The Coolidge examiner., 1936-10-23
Lesson for October Is
CHRISTIANITY AS LOVE

CHRISTIANITY AS LOVE
LESSON TEXT-Acts 18:1-4; l Cor
inthians 13.
GOLDEN TEXT-And now abideth
faith, hope. charity Qove), these three;
but the greatest of these is charity
Qove). l Cor. 1913.
PRIMARY TOPIC-Why Paul Was Not
Afraid
JUNIOR TOPIC - Courage in the
Night
INTERMEDIATE AND NOR
TOPIC-What Christian Love Is and
Does.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADUL T
TOPIC-Love, the Law of Life.
By way of Athens the apostle Paul
and his co-workers came to Cor
inth, one of the great commercial
and social centers of Greece. 1t
was city known for its magnifi-
cent architecture and its patronage
of the fine arts, but even more
widely known for its abandonment
to vice and wickedness. Here Paul,
the apostle of faith, demonstrated
that his faith was rooted in love,
and it was to the Christians who
were dwelling in this Infamous spot
of corruption that he addressed his
supremely pure and beautiful dis
course on love.
The first portion of our lesson
finds Paul at Corinth, and provides
an introduction to the study of the
love chapter from I Corinthians by
showing from his experience that
L. Love Is a Fact, Not a Theory
(Acts 1919.
The man whom we now recognize
as perhaps the greatest preacher
and tea cher of Christian truth who
ever followed the Lord Jesus Christ
"came to Corinth" That great and
busy city in all probability knew
nothing of his arrival and cared
nothing for his message. No one
met the distinguished messenger of
God and received him into a home
of comfort and honor.
But God had not forgotten him.
For we read that Paul found
certain Jew''-a convert to Christ,
and his noble wife, and "abode with
them" Persecution had sent Aquila
to Corinth, and he was there for
Paul to find.
And the humility of loving service
expresses itself further in the fact
that the one who was to bring
Corinth the glorious message of the
gospel did so at his own cost. He
labored with his hands at the trade
which he, as every Jewish boy,
had been taught by his father.
Christianity does not ask, What
will ye give me?" but How much
can give?"
In his first letter to the church
which grew up at Corinth we find
the enexhaustibly rich chapter in
which Paul 50 fittingly describes
true Christian love. 1t is impossible
in any short discussion of this pas
sage to make a complete study of it.,
but we note
III. Four Truths About Love Il
Cor. 13:1-10.
1. Love is superior to the other
graces (vv. 1-3).
Life has many excellent gifts and
men seek after them. How do they
compare with love? Glowing elo-
quence, the far-seeing eye of the
prophet, mountain moving faith,
self-sa acrifice-without love they all
lose their worth; in feet they are
nothing. All the attainments of men
apart from Christ are vain and
empty.
2. Love is necessary to the other
graces (vv. 4-O.
There is a sense in which love
is not so much a grace in itself
as the underlying and motivating
power, which shows in every fine
and noble expression of Christian
chara cter. Study these verses to
see how patiently and unSelfshly
love works.
8. Love is permanent; 9th r
graces fail wv. 8-12).
Some gifts will cease, for there
will no longer be any need for
them. They are temporary in their
value or simply a means to an
end. But love-it began with God
in eternity and will go on with
him through eternity. Why then do
we labor and seek after these other
graces so diligently and neglect the
one grace which is above them all,
for
4. Love is supreme ". 49,.
Even over those other graces
which with love will abide, namely,
faith and hope, love stands su-
preme. 1t is the fundamental of
all fundamentals. Without it all else
is empty and futile. And let us
remember, this is not pious theory;
it is fact and to be translated into
daily life.