In the world today not many people ask themselves: What is the supreme good? We have life before us. We can live it only once. What is the highest moral object or principle of desire, the supreme gift to want? Why don't we hear this question asked? Because we live in a self obsessed world. Where the supreme good is "whats best for me above all else". This stands to reason because of the media saturated world, in which we live in, feeds and appeals to this end the most. Thereby creating an undercurrent of thought that dictates this pursuit whether consciously or unconsciously. This has taken a foothold in the christian community.
We have been told that the greatest thing in the christian world is faith. That great word has been the keynote for centuries of the popular Christianity; and we have easily learned to look at it as the greatest thing in the world. We are wrong. If we have been told that, we may miss the mark. In the 1 Corinthians 13, Paul takes us to the goal of a christian life; and there we see, “The greatest of these is love.”
Remember Paul was speaking of faith just a moment before. He says, “If I have all faith, so that I can remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.” Without forgetting, he deliberately contrasts them, “Now remains faith, hope, love,” and without a moment’s hesitation he declares, “The greatest of these is love.”
We as people are ready to recommend to others our own opinion. Love however moved Paul to write the way he did. Love for Jesus first and foremost and then love for people, but not diminished. The hand that wrote, “The greatest of these is love,” was before stained with blood.
Corinthians is not unique in singling out love as the supreme good. The masterpieces of Christianity are in agreement. Peter says, “Above all things have fervent love among yourselves.” Above all things. And John goes further, “God is love.”
Paul tells us elsewhere, “Love is the fulfilling of the law.” Did you ever think what he meant by that? In those days people were working their way to heaven by keeping the Ten Commandments, and the hundreds of other commandments that have been manufactured out of them. Jesus came and said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
We can see why it must be this way. The Old Covenant was to be entered into through love. Love in action looks like this, “You will have no other gods before me.” If a person loves God, they will not have to be told not to enter into a covenant with other gods. Love is the fulfilling of the covenant one enters into with God through Jesus. “Don't take his name in vain.” Would a person who truly loves God ever dream of praising His name outwardly while secretly living for another?” Love would fulfill all the requirements of the covenant one makes with God.
Also, if we loved other people, we wouldn't have to be told to honor our father and mother. We could not do anything else. It would be ridiculous to tell us not to kill. It should be an insult to suggest that we should not steal. How could we steal from those we loved? It would be unnecessary to tell us not to lie against our neighbor. If we loved others it would be the last thing we would do. And we would never dream of urging others not to covet what his neighbors had. We would rather they possessed it than our self. In this way “love is the fulfilling of the covenant.” It is what compels us to live up too whatever the new covenant tells us, Christ’s one secret of the Christian life.
Paul learned this; and in this amazing description he has given us the most wonderful and original account of the greatest good. We may divide it into three parts.
1 We have love contrasted;
2 We have love analyzed;
3 We have love defended as the supreme gift.
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