Notes
Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:13
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.
1 Corinthians 13:1
Put love in the mix. Putting God’s love into everything you do is how you really make an impact in the world. There are several different words in Greek–the original language of the New Testament–for “love.” In 1 Corinthians 13, the word is “agape,” which is an unconditional love. The type of love Jesus showed on the cross was agape.
Paul doesn’t say not to make any noise with your gift, but to not make an annoying noise. To love the world, we have to make noise. The Church is here to make noise, to have impact. We’re called to use our gifts and mix in love.
1) Agape Love Does Something
For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Christlike love gets involved; it doesn’t just sit and watch. To really show the love of Christ to the world, we need to step in and do something. When we see a need, we work to meet that need. And everything we do should be wrapped up in unconditional love.
2) Agape Love Has Rhythm
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. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:2-3
There is a time and a place for everything. There is a time for each of our gifts to operate. It’s not a competition between us, but about completing others with our gifts. Understand the space and place for your gift to be used; when we use our gifts out of order, it becomes like a noisy and clanging gong. Working together in rhythm, we show agape love. God doesn’t call us to use our gift to try and impress Him or others, but to put our gift together with others’ gifts, so that we can make a difference rhythmically with it to display the power of God.
3) Agape Love Is Respectful
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Have accountability about your gift. Ask yourself if you’re using your gift in a way that helps grow the Kingdom. Love brings dignity and shows respect.
4) Agape Loves Grows Out
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
1 Corinthians 13:11-12
Christlike love is always learning and always maturing. If we’re maturing in agape love, we’re growing out of our old ways. It means that we start putting some things behind us - maybe we don’t buy that item, or don’t lash out on social media like we used to, or control our temper in conversations better. Agape love is a kind of love that lets God work in your life to manifest His love to those around you.
5) Agape Love Is Purposeful
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
When we have the faith to believe God can use us to change the world, we can begin to purposefully show agape love through all that we do. All gifts are needed; love in action means having your gift planted in the house of God and step into the mission God has called your local church to. Be purposeful with the gift God has entrusted to you, and wrap it in His agape love.
Group Questions
- In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Paul emphasizes that it is crucial we show love when using our gifts. How does this challenge the way you view and use your own talents or skills?
- When have you seen people working together with their diverse gifts to accomplish something meaningful?
- How does prioritizing love help us to live a life of lasting impact, both personally and as part of the church community?
Prayer
Thank you for showing us your agape love. Help us to be vessels of that love, putting our gifts to work to build up your Kingdom and make your name known in our world.