The Importance of Love
Tim Melton
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Have you ever gone through a spiritual wilderness in your life? You were a follower of Christ, but you did not feel like a Christian or even act like a Christian? Maybe it was your anger or irritability. Or maybe a lustful mind or an unholy relationship. Or maybe it was worry, jealousy or greed. Or maybe it was an unforgiving heart. You knew you had put your faith in Christ and were a child of God, but you were struggling with sin that seemed impossible to defeat . . . and maybe you even justified it.
1 Corinthians is a very stern letter from the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth, but in the midst of this letter of correction we find hope and encouragement. Within the Corinthian church there were divisions, greed, pride and sexual immorality, but Paul had not given up hope. Paul's confidence was in the transforming power of the Gospel. Paul had experienced this in his own life and knew the power of Christ to completely change a person's heart. In the midst of the church's sin Paul still addressed them as saints and brothers. In that we find hope. Surely some of those in the congregation would eventually show themselves not to be authentic believers, but many of the others were in the faith but needed to be ushered into maturity. The surrounding culture was pagan and was a constant source of temptation. When these young believers did not abide in Christ, they found themselves drawn back into the patterns of the flesh that they had known before they had met Christ.
Paul knew that becoming like Christ is a lifelong process, so he patiently ministered to his spiritual children through this letter. He called them to the high standard of holiness and then "taking their hand" sought to usher them there.
In the previous verses of 1 Corinthians 12, Paul had reminded the people in the church of Corinth that in the church "there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties o ...
Tim Melton
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Have you ever gone through a spiritual wilderness in your life? You were a follower of Christ, but you did not feel like a Christian or even act like a Christian? Maybe it was your anger or irritability. Or maybe a lustful mind or an unholy relationship. Or maybe it was worry, jealousy or greed. Or maybe it was an unforgiving heart. You knew you had put your faith in Christ and were a child of God, but you were struggling with sin that seemed impossible to defeat . . . and maybe you even justified it.
1 Corinthians is a very stern letter from the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth, but in the midst of this letter of correction we find hope and encouragement. Within the Corinthian church there were divisions, greed, pride and sexual immorality, but Paul had not given up hope. Paul's confidence was in the transforming power of the Gospel. Paul had experienced this in his own life and knew the power of Christ to completely change a person's heart. In the midst of the church's sin Paul still addressed them as saints and brothers. In that we find hope. Surely some of those in the congregation would eventually show themselves not to be authentic believers, but many of the others were in the faith but needed to be ushered into maturity. The surrounding culture was pagan and was a constant source of temptation. When these young believers did not abide in Christ, they found themselves drawn back into the patterns of the flesh that they had known before they had met Christ.
Paul knew that becoming like Christ is a lifelong process, so he patiently ministered to his spiritual children through this letter. He called them to the high standard of holiness and then "taking their hand" sought to usher them there.
In the previous verses of 1 Corinthians 12, Paul had reminded the people in the church of Corinth that in the church "there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties o ...
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