Thursday

Related Verses
1 Cor. 12:31
31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And moreover I show to you a most excellent way.

1 Cor. 13:1-8 (4-7)
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 And if I dole out all my possessions to feed others, and if I deliver up my body that I may boast, but do not have love, I profit nothing.
4 Love suffers long. Love is kind; it is not jealous. Love does not brag and is not puffed up;
5 It does not behave unbecomingly and does not seek its own things; it is not provoked and does not take account of evil;
6 It does not rejoice because of unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
7 It covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never falls away. But whether prophecies, they will be rendered useless; or tongues, they will cease; or knowledge, it will be rendered useless.

Related Reading
Love prevails. Regardless of how much we shepherd and teach others, without love everything is in vain…Even if we prophesy in the highest way and give everything for others, without love they mean nothing (1 Cor. 13: 2-3). Both shepherding and teaching need love, not our natural love but His divine love. (CWWL, 1994–1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” p. 121)

—

The spirit that God has given us is our human spirit regenerated and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This spirit is a spirit of love; hence, it is of power and of sobermindedness (2 Tim. 1:7). We may think that we are very powerful and sober, but our spirit is not of love;…[instead] our talk [to people] threatens them.  

The main gift that God has given us is our regenerated human spirit with His Spirit, His life, and His nature. We must fan this gift into flame [v. 6]. This means that we have to stir up our spirit so that our spirit will be burning. Romans 12:11 says that we should be burning in spirit…We must have a burning spirit of love, not a burning spirit of authority, which damages.  

We may think that we are living, but we are dead because we do not love [1 John 3:14b]. If we do not love our brother, we abide in death and are dead, but if we do love him, we abide in life and are living.  

First Corinthians 13 speaks of love, and then chapter 14 begins by saying that we are to pursue love while we desire spiritual gifts (v. 1). Our desiring of gifts must go along with the pursuing of love. Otherwise, the gifts will puff us up. To overcome the degradation of the church we need to pursue love with those who seek the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Tim. 2:22). We have to pursue love with a group of seekers of the Lord. This is a vital group.  

Loving one another is a sign that we belong to Christ (John 13:34-35). We do not need to bear an outward sign that we are of Christ. If all the saints in the Lord’s recovery love one another, the whole world will say that these people are of Christ.  

If we are to be more than conquerors [over our circumstantial situations], we need the love of Christ and of God [Rom. 8:35-39].  

The end of 1 Corinthians 12 reveals that love is the most excellent way (v. 31b). How can one be an elder?…How can one be a co-worker? Love is the most excellent way. How do we shepherd people? Love is the most excellent way. Love is the most excellent way for us to prophesy and to teach others. Love is the most excellent way for us to be anything or do anything.  

Love prevails. We should love everybody, even our enemies. If the co-workers and elders do not love the bad ones, eventually, they will have nothing to do. We must be perfect as our Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48) by loving the evil ones and the good ones without any discrimination. We must be perfect as our Father because we are His sons, His species. This is most crucial…We must love any kind of person. The Lord Jesus said that He came to be a Physician not for the healthy ones but for the sick ones [9:12].  

The church is not a police station to arrest people or a law court to judge people but a home to raise up the believers. Parents know that the worse their children are, the more they need their raising up…The church is a loving home to raise up the children. The church is also a hospital to heal and to recover the sick ones. Finally, the church is a school to teach and edify the unlearned ones who do not have much understanding. Because the church is a home, a hospital, and a school, the co-workers and elders should be one with the Lord to raise up, to heal, to recover, and to teach others in love. (CWWL, 1994–1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” pp. 124-126)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1994–1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” ch. 8