Episode 2841 - Lesson 6 - Tuesday August 04 - "A More Excellent Way"

"A More Excellent Way""Love is not one gift among many. It is the means through which all of the gifts reach their ultimate purpose."--Carl P. Cosaert, "1 Corinthians," Andrews Bible Commentary: New Testament (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2022), p. 1643.Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-7, and 1 Peter 4:8-11. What is the role of love as far as spiritual gifts are concerned?First Corinthians 13 teaches that only through love can the spiritual gifts be used appropriately. Paul begins 1 Corinthians 13 by alluding to gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, only to stress their lack of value if not driven by love. Thus, knowledge (1 Cor. 12:8) and faith (1 Cor. 12:9), even a faith "so as to remove mountains" (1 Cor. 13:2, ESV), are nothing without love (1 Cor. 13:2). Without love, the ability to speak in tongues (1 Cor. 12:10, 28, 30) is reduced merely to "a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Cor. 13:1, NIV). Likewise, even the important gift of prophecy is nothing without love (1 Cor. 13:2).In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Paul focuses on what love is and what it is not; more particularly, what love does and what it does not do. The verbs he chose to characterize love indicate that love is not so much something that we feel as it is something that we practice. Thus, Paul mentions that love (1) shows patience; (2) shows kindness; (3) rejoices in the truth; (4) bears all things; (5) believes all things; (6) hopes all things; and (7) endures all things. Conversely, love (1) does not envy; (2) does not boast; (3) does not inflate with arrogance; (4) does not behave rudely; (5) does not seek its own [rights]; (6) does not get easily irritated; (7) does not keep record of wrongs; and (8) does not delight in wrongdoing.This total of 15 verbs provides solid guidance for appropriate behavior in the practice of gifts. Notably, this discussion on the true nature of love lies precisely between 1 Corinthians 12 and 14, where Paul deals with the conflict regarding spiritual gifts. Indeed, love is the key to the wise use of spiritual gifts. Love is also placed side by side with faith and hope, "but the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor. 13:13, NKJV).Why is love so central to our faith? What better way to experience the reality of God's love than by prayerfully seeking to reflect that love to others?