·         We are in a raging battle. Because we were born in iniquity, we find ourselves in a constant battle between the desires of our flesh and that of the Spirit that dwells in us.

 

o   Psalm 51:5 – “I was brought into this world in sin. In sin, my mother gave birth to me.”.

 

o   Psalm 58:3 – “From birth, evil people turn away from God; they wander off and tell lies as soon as they are born”.

 

o   Galatians 5: 17 – “Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please”.

 

o   Galatians 5: 19 - 21 – ^“The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: being sexually unfaithful, not being pure, taking part in sexual sins, ²⁰ worshiping gods, doing witchcraft, hating, making trouble, being jealous, being angry, being selfish, making people angry with each other, causing divisions among people, ²¹ feeling envy, being drunk, having wild and wasteful parties, and doing other things like these. I warn you now as I warned you before: Those who do these things will not inherit God’s kingdom.”

 

·         Despite our fallen nature, we have hope – when Christ comes into our lives, he brings an internal power that curbs the evil nature – and that power is the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit does not automatically exempt us from the desires of our carnal nature – we must choose to yield to the Holy Spirit and trust him to control our evil bent. We must do that every day, from one day to the next.

 

·         Good intentions themselves are not good enough – we must act. We must choose to engage and activate the Spirit daily. If we do not do that, we are at the mercy of our flesh, and when sin rears its ugly head, we shall yield. The only way to gain the power to win the battle is through the Spirit, who produces fruit in us.

 

o   Galatians 5: 16 – “So I tell you: Live by following the Spirit. Then you will not do what your sinful selves want”.

 

o   Galatians 5: 22 - 23 – “But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong”.

 

·         How do people recognize us as followers of Christ? Through love. Love is the distinguishing mark of a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

 

o   John 13:34-35 – “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”.

 

·         “If I lack agape love, I am nothing. I have gained nothing. Others may be impressed but not God. A simple formula summarises the point – everything minus love equals zero” – Ps Charles Swindoll

 

·         We may claim to know God, and everything external about us may transmit that message to people around us – however, if we lack love, then we lack God because God is love. And if God is the center, then all external expressions and works mean nothing if we lack love.

 

o   1 John 4:16 – “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”

 

o   1 Corinthians 13: 1 - 3 – “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. ³ If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;^[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”

 

·         Love is the source and foundation of our salvation. It’s because of God’s love for us that we are saved and continue to experience the joys of his salvation.

 

o   John 3: 16 – ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

 

 

·         The world has tried to define and categorize love. We have three (3) main types in the modern world:

 

o   Eros – the spark of attraction – a type of love that resembles what Western cultures now view as romantic love. Derived from the Greek word “erotas” which translates to “intimate love”.

 

o   Philos – the bond of friendship / brotherly love – a type of friendship that exists between friends.

  

o   Agape – Unconditional love / universal love – a type of love that is more abstract and involves selflessly giving love to others, regardless of our relationship with them. Love that is given without expecting anything in return.

 

·         In the true meaning of the word the correct definition is and should be – God is love.

 

o   1 John 4:16 – “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”

 

·         Of the three types defined above, the closest definition that we have to divine love is AGAPE.

 

 

·         To help us comprehend or define Agape – Paul paints us a picture in 1 Corinthians 13: 4 to 7 where he tells us what love is and what it is not. He highlights seven positive aspects and eight negative aspects.

 

o    1 Corinthians 13: 4 – 7 – “⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres..”

 

·         The aspects in the verse above are listed below:

 

o   Love never gives up.

o   Love cares more for others than for self.

o   Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

o   Love doesn’t strut.

o   Doesn’t have a swelled head.

o   Doesn’t force itself on others.

o   Isn’t always “me first,”.

o   Doesn’t fly off the handle.

o   Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others.

o   Doesn’t revel when others grovel.

o   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth.

o   Puts up with anything.

o   Trusts God always.

o   Always looks for the best.

o   Never looks back but keeps going to the end.

 

·         To fully appreciate the picture that Paul is painting in chapter 13, we must understand the context. Paul was addressing some significant issues in the church. Some contextual examples:

 

o   Paul was writing to the church in Corinth, a church he had founded.

 

o   The church at Corinth had divided loyalty to different leaders. Paul rejects this disunity, telling the church members to focus on Christ. The individual leaders should only point them to Christ. In conjunction with this, some people were questioning Paul’s character and authority (1 Corinthians 1—4).

 

o   Gross immorality was tolerated in the Corinthian church. Paul tells the church to exercise church discipline (1 Corinthians 5—6). Also, believers were taking each other to court, and Paul says they should handle disagreements among themselves (1 Corinthians 6).

 

o   There was some confusion about whether it was better to be married or single, and how married people should relate to each other. Paul clarifies those issues for them and for the church today (1 Corinthians 7).

 

o   Because of the mixed background of the church in Corinth, food was an area of conflict and concern. Jews had strict dietary laws while Gentiles did not. How could they maintain table fellowship? Also, meat sold in the marketplace may have been sacrificed to an idol before being sold. Could a Christian eat that meat? And how should a Christian respond to a fellow believer who holds a different opinion? Paul says that the Christian is free to eat anything if he is not actively participating in idol worship. However, if one Christian’s freedom causes spiritual harm to another believer by enticing him to do something against his conscience, Paul says the Christian should voluntarily curtail his freedom for the sake of his fellow Christian (1 Corinthians 8—10).

 

o   Paul also addresses the extent of women’s involvement in worship services and deals with problems the Corinthians were having in their gatherings, including abuses of the Lord’s Supper and their misuse of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 11—14). During all the confusion, love should be the guiding principle (1 Corinthians 13).

 

·         Chapter 13 is found between two instructional chapters about spiritual gifts (chapter 12 discusses spiritual gifts and how the church is one body with many parts, and chapter 14 discusses tongues and prophesy).

 

·         The spiritual gifts should have enabled “harmony among the members” in Corinth (1 Corinthians 12:25), but “jealousy and strife” prevailed (3:3). The Corinthian believers had “become arrogant” (4:8). They were “concerned for [their] own good” rather than “the good of others”) (10:24). Everything that love is NOT, Corinthians became.

 

·         In chapter 13, Paul gives the church at Corinth a prescription to heal the bickering and infighting in the church. He highlights what love is and what it is not, and he emphasizes the fact that we may have all these gifts [being prayerful, praying in tongues, being able to prophesy, being faith-filled, having a generous spirit]—however, all this is NOTHING without love.

 

o   1 Corinthians 13: 1 - 3 – “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. ³ If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;^[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”

 

 

·         When you carefully consider what love is and what it is not – you will realise that agape is NOT A FEELING but an EXPRESSION OF CHARACTER.

 

·         We decide to express agape towards someone – this choice THEN prompts us into ACTION REGARDLESS OF HOW WE FEEL.

 

·         The highest form of love is not reciprocal. You may show agape, but you may not receive it in return. You cannot express love without action. We have the greatest example of all – God loved – He gave.

 

o   1 Corinthians 13: 1 - 3 – ““For this is how God loved the world: He gavehis one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

 

·         LOVE (Agape) is a fruit of the Holy Spirit – it’s not of this world. So, our carnal nature is not inclined to agape. Showing agape will be a battle, a part of our ongoing battle between the flesh and the spirit.

 

·         Having said that – with the Holy Spirit in us, we win. Why, because God is love (1 John 4:16), expressed in Jesus (John 3:16) and enabled in the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). As long as we choose to daily engage with the spirit (Galatians 5: 16), we shall produce the fruit that is AGAPE.

 

 

·         As stated earlier, as followers of Jesus, we are commanded to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

 

·         In John 13: 1 – 15, Jesus expresses his love for the disciples (through the washing of their feet) and commands them, “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you” (John 13:15).

 

·         Perhaps you have a conflict with another person. You’ve been wronged or felt provoked. Where can you find the love, you need to bring harmony out of the discord?  Look at Jesus’ love as expressed in John 13 – would you humble yourself to show love? To apologise or reach out even when you were not in the wrong (showing agape when you may not even get back in return).

 

·         Pick one aspect of AGAPE that you can put into action today. Perhaps it's to show kindness or forgive an offense, or seek the good of another person without expecting anything in return. What element of love can you ask the Lord to express? To whom? How?

 

·         To the acronym lovers – this may help:

 

o   L = Listen – take the time to really “listen” to the other person.

 

o   O = Overlook – learn to overlook wrongs done against you – keep no record 😉

 

o   V = Value – value the other person (forget about the status roles – you can learn something from your child or the checkout person at Woolies).

 

o   E = Express – words are “sweet nothings” act on them.

 

·         😊 : MEN REPEAT AFTER ME – L (I will listen to my wife), O (I will overlook her nagging), V (I will thank her (verbally or via text) for the beautiful meal she cooked today, and every other day), E (I will express it by buying her some flowers, getting or making her a gift or writing her a letter, or giving her my undivided attention even she is talking to me while Cole Palmer is about to score his 4^th goal for Chelsea FC).

·         In all seriousness, love reigns supreme. As the foremost fruit of the spirit, love embodies and inspires all the other virtues – joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (refer to our definition of love above).

o   1 Corinthians 13: 13 – “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.