|
1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTERS 13
See
previous page
1Cor 13,1-13
· (110l) Thy kingdom come Ø
Spirit and the word Ø Spiritual substance and
truth Ø Spiritual substance follows the truth – Love is not something you can actually put
into words. Paul made an attempt, giving us two examples, saying love is
patient and kind. All he could say is that it is associated with the fruits of
the spirit, described in Galatians chapter 5. Love is also a fruit of the
spirit, at the top of the list, indicating that all the other fruits are
embedded in the one, love. So it appears that we cannot even enjoy “Joy”
without love, or any of the fruits of the spirit. There are nine fruits,
though he only mentions two, suggesting that if we display the others in
our flesh, then we will have demonstrated love. Since love seems so difficult
to define and so pervasive, being the foundation for both the gifts and the
fruits of the spirit, it gives rise to the possibility that love is in some
way related to the spirit realm. Spiritual entities exhibit these same
characteristics, being pervasive throughout the human experience and
impervious to definition. Love is a spiritual state of being; it is
indescribable because it is a spiritual entity, and we draw a blank whenever
we try to understand the meaning of love, since all we really know is our
flesh. It is similar to operating a computer. We click the mouse and push the
buttons, but we don’t really understand the inner workings of the machine we
are operating. It is the same way when we walk in love. We often receive a
huge response from the smallest acts of love. Why? We are demonstrating the
kingdom of heaven. We have been taught all our lives that love is an action.
It ultimately is manifested as an action, but love itself is not an action,
but a spiritual substance that originates from heaven, being one of the few
things the world is willing to accept from God. The best definition of love is
that it is the substance of the anointing. This explains why love is
indescribable; no one is able to describe the anointing either. God has given
us various levers of the anointing in the gifts of the spirit, but without the
substance of the anointing (love), these levers don’t work.
· (233d) Kingdom of God Ø
Pursuing the kingdom Ø Seeking the kingdom Ø
Seeking the goals of the kingdom Ø Seek the
goal of love
1Cor 13,1-8
· (88e) Thy kingdom come Ø
Faith produces works Ø The function of works in
faith Ø Faith doesn’t move men until it is
manifested in the spiritual realm
· (230k) Kingdom of God Ø
God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø Mystery
of godliness Ø Solving the mystery of godliness
Ø The love of Christ is the mystery of
godliness -- These verses go with verse 13. The world would like to believe they are
free because their government and their military says so, but Jesus says
otherwise if they don’t believe His word. The world abuses their own concept
of freedom, spending it on their pleasures like the prodigal son until they
use it up, and they fall back into slavery to another nation’s version of
freedom, perpetuating the cycle of man’s truth, which is twisted beyond
hope. God does not want His people to enter this cycle. He wants us to know
the truth that we may be free indeed, and to remain free. If we are going to
be slaves He would rather we become slaves of our freedom in order to avoid
the bondage of sin, for in an environment of sin love cannot flourish. This
proves that the world does not know God or His freedom, and for this reason
they do not have the love of God abiding in them. Now you know why it is so
hard to define love. It is like trying to describe the importance of water to
the natural sciences; it is the very cornerstone to all living things! How
much more is love the cornerstone of our faith in God and our interpersonal
relationships?
1Cor 13,1-3
· (63e) Paradox Ø
Anomalies Ø Sarcasm Ø
Exaggerate the truth to make a point
· (160b) Works of the devil Ø
Essential characteristics Ø Counterfeit God Ø
Counterfeit spirit
· (168b) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø Do not conform to the world’s
version of love – The world's version of love is devoid of
substance. I can make the ultimate sacrifice of my life for whatever cause,
whether it be for good or for evil doesn’t matter, if I have no love it
profits me nothing. My sacrifice might help others; I could run into a burning
house and free a child from fallen debris to be trapped myself and die in the
flames, but if I have no love, I don’t know God; I am denied heaven, and the
flames continue. How has my sacrifice profited me? If I were rich I could
sacrifice millions of dollars and donate it to a good cause, that money will
probably benefit others, but without love I will not be able to appreciate or
enjoy the blessing I have bestowed upon them or internalize what I have done.
Without love I have no positive emotion; such a condition of the heart belongs
to a monster. There are those who for their own reasons have turned the other
way and developed an appreciation for life without love. Such people are dead
inside. We experience many things through life, but love is the experience
that makes all other experiences worthwhile. The experience is not the
million-dollar gift, or the gift of prophecy or of tongues, or the ability to
solve any and all mysteries, or to have all knowledge and all faith so as to
remove mountains. We may be able to perform them, as one gives a performance
on stage in a play, but none of these are the experience. We experience life
through love, for without love we can experience nothing. Paul didn’t say we
cannot do these things without love, he implied that we cannot assign value to
our own experiences. Without love our lives do not belong to us; our daily
activities dance in the darkness for no one. In other words I am the one who
suffers the most if I have no love in my heart.
· (171g) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø Outward
appearance Ø Decorating the outside to simulate
the inside Ø Playing the part to be accepted by
God – Maybe you can perform diverse miracles and
articulate the great and awesome oracle of God, and maybe you can answer some
of the deepest questions that man has ever asked, and even change people’s
lives in a positive way, but if you have no love, then you personally are
nothing. If you want your service and ministry to be effective and mean
something to God, then you must incorporate love as the basis of your identity
and of all you do as a person, otherwise your life is in vain.
· (173h) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø Catholicism Ø
Unholy sacrifice Ø Offering sacrifice without
God’s approval Ø Sacrifice against the way of
God
· (176h) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø Zeal without
knowledge (Spirit w/o the word) Ø Resolution
without relationship
· (196i) Denying Christ Ø
Man exercises his will against God Ø Spiritual
laziness Ø Replacing God’s standard of
excellence with yours Ø Lukewarm Christianity
· (248h) Priorities Ø
God’ s preeminence Ø Values Ø
Valuing God Ø Knowing God is more important
than serving Him
1Cor 13-1
· (85b) Thy kingdom come Ø
Your words can lead to your own demise Ø How
can you, being evil, speak what is good? – Paul said that if we have the gift of
tongues, but do not have love, it is nothing. So what is Paul saying, that the
gifts are nothing? No, he is saying that the gifts must flow from a spiritual
environment of love. This highly suggests that if our hearts are not founded
on love, then the gifts of the spirit will be ineffective, and probably
dangerous. Without love the gifts of the spirit will turn from a blessing to a
curse, for where they were once tools to build up the body of Christ, now they
are weapons that cause division.
· (95e) Thy kingdom come Ø
Positive attitude Ø Speaking in tongues Ø
Tongues are a form of prayer -- This verse goes with verse
8
· (124d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Love Ø
Acts of love Ø Love is one of the fruits of the
Spirit
1Cor 13-2
· (71b) Authority Ø
Believer’s authority Ø We have authority in
the wisdom of God
· (124m) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Love is the action of
faith Ø Love is the motive of faith --
This verse goes with verses 8-13
· (152i) Witness Ø
Validity of the Father Ø Witnesses of the
father Ø Prophets Ø
The church holds the position of a prophet Ø
Church operates under a prophetic anointing -- This verse goes with
verses 8&9
1Cor 13,3-7
· (124b) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Love Ø
Acts of love Ø Love takes from the rich and
gives to the poor Ø love is the act of giving
to the poor
1Cor 13,3-5
· (34l) Gift of God Ø
Be generous like your Father Ø Give to your
brother
1Cor 13-3
· (23e) Sin Ø
Poverty (Oppression) Ø Poor are those who are
rich in their own minds
· (235c) Kingdom of God Ø
Pursuing the kingdom Ø Invest in the kingdom Ø
Tithing Ø Be faithful in your tithes Ø
Unfaithfulness nullifies your tithe
· (252j) Trinity Ø
You shall put no other gods before Me Ø Worship
God Ø Worship God by your lifestyle
1Cor 13,4-8
· (6g) Responsibility Ø
Being spiritual Ø Ministering to God by dying
to self –
In this mortal body we naturally dwell more on selfishness
than we do on helping meet the needs of others. Therefore, dying to self is an intrinsic part of
loving someone. Our personal interests get in the way of caring for others, so
we must first remove the obstacle of ourselves engrained in our flesh
before we can focus our attention on other people's needs.
· (41j) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Be like Jesus Ø
Be godly toward one another
· (42g) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Transformation Ø
Conform to the Love of Christ
· (64h) Paradox Ø
Anomalies Ø Weaknesses of God Ø
God subjects himself to human frailty Ø His
weakness is stronger than men
· (156d) Witness Ø
Validity of the believer Ø Evidence of
salvation Ø Loving your brother is evidence of
salvation
· (244l) Kingdom of God Ø
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm Ø
Literal manifestations Ø Literal manifestation
of God’s word Ø Love is the manifestation of
truth -- These verses go with verse 13
· (250k) Priorities Ø
God’s prerequisites Ø Lists Ø
Terms of graduating to the next level Ø List of
spiritual traits in descending order
1Cor 13,4-7
· (123b) Love (Perfect faith- the solution to
poverty) (Key
verse)
1Cor 13-4,5
· (77d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Humility Ø Refusing the glory of man Ø
Refusing to exalt yourself
· (124h) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Love your enemies Ø
Loving your enemies leaves room for God to Work Ø
Leave room for the salvation of God
· (126i) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Patience Ø
The patience of God Ø God is patient
1Cor 13-4
· (24h) Sin Ø
Poverty (Forms of fear) Ø Being envious toward
your brother
· (84g) Thy kingdom come Ø
Words of your mouth Ø Boasting in men is not
needed
· (127d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Kindness Ø
God is kind
1Cor 13-5
· (120d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Forgiveness Ø
Forgiving your brother Ø As God has forgiven
you
· (123d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Love Ø
Spiritual affection Ø Compassion Ø
Reaching out to those in need
· (124f) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Love Ø
Acts of love Ø Love does not seek its own
· (124k) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Love your enemies Ø
Love your enemies that you may not become like them
· (135f) Temple Ø
Your body is the temple of God Ø Sins of the
body Ø Abortion Ø
Consequences of abortion Ø Abortion is the
result of a selfish life-style
· (159h) Works of the devil Ø
Essential characteristics Ø Counterfeit Ø
Counterfeit godliness Ø Counterfeit fruit
1Cor 13-6
· (86n) Thy kingdom come Ø
Obedience Ø Be doers of the word from the heart
Ø Love the truth
· (127i) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Goodness Ø
Rewards for doing good Ø Doing good teaches you
about the truth
· (194g) Die to self (Process of substitution) Ø
Turn from sin to God Ø Hate evil Ø
Victory over sin Ø Hate evil by loving good
1Cor 13-7,8
· (112d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Light Ø Jesus light in us overcomes darkness Ø
The light of His power
1Cor 13-7
· (86c) Thy kingdom come Ø
Belief Ø Treating the knowledge of God as fact Ø
Repentance is the result of the resurrection
· (99g) Thy kingdom come Ø
Endurance Ø Enduring circumstances Ø
Hardship
· (121k) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Hope Based On
Faithfulness Ø Hope based on character
-- This verse goes with verse 13
1Cor 13,8-13
· (124m) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Love is the action of
faith Ø Love is the motive of faith --
These verses go with verse 2. As stated above, love is difficult to define. Paul begins to
describe what love is not, appearing that he immediately gave up trying to
describe what it is. As we scan the New Testament we see the terms faith and
love frequently appearing together. There is a reason for this; faith and love
are one and the same. If love is the substance of the anointing, then so is
faith. This bears out in Heb 11-1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is a “heavenly” substance, just like love.
There is another pair of terms in the New Testament that also goes together in
exactly the same way. Jesus said in John 8-32, “And ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free.” These four terms: truth and
freedom, and faith and love, are closely related: truth is to faith as freedom
is to love. Freedom is a product of truth, as love is a product of faith, and
all four are spiritual substances, meaning they are off limits to unbelief.
You must believe in God before you can walk in His love, which opens your eyes
to His truth, which sets you free.
1Cor 13,8-12
· (170f) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø Outward
appearance Ø Temporary Ø
Whatever is temporary will perish – Love will continue to the very end of
eternity, but gifts of prophecy will be done away; tongues will cease;
knowledge will become obsolete, for in heaven how can someone say he knows
something when everyone knows everything? That would be like standing on the
beach and scooping a handful of sand and proclaiming, “I have sand.” There
is value in gold because it is rare, and so is knowledge in this life, but not
in heaven. The streets will be made of pure gold to mock the greed in man’s
heart, and for this reason it too will have no value in heaven. Love will be
just as common, but it will retain its value, because it is the essence of
God. Not so fast though, knowledge will be done away yes, but will it be done
away immediately? Will we arrive in heaven suddenly knowing everything, or
will we accumulate all knowledge and finally know everything God knows on the
last day of eternity? I like to believe knowledge will remain a process.
1Cor 13-8,9
· (152i) Witness Ø
Validity of the Father Ø Witnesses of the
father Ø Prophets Ø
The church holds the position of a prophet Ø
Church operates under a prophetic anointing -- These verses go with
verse 2
1Cor 13-8
· (39h) Judgment Ø
Jesus defeated death Ø Victory Ø
Jesus never fails – Paul promises that through love we will be
able to do anything within the framework of His will, but love does not
believe in lies, nor does it bear the heart of fools. It does not hope in
stupidity, or endure sin. God gives us his love and requires us to continue
believing in Him no matter what happens. He wants us to forever remember our
hope of eternal life, while we bear the burdens of others so they may regain
their hope that love may return to them, as we endure our own circumstances.
· (95e) Thy kingdom come Ø
Positive attitude Ø Speaking in tongues Ø
Tongues are a form of prayer -- This verse goes with verse
1
1Cor 13-9,10
· (112j) Thy kingdom come Ø
Light Ø Being in the presence of truth
-- These verses go with verse 12
· (245e) Kingdom of God Ø
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm Ø
Literal manifestations Ø Literal manifestation
of Jesus Christ Ø Manifestation of Jesus’
second coming
1Cor 13-10
· (43i) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Perfected by God
· (44g) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Transformed Ø
Complete Ø Lacking in nothing
1Cor 13-10,11
· (118m) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Freedom Ø
Law of the spirit Ø Newness of the spirit
transcends oldness of the letter – Love will continue forever. It will never go
away, just like the law. It will never stop being true that we should not
commit murder or lie. It will never stop being true that we should love the
Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and love our
neighbor as ourselves, yet the law has already become obsolete through the
administration of the Holy Spirit, who teaches us about God and His love. The
statements of the law are not obsolete, but the law as an instrument designed
to increase the knowledge of sin has run its course. The Holy Spirit does this
much more effectively, if people would just pay attention to Him in their
hearts as to a lamp shining in the darkness, until the day dawns and the
morning star rises in their hearts (2Pet 1-19).
1Cor 13-11
· (19f) Sin Ø
Having the mental disease of the world Ø
Incorrect thinking
· (62l) Paradox Ø
Anomalies Ø Being clever Ø
Grow up
· (78k) Thy kingdom come Ø
Renewing your mind Ø Conform to the word of
God
· (85j) Thy kingdom come Ø
Words of your mouth Ø Better not to say
anything Ø Shut up!
· (137g) Temple Ø
Building the temple (with hands) Ø Maturing in Jesus is hard work Ø Maturity is
the process of growing – When Paul was first saved, his love was
immature, but over time love matured him, and he did away with childish
things. You cannot walk in love and be a fool at the same time. The world
may not respect faith, but it does respect the product of faith, which is
love. Paul is comparing this life to eternity, showing that love bridges the
gap between this life and the next. It is the way to eternal life. Love will
show the way, for when I look in the mirror I see myself dimly, but when I
get to heaven I will see God face to face and myself as I am. In the same
way I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I am fully known.
· (196f) Denying Christ Ø
Man exercises his will against God Ø
Immaturity Ø Not mature enough to seek God Ø
Unable to know the mind of Christ
1Cor 13-12
· (33j) Gift of God Ø
God is our Father Ø God serves His people who
serve Him Ø He treats His people with special
care
· (34f) Gift of God Ø
Believer owns everything Ø True knowledge
belongs to us
· (94n) Thy kingdom come Ø
Perspective is your personal reality Ø How you
interpret your point of view
· (104j) Thy kingdom come Ø
Pure in heart shall see God Ø Shall see Jesus Ø
We shall see His face
· (112j) Thy kingdom come Ø
Light Ø Being in the presence of truth
-- This verse goes with verses 9&10
· (132e) Temple Ø
Your body is the temple of God Ø Holy Spirit is
in God’s people Ø God gives his spirit as a
pledge Ø Spirit pledges the presence of God
· (208j) Salvation Ø
The salvation of God Ø Personal relationship Ø
Being married to God Ø Knowing God
· (212j) Sovereignty Ø
God is infinite Ø God is all knowing Ø
God knows everything about you
· (224f) Kingdom of God Ø
Illustrating the kingdom Ø Description of
heaven Ø The joyful kingdom Ø
We shall always be with the Lord
· (245o) Kingdom of God Ø
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm Ø
Literal manifestations Ø Spirit realm
superimposed upon the natural realm Ø The
natural manifesting into the spiritual
1Cor 13-13
· (121k) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Hope Based On
Faithfulness Ø Hope based on character
-- This verse goes with verse 7
· (230k) Kingdom of God Ø
God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø Mystery
of godliness Ø Solving the mystery of godliness
Ø The love of Christ is the mystery of
godliness -- This verse goes with verses 1-8
· (244l) Kingdom of God Ø
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm Ø
Literal manifestation
of God’s word Ø Love is the manifestation of
truth -- This verse goes with verses 4-8. Combining Mat 13-31 and Mat 17-20 with 1Cor
13-13, love is the hope of faith. We use hope to water the garden of our
hearts, so faith might grow into love. Hope therefore is the bridge between
faith and love, just like water is the bridge between the seed and the plant.
Faith and love are one and the same in that faith is the seed of love as love
is the plant that the seed intended, while hope is the catalyst between them
that causes the transformation. Love is greatest of all because it is the end
product.
· (248j) Priorities Ø
God’ s preeminence Ø Values Ø
The Highest Values Ø Top Priority
See
next page
| |
|
