The greatest truth in the world is the gospel of Jesus Christ! The gospel is the greatest truth because in it we see the love of God for us. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" Romans 5:8 NIV). The gospel is the greatest truth because love is the greatest thing in all the world. This is what our passage today teaches us:
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:12-13 NIV
Question 1. Thinking about what Paul said about faith, hope, and love in 1 Corinthians 13:12-13, why is love the greatest?
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We live in a fallen world, a world that is in darkness, under the control of Satan, who is "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4), and we "see only a reflection as in a mirror"; in other words, things are not clear to us in this world. We don’t know as we should know; we only know "in part" and can only see dimly. Here, we live by faith in God, believing that soon we will see Him face to face.
But those who have the love of God in their hearts, live in God right now. "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them" (1 John 4:16 NIV). This verse shows us the tremendous value of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Only Christ's death on the cross for our sins and His victorious resurrection assure our hearts that God loves us, that He is for us, and that we have eternal life in Him.
Because the cross of Christ is in the past, one would think that Romans 5:8 would say, "But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us," but it doesn’t. It says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Through the cross of Jesus, God ongoingly demonstrates (shows, proves, substantiates) His love for us. This means that if you’re feeling unloved, you can go to the cross where God is demonstrating (present tense, right now) His love for you. If your circumstances seem to convey something different, look at the cross and be assured of your Father’s love and the love of God’s Son for you. God may have demonstrated His love for you in the past, but He is doing it again today and every day. He invites you to come to the cross and look at it often so that He might prove His love once again to you.
Love is the greatest thing in the world because God is love. And He continually demonstrates His love for you. He does this by showing you the cross where Jesus was beaten, bloodied, wounded, and pierced, where He thirsted and breathed out His last for you. And Jesus’ death means you are completely forgiven of all wrongs, entirely pardoned, and eternally saved.
The way to live and grow in the gospel is to come daily to the cross to receive fresh grace, daily cleansing, and ongoing infusions of love. This is how God keeps us in Him, how He matures us in our walk of faith, and how we become established and stabilized in Him (Romans 16:25).
To live and grow in the gospel means that, once we come to the cross and see and savor Jesus’ love for us, we give out that love to others. From the overflow of God's demonstrating His love to us, we can demonstrate love to each other. The widow never ran out of oil, so she could share it daily with Elijah (2 Kings 4:1-8), and as we come to the cross daily, we are given fresh supplies of love to share with others. We’ll never run out!
1 Corinthians 13 is the chapter on love, where we learn what is most important. Spiritual gifts, though essential for the church today, are temporary. Love is eternal.
Question 2. How can you experience fresh love from God today? Please share:
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