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February 12, 2021 12:00 am
The church in Corinth. Related to this verb, you can have fellowship with that incestuous man.
Or you can have fellowship with God. You cannot have both. You can have my friend that hidden the fair with a woman you work with or you can have God you cannot have both. You can swindle and you can cheat and you can lie or you can have God you cannot have both hold onto God at the same time. That's not the case. Welcome to this broadcast of wisdom for the heart with Steven David in first Corinthians 13, Paul wrote to the church in Corinth and described for them and for us.
What true love looks like Stevens working his way through that passage in this current series today were going to see some things that true love does not do. If you're able to have your Bible open turn to first Corinthians 13 for this lesson called, refusing to be pigheaded. Paul is going to tell us how love doesn't act any describes of varying unattractive behavior is nearly crass in his descriptive verb. So one thing is for sure, he tells it like it is and as I studied them at the description it came to my mind was pigheaded and stubborn when the last time you looked in the mirror and said you are so pigheaded pretty good exercise to do everyone's in oil. What is that mean well I as I thought of that phrase I went to my library and pulled a few volumes down and sure enough found the history of that phrase.
This expression pigheaded dates back to the Middle Ages and the Southeast Asian country now known as Indonesia's is a legend of a king who had incredible powers over the forces of nature and life and death he could.
According to legend, enter a meditative state, and while in that state actually have his servant take off his head with a sharp sword and then after a while put it back on his shoulders and it would mysteriously rejoin without ever disturbing the king, so whatever the king wanted to show off his powers with dignitaries who were coming up from afar, awed by this rather obvious and unique power, he would have a servant lop off his head with a very sharp sword, and they would all watch as his head when replaced on top of the shoulders mysteriously reattached. The only problem was one particular day when all these guests around everybody watching this display, his servant cut off his head with a little too much enjoyment little too much force in the king's head rolled into a nearby river and was washed away. The servant was frantic. He did note the do.
He saw nearby pagan thought will not work so use the pigs head instead. King came to and was upset. Understandably, he had his servant killed and then moved his royal residence up into a high tower where he lived out the rest of his life, he declared an edict that when anyone was around the tower.
They were never ever allowed to look up they had to keep their eyes on the ground. Leslie look upward and see the pigheaded king.
Paul is about to reveal the unattractive and ugly side of people a pigheaded people. People convinced of their own superiority and when you're around them. It's best that you look down stay quiet and nobody will get hurt and he uses language that we can all immediately understand there are no loopholes here.
There are no? Nobody in Corinth or in Cary can read this text and say hi. What is he mean by that fact. I chose in the title our study tonight.
This practice is practically as I can. I'm just going to call it, refusing to be pigheaded people, even without knowing the history of the phrase you just know that's not something you want to be how to refuse to be a pigheaded person might just be the down to earth wording that we won't soon forget that when our last session we open with the two action verbs in this list of 15. Remember, these are not adjectives, even though it looks like they are in their translation.
They are verb so we translated them beginning with verse four love exercises patients love demonstrates kindness. Those are the attractive qualities. Now he begins to rattle off eight negative statements about agape and they are down-to-earth. In fact, they are there in your face is nowhere to hide the next phrase in chapter 4 is this love is not jealous you could translated see that you can get the flavor of a verb. Love does not burn with envy. One author that I was reading, said that there are two classes, this is William Barclay's other two classes of people in the world. Those who are millionaires and those who want to be those who have and those that want to have jealousy or envy your text might be translated comes from the Greek word that means to boil out to be fervent to be passionate with my translated law does not burn with boil with envy. The problem is this particular person. Paul has in mind is boiling over with what somebody else has and what they have a fervent desire to have as well. In fact, it's more than that. What makes this particular verb all that more seriously deviant is that it refers to not only wanting something that somebody else has, but wanting to have it and them not to have it wanting to have what they have, so that they can no longer have it. This is jealousy at the deepest, most corrupt, destructive level will Paul says agape is living without competing this love is demonstrated was with when someone is glad that another person has something they don't have but would like it to. Which means true love is contentment with what God has given you your happy with someone sent me.
Sometimes it is rather humorous, tongue-in-cheek poem demonstrates the fickleness of the rather jealous. Love goes like this Sams girl is rich and haughty my girl is poor as Clay Sams girl is young and pretty mind looks like a bale of hay Sams girl is smart and clever my girl is dumb but good. What I trade my girl for Sams girl, you bet your life I would. You long to trade with someone you envy you might envy the health of another Christian weather job or their physical appearance or their spiritual gifts and talents.
You might envy their spouse or children. Her position their personality. Ultimately, the jealous person destroys themselves. They fracture their own peace of mind and sense of purpose.
Why because their eyes are not on Christ, who is the author and finisher of our faith are either on one another you.
It's interesting to me to recall that it was to the Corinthian the same body of believers that Paul wrote when you compare your selves with another you are not wise. Second Corinthians 10 verse 12 and remember hereby the way as well. Ladies and gentlemen, Paul is not telling the unbeliever in first grade and 13 the love without envying.
He's telling the believer which obviously means it implies, then, that we as believers can live jealous Teddy envious, bitter, clamorous lives, I told you he would be in our face. He would tell it like it is. This is not agape. James did the same when he warned the believer. If you have bitter jealousy and selfish strife in your heart. Do not be arrogant and so will I against the truth. In other words, admitted, don't try to get around it. Many ads for where jealousy exists, there is disorder and every evil thing. Jealousy is ultimately destructive and ultimately we destroy ourselves. Nathaniel Vinson writes how much of the pit that is how much of hell is there in the spirit of an envious man the happiness of another is his misery. The good of another, is his affliction. He looks upon the virtue of another with an evil eye. He is as sorry at the praise of another as if that praise had been taken from himself, envy makes him a hater of his neighbor but his own tormentor. Now can you see the wisdom and the rescuing of his own spirit from this kind of torment.
When John the Baptist's disciples came to him in and they said to him in John chapter 3 master are her followers, they they are leaving us and they are going over to this Christ. John the Baptist said your member effectively. We could only hope as much for he must increase and I must what decrease true love does not burn with jealousy over something someone has or is true love is love without competing this further in verse four with the phrase love does not brag you can understand Paul to be saying. Love does not go around shining the spotlight on oneself. True love does not live the brag one who loves with agape is not the subject of his own conversation, the one who is merely proving he is in love with whom himself. By the way this word is used. Nowhere else in the New Testament. In this form than here it refers to one who literally simply talks a lot about himself. You think they Paul you know he's describing he's speaking of this this grand agape that that he wouldn't talk about some like that.
That just seems so commonplace ordinary so obvious, but yet he's he's put it right down here where we can grab it. A person who was full of himself is not full of agape is what he saying one author added this insight.
Jealousy is wanting what someone else has bragging is trying to make others jealous of what we have.
Jealousy puts others down. Bragging builds us up. This was the trumpet blowing of the Pharisees. They wouldn't do anything to anything less is going to be published along with her photo in the Jerusalem Gazette. I never ran out of material because they were full of themselves. They were in love with her own image. They were showoffs they were boasters. They arranged so that the morning and afternoon and evening prayers would find them at some public intersection where everyone would stop and pray, but they would be able be seen from all four directions just timed it that way when they fasted, they put ash on their face and a moped around it to prove that they were in for. It is indeed godly. They were full of themselves. They could not be full of agape, there is in room in your heart for both. The truth is, the braggart doesn't recognize or realize that he's actually advertising his own emptiness shallowness of his spirit and ultimately his own pride.
Isn't it interesting that we can spot it in somebody else. Just like that, but we don't see that ourselves.
When Paul wrote this text to the Corinthians.
They were involved in spiritual showoff contests. They were attempting to best each other with the most sensational public gifts. They were after the prestigious offices in they wanted to have the microphone whenever they met for worship. They were trying to sort of outdo one another in and one up each other in the assembly and the result was carnality.
The result was utter chaos earlier in chapter 4 this letter to the Corinthians. Paul rebuked their bragging when he wrote listen. What do you have listen to Paul's wonderful project as he tries to help them. What do you have that you did not receive. And if you didn't receive it.
Why do you most as if you had not received it. Same word here. In other words, if whatever we have and are the gifts of God's grace, shouldn't we all gather around this campus every time around each other in brag about the grace of God, since we have nothing but what we received from the Lord.
The wonder of the apostle Paul said, God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 614 the only sensible response to the awareness of whatever your God made you whatever you have, God gave you. I love the way Moffat translated this phrase here in your text. He said love makes no parade of itself never throws a parade in his honor. Good is in it.
The Corinthians, Teddy, boastful and proud. They were all living in her own self-made towers, demanding that when Erin whenever anybody got near them.
They were to lower their eyes out of honor and deference and respect. In reality they were in the process of becoming pig headed people is nothing less than sheer pigheaded devilish pride. Think about it. CS Lewis wrote it was pride that made the devil.
The devil Paul is making it very clear if you will love others as Christ loves you don't live they have what they want what they have. Don't be jealous.
Secondly, don't become your favorite topic of conversation. Don't be a braggart. Solomon said in Proverbs let another man praise you and not your own lips. Now he goes on in verse four, and he adds. And don't act with arrogance to see how these three just dovetail nicely together and I knew this was this was all we needed to do. You could render it. Love doesn't strut around with an air of superiority. Your translation may read love is puffed up to good translation one wears me out once wrote that man is the only animal that when you pat him on the back of his head swells up good interesting to me yet sad that the Corinthians had such an obvious problem with arrogance the listener. This six out of the seven times this verb appears in the New Testament it appears in this letter JB Phillips translated well. Love does not cherish inflated ideas of its own important this is the man in Luke 18 who prayed all God, I thank you that I am not like other people.
This is a pigheaded man I'm up in the tower all God, thank you that I'm not done with the peasants below one author summarize this arrogance spirit well when he wrote arrogant people think they're better than other people. They think they know more than they actually do. They consider themselves holier than others and imagine themselves more gifted than they really are there blind to their own glaring sins. Weaknesses and doctrinal errors, arrogance blinds, our eyes to the truth is the same word Paul used to judge the Corinthian church the same body for not disciplining from its membership. The unrepentant man from the assembly refused to stop his sexually immoral relationship with the stepmother.
He continued his incest in the church thought they were exceptionally loving.
We are filled with love to include him in ignoring his sin. And Paul wrote in chapter 5, you become arrogant for CIOs same word in first 2013. You have become full view ourselves. That's what you are.
You're not tolerant you're not loving your arrogant you're proud of your defiance. That message needs to be delivered today church today that believes its tolerance toward sin and unrepentant sinners are badges of openness and love are actually self condemned by Christ for arrogant pulled out the newspaper this week. That guy was. I was over Chick-fil-A having my devotions would have devotions is read USA Today and I pulled out this article said article related to the continuing battle within the Episcopalian church relative to issues of homosexuality.
Article talk about a meeting that he been called recently as a couple pictures with many of the bishops and church leaders. The article said the Archbishop of Canterbury himself actually flew over here and attended urging the American liberal bishops to make concessions for the sake of unity unity.
By the way that they believe must be kept, in spite of the fact that homosexual men are being ordained the church leadership unity that must be preserved while same-sex couples are having their unions blessed with church prayers the Archbishop in his attempt to keep the church, unified pled with the liberal bishops to and I quote exercise restraint in approving another gay bishop.
How about exercising discipline about warning of God's divine opinion regarding sodomy standing up for the words of God regarding man's relationships and judging any immoral sexual activity, whether it is heterosexual or homosexual, is both sinful and forgivable for this, Christ died. There's a call for the Episcopalians exercise restraint friend you do not exercise restraint regarding sin, you do not sin in moderation. Paul writes to the church in Corinth and the church today, not just Episcopalians, Baptists, and Methodists in nondenominational lists and effectively says you think your loving by tolerating sin you've actually become to see how you actually become arrogant infatuated with your own intellectual gymnastics. You are actually in love with your defiance. You are in line with your autonomy from the word of God.
You've done nothing less than elevate your view about God's view and you are saying you are loving, which implies God is not loving.
Paul told the church in Corinth.
Related to this verb, you can have fellowship with that incestuous man. Or you can have fellowship with God. You cannot have both. You can have my friend that hidden the fair with a woman you work with or you can have God you cannot have both. The Bible is clear that unrepentant adulterers go to hell when they die. Hebrews 13 for you can swindle and you can cheat and you can lie or you can have God you cannot have both. First Corinthians chapter 6, verse 10 missing young people. You can have sexual activity outside of marriage or you can have God you cannot have both. Revelation 21 verse eight, but they say I love God know that they love themselves. Paul put it this way true love for God and others would not be arrogant. It doesn't proudly walk in a way that God clearly disapproves it doesn't elevate our view above God's view, those who choose sin.
Those who choose fellowship with sinners over fellowship with Christ do not know what true love is true love seeks to rescue the sinner from self-destructing. That's true love.
True love seeks to bring that sinner into fellowship with Jesus Christ with a challenge to repent not pat him on the back and say everything is okay.
Were you alive so distorted the truth of the church that is become true love seeks to find those who will worship God in spirit and in what truth, what is Paul said about true love here.
First, agape is the kind of love the doesn't act within the secondly agape is the kind of love the doesn't brag about itself.
Thirdly, agape is the kind of love that is not inflated with its own these three in a variety of ways and in varying degrees say the same thing.
True love is love surrendered humility to Jesus Christ. His opinions, his words, his life is refusing to build a tower and put ourselves at the top and asked that everybody else gravel around these three descriptions are a warning. Those who would really like to escape the tower that we naturally construct and come back down to earth where pigheaded people are converted into big heart serve those who will accept nobody selflessness of love. Thanks for joining us today here on wisdom for the hearts with Stephen Davey Stevens, the pastor of the shepherd's church in Cary, North Carolina, and he's our daily Bible teacher on this broadcast work currently in a series called true love and I want to make sure you're aware that Stephen has a booklet that comes from this series. If you'd like information on how you can get that resource. Call us today at 86 648 Bible numerically. It's 866-482-4253. You can also find it for yourself on our website. Wisdom online.org. I mentioned that Stephen pastors and church here in North Carolina and if your travel plans ever bring you this way, please join us on a Sunday for a worship service. We'd love to meet you face-to-face.
Have a great weekend and join us Monday here on wisdom