Love Is Not Puffed Up

 

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.

Love Does Not Parade Itself

 

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 does not parade itself,

 

“Strike up the band! Unfurl the banners! Clear the streets and make way for me because I have the evidence of the Holy Spirit in my life!”  Does that sound loving to you?

 

Let us not forget that the love chapter follows the spiritual gifts chapter and the Corinthians had fallen into the trap of parading their gifts rather than humbly exercising the more excellent way of love.

 

You have been gifted by God! Don’t brag about it, rather humbly thank God for the gift and humbly use it in service to others to help build up the Body of Christ!

 

So put the trumpet away and quietly serve! Mt 6:2 "Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

 

Your exercising of your gift is only doing what you are suppose to do and it is certainly not worthy of a self-honoring parade!

 

Lu 17:10 "So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'"

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.

Love Does Not Envy

 

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 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; love does not envy, in other words, it does not covet.

 

So here we have a measuring stick of what is not a display of love. As a Holy Spirit filled individual or congregation jealousy is very much out of place. Think about it.

 

Where did you or that person next to you get their physical and spiritual gifts.  You got them from God. Before He formed you in the womb, He knew the very sperm and egg, replete with all its DNA that He was going to use to craft you BEFORE He formed you. Jer 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."

Your physical gifts or lack thereof come from God, just as your spiritual gifts came from God when you wee “born again.” Your material blessings also come from God! How did Job put it? Job 1:21 And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD." 22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.

 

To covet what someone else has is a sin against God, because in effect you are saying, “God you don’t know what you have done.”

 

And of course, the Holy Spirit would never say, “What was I thinking” in His distribution of gifts.  He would be warring against Himself! Therefore, we can say that Holy Spirit love is an absence of envy. It is genuine satisfaction with the hand that God has dealt you.

 

Sometime I find myself wishing I could preach like pastor X,Y, or Z! How foolish! It would be a man=made distortion of what God has made me to be. Rather than coveting, maybe I should just be thankful that God has allowed me to preach at all!

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.

Useful Benevolence

 

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 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!

One of the things that showcases love is kindness. (1 Cor 13:4) This kindness is summed up with two words, “useful benevolence.” The key being “useful.”

 

When the church had just begun to form after the Day of Pentecost, this type of useful benevolence was evident and summed up in  Ac 2:44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,  45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

 

It was all about meeting needs in a useful way. This was proof positive of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the church.

 

No one is asking you to sell your house and give all the proceeds to your church, but we ought to pause and consider how we can use the material goods that God has blessed us with in a way that is useful to others.

 

 Pr 3:27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so.

 

And even more to the point we read in  Ga 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

 

 This kindness makes a tremendous impact on those outside the faith as Jesus pointed out in  Joh 13:35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

 

When you get right down to it, the essence of agape love in the Bible is not necessarily giving people what they want, but it always involves giving people what they need! And that my friend, is useful benevolence! That is kindness.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.

Love Doesn't Fizzle Out

 

I’m Duane Matz and welcome to Today’s Living Word.

 

The Corinthian church had all these supernatural gifts that indicated the presence of the Holy Spirit in their midst! And as breathtaking as these gifts may be, if they are displayed without love, they are NOTHING!

 

NOTHING! They are like a firework in the sky on the 4^th of July. Ooh and ahh, but after it is spent, what are you left with?

 

NOTHING!

 

So an even more excellent way to exhibit the fire of the Holy Spirit is through love! So let’s find out what this love looks like! First of all,

 

1Co 13:4 Love suffers long,

 

Love hangs in there! Using the fireworks analogy, love is a freeze frame of a firework at the height of its display. Love stays in your situation no matter what! It is a sustained ooh and ahh to those on the receiving end and all others who observe it in action.

 

Only God can love in such a sustaining way and so we pray, “Lord, help me to keep loving even in those times that I want to fizzle out!

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.

 

The Foolproof Presence of Christ

 

I’m Duane Matz and welcome to Today’s Living Word.

 

We’re moving on from the “spiritual gifts” chapter of 1 Corinthians to the “love” chapter. The spiritual gifts chapter is like Jesus showing up and saying, “Yoo hoo, I’m still alive, and so are you church!”

 

And the love chapter is like Jesus showing up and saying, “this is even better proof that I am alive and working in your midst!” This is the “more excellent way to prove my presence in the church!”

 

I think we sometimes forget that the devil is capable of performing signs and wonders and will use them to deceive even the elect as Jesus affirmed in   Mt 24:24 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

 

What the devil can’t do is love others as God does. God is love, the devil is the opposite. Jesua reminds us that the devil has been and always will be a murderer and a liar.

 

So “love” is the more excellent way to be the witness of the presence of Christ amongst believers.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.

A More Excellent Way

 

I’m Duane Matz and welcome to Today’s Living Word.

 

We’ve been talking about spiritual gifts spoken of in 1 Cor 12, and again, let us not forget their purpose. They are given to exhibit the presence of the Holy Spirit amongst believers, and are used to profit the Body of Christ. The presence of these supernatural manifestations link individuals and congregations to the one true God of the Apostles. They link us to the living Christ. He is risen! He is risen indeed!

 

These gifts are spectacular, miraculous, and an amazing thing to witness in action amongst believers. They are supernatural proof  of the presence of the Holy Spirit in a church!

 

But wait! There’s an even better example of the presence of the Holy Spirit amongst believers as Paul asserts in  the last verse of chapter 12! “yet I show you a more excellent way.

 

That more excellent way, is the way of love expressed tangibly by the saints. So, what does Holy Spirit inspired love look like?

Stay tuned as we will spend some time looking at the different facets of love found in what has become known as the love chapter of the Bible. 1 Corinthians 13.

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.