Love God and One Another

1 Corinthians 13:1-8:  “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.  Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;   does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.”

Paul has just given us a beautiful definition of what true love is all about and he is letting us know that no matter what you do or how smart you are if you don’t have love, you have nothing. As Paul continues on in this chapter he talks about how tongues, prophecies, and miracles would cease but love would remain.

1 Corinthians 13:13:  “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

All of Christianity hinges on love, and God’s Word teaches us that love is the most important thing we should have in our lives. 

Colossians 3:12-13: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

These are very important attributes that every Christian must strive to have. Look at what the next verse says, Colossians 3:14:  “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”

Here we see that Paul is keeping the same thought as he did when he wrote to the Corinthians because once again love tops the list, because it is like mortar for bricks, because without love, all these other wonderful attributes would be nothing.  Love is what binds them all together and makes them have meaning. This is why it is so important that we strive to make love the center of our lives, and we can certainly see what love is all about as we begin to examine the great love of God.

1 John 4:8-10: “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

This is what love is all about. God gave up something very precious to Him, and Jesus accepted this fate, because He was willing to suffer and die for us all in the name of love.

Another aspect of God’s love is to obey His commandments.

1 John 5:3:  “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

God will not forsake us, but if we choose not to obey His commands, then we have chosen not to love Him back. God is not going to force you to love Him because He gave you a free will, and He wants you to chose to love Him. I hope everyone this morning will always choose to love God by obeying his commands. It’s the least we can do after everything He has done for us.

We just learned that the love of God includes us keeping his commandments. So, let’s take look at one the commandments we are to obey.

John 13:34-35: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Jesus makes it clear for us, if we are a Christian and we want to be pleasing to God, then we must love one another just a Christ loved us. When you read through the 4 gospels and you study Jesus’ short work on the earth, you learn about the great love and compassion He had for those around Him. Many people during that time wouldn’t have anything to do with the poor, sick, or the maimed, but Jesus was the kind of man that would put His arm around them and eat with them.

He had such a deep love for those around Him that He would even shed tears for them when they suffered. This is the same kind of love that we are to have for one another. When we love each other and those around us, we will stand out and be different from those in the world. Some today only care about themselves and their immediate family, but when you see Christians who sincerely care for one another and have compassion on those out in the world, people will know that they are disciples of Jesus. 

Galatians 5:13-14: “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Now lets talk about the Love between a husband and wife.

Marriage is an institution from God that is to be between a man and woman. Once a man and woman are joined together, it is suppose to be for life.

Matthew 19:6 "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." Marriage can be a beautiful thing when it based on the Word of God.   First lets take a look at how Paul describes marriage and compares it to the church.   Ephesians 5:22-29: “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.  Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.  So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.  For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.”

Paul is teaching us that a wife is not a slave, but that she is a humble companion of man. Notice husbands are to love their wives just as Christ loved the church, and also says that husbands should love their wives just as they love themselves. Using these guidelines, men and women will have a wonderful marriage.

 However, we are human and we make mistakes from time to time and we don’t treat each other as we should. Just as Christ forgives us when we repent, our spouses should forgive us when we fall short and we ask for their forgiveness. Husbands and wives should be willing to make sacrifices for one another and not let little things cause major problems. You should ask yourself, is it really worth it to argue over small things such as leaving the cap off the toothpaste, or maybe leaving the lid up on the commode? Some of these things can be annoying, but they certainly are not worth battling over. The longer you are married, you will learn to compromise, and the more you do this, the happier your marriage will be

1 Corinthians 7:3-5: “Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.  The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.  Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time,  that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”