Unity in Diversity: The Power of Love

1. "We've seen conflict within the church. We've seen division over incredibly silly things. We've seen all of these issues show up over and over again. And today we are going to talk about another issue that shows up in Corinth. But I think that there's a change in tone that happens partway through what Paul is dealing with today. And I think it shifts just from addressing these issues in correction. And there's this like huge wave of encouragement that comes. And so I hope today that as we work through this passage that you will be encouraged by what Paul has to say, yes, to the Corinthian church, but also to just the church, to us, a couple thousand years later." [00:17:17] (43 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "is empowering people with these incredible gifts that are given from him through his wisdom, right? And different people are getting different gifts. And it has caused division. It has caused frustration. It has caused a lot of confusion within the church. And these gifts are a beautiful thing, right? We describe them as gifts. When you think of gifts, you think of good things, right? And so these are intended to be good gifts that are given by the Father. And yet there are all of these issues that have started to show up. And really, there's a root of jealousy and pride that is driving these issues. Because people are seeing the gifts that other people have and desiring them. They want that gift. That gift seems like an awesome gift. I wish I had that gift. I wish I could do that. I wish I was wired up that way. And honestly, as I say all of that, it sounds a lot like us today, doesn't it, right?" [00:18:37] (60 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "One of the misunderstandings here that they write Paul asking about is how they could get these gifts that other people have, right? You have to remember, they're coming at this from a very polytheistic perspective, which means that they believe in many gods. That's what they grew up in. That is the culture in Corinth, is not just to worship one God, but to have a list of them. Now moving into this belief in Jesus, where they're only going to follow and worship one God, is a cultural shift for them. It's a huge deal. And so as they're processing different things, one of the things that they're processing here is, okay, so this guy has this gift, and she has that gift, and is there like a different temple I need to go to to get that one? Because I want that one, right? Is there maybe a different sacrifice or a different spirit? Or like, how do I get that gift? I want that gift. And so part of what Paul is writing here is he's correcting them and saying, look, no, no, no, they're all from God, all right? Same source, all right? Even though they are showing up in different ways, it's the same source that is giving all of these gifts, and they're good." [00:20:39] (70 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "And this is a beautiful illustration that Paul really carries throughout much of his life. And it's a beautiful illustration that Paul really carries throughout much of his life. Much of the New Testament, of the church being a body, right? A human body. Talking about the different parts in that. We read in the very first week of this series, we took a look at the division happening in the church, and the words that Paul uses to describe this division are talking about this body that was knit together by God that has been cut apart. It's this tearing of flesh that he describes, this thing that was never meant to be divided. And in fact, it's a it sounds incredibly painful for it to be divided. And here he talks about these giftings. He says, look, yeah, we're playing different parts." [00:23:20] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "I believe that because God sets our value, that all of us have equal value, right? My value is not defined by my gifting. My value isn't defined by what you think of me. My value isn't even defined by what my wife thinks of me, right? Like my value is defined by Jesus and your value is defined by Jesus. And so we, we do have equal value. We are all a part of this body, but we're not uniform. We're not the same. I mean, how, how much better is it that we're not the same?" [00:28:39] (37 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6. "He says, look, all these gifts are great, and you're wired up differently, but I don't want to focus on it. Like, I want to talk to you guys about this core thing that we should pursue, this helpful thing, this crucial thing, this way of living that is best of all. Out of all the ways that we could live, out of all the big decisions that we'll ever make, right, in life, out of all these paths that we could take in life, I want to show you the way. The way of living your life that's best, that's best for you, that's best for others, that is crucial to getting the most out of life." [00:31:34] (44 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7. "And then he starts to talk to us, right, about this incredible, incredible faith, this incredible knowledge, this incredible gifting, this incredible understanding, like all of this. And he says, look, if you did all of that, if you had all of that, if you knew all of that, but you didn't have the love of Jesus, it's worthless. It's absolutely worthless. This love, this love of Jesus that he's talking about, it is the best love, the best love of all." [00:32:30] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


8. "And as he talks about what love is not, I love this, okay? He addresses everything he says love is not, he addresses an issue that the Corinthian church has been facing. Right? That he's already talked about. He says love is not jealous. He talks about that in chapter three, their jealousy issues. Boastful, chapters four and five. Pride, chapters four and five. Being rude, chapters six and 11. Demanding your own way, chapter 10. Like, it's all these things he breaks down, like, hey, these ways that you're living are not love." [00:35:31] (39 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


9. "And it endures and it endures and it endures all the way to the cross. Where this love, this love that is so good, this love that is so powerful, drives Jesus to the point where he looks at broken, messed up, failing me, failing you, and says, I love them so much. I care about them so much. I want to be with them so much that even though they fail, sinned against me a whole bunch of times, even though they never have and never will do anything to deserve it, I'm going to pay the price for them." [00:46:28] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


10. "And this love that we're invited to take a part in it, guys, it is this incredible gift. Really, this gift of carrying the love of God into the world, it's the best way of living of all. It's the greatest gift of all. Out of all these gifts that we could be given by God, all these spiritual giftings, this ability to have his love, to carry his love, to be able to walk through this broken and hurting world full of elections that are divisive, full of marriages that are broken, full of addiction and disease that, through, all of that, we could carry the love of Jesus, is an incredible gift." [00:48:00] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)