is referring to.

This is the sense

in which the church

is built on the foundation

of apostles and prophets,

Christ Jesus himself

being a cornerstone

as it says in Ephesians 2, 20.

And we see that same pattern

repeated later

in Acts 15, 32, 35.

First there's the apostolic work

by Paul and Barnabas

and then it says

in Acts 15, 32,

the church in Jerusalem

sent Barsabbas and Silas

leading men among the brothers

who were themselves prophets

once again

to encourage

and to strengthen them.

First you send the apostles

and then you send the prophets.

So after the apostles

are dispatched

and the prophets

are dispatched

and then

after those prophets

return to their home church,

it says that

in Acts 15, 35,

Paul and Barnabas

remained in Antioch

teaching and preaching

the word of the Lord

with many others also.

So there's teachers

who continue

the ongoing instruction

of the word.

So first apostles,

second prophets,

third teachers.

This is the church

planting timeline

according to the book of Acts.

We see a slightly different

fuller list

in Ephesians 4, 11 to 12

where Paul writes

that God gave the apostles,

the prophets,

the evangelists,

the shepherds and teachers

to equip the saints

for the work of ministry,

for building up

the body of Christ.

I think 1 Corinthians 11, 28

is just an abbreviated

version of that list.

Now a few caveats

for those who are new

to our church.

While we believe

that the gifts

of apostleship

continue to this day,

we don't believe

as a church

that there are

modern day offices

of apostles.

Likewise,

while we believe

that the gift of prophecy

continues to this day,

we don't believe

that the prophets

of today

carry the same authority

as the scripture

prophesying

Old Testament prophets.

I think that's clear

from 2 Peter 3, 2

where Peter exhorts

believers to remember

quote,

the predictions

of the holy prophets,

referring to Old Testament prophets,

and the commandment

of the Lord and Savior

through the apostles.

Peter sees

the New Testament apostles,

not New Testament prophets,

as standing in the tradition

and authority

of the Old Testament prophets.

So I don't have the time

to go into this

in any more detail,

but if you're interested

in learning more

about this distinction

between gifts and offices,

please listen to my sermon

on Ephesians 4,

1 to 16 from 2017.

That's a long time ago.

In 1 Corinthians 12, 28,

Paul sets the gifts

of apostles,

prophets,

and teachers

apart from the others

using these ordinal numbers,

first, second,

and third.

And that's because

these are gifts

that pertain

to the proclamation

of the gospel

and the establishing

of churches.

These are the higher gifts

that Paul mentions

in chapter 12, verse 31,

but earnestly desire

the higher gifts.

This verse has a parallel

in chapter 14, verse 1.

Pursue love

and earnestly desire

the spiritual gifts,

especially that you may prophesy.

In chapter 14,

Paul teaches us

that prophecy

is a higher gift,

especially in comparison

to the gift of tongues,

and he tells us

exactly why in verse 4.

The one who speaks

in the tongue

builds up himself,

but the one who prophesies

builds up the church.

Tongues is a gift

of speaking

in the tongues

of angels,

as Paul says

in chapter 13, verse 1,

in a heavenly language

to God.

The gift of tongues,

apart from the gift

of interpretation

of tongues,

is unintelligible

to the rest of the church

and therefore useless

for edifying the church,

while prophecy

is intelligible,

understandable

for the people

and therefore beneficial

to the church.

Corinthian believers

were unduly impressed

by and unhealthily

obsessed with

the gift of tongues

because they saw it

as a sign

of spiritual arrival.

But Paul flips

their view

on the gifts

on its head.

The gifts are not meant

for self-aggrandizement.

They are meant

for selfless service.

This is precisely

why he lists

the gift of tongues

last on this list

in order to de-emphasize it

for the sake

of the Corinthians.

If you have

the gift of tongues,

this is not to discourage

you from using the gift.

You should pray

for the gift

of interpretation

so that your gift

may be used

for the upbuilding

of the body.

That's what Paul says

in chapter 14, verse 13.

But it is notable here

that in Paul's ordering,

spectacular gifts,

supernatural gifts

like miracles

and gifts of healing

are not first.

And it's also notable

that seemingly ordinary,

natural gifts

like helping

and administrating

are listed before

the gift of tongues,

which is perhaps

the most otherworldly gift.

Why?

It's all about

the purpose

of the gifts

to build up

the church.

One for all,

all for one.

The pertinent question

is not

how supernatural

is my gift

or how special

or spiritual

is my gift.

Rather,

the pertinent question

is how edifying

is my gift

for the church.

God designed

the church

intentionally

to be interdependent.

We see this clearly

in verses 29 to 30.

Are all apostles?

Are all prophets?

Are all teachers?

Do all work miracles?

Do all possess

gifts of healing?

Do all speak with tongues?

Do all interpret?

These verses

reproduce

the same order of gifts

in verse 28,

but he omits

helping

and administrating,

interestingly enough.

I think because

they're less helpful

to the point

that he's trying

to make here.

The gifts

of helping

and administrating

are more

natural gifts,

so it may seem

like everybody

has those gifts

to varying degrees,

though that's not

actually true.

For example,

when I was a young boy,

I saw this motivational

Michael Jordan poster.

I'm sure you guys

have seen this.

He's sticking his tongue out

and dunking the ball

and printed next

to the picture

is this quote.

I've missed more

than 9,000 shots

in my career.

I've lost almost

300 games.

26 times I've been

trusted to take

the game-winning shot

and missed.

I've failed over

and over and over

again in my life

and that is why

I succeed.

You know,

very inspirational,

right?

It motivated me

to practice basketball

really hard

when I was in high school

and to try out

for my high school team.

Many of my friends

were on the team

and I had one thing

going for me

is that the coach

was my history teacher

and I was his

favorite student.

I worked really hard

whenever we ran lines

I was the first.

Anything that required

effort and grit

I was the first.

And then as soon

as we started doing

stuff that required

hand-eye coordination

and actual athleticism

I was last.

And I was mercilessly

cut from the team

by my teacher

and I felt deceived

by Michael Jordan.

Even on my high school

tennis team

I won the most

improved player

back-to-back years

but never the most

valuable player.

No matter how much

I practiced

I could never attain

the level of

physical athleticism

that some people

are just naturally

gifted with.

That's why it's a gift.

I'm not saying

your effort doesn't matter

you can keep trying

but there is a limit.

So even with helping

and administrating

there are people

who are gifted

with them

in a way that

other people aren't

even though it seems

seemingly more natural gift.

But because it doesn't

serve his purposes

that he's trying to illustrate

he leaves that out

because the implied

answer to these

rhetorical questions

are all apostles

are all prophets

do all prophesy

do all speak in tongues

the implied emphatic

answer is no.

No not all our prophets

not all our apostles

not all our teachers

no single person

has all the gifts

because God intended

for us to need each other

and depend on one another.

As Proverbs 18

one says

whoever isolates himself

seeks his own desire

he breaks out

against all sound judgment.

If you isolate yourself

if you declare

your independence

if you go rogue

then you're just

seeking your own

selfish desires.

Your independence

is an expression

of your selfishness

in that case.

And if you do that

you break out

against all sound judgment.

Christian maturity

does not lead

to independence

it leads to interdependence.

Sometimes people

mistakenly think

that a more mature Christian

has nothing to learn

from a less mature Christian

or that an older Christian

has nothing to learn

from a younger Christian.

But if that's the case

what are you going to do

when you're 70

or 80 years old?

Look for a church

that's full of centenarians.

The older and more mature

you get

you ought to grow

in humility

so that you can learn

and benefit from those

who are younger than you.

I think Lance and Shelley

are good examples of this

in our young church.

Yeah.

Yeah.

People in the church

young and old

have different gifts

like different parts

of the body

and therefore

we need each other.

Even someone

who is less mature

than you

in some ways

can be more mature

than you

in other ways.

The person

who lacks the gifts

you have

is going to have

gifts that you lack.

This is by divine design.

1 Corinthians 12 11

all these gifts

are empowered

by one and the same spirit

who apportions

to each one

individually

as he wills.

That's why Paul says

in verse 31

earnestly desire

the higher gifts.

Similarly in 14 1

he says

pursue love

and earnestly desire

the spiritual gifts

especially that you may prophesy.

Why does Paul

consistently use

the language

of earnestly desiring

when it comes

to spiritual gifts?

He doesn't tell us

to pursue the gifts

like he tells us

to pursue love.

The word pursue here

is a Greek word

that means to run after

to chase.

It's the same word

that's used

to describe sometimes

how unbelieving world

persecutes Christians

how they chase Christians.

Chase after

the fruit of the spirit

the love

of God.

But it doesn't use

that word.

That word is

very proactive.

In contrast

earnestly desire

is a very receptive word.

And that's intentional

because it's the spirit

of God

who apportions gifts

to each one

individually

as he wills.

And that means

we can't choose

or demand

or earn

any of these

spiritual gifts.

It's the Holy Spirit's

sovereign prerogative

to distribute his gifts

among whom he wills.

This is the important

distinction between

the fruit of the spirit

and the gifts

of the spirit.

Galatians 5,

22 to 33

lists the fruit

of the spirit

love,

joy,

peace,

patience,

kindness,

goodness,

faithfulness,

gentleness,

and self-control.

And if you pay attention

to that passage closely

you'll recognize

that there's actually

one fruit.

It's not eight fruit

or nine fruits.

It's one fruit.

Fruit in the singular

because all of them

actually comprise

one fruit.

and it's headed

by love

because love

really encompasses

all the fruit

of the Holy Spirit.

Love is the fulfilling

of the law

as it says

in Romans 13,

8 to 10.

For the whole law

is fulfilled

in one word

you shall love

your neighbor

as yourself.

Galatians 5,

14.

The fruit of the spirit

is something

that every Christian

has.

If you're not

bearing the fruit

of the spirit

then you don't

have the spirit

which means

by definition

you are not

a Christian.

Jesus says

in Matthew 7,

16 to 18

you will recognize

them by their fruits.

Are grapes

gathered from

thorn bushes

or figs from thistles?

Just as grapevines

bear grapes

Christians who are

born of the spirit

of God

bear the fruit

of the spirit

to varying degrees.

So you can tell

a Christian apart

by the fruit

that they bear.

But this is very

different from

the spiritual gifts.

Christian theologian

Alistair McGrath

uses a helpful

illustration in his book

I Believe

which is about

the Apostles' Creed.

He says this,

now think of

two fir trees.

One is growing

in a forest.

The other is a

Christmas tree

inside a home

with presents

around its base.

Those presents

have nothing to do

with the tree.

They didn't grow there.

They were placed

there by someone.

They are someone's

gifts

not the natural

fruit of the tree.

Not every fir tree

becomes a Christmas tree

and gets surrounded

by presents.

But that doesn't deny

that they are fir trees.

Spiritual gifts

are gifts.

They are not all

given to everyone.

It is no stigma

to lack

a charisma

that's using

the Greek word

for these spiritual gifts.

A particular

spiritual gift.

This is why

the command

is to earnestly

desire

and not pursue

or hone

the gifts

or practice

the gifts.

Spiritual gifts

are gifts

to be freely received

not rewards

to be earned

or a skill

to be honed.

Sure,

you can grow

in your faith

in stepping out

of your comfort zone

to exercise

those gifts

but you either

have the gift

or you don't.

It's what the Spirit

of God sovereignly gives.

So all you can do

is earnestly desire it

and pray for it

as Paul says

in chapter 14

verse 13.

It's up to God

to decide

whether to give it

to you or not.

That's why

it's well intentioned

but misguided

and unhelpful

that happens

in certain church circles

to teach people

that they can have

get the gift of tongues

by repeating

the word hallelujah

over and over again

really fast.

How many of you guys

had that growing up?

Okay,

a few of you.

You're too embarrassed

to raise your hands.

Yeah.

Because if you do that

fast enough

you start speaking gibberish

and it sounds sometimes

like the gift of tongues.

That's why

it's well intentioned

but misguided

and unhelpful

to teach

that anyone

can quote

activate

their prophetic gift

with some guidance

and training

which a lot of you

hear this a lot

on YouTube

and some books.

I've met plenty

of people

who already had

the gift of prophecy

for example

but had no idea

that they had

the gift of prophecy

because they had

never been taught

and they could

start to use

the gifts

more effectively

because now

they know

what it is.

I've seen that happen

but I've never

seen it happen

that someone

who didn't have

the gift of prophecy

simply hears teaching

about it

and then starts

having gift of prophecy.

Now that's the spirit

of God's prerogative

not something

we activate

or train.

this is why

even though

Christian maturity

is necessarily

marked by growth

in the fruit

of the spirit

it is not

necessarily

marked by

the gifts

of the spirit.

The gifts

are not connected

to spiritual maturity.

The spirit of God

simply gave them

to you

like presents

around the Christmas tree.

This is why

in 1 Corinthians 1

4-7

Paul can give

thanks to God

for the Corinthians

saying because of

the grace of God

that was given

to them in Christ Jesus

so that in every way

they were enriched

in him

in all speech

and all knowledge

so that you are

not lacking

in any gift.

That's what Paul said

about the Corinthians.

This grace of God

they have all speech

all knowledge

these prophetic gifts

they're not lacking

in any gift.

The most gifted church

in the New Testament.

But then later on

in that same letter

to the same people

he says in

chapter 3

verses 1-3

But I brothers

could not address you

as spiritual people

but as people

of the flesh

as infants in Christ.

I fed you with milk

not solid food

for you were not ready

for it

and even now

you are not ready

not yet ready

for you are still

of the flesh

for while there is

jealousy and strife

among you

are you not of the flesh

and behaving only

in a human way?

The Corinthian church

was gifted

but immature.

This is why

sometimes we see

the most gifted

and the most successful

pastors and ministers

fall into sin

and scandal.

They're gifted

but immature.

In fact

the most gifted people

should be especially careful

because people often

mistake giftedness

for maturity

and because you are gifted

they assume

oh yeah

he must be doing fine

spiritually

oh yeah

she must be doing great

spiritually

but that's not

necessarily the case.

Love is the mark

of Christian maturity.

This is why

it's all the more important

that we pursue love

as Paul says

in 14.1

you don't simply

desire

and pray for love

you pursue it

you chase it down

you make use

of the means of grace

that God has given to us

in order to grow

in love

you cultivate

the fruit of the spirit

you crave the gift

but you chase the fruit.

That's why Paul says

in 12.31

but earnestly desire

the higher gifts

and I will show you

a still more excellent way

there's a still more excellent way

than even the higher gifts

that build up the church

and that paves the way

for chapter 13

where Paul teaches about love.

Now I do want to note

well actually I'll mention that later

look at chapter 13 with me.

In order to demonstrate

the priority

and primacy of love

the fruit of the spirit

Paul contrasts it

with several of the spiritual gifts

that he has just mentioned.

He says in verse 1

if I speak in the tongues

of men and of angels

but have not love

I am a noisy gong

or a clanging cymbal.

A noisy gong

or a clanging cymbal

unaccompanied by other instruments

together represent

these harsh discordant sounds.

A cacophony of noise.

You think yourself important

Paul is saying to the Corinthians

because you're speaking in tongues.

If you don't have love

it's all a bunch of meaningless noise.

Paul continues in verse 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 have not love

I am nothing.

Prophecy is a gift

that Paul regularly

tells us to seek.

It's one of the most significant gifts

for building the body of Christ

and yet

even that

you could have all prophetic powers

and mysteries and knowledge

understand all of it

and if you have all faith

so as to remove mountains

notice the contrast

between all, all, all

and nothing.

If you have not love

I am nothing.

In verse 3

Paul goes even beyond

the spiritual gifts

to expound the absolute necessity

of love.

He says

if I give away

all I have

and if I deliver my body

to be burned

but have not love

I gain nothing.

These two phrases

describe

what we might consider

the two of the most

total examples

of self-sacrifice.

The sacrifice

of all our belongings

on the one hand

and sacrifice

of our body itself

on the other.

First

giving away

all I have

refers to giving away

all our possessions

to the poor.

Voluntarily

impoverishing oneself

in order to enrich others.

Similarly

the second expression

refers to a form

of self-sacrifice.

If you have footnotes

in your ESV

it says

that there's

an alternate translation

it says

that if I give up

my body

in order that I may boast

that may be

the accurate translation

if you have NIV

that has that also

but you don't have to worry

about the textual variations

because in the end

the essential meaning

is the same.

If you give up

your own body

for the sake of the Lord

whether that's

in giving your body away

in martyrdom

in serving God

or as some

early Christian writings

have examples of

for example

1st Clement

of Christians

surrendering themselves

to slavery

that with the price

which they receive

for themselves

they might provide

food for others.

Some Christians

in the first century

did this.

They intentionally

enslaved themselves

so that through the money

that they get from that

they can pay for others

who need food.

It's that kind of

self-sacrifice

or even martyrdom

that Paul has in mind.

even the greatest

possible thing

that we can imagine

that a Christian

can do for God

and for the church

is nothing

without love.

If I

I'm never going to

do this

nor can I do this

but if I start

and run

a Fortune 500 company

and give away

billions to charity

but have not love

I am nothing.

If I leave

all my possessions

behind

and go somewhere

to be a missionary

and I plant

hundreds of churches

where previously

there were none

but have not love

I am nothing.

If I grow my church

to thousands

of members

and write books

that land

on the bestseller list

and pack stadiums

full of people

and speak at conferences

to tens of thousands

of people

but have not love

I am nothing.

If I become

a Christian

social media personality

with millions

of subscribers

but have not love

I am nothing.

If I can interpret

all tongues

and have all

prophetic knowledge

so that I am

sought after

globally

as a prophet

but have not love

I am nothing.

Do you get the point?

Do you see

how extreme this is?

Remember that

these are not

bad things.

All of these

are good things.

The spiritual gifts

are good.

Giving to the poor

is good.

Giving away

your life for God

is good

but if you do

any of these things

without love

it's pointless.

So Paul's not saying

pursue love

instead of the gifts

he's not saying

pursue love

and forget about

the gifts

leave it or take it

he says

earnestly desire

the gifts

that's the problem

in some search

church schools

they're like

well a gift

it's too scary

too unpredictable

out of control

forget about it

let's just focus

on these things

but that would also

be unfaithful

to what scripture

teaches

it says

to earnestly

desire

the gifts

so let's not

throw the baby

out with the

bath water

but what he is

saying here

is that instead

is that all

the spiritual gifts

must be pursued

or must be

rather to use

the biblical language

must be used

and desired

in the context

of love

as expressions

of love

love is the context

in which the gifts

are to be used

and if love

is so important

what then is it

Paul describes love

in verse 4

with these two

positive words

love is patient

and kind

these two words

describe love

in its passive form

and its active form

the first word

is patient

it's literally

a combination

of two words

that mean anger

and a long time

it means that

you don't get angry

for a long time

you're patient

it means that

you are long suffering

this is the passive

expression of love

how it responds

to the offenses

and the provocations

of other people

the second word

kind

refers

it's a more active

expression of love

it refers to

doing good

seeking the good

of others

it commonly used

the word is used

to describe the goodness

of God

in scripture

scripture also

describes God's rules

as good

and that God

is good

and does good

and that's what

this word is here

kind

it's the disposition

to do good

to others

even to our enemies

as God does

so if patient

describes the passive

posture of love

kind describes

the active posture

of love

to love then

we could define it

according to 1 Corinthians 13

is to suffer long

and do good

to others

suffer others

for a long time

and do good

to others

are you patient

with others

are you long

suffering

when others

offend you

or hurt you

or do you flare up

quickly

in anger

seeking vengeance

in canceling them

after the two

positive descriptions

of love

as patient

and kind

Paul continues

with what love

is not

he says

love does not

envy

the same word

used earlier

in chapter 3

describe exactly

what the Corinthians

were like

they were characterized

by envy

and rivalry

with each other

envy is a covetous

desire

for something

or someone

that belongs

to another

it means to begrudge

the status

or blessing

of another

and therefore

it's contrary

to love

if we love someone

we delight

in their blessing

we rejoice

with them

when they rejoice

but if we're envious

we begrudge

their good

are you envious

of others

prosperity

blessings

giftedness

status

or position

envy

is a failure

of love

and we are rightly

alarmed

when we start

to feel envy

rising up

in our hearts

I wish I had the time

to go through

all these words

in detail

but I don't have

the time

if you want

to look at those words

in more detail

you can listen

to my sermon

on 1 Corinthians 13

I don't remember

when I preached that

love is not

love does not boast

these are all

related words

love is not arrogant

love is not rude

these are all

these contrasts

a self-oriented

disposition

versus others

oriented disposition

seeing others

regarding others

is more significant

than for ourselves

higher than ourselves

rather than being

self-sufficient

and self-promoting

love does not insist

on its own way

in chapter 10

Paul corrected

the Corinthians

because they were

disregarding the

consciences of others

and insisting

on their own way

and he told them

there to seek

to please others

by seeking out

their interest

and not insisting

on your own way

people who insist

on their own way

they're willful

and stubborn

they don't take

counsel well

they don't take

criticism well

when they are

proven wrong

they are reluctant

to admit fault

they're resistant

to reforming

their ways

even with relation

to God

they're like this

sometimes

those who are

arrogant

they insist

on their own way

when God's doing

what they think

he should be doing

they're really happy

with him

and they praise him

but as soon as

God starts doing

things in their life

they don't like

or they don't think

is the way

things should be

they become bitter

and resentful

which shows

that they were

never submitted

to God

in the first place

and his rule

and his sovereignty

now this doesn't mean

that loving people

necessarily makes

people

pushovers

Jonathan Edwards

mentioned before

17th century

pastor and theologian

writes in his sermon

on 1 Corinthians 13

humility disposes

people to be

of a yielding spirit

to others

ready for the sake

of peace

and to gratify others

to comply in many things

with their inclinations

and to yield

to their judgments

wherein they are not

inconsistent with truth

and holiness

a truly humble person

is inflexible

in nothing

but in the cause

of his Lord

and Master

which is the cause

of truth

and virtue

in this

he is inflexible

because God

and conscience

required

but in things

of lesser moment

and which do not

involve his principles

as a follower

of Christ

and in things

that only concern

his own private interests

he is apt

to yield to others

I think that's what

it means

that we do not

insist on our own way

I've known people

like this

and I hope you have too

because they're

a pleasure to know

they're like lions

when it comes

to the things

of God

and defending it

when it comes

to their personal preferences

they're

they're like a doormat

love is not irritable

not easily provoked

to anger

it's patient

and forbearing

it's not resentful

that literally means

that it does not

count

or reckon

evil

the NIV puts it