I’m Duane Matz and
welcome to Today’s Living Word.
The greatest proof of the
presence of the Holy Spirit in an individual or a congregation is the
expression of agape love. But what is love? Today we’ll continue to look at
Holy Spirit directed love as found in the love chapter of the Bible….1 Cor 13!
We pick it up in verse 4:
1Co 13:4, where we have another example of what agape love is not!
1Co 13:4 love is not
puffed up,
There is no room in agape
love for inflated egos! That is, those people who think more highly of
themselves than they ought (Rom 12:3)
This was evidently a
problem with the Corinthians because Paul mentions it several times in his
letter.
In 1Co 4:6 he warns about
interpreting scripture beyond what is written as if you have a “puffed up” better
understanding of what God intended in His Word!,he warns the Corinthians “not
to think beyond what is written,
This thought, that you
have a special revelation concerning God’s Word will inevitably set one against
another in the church, and colliding egos never bode well for Christian love
and unity! Guard against this he says so “ that none of you may be puffed up
on behalf of one against the other.
Further, these Corinthians
were so puffed up, that they were proud of the fact that they accepted the
unrepentant behavior of a man in an incestuous relationship in the
congregation!
Paul says in 1Co 5:2 And
you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed
might be taken away from among you.
Rather than being sad
about this situation, they were reveling in their unbiblical tolerance! To
allow someone to continue in their damning sins is not loving, but rather a puffed-up
version of “I know better than what the Scripture says.”
Get the self-generated
helium out of your balloon and if there be any lifting up, let it come from the
mighty hand of God!
1Pe 5:6 Therefore humble
yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
I’m Duane Matz and that’s
Today’s Living Word.
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