“Jesus’ Love Is....”
1 Corinthians 13:4-13
David P. Nolte
Someone cataloged three kinds of “love.” One kind is the “IF” love. “I will love you (IF you treat me like royalty; IF you give me whatever I want whenever I want it; IF you never do anything I think is stupid!”).
The second kind of love is the “BECAUSE” love. “I love you (BECAUSE you are funny; BECAUSE you are handsome; BECAUSE you haven’t given me grief!”).
The third kind of love is the “IN SPITE OF” love. “I love you (IN SPITE OF your failures; IN SPITE OF your having hurt me; IN SPITE OF your sins!”).
One problem with the “IF” and “BECAUSE” so-called “love” is that should the basis for those loves ceases to be or changes, the pseudo-love dies.
When we consider what Jesus did for us IN SPITE OF the cost; IN SPITE OF our sin; IN SPITE OF the pain we bring Him, we are compelled to say,
“If that isn’t love
The ocean is dry
There’s no stars in the sky
And the sparrow can’t fly.
If that isn’t love
Then Heaven’s a myth
There’s no feeling like this
If that isn’t love.”
There are many Scriptures that showcase His love for us, but the one that seems to say it all is Paul’s definition of love: “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 (NASB).
I want to bundle those thoughts into three headings to describe His love.
I. HIS LOVE IS UNQUENCHABLE:
A. An unknown author wrote:
“Love is the spark that kindles the fires of compassion.
Compassion is the fire that flames the candle of service.
Service is the candle that ignites the torch of hope.
Hope is the torch that lights the beacon of faith.
Faith is the beacon that reflects the power of God.
God is the power that creates the miracle of love.”
B. Solomon wrote, “Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it.” Song of Songs 8:7 (NASB).
1. Adam Clarke commented, “Neither common nor uncommon adversities, even of the most ruinous nature, can destroy love when it is pure.”
2. His love is pure and our many sins, failures and provocations have not quenched it.
3. His love remains even when it has been tested and tried and challenged, rebuffed and even rejected.
C. Remember:
1. God said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.” Jeremiah 31:3 (NASB).
2. The Psalmist wrote, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5 (NASB).
D. It is good to know:
1. There is nothing you have to do, or can do, to make God love you – He loved you before you knew or cared!
2. There is nothing you have done, or can ever do, to quench the flame of His love or to make Him stop loving you.
E. To illustrate unquenchable love: A mother came to visit her boy in Sing Sing prison. The boy had been raised right and was a beloved only son. He married quite young, and temptation came to his life when the young wife was sick and a new-born baby was in their little home.
He was out of work, despondent, and severely tempted. He involved himself with some fellows trying to make some money and broke the law. The crime that he committed was that of receiving stolen goods.
His sentence was four years and three months. Separation from his wife and baby, and the shame of his imprisonment sunk him into despair, it seemed as if he had been plunged into the darkest pit, and as if all hope was gone.
But still he knew that there was his loving mother praying for him and that gave one glimmer of hope. To the world he was a criminal; to society he was a blemish; but to his mother, he was still a beloved son. Her love was unquenchable!
Even more His love is UNQUENCHABLE! And
II. HIS LOVE IS UNLIMITABLE:
A. There is no limit to what love “bears, believes, hopes and endures.”
1. It never fails: it’s never insufficient, it doesn’t stop flowing like a river.
2. It doesn’t cave in when burdens it bears become heavy.
3. It endures all things: it perseveres, it doesn’t give up.
4. It abides: It stays and continues.
B. You may run out of patience, or compassion, or strength; or wisdom. You may stop loving someone, but His love is UNLIMITABLE and its flow is interminable.
C. Consider:
1. Love’s unlimited certainty: “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.” 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NASB).
2. Love’s unlimited constancy: John, speaking of Jesus’ love, said, “Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” John 13:1 (NASB).
D. The supply of many things is limited and scant.
1. Many will recall the rationing of butter and sugar and gasoline and other commodities during WWII. Most of it was directed toward the war effort.
2. And we surely remember when the gasoline shortage hit in 1973 and soon gasoline was becoming unavailable. Prices soared to over a dollar a gallon. Some stations allowed only half tank purchases and you’d often see a sign, “Sold Out! No Gas!” We were limited on how much was available and how much we could have.
E. But, when it comes to God’s love, how much of it can I have? Is there a limit? I’ll answer with this story. A little girl from a poor home was hit by a car and was in the hospital. As she recuperated enough to eat, the tray was set before her. On the tray was a full glass of milk. At home, she had never had a full glass of milk because she had to share with her siblings and there was not a full glass for each of them.
The nurse noted when she came back that the milk had not been touched. She asked if the little girl didn’t like milk. She replied, “Yes, ma’am. But you didn’t tell me how much I could drink.” The nurse, with tears in her eyes replied, “Drink all of it. And there’s more where that came from!”
His love is UNLIMITABLE, and there’s more where it came from! Further:
III. HIS LOVE IS UNCHANGEABLE:
A. The poem says,
“One there is, above all others
Oh, how He loves!”
His is love beyond a brothers.
Oh, how He loves!”
Earthly friends may fail and leave us,
but this Friend will not deceive us,
Oh, how He loves!”
1. You can count on God’s love! “He Himself has said, ‘I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,’” Hebrews 13:5 (NASB).
2. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 (NASB).
3. “God is faithful, through Whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9 (NASB).
4. “Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” Deuteronomy 7:9 (NASB).
5. Faithful love is UNCHANGEABLE: Speaking about David, God said, “But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. My covenant I will not violate, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David.” Psalm 89:33-35 (NASB).
B. Note what Paul said about love in the text. He is describing a faithful, changeless love. Paul says: “love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
1. Love never says, “I’ve had it with you! I’m tired of putting up with you!” It is UNCHANGEABLE
2. You can count on Him, His word, His promise, His love! It doesn’t let us down; it never fails! It is UNCHANGEABLE!
C. The faithfulness of His love is shown in that even while dying he thought of others as the song said,
“Even in death He remembered
The thief hanging by His side
He spoke with love and compassion
Then He took him to Paradise.”
D. Faithful, unchanging love
1. Is not an emotion or a feeling that shifts at the drop of a hat.
2. Is an attitude and a decision that leads to positive action..
3. Is of the very nature of God Himself: God is unchanging love. James wrote, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 (NIV)
4. As the old song says, “I’ll be loving you always, with a love that’s true always ... Not for just an hour, not for just a day, not for just a year, but always.”
E. Let me tell you about a faithful, unchanging love. When Chris Spielman played for the Buffalo Bills, he was everything a middle linebacker should be: tough, strong and smart, with total commitment and loyalty to the team.
But the game took a distant second place during the 1998 season. He chose to stay home. He cooked, took care of his four kids, and cared for his wife, Stephanie, who was struggling with cancer. Surgery, chemotherapy and nausea were Stephanie’s opponents. During her fight Chris was at her side.
When asked by a reporter if he’d consider a return to the Bills late in the season, Spielman said, "I’d play in a heartbeat, but what kind of man would I be if I backed out on my word to her? I wouldn’t be a man at all."
Football fans saw Spielman as a man because of his aggressive, leave-it-all-on-the-field style of play. But what really made him a man? It was his personal sacrifice and unending commitment and unchanging love for his wife until her death in 2009.
That’s how God loves each of us. His perspective is that no one can be so evil that he or she can’t be reclaimed. He stands ready, willing and able to reclaim the worst of us. He freely offers His love to all who will receive it by obedient faith.
PRAY/ INVITE
You will never have a better offer than a place in heaven, PAID IN FULL! WE CAN RECEIVE IT FREELY BUT WE CANNOT BUY IT FOR ANY PRICE.
Come to Him, come humbly, come honestly and come freely!
