Summer Series: Love in the Body of Christ
1 Corinthians 13:1-7
July
Andrew Boone

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. —1 Corinthians 13:1-3 ESV

Love is the engine in all church functions. Love in the church should be like an engine in a car.

Love is patient.
-Patient as others grow. We have a wide spectrum of maturity levels in the church.
-Jesus was patient with the disciples.

Love is kind.
-Kindness is gentle and useful
-Jesus was kind to the woman at the well and to Zacheus.

Love does not envy or boast.
-Envy will keep you from seeking the greatest good.
-Opposite of envy is rejoicing when others rejoice. (Romans 12:15)
-Envy, boasting, and arrogance put you first before others.
-Humility and modesty are the opposite of you-first.
-You can be wealthy, successful, attractive, and smart but love demands that you are modest and humble with what you have.
-Jesus was not arrogant with his excellence.

Love is not rude.
-Love considers decorum and gracefulness.
-Love considers how their actions will feel to others.

Love does not insist on its own way.
-In all manner of non-essentials, be ready to sacrifice for others.
-This is not a compromise of safety, truth, or morality.
-Jesus preferred not to die on the cross.

Love is not irritable.
-More literally “not easily provoked” or “not easily angered”
-Irritable is like being sharpened to to be angry
-Jesus had compassion on people even when they were stubborn and difficult to get along with. Matthew 9:35-36

Love is not resentful.
-More literally, “keeps no record of wrongs.”
-Doesn’t mean there are hurts or offenses.
-This is the opposite of forgiveness.
-Jesus demonstrated his forgiveness with Peter after the resurrection.

Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

We’ve been loved BY Jesus so we love LIKE Jesus.

BIG IDEA: Love is the engine of church life

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-7

(1) Looking back over the past year, what stories of love have you witnessed that we can celebrate? Considering your own spiritual journey, how have you grown in love over the past year?

(2) Why is the use of this passage being applied exclusively to marriage an incorrect interpretation? To whom should we be expressing this kind of love? How does this understanding challenge you and how do you show love?

(3) Giving possessions to the poor and giving our bodies to be burned are figurative ways of saying that we give sacrificially. In what areas do you find it easy to give sacrificially? What areas are difficult for you? What are some things that can help us determine our motives for our sacrifice?

(4) The kind of love spoken of in this passage is what people want to experience. Why do you think loving like this is so difficult? Of the positive traits listed in verse 4, which do you find most challenging to embody? Why do you think that is and how can you work on it?

(5) Love “is not easily angered” and “keeps no record of wrongs.” How do you manage feelings of anger and the temptation to hold grudges? How can we lean toward the positive and extend forgiveness. What does it look like to forgive someone for their words or actions when they have not apologized?

(6) Sometimes we find ourselves replaying past hurts in our minds, even after forgiving someone. Have you ever experienced this? Why is this an indicator that we may be holding a grudge? When we hold grudges against people, why is it important to remember our own sinfulness? How does God treat our sins?

(7) Loving others is not always easy. It can mean we need to shine a light on an area of wrongdoing in a person’s life. How does the thought of having a conversation like this make you feel? What might cause a person to neglect having a conversation like this? Where has God revealed a painful truth to you that has ultimately led to life in an area that was void of life before?

(8) How do you think embodying the love described in 1 Corinthians 13 impacts your witness to non-believers? Share an experience where your actions of love led someone to ask about your faith or consider Christianity.