The greatest of these is love

The greatest of these is love
Thursday, December 23, 2010
By Rev. Dr. Larry Delano Coleman

This morning, I was strangely transfixed by this verse, even though I had read it many times, in the “hymn to love”:
1 Cor.13:13 --

But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

“The greatest of these is love.”

During the 1960’s, Muhammad Ali used to defiantly shout, “I am the greatest!” But, time has shown his bold claim to be mere pugilistic bombast. His inspiring and charming utterance has proven to be mere heterosexual hype from the ultimate symbol of militant, black manhood. Love is the greatest, was the greatest, and forever will be the greatest.

Let us try to understand why “love” is greater than faith or hope.

16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

From this blessed scripture, we have the assurance that God not only loves, but God also gives! And what a gift! He gave His “only begotten son” to the whole world. Think of this! He spared Joseph, Israel’s son, who was sold into slavery by his brothers. He spared Abraham’s son, Isaac, by providing a ram in the bush. He even spared me and you! Yet, Jesus the Christ, was not spared. He was sacrificed. God’s “only begotten son,” was given unto the world by God to lave us in love. So, a corollary of love, and ineluctable consequence of love, is “giving.” One cannot love without giving. It is literally impossible. To love is to give.

John 15:13 (King James Version) says it all:
13Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Giving, sacrificing one’s life is the greatest gift anyone can give to another. It is the ultimate expression of one’s love.

Jesus came here expressly to live, to “give” his life, i.e. to “lay down his life for his friends” and to be resurrected, for you and for me, that we might be redeemed, spiritually irradiated unto eternity, like him. God, the father, refused to take away Jesus’ bitter cup at the Garden at Gethsemane, as Jesus, the man, had so fervently prayed. In the end, he, too, capitulated. “Not my will, but thy will be done,” Luke 22:42-44:

42Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
43And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
44And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Love can be agonizing, especially when it directly touches our flesh. It can involve “great drops of blood falling to the ground.”

Mark 12:30-31 (King James Version)--
30And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Note that we are commanded by Jesus to love God, as though we had a choice! Do we?How can we not love God? Every breath we take is a praise song to God! Every step we make is a holy dance to God. Commanding us to love God is like commanding water to flow downstream or like commanding the wind to blow or like commanding the sun, moon, or stars to shine!

We can’t help but love Him! We neurologically, physiologically, lymphangiologically “hardwired” to love him, to love ourselves, to love others, and to love all creation, by God himself! We were born to love, born in love, born by love, and born through love. We live for love. We are animated by love, sustained by love. Indeed, life is love.

31And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Again, the operative verb is love. Perhaps, this is the soul/sole duty of man, “to love.” Regrettably many people do not love themselves, which is a precondition to loving your neighbor “as yourself”--especially people with a legacy of prolonged oppression and deprivation, like African Americans.

Taking away another’s desire or power to love is degradation at its worst. It is downright dehumanizing. Love is our crown. Man without love is bestial, other than human, arguably subhuman, neaderthal.

Revelations 3:11 says --
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”

Love is our crown. Just like Jesus’ holy crown was displaced for one of thorns, so will those not disposed to love seek to replace ours’.

Ephesians 5:29 teaches “After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church”—

Back in BIBLE days that may have been true, that no one ever “hated his own body.” But, no more! Many people not only hate their own bodies, but they hate others’ bodies for many specious, vacuous reasons. Thus, many people must first learn to love themselves and their own bodies, that they may love others, in turn.

John 13:34-35 (New International Version, ©2010) says-- 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

“You must love.” Indeed, you must be love! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtWENe3V7Ds What is more insubstantial than love? Yet, what is more fulfilling? What is commanded is “more love.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA5Sobdo8DE&NR=1&feature=fvwp

God is love.

1 John 4:8 : Whoever does not love does not know God , because God is love.

Martin Luther, the iconic priest and church reformer, who in 1517, launched the Protestant Reformation by nailing his 95 Theses against Christian “indulgences” on the door of All Saints Cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany, argues that “faith alone justifies us.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sola_fide Many subscribe to this view.
Justification by faith alone, “sole fide” (only faith) is the doctrinal basis of so-called Protestantism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justification_(theology)#cite_note-0

However, with all due respect to Martin Luther, and to adherents to his arguments, I return to where we began, with love. 1 Cor.13:13 –

But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

“Faith” is definitely in the mix. It is one of the three components in the “hymn to love”, “faith” and “hope” being the other two components, along with “love,” of which “love” is the “greatest” of them all.

So, the doctrine of “Sole Fide” is refuted by the 1 Cor.13:13 on its face. That is because it is neither “sole,” nor the greatest. “Faith” is merely 1 among 3 components and even then, it is not the greatest of the three; that is love.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (King James Version)
8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Love is the “gift of God.” God made us to love, and sent Jesus to renew, restore, and revive our love, by and through his life-giving blood.

The hymn to love is set forth below, in full, for edification:

1 Corinthians 13 (New King James Version)
1 Corinthians 13
The Greatest Gift

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, [a] but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Amen.