This past weekend at Eastbrook, we continued our preaching series entitled “God’s Grace for an Imperfect Church: 1 Corinthians.” This week we arrived at one of the most well-known passages in the entire letter of 1 Corinthians, chapter 13. Hopefully you already know that these words were not written by Paul specifically about marriage, even though it still does apply to Christian marriage. There is so much more here.
You can find the message outline and video below. You can access the entire series here. Join us for weekend worship in-person or remotely via Eastbrook at Home.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Spirit-Gifts and the Greater Way of Love (13:1-3)
The value of Spirit-gifts: tongues, prophecy, knowledge, faith, service
The value of Spirit-gifts becomes valueless without love
The Corinthian confusion about what it means to be ‘spiritual’ and Paul’s Jesus-centered spirituality
What Love Is and How Love Acts (14:4-7)
The characteristics of love
The verbal/active aspect of love here
A reflection on the love of God revealed in Jesus
A reflection on our love being transformed through God to become more like Jesus
The Enduring Nature of Love (13:8-13)
The Spirit-gifts that will pass away
The present experience of limitation and partial knowledge
The future experience of wholeness and completion
The trinity of faith, hope, and love with love as the greatest
Dig Deeper
This week dig deeper in one or more of the following ways:
- Memorize 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 or 13:4-7
- This week set aside time to meditate on 1 Corinthians 13. On your first pass of reading it, ask God to highlight how these words speak about God’s love for you and others. Pray about that, asking God to help you grow in your understanding of God’s love for you. On your second pass of reading it, ask God to highlight how these words speak to you about your love for others. Pray about that, asking God to help you grow in love.
- Explore some of the following resources:
- Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God
- C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves
- Francis A. Schaeffer, The Mark of the Christian
- James Bryan Smith, Embracing the Love of God
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Matthew Erickson 