Sermon Tone Analysis

Three Attributes of the believer

Joke about Love -  If you love something, set it free.

If it comes back, it was, and always will be yours.

If it never returns, it was never yours to begin with.

If it just sits in your living room, messes up your stuff, eats your food, uses your telephone, takes your money, and never behaves as if you actually set it free in the first place, you either married it or gave birth to it!

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

Let’s read 1 Corinthians 13th chapter.

The

The time is 55 AD and The Apostle Paul is dealing with the church of Corinth because of the challenges the church was facing.

Corinth would be the contemporary metropolitan of it’s day somewhere on the lines of a Miami and a New York.

It was known for it’s wealth of the day and because it was a well known commerce and transportation hub it had a great mix of peoples from all walks of life.

Roman, Greek, Jew, Rich and Slave.

Corinth had two patron deities.

Poseidon, god of the sea, was appropriately reflected in the naval power and devotion to the sea.

The other deity, Aphrodite, goddess of sexual love, was reflected in the city’s reputation for immorality.

The temple was central to the worship of Aphrodite.

It boasted one thousand female prostitutes available to the people of the city and to all the visitors.

Most of these women were famous for their great beauty.

The income of the temple prostitutes provided a major source of the city’s income.

This practice, coupled with the looseness often characteristic of a port city of a mixed and transient population, gave Corinth a reputation far beyond the cities of its day.

Corinth had two patron deities.

Poseidon, god of the sea, was appropriately reflected in the naval power and devotion to the sea.

The other deity, Aphrodite, goddess of sexual love, was reflected in the city’s reputation for immorality.

The temple was central to the worship of Aphrodite.

It boasted one thousand female prostitutes available to the people of the city and to all the visitors.

Most of these women were famous for their great beauty.

The income of the temple prostitutes provided a major source of the city’s income.

This practice, coupled with the looseness often characteristic of a port city of a mixed and transient population, gave Corinth a reputation far beyond the cities of its day.

To demonstrate this fact, the Greeks invented a term, to Corinthianize, which meant to live an immoral life.

To call a young woman “a Corinthian” meant she was an immoral person.

The church was a picture of converts who had come out of this background (see ).

The church had several problems, among them a leadership problem producing divisions in the church (1:10–17).

Immoral practices were not being dealt with (5:1–6:20).

An enthusiastic group in the church flaunted their spiritual gifts (12:1–14:40).

A legalistic group was concerned about dietary laws (8:1–10:32).

Some were abusing the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34), and others were offering false teachings regarding the resurrection (15:1–58).

These matters—in addition to its multiethnic makeup of Greeks, Romans, and Jews and a mixture of social classes including rich, poor, and slave—made for a unique and troubled congregation.

The church was a picture of converts who had come out of this background (see ).

The church had several problems, among them a leadership problem producing divisions in the church (1:10–17).

Immoral practices were not being dealt with (5:1–6:20).

An enthusiastic group in the church flaunted their spiritual gifts (12:1–14:40).

A legalistic group was concerned about dietary laws (8:1–10:32).

Some were abusing the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34), and others were offering false teachings regarding the resurrection (15:1–58).

These matters—in addition to its multiethnic makeup of Greeks, Romans, and Jews and a mixture of social classes including rich, poor, and slave—made for a unique and troubled congregation.

.

Dockery, D. S. (1998).

The Pauline Letters.

In D. S. Dockery (Ed.), Holman concise Bible commentary (p.

552).

Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

So Paul was dealing with a set of people who were full of issues.

I want to focus today though on the thing that was lacking in the Corinthian Church and that was Love.

See they were a culture who had come out of idol worship () so there was a fascination with the gifts of tongues and primarily this is because they were already doing this in their culture of religious ceremonies.

worshipping false idols.

Let’s read 1 Corinthians 13th chapter.

The time is 55 AD and The Apostle Paul is dealing with the church of Corinth because of the challenges the church was facing.

Corinth would be the contemporary metropolitan of it’s day somewhere on the lines of a Miami and a New York.

It was known for it’s wealth of the day and because it was a well known commerce and transportation hub it had a great mix of peoples from all walks of life.

Roman, Greek, Jew, Rich, Poor and Slave.

Corinth had two patron deities.

Poseidon, god of the sea, was appropriately reflected in the naval power and devotion to the sea.

The other deity, Aphrodite, goddess of sexual love, was reflected in the city’s reputation for immorality.

The temple was central to the worship of Aphrodite.

It boasted one thousand female prostitutes available to the people of the city and to all the visitors.

Most of these women were famous for their great beauty.

The income of the temple prostitutes provided a major source of the city’s income.

This practice, coupled with the looseness often characteristic of a port city of a mixed and transient population, gave Corinth a reputation far beyond the cities of its day.

To demonstrate this fact, the Greeks invented a term, to Corinthianize, which meant to live an immoral life.

To call a young woman “a Corinthian” meant she was an immoral person.

The church was a picture of converts who had come out of this background (see ).

The church had several problems, among them a leadership problem producing divisions in the church (1:10–17).

Immoral practices were not being dealt with (5:1–6:20).

An enthusiastic group in the church flaunted their spiritual gifts (12:1–14:40).

A legalistic group was concerned about dietary laws (8:1–10:32).

Some were abusing the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34), and others were offering false teachings regarding the resurrection (15:1–58).

These matters—in addition to its multiethnic makeup of Greeks, Romans, and Jews and a mixture of social classes including rich, poor, and slave—made for a unique and troubled congregation.

So Paul was dealing with a set of people who were full of issues.

I want to focus today though on the thing that was lacking in the Corinthian Church and that was Love.

See they were a culture who had come out of idol worship () so there was a fascination with the gifts of tongues and primarily this is because they were already doing this in their culture of religious ceremonies.

worshipping false idols.

Why does Paul give us a clear indication of what’s more important and that being love?

Because like the Corinthian Church we generally loss our way on that one.

We find ourselves really being into self and so you have several definitions of the word Love from the greek.

Eros - Love between a man and a women.

Phileo - Love between friends.

Brotherly love.

Agape - Love that is deep, abiding and self - sacrificing and looks out for the other person first.

It is important to understand Paul is not down playing any of the gifts, in verses 2 and 3 but that he is making a point to say that none of these matter if you don’t have the love of Christ in your hearts.

3 points of Love

1. Love is enriching and in ministry without love it is cheapened for both the minister and the one being ministered too.

But ministry with love enriches the whole church and the experience.

2. Love is edifying and we must not think of ourselves but of others.

Knowledge puffeth up but love edifieth or builds up.

3. Love is enduring and all the spiritual gifts will eventually pass away.

See you won’t need these gifts when you get to heaven, but love will last forever!

Because that is what our faith in Christ is build upon, love.

Gods love for us and our love for Him and each other.

How does someone know if you love them?

Matthew 7:20

Your actions will always speak louder then your words.

What are you allowing to be said about you based on your actions and what is being said about our Savior because of how you carry yourself.

See love for your God is impossible if you can’t love your neighbor.