Jesus Christ

Sometime during the last half of the nineteenth century, a Scottish author and evangelist by the name of Henry Drummond wrote a classic sermon called “The Greatest Thing in the World.” It was about love and was based on 1 Corinthians 13, which is certainly viewed as one of the greatest chapters in the Bible. If people know anything at all about the book of 1 Corinthians, this is probably the chapter that comes most to their mind. In any collection of great chapters, this is one that must necessarily be included.

It is not a hard chapter to analyze. I think it is a hard chapter to preach on simply because it is so profound. There is a preface in the New International Version, which is carried over from the last chapter and printed properly with this one. Paul says, “Now I am going to show you a more excellent way.” Then he has three points which are easy to follow. He talks about the importance of love in verses 1-3. Then he talks secondly about love’s nature in verses 4-7. The third point is love’s permanence, which you have in verses 8-12. Finally, he wraps it all up with the very last verse about faith, hope, and love.

The apostle John wrote his first epistle to reassure people who want to know they are saved. He gave them three tests by which they could know they were Christians. The first was to believe the right things about Christ, because if you do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the Lord, you are no Christian. The second was to obey God’s commandments and live a righteous life. The third test was that of love. Do you really love the Lord, and because you do, do you really love the brethren?

In addition to knowing people who are patient and kind, there are also those who do not envy, those who do not boast, and those who are not proud. But the difficulty, you see, is in getting all of these things together. I know people who are patient, but they do not persevere. Or there are people who are kind, but they are really not very hopeful. When you begin to ask if there is anybody like that, we conclude that there is no one who meets that standard from which we all fall short except for Jesus Christ. Isn’t this a portrait of Christ?

That leads to our last point, which is where Paul himself is going. He has talked about the importance of love and the nature of love. And if we really understand these two things, it follows that love never fails. All these other things he mentions are going to fail. Prophecies will cease. Tongues will be stilled. Knowledge will pass away. All these things are partial. But love will not pass away. He concludes this chapter by saying that faith, hope, and love remain, but the greatest of these is love. Even when our faith falters and our hope disappears for a season, the love of God for us in Christ abides.