PEARLS OF PAUL
THE LOVE CHAPTER- PART VI
DR. JIM DIXON
1 CORINTHIANS 13
SEPTEMBER 26, 1999
In the history of ancient Rome, there were two triumvirates. The word “triumvirate” comes from two Latin words, “trium virum.” Those words mean “of three persons.” A triumvirate consisted of three persons who shared governing power and authority equally. The first Roman triumvirate took place in 60 B.C. It consisted of Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Licinius Crassus. This triumvirate with these three individuals failed. They began to war with one another. It resulted in civil war as they were vying for power. Ultimately Julius Caesar prevailed, and he ruled alone. Of course, Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C., and in 43 B.C., 43 years before Christ, we see the second Roman triumvirate. This second Roman triumvirate consisted of Octavian, Marcus Lepidus, and Mark Antony. This triumvirate also failed, as they began to war one with the other, and it resulted again in civil war. Ultimately, Octavian prevailed. In 27 B.C., Octavian declared himself soul Emperor of the Roman Empire, and he took the title Caesar Augustus.
It was Octavian Caesar Augustus who was on the throne when Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. When Jesus Christ came into our world, He revealed a very different kind of triumvirate. He revealed the Divine Triumvirate, eternal and omnipotent, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a tri-unity which theologians refer to as “the Trinity.” Unlike the Roman triumvirate, the Divine Triumvirate works. It always has worked. It always will work. This is because the three persons in the Divine Triumvirate, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, share one essence. They share one nature. The Bible tells us that that one nature is summed up by the word “love.” The Bible says, “God is love.” Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is love. Love binds the godhead.
And so, this morning, once again, we examine the love of the triune God. We examine divine love, agape love, as we take a look at 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter. We come to that portion of this chapter where we examine what some Bible scholars call “the love triad.” “Love believes all things. Love hopes all things. Love endures all things.” These comprise our three teachings this morning.
First of all, love believes all things. In Japan today, people have an unusual interest in blood types. When people get together for coffee or when they get together over lunch and they’re just meeting each other, one of the first subjects they discuss is their respective blood types. Do you have blood type A or B or O or AB? What’s your blood type? When people date in Japan today, one of the first things they discuss on a date is, “What’s your blood type?” Newspapers and magazines in Japan, when discussing political leaders, reveal their blood type. When they’re discussing entertainment personalities, they reveal the blood type. When they’re discussing famous athletes in Japan, they disclose the blood type.
The reason they’re all so interested in blood types in Japan is because the people of Japan, or at least many of the people in Japan, believe that blood type determines personality traits. They believe that people with type A blood tend to be “uptight” and tend to be “nitpicky.” They believe that people with type B blood tend to be “hang loose and relaxed.” I guess if you have AB blood, you’re “hang loose and uptight.” I’m not sure how that works! They believe that people with type O blood tend to be “driven personalities.”
The scientists in Japan and the doctors and physicians, biologists, have again and again told the people of Japan this is bogus. Blood type does not determine personality traits. There are many of type O blood people who are mellow, many people who are type B and they are driven or uptight. You can’t go by blood type. And yet the people of Japan continue to believe in this, and we live in a world like that. We live in a world where people believe things. Their beliefs may not be based on evidence. Indeed, their beliefs might even be in the face of evidence.
There are a lot of people in our nation who believe in astrology. Indeed, there are millions of American women and men who believe in astrology. We are told millions of Americans actually read their horoscopes every day. You cannot convince somebody who believes in astrology that it’s bogus. If their horoscope says, “Don’t go out. Stay in today,” and they stay home and break their leg, it will not deter their faith in astrology. They’ll just think, “It’s a good thing I didn’t go out or I would have died! It’s a good thing I stayed home and broke my leg.” Because you can’t deter belief like that. We live in a world like that.
Some people believe in UFOs. Some people believe in the Loch Ness monster. Some people believe in Sasquatch or Yeti or Bigfoot. People believe things. Now, as Christians, we believe in God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe in the promises of God. We trust. The Greek word here, “pisteuo,” the word for belief, means “to trust.” Faith trusts all things. We trust God. We trust the promises of God. Our faith, our belief is not contrary to evidence or in the face of evidence. There indeed is rational and cognitive support for Christianity, and we are indeed smart to believe the promises of God because the promises of God come true.
In the Old Testament, there are 60 major prophecies concerning the Messiah, with 270 prophetic details. Jesus Christ, incredibly, fulfills all of those 60 major prophecies of the Old Testament and all 270 prophetic details. That’s because God’s promises are true. Of course, in a book by Josh McDowell, the famous Christian apologist, it’s pointed out that the odds against somebody fulfilling all 60 of those major prophecies and all 270 of those prophetic distinctives are overwhelming.
The odds are one in one hundred zillion, according to Josh McDowell and Peter Stoner, who he quotes (a famous statistician). In fact, Peter Stoner claims that the odds against Christ fulfilling all of those Old Testament prophecies—one in one hundred zillion—would be like putting silver dollars over the state of Texas—the entire state—covering the whole state of Texas with silver dollars and covering the geographical landscape of Texas to such an extent that the silver dollars are two feet high and then taking one silver dollar and putting the word “Messiah” on it and just throwing it in the mix and then sending a blind man out over that vast geographical landscape with one chance to pick up a coin and picking up the Messiah coin. That’s how incredible it is.
I don’t know what you think of statistics like that. I don’t know what you think of statistical analogies like that, but this much is irrefutable: The prophecies of God are true. The prophecies of the Old Testament are indeed fulfilled in Christ, and we can look at many other prophecies in the Old Testament and in the New Testament that have been fulfilled, some of them in our lifetime. All of this is evidence that God is true to His word and true to His promises, and indeed, that we should trust and believe the promises of God. But the primary reason a person believes the promises of God is because that person has been touched by the love of God. “Love believes all things.” Somehow, if you believe in the promises of God this morning, it’s because somehow you were touched by the love of God. You somehow experienced, in some measure, His love. You saw His love on Calvary’s cross. You saw His love in His Son, Jesus Christ. You experienced His love through His forgiveness and His atonement.
The Bible says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” Belief is a response to love. Belief is a response to God’s love. If you believe the promises of God this morning, it’s because, in some measure, you have been touched by divine love, agape love.
“Love hopes all things.” Of course, the word hope in the Bible is linked with the word “faith.” The Bible says, in the Book of Hebrews, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for.” Faith and hope are linked. If you believe the promises of God, you have hope. You have hope in every circumstance and situation of life. You have hope at all times in all places.
The word for hope in the Bible if the word “elpis.” This Greek word does not refer to wishing thinking. This word refers to “confident expectation of blessing.” So, if you’ve been touched by the love of God and God’s love has touched you and is working through you, you believe His promises and you hope. You have a confident expectation of blessing because of God’s love, a confident expectation of blessing, whatever you’re going through.
I shared with our staff a few weeks ago, about the Yellowstone Fire of 1988. Of course, it was in 1988 when that fire ravished Yellowstone National Park. The lightning strikes took place in May after a 2-month drought. Everything was dry, much drier than normally it would be. The fires began to rage. By June, fires were raging on the east end of Yellowstone National Park and on the west side. The fires continued. In August, the fires were so great that they became national news. Every day the media would report on the Yellowstone fires. By July 27, the national government decided to intervene. It was on July 27 that the Interior Secretary, Donald Hodell, signed a paper to release the power of the government and the resources of the government to combat the Yellowstone fire.
So, the United States government sent 25,000 firefighters to Yellowstone National Park, 25,000 firefighters! The United States government sent 117 aircraft to fight the fire from the air through the use of chemicals. The United States government spent $120 million to destroy and defeat this fire, but the United States government failed, and the fire continued unabated, and it continued to burn all the way through August. It wasn’t until September 10, when the first snow fell in Yellowstone, that the fires began to abate. That first snowfall was followed by subsequent snowfalls. Winter did what mankind could not, and ultimately the fires in Yellowstone were out.
People looked at the smoldering ashes of our nation’s oldest national park, and they said it would never be the same. They said this generation would never again be able to see or witness the beauty of Yellowstone National Park. It was devastated. But, of course, today, almost 11 years later, everyone is singing a different tune. Yellowstone is becoming beautiful again. In fact, the park officers and those who work there and those who specialize in the environment say that Yellowstone is, perhaps, more beautiful than ever because the fire enriched the soil. It burned the undergrowth and the deadwood, and it fertilized the soil and enriched the soil. Flowers are growing everywhere with unprecedented growth and with great lushness. Those scrubs and trees were not planted in the aftermath of the fire. Scrubs and trees are just growing everywhere. The bristle cone pine, the pine tree that is indigenous to Yellowstone and is the most common tree in Yellowstone, has a seed that is coated with a hard wax. Those seeds are only released in intense heat. It takes the noonday sun, the afternoon sun of summer heat, to release those bristle cone pine seeds. Usually only a few of the seeds are released, but the fire, with its intense heat, released all the bristle cone pine seeds, and now bristle cone pines are just coming up in unprecedented numbers. This is an amazing thing to see.
The animals have returned, and they say Yellowstone is perhaps more beautiful than ever. John Varley, who is the Director of Yellowstone’s Center for Natural Resources, says that ecologically speaking, there was absolutely no downside to the fire of 1988. Zero downside.
I don’t know what you’re going through in your life. I don’t know the fires that may be ravaging you. I don’t know. They might be economic. You might be in the midst of some financial difficulty or hardship. Or they could be relational, of course. You might have lost somebody you love, or you might be afraid you’re going to lose somebody you love. Or maybe you’re just in the midst of relational strain, tension. Or maybe you have a real grave concern for your children who have gone astray. Maybe you’re being ravaged by disease, and you sense the burning of that fire, and you’re afraid. I don’t know what you’re going through, but I do know this. If you’re a Christian, there’s a promise given to you, and it is this: “All things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.”
I know that if you’re a Christian, God is at work in you and God loves you. That love enables us to “believe all things and hope all things.” And indeed, somehow God can take the devastation that’s in your life now and use it to bring some great harvest, some great blessing. God can use it to do wonderful things. He wants you to live your life with this kind of faith and this kind of hope. Whatever you’re going through, that’s the faith and hope of Christ, and it’s based on His love and a confidence in His love. Then Paul tells us, “Love endures all things.” Love believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.
Last Sunday night, Barb and I went with some folks from the church, some friends in a Bible study group… We went to DU to that new center, the Ritchie Center I think it’s called. It was the opening night. They had the Irish Tenors performing. We went with this church group to hear the Irish Tenors. As Barb and I were driving down the highway for this, we were talking to each other. I have to admit that Irish Tenors is not my favorite kind of music. I mean, that’s kind of embarrassing. The only thing worse than one Irish Tenor for me would be two Irish Tenors and there were three of these guys. So, we’re driving down there, and Barb was kind of looking forward to it—I mean, not overly excited, but just, you know, looking forward to it.
We got off of I-25 on University to come back to the DU area. When we got into the area there, we turned on a street. I think it was Buchtel. We turned on that street to park. I let Barb off, and then I went to park. It took me 40 minutes to park my car. It took me 40 minutes, and I went a block and a half, maybe two blocks. They were running everybody into one lane and then having us turn left into a bi-level parking area. At least when I finally got up there, they had one entrance to the parking area and one person, stopping each car one at a time, taking their money and giving them their change. Forty minutes! Well, when I got out of the car and then walked a couple of blocks into the Ritchie Center… Everybody was excited to be there, and I probably complained a little bit. I wasn’t real excited about the 40 minutes, but I pretty much enjoyed the concert. I have to say these Irish Tenors are awesome. They’re absolutely tremendous. No question of that.
When we were leaving (and we did leave early because I didn’t want to have 40 minutes getting out of the parking lot) and when we got home, we kind of discussed it. We both said we enjoyed it, but we both agreed that if they were there again and it took 40 minutes to park the car again, we probably wouldn’t want to do it. Why is that? Why wouldn’t I want to endure 40 minutes waiting to park my car? Because I don’t LOVE Irish Tenors. I don’t love their music. Now, the reality is you’re willing to endure something to the degree and to the extent that you love it. That’s why people are willing to wait an hour to park at a Bronco game, because they love the Broncos! They don’t just do it once. They do it again and again and again and again because they love the Broncos. They’re willing to wait an hour to leave the Bronco stadium because they love the Broncos. They’re willing to endure it because of love.
Some people, of course, are not willing to wait ten minutes to park on Sunday morning at church, and that’s because, perhaps, they don’t really love worship or the word or Christian fellowship. If you love something, it brings endurance with the love. For us as Christians, this is extremely important because, if we love God, we’re going to be willing to endure, and Christians desperately need endurance.
I think you know that earlier this month, on September 15, Wednesday night, September 15th, in Fort Worth, Texas, a man named Larry Gene Ashbrook, 47 years old, entered the Wedgewood Baptist Church there in Fort Worth. Shortly after 7:00 P.M. He went into a youth prayer and concert service and began spewing anti-Christian rhetoric, and then he began to open fire. He rolled a pipe bomb down the center aisle of the worship center, killed four teenagers, killed three adults, and wounded seven others. It was just a horrible tragedy, and then he killed himself. Police officers, later, at the home of Ashbrook, found a Bible that he had just shredded and ripped to pieces. This man was angry with God. This man hated Christians and Christianity, and so he went into a church and he just began to fire away.
Of course, the newspapers are not referring to this as a hate crime. I don’t know why. I mean, when the gay student at the University of Wyoming was tragically murdered, it was rightly called a hate crime. When the individual with murderous intent in Granada Hill, California, went into the Jewish Community Center, it was rightly called a hate crime. Somehow, you know, when Christians speak out against any action or behavior, it’s called hateful speech, but somehow when Christians are shot down, it’s not a hate crime. I don’t understand that, but I know this. I know that Christians in Fort Worth who lost loved ones… I know that they will endure because of the love of God. It’s the love of God that brings perseverance. It’s the love of God that enables us to keep the faith no matter what. It’s the love of God.
Christians who lost loved ones at Columbine, they will keep the faith. They will persevere. They will endure because of the love of God. The Bible says, “What shall separate us? What can separate us from the love of Christ? Can persecution or tribulation or peril or famine or nakedness or sword? For it is written, ‘We are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all of these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor heights, nor depths, nor anything else in all of creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”
So, you see, love believes all things. It hopes all things. It endures all things. I don’t know what you’re going through today, but I do know that God loves you. If you love Him and His love is working in you, there’s a measure of faith, hope and endurance at work in you.
You know, one of my favorite chapters in the Bible (and as we close I want to share a portion of this chapter) is Hebrews, chapter 11, where the author of Hebrews writes, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. It is the conviction of things not seen. By faith, people of old received divine approval. By faith, we understand that the world, the universe, was created by the word of God so that things which exist were made out of things which do not appear. By faith, Abel offered to God a sacrifice more acceptable than Cain through which he received approval, as righteous God-bearing witness, by accepting His gifts. He died, but through his faith he is speaking still.
“By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found because God had taken him. Before he was taken, he was attested as having pleased God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he who would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him. By faith, Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, took heed in the constructing of an ark for the saving of his household. By this, he condemned the world of the ungodly and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith.
“By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called by God to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith, he sojourned in a land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise, for they looked forward to the city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God.
“By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was well past the age, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Thus, from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants, as many as the stars of the heavens and the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”
When you go through that chapter, you read about the prophets. You read about the period of the judges. You read about men and women of faith. You read about people who were sawed in two for their faith, people who were persecuted, people who dwelt in dens and caves of the earth, of whom this world was not worthy. You read about people who lived a life of faith and hope, and people who exercised endurance. Why did they have this faith and this hope and this endurance? Because somehow, in some measure, they had been touched by the Love of God. The love of God produces faith and hope and endurance.
This morning, as we close, I want to encourage you to believe all things, all things promised by God. I want to encourage you to hope all things. Never lose hope in any circumstance or situation. Endure all things for His kingdom’s sake, because God is at work in you. Let’s close with a word of prayer.