2017.03.19_The Greatest is Love

God Is Love

God is love. All that God reveals is love. His word, commandments, righteousness, creations, and power are all expressions of His love. There is no self-interest in God’s love, nor does it seek a reward. God’s love is the fragrance that comes from God, a light that is unilaterally springing forth from God Himself.

The essence of the Law is love. The commandments of the Law are terrifying for sinners, but the root of the Law is love. The same is true of the Gospel. The origin of God’s salvation lies in His love. When people hear the word ‘love,’ they often think of the ‘love’ that worldly people have. But, the love God gave us is different. God gave us all that He has because He loves us. He wants us to be like Him. In other words, the eternal God wants us to have eternal life as well.

Faith

1Corinthians 13:1-3 says, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” And verse 13 says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love.”

Before we believed in Jesus, we lived according to our own convictions. However, after trusting in Christ, we rely on faith which is stronger than convictions; we possess the faith of God. Without faith, you can never lead a life of faith. Praying, reading the Bible, attending worship services, etc, you can do none of those things without faith. Faith has an amazing power. By faith we can manifest the signs that are promised in the Bible, and by faith we use the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is through faith that we can experience the miraculous signs and wonders that God helps us to perform. We are saved by faith, and by faith we can overcome the world.

Although faith is important, there are limits to faith. In other words, we might be tempted to use faith for our own personal blessing. Everyone wants to be blessed. However, many people come to their pastors asking them to pray that they may be blessed.  Someone asked me to bless for his new car, and another asked me to bless her soybean paste! We do not want to be rebuked by Jesus when He returns saying, “Depart from me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you!” Even if we cast out demons and perform miracles, if our faith is focused on receiving material blessing, we will not be able to escape His rebuke.

Hope

Therefore, our faith must also have hope. Without hope, if your business suffers you might abandon the church, regardless of how diligently you have lived your life of faith. Why? Even if you once had faith, because your circumstances are inexplicable and disappointing you fall apart. Some people give their offering in faith, but they expect to receive back a double or triple return. However, when it does not work out as they expected, they grumble and regret giving offerings thinking what’s the benefit of giving offering. Paul said, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ, I press on toward the goal to win the prize, the resurrection.” Without the resurrection, we can never enter the kingdom of God, nor can we enjoy the eternal life we have longed for.

When we die, all that we have on earth is lost. We will sleep in paradise until the Lord comes again. The time there is different from that of the earth. There, a thousand years will be like one day. When the Lord comes again, we will meet Him in an imperishable body. Our spirit, born of God’s word, His precious blood, and the Holy Spirit, will turn into a body with flesh and bones, and we will finally meet with the Lord. The flesh we have now will return to the ground no matter how healthy you are now. But our soul will turn into an incorruptible body which will never perish. We will meet the Lord in our new body and will enjoy eternal life in heaven when we reign with Christ for a thousand years.

It is also for hope that God assigns us responsibilities. Of course that does not mean that by being faithful to your duty in the church you will prosper in the world. Rather, you might not be able to spend as much of your time and resources on your life and business. You will receive your reward in heaven, not on earth. There are various offices in the church, none of which are more important than any other. In any office, you must recognize that God has assigned those responsibilities to you and discharge those duties with hope.

God has promised us a prize. 1Peter 5:4 says, “When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” Whoever has hope will be faithful to his or her duty. Unfortunately, many people do not cherish their duty but instead neglect it once it has been assigned to them. If a person is not faithful to his duty in the church, the Lord will say to him on the last day, “I never knew you” even if they have a high standing in society. We must faithfully discharge the office which God has given us recognizing that neglecting our duty in the church is abandoning our hope.

Love

There is one thing that is absolutely vital in order to accomplish that thing which we hope for, and that is love. Love does not give up easily or judge carelessly, but perseveres. Love is not violent but kind. Love does not envy but rather delights when others prosper. Love does not boast.

In the past a certain general won a battle and led his country to victory. The king gave him a great reward, and his people praised him. When the people were about to welcome him as a hero, he escaped from the castle suddenly with his troops and departed to another place. The general and his troops arrived at a farm in the countryside. On the farm there was a run-down lumber mill. The general went inside, knelt down, and cried for a while. After some time, when the general came out, the troops asked the general why he had wept. The general said that he had been a servant here and even after he became a general he always remembered the place. Although the general was a man with great authority, he remembered his humble past rather than boast about himself.

Love does not behave rudely. We should pay more attention to this in the church. Each member has a different position and duty, so one member should not hastily judge another, but rather we should respect each others’ faith and experiences. And we should take particular care to respect the order and authority in the church and do nothing to harm it. The deeper you know the Bible, the more you should set the example in this area.

Love is not self-seeking. Nor is it easily angered. Love keeps no record of wrongs but rather focuses on the good. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Love always endures. Love always trusts. Love always hopes. Love always perseveres. My mother was a girl with dreams. But after she became a mother she put her own desires behind her and gave herself over to the needs of the household. Even though she might have wanted to leave sometimes, and even when she was weary from the toils of daily life, she persevered for the sake of her children. This is motherhood and love.

There are many kinds of people in the church, each with different backgrounds, character, and abilities. Therefore, we need mutual respect in church. The Church is the body of Jesus Christ. Everyone in the church is a member of Jesus’ body. Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “Let us not forsake meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” If you are a part of the church you should care for and encourage one another with love.

Some people complain that there is no love in the Church. But if someone finds a shortcoming in the church, then they themselves should practice love first, instead of waiting for someone else to do it. If someone lacks love it is their own unhappiness. If others lack love, do not criticize them, but rather make up for it instead. We must not allow the church that was bought by the blood of Jesus to be shaken or to suffer.

For Christians, faith is an essential component. But faith should be accompanied by hope, and hope, by love. The work of love can only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit. No matter how much you may try to practice love, without the enabling of the Holy Spirit, it will be limited. That is why the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to us and commanded us to be born again by the Holy Spirit and work by the Holy Spirit. Love is the flower of the Spirit. Joy and peace, patience and kindness, goodness and faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, indeed, all of the fruit of the Spirit start with the flower of the Holy Spirit which is love.

We must love with all our heart, all our will, all our strength, and all our lives. The first commandment is to love the Lord in this way, and the new commandment is to love those who are members of His body. Ignoring this new commandment is like being under the Law.  Let us love our church, the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us truly love.