West Point Road Church of Christ
Exiled
      • Bible Trivia
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      • John 15.9-11ESV

      • John 15.12-14ESV

      • John 15.15ESV

  • What a Friend We have in Jesus
  • Precious Lord

      • Revelation 12.10ESV

      • Revelation 12.11ESV

  • Let the Beauty of Jesus
  • Hallelujah What a Savior
  • Let the Lower Lights Be Burning
  • There's a Great Day Coming

  • Working Definition of Love

    Jesus’s first choice was not to go to the cross, but He showed love by putting God’s will first, others second, and Himself last.
    For the Christian, this idea may be expressed in the acronym JOY. Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last.
    Notice again what Jesus did.
    Matthew 26:38–39 KJV 1900
    Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
    It is clear what Jesus wanted and that was to avoid the cross. However, notice the order of priority He put things in. The Father’s will must come first. The Father’s plan of Jesus dying on the cross was not due to sin that Jesus had, but was rather for the benefit of all the other humans. The will of Jesus came last. The Father’s will first, others second, Himself last. In the case of Christianity, Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last.
    Our working definition of love might be paraphrased as “Love is doing what is right with God and best for the other person, even if you don’t get what you want.”
    Part of the Christian life really may be the transforming of our minds to stop seeking things for ourselves.
    1 Corinthians 13:5 KJV 1900
    Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
    Instead, we seek the will of the Father and Jesus and the putting of others before ourselves.
    Philippians 2:3 ASV 1901
    doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself;
    Jesus told His disciples how to make themselves great.
    Mark 9:35 KJV 1900
    And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
    Perhaps as we study the following attributes of love and practice them, we will begin putting the Father’s will first, others second, and ourselves last. By continuing to study and practice this, we may just end up transforming our lives into the Christians God would have us to be and transforming our desires into those that match with God’s desires. In that sense, by loving God and others and putting them before ourselves, we end up fulfilling our own desires because we have transformed our mind into wanting what God wants and what is best for others.

    Suffereth Long

    We now begin looking at the first attribute of love.
    1 Corinthians 13:4 KJV 1900
    Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
    Sometimes you might see this same idea translated “Love is patient.” However, to make sure that we are on the same page, we need to define what type of patience we are talking about.
    The patience we are talking about is not just a simple waiting. We might say that we had to be patient while waiting for our spouse to get ready to leave. That’s not the type of patience about which we are talking.
    The Greek word translated “suffers long” has a different slant on its meaning.
    to bear up under provocation without complaint, be patient, forbearing
    ​
    William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 612.
    We are talking about patience, but we are talking about the patience that endures and forbears under difficulty.
    It might seem intolerable if you are waiting for your spouse to get ready so that you can go to the restaurant because you are hungry, but we all know there are much worse problems in the world than that. The love we are talking about is able to bear up under difficulty without complaint, forbear or put up with others, or as the KJV puts it “suffereth long.”
    Paul may somewhat touch on this idea of bearing up under difficulties in verse 7.
    1 Corinthians 13:7 KJV 1900
    Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

    Why Suffering?

    It may seem strange to talk about suffering as the first attribute in a long list of attributes about love. After all, when we think of love we may think of something we would describe as warm and fuzzy. And while love can include a warm feeling for someone, that does not automatically mean that everything we do in love will be something we enjoy.
    John 3:16 KJV 1900
    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
    What did Jesus have to do in order to show love to the world? Die on the cross. Did He enjoy that or look forward to it? No.
    Matthew 26:38–39 KJV 1900
    Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
    What about Jesus’s description of the greatest love?
    John 15:13 KJV 1900
    Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
    You might be able to show great love to someone by giving up your life, but that doesn’t mean it would be your first choice if you had a preference.
    Why should we include suffering in a list of attributes about love? Because love is not something that is expressed only when things are going great. Love can be expressed when things are going terribly.

    In It To Win It

    The other reason we are talking about suffering when it comes to love is because if you are going to follow Christ and if you are going to make it to Heaven, you have to be in it to win it. You have to be willing to go all the way. You have to be willing to love God and others no matter what.
    Loving God means doing His commandments.
    John 14:15 ASV 1901
    If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments.
    Keeping God’s commandments means loving others even when difficulties arise.
    Matthew 5:38–39 KJV 1900
    Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
    Love is not going to be something you only practice when people are good to you. Christians need to practice love, even to our enemies.
    Matthew 5:43–47 KJV 1900
    Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
    How do we show love, even in hard times? We continue following God’s will and our acronym of JOY, Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last.
    We practice kindness.
    1 Corinthians 13:4 KJV 1900
    Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
    Proverbs 25:21–22 KJV 1900
    If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, And the Lord shall reward thee.
    We do not seek vengeance for wrongdoings.
    Romans 12:19 KJV 1900
    Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
    We show love.
    Luke 6:35 KJV 1900
    But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
    How can we do all that?
    We remember that our first priority is to please God. No matter what, we need to be conforming ourselves to the will of God.
    God said we are not to conquer evil with more evil.
    Romans 12:21 KJV 1900
    Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
    What type of good should we show toward those that give us difficulties?
    Matthew 5:43–44 KJV 1900
    Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
    Show love to your enemies
    Bless those that curse you
    Do good to those that hate you
    Pray for those that use you and persecute you.
    While doing this we remember that suffering comes with the territory.
    John 15:20 KJV 1900
    Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
    Suffering comes with Christianity. Suffering and forbearing comes with love. Love suffereth long. Perhaps Paul and the Holy Spirit really thought it best to put the ability to suffer as the first attribute in the list of attributes of love. If you are not willing to suffer, if you are not willing to forbear or put up with others, and if you are not willing to go all the way, then you will not be able to show the love that Christ had. Christ was willing to suffer, willing to forbear and put up with others, and He was willing to go all the way, even to the point of death. That’s the biblical love we are talking about. If we refuse to show love to our enemies, if we refuse to put up with the bad actions of others, if we refuse to do good to those that persecute us, if we refuse to pray for our enemies, then we are refusing to show the love of Christ. If we refuse to put up with others that treat us wrongly, then there really may be no point in going further in the study of the attributes of love. We have already failed on the first one.
    Love suffers long. We have to be willing to suffer and forbear and be patient, even when we suffer and have difficulties. And, we have to be able to continue to do it for a long time. How long? As long as it takes. We have to be willing, like Jesus, to go all the way.
    Revelation 12:10–11 KJV 1900
    And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

    Conclusions

    Love is putting the will of God first and others second, and yourself last.
    Love suffers long. It bears up under difficulty and it forbears, or puts up with, others.
    By putting the will of the Father first, love is practiced by:
    Showing love to your enemies
    Blessing those that curse you
    Doing good to those that hate you
    Praying for those that use you and persecute you.
    Love doesn’t quit. It suffers all the way to the end.

      • Matthew 26:38–39KJV1900

      • 1 Corinthians 13:5KJV1900

      • Philippians 2:3KJV1900

      • Mark 9:35KJV1900

      • 1 Corinthians 13:4KJV1900

      • 1 Corinthians 13:7KJV1900

      • John 3:16KJV1900

      • Matthew 26:38–39KJV1900

      • John 15:13KJV1900

      • John 14:15KJV1900

      • Matthew 5:38–39KJV1900

      • Matthew 5:43–47KJV1900

      • 1 Corinthians 13:4KJV1900

      • Proverbs 25:21–22KJV1900

      • Romans 12:19KJV1900

      • Luke 6:35KJV1900

      • Romans 12:21KJV1900

      • Matthew 5:43–44KJV1900

      • John 15:20KJV1900

      • Revelation 12:10–11KJV1900

West Point Road Church of Christ
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920-497-2021
https://wprcoc.faithlifesites.com
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