What is Love? – answered

1. Read: 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

2. About the Text:

1) In this context, Paul is correcting the church at Corinth for their abuse of spiritual gifts.

2) He is pointing out that anything done without love is useless.

3) 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”

4) This is why love is the greatest of the virtues.

5) Without love, everything we do is empty.

3. What does the Bible teach about love?

4. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. God is love.

1) 1 John 4:16 says, “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

2) 1 John 4:7-10 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

3) In a fundamental sense, love doesn’t belong to us; it belongs to God.

2. We can only love by being taught by God to love.

1) 1 Thess.4:9 “But concerning love of the brethren ye have no need that one write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.”

2) Romans 5:5 says, “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

3. God’s love is great.

1) “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph.3:4-6).

2) God’s love is greater than anything else! Romans 8:35-37 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

1. God freely loves, and nothing can separate us from His love: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

2. 1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.”

3. Galatians 5:13-14 “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

1. I don’t mean monetary currency. Currency is the “the fact or quality of being widely accepted and circulated from person to person.”

2. This is the heart and soul of Matthew 22:37-39.

1) There are two types of relationships represented.

2) The relationship of man to God.

3) The relationship of man to man.

3. Consider all of the good-will that love produces in relationships when it is practiced effectively. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth.”

1. God demonstrates the gift of love to us through Christ.

1) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

2) “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:10-13).

3) Romans 5:8 says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

2. Because it is a gift, love expects nothing in return.

1) “For if ye love them which love you, what thank/grace have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank/grace have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank/grace have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:32-35).

2) If we put expectations on our love, it has no grace in it. Graceless love is not loving like God loves.

3) We even give love to our enemies, especially to our enemies. This is godlike.

1. Philippians 1:9 “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment.”

2. Let’s remember these key things about love . . .

1) Love is grounded in God.

2) Love is a choice.

3) Love is the currency of relationships.

4) Love is a gift.

3. Love is the disposition of good-will toward others.

4. Love must be accepted by the one to whom it is given.