Ben O'Grady - Do All for the Glory of God (1 Corinthians) - Class 5 - A More Excellent Way

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   To introduce to Ben’s talks, we’re going to read First Corinthians chapter 12 from verse 25 to chapter 13, verse 7. But if you read your handbook, there’s a brackets until 8I. I would guess that means the first sentence of first sight of chapter 13. So we’ll get Brother Andrew Ackerman to read that for us, please.

2. 0:27

   Reading with you First Corinthians chapter 12, starting verse 25. That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular, and God has set some in the ecclesia. First apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers. After that, miracles meant gifts of healing, Helps governments, diversities of tongues.

3. 1:07

   Are all apostles are all prophets, Are all teachers, are all workers of miracles, Have all the gifts of healing. Do all speak with tongues, do all interpret, but cover earnestly the best gifts, and yet show I unto you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tons of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as a sounding brass, or a tinkling symbol. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And now I bestow all my goods to feed the poor. And though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.

4. 2:01

   Love suffereth long, and is kind. Love envieth not. Love wanteth not itself, is not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not an iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, love never faileth.

5. 2:35

   Thank you, Andrew, with that introductory reading. Now we ask your attention to Brother Ben’s talk. Yet shall I unto you a more excellent way.

6. 2:46

   Well, thanks, brother Charles, and good evening. Good morning, my dear brothers and sisters and young people. So we’ve come to know that struggling Corinthian ecclesia, haven’t we? We’ve come to to reach into the heart of the issues that were eating the heart out of that ecclesia. And yet we’ve seen with Paul that power of the ability to to pull away from just these issues here in the nitty gritty of those and to come back to the broader principles that are at stake, the principles of God, which actually give us the answers to exactly how we can create unity and strength within our ecclesial environments.

7. 3:17

   So yesterday we saw some strong connections to to Moses and to Israel in the wilderness. And I just want to commence this morning by pulling that together to show to show the different connections that we’ve seen and just pull that together to see why Paul was making this connection. And then particularly to see why Paul is doing that and the power of that for us. So here I have up on the screen now I must just say that many of these connections were given to me by brother Stephen Palmer. So appreciate the contribution he’s he’s made in this and some of the connections that we saw yesterday as well. So there are two parallel components that that the apostle pulls through here.

8. 3:55

   There are a number of connections back to the wilderness wanderings and the work of the wilderness wanderings. The first is that there is a comparison between Paul himself and Moses, the role of Moses and the role of Paul. And the second is the comparison between the, the congregation in the wilderness and the ecclesia at Corinth. So the first, which we saw in our first talk together was that in Exodus chapter 4, where Moses says, I’m not eloquent, I I can’t come, I can’t go and speak to Pharaoh. I can’t do it myself.

9. 4:25

   So this was a man, remember, who is mighty in Word and deed, and yet had turned to a man who was completely humbled and said, I can’t do it. I can’t go on my own strength. And likewise, we saw in in one Corinthians 1 exactly the same character out of Paul himself who says, and remember, this is Paul who is the the great Pharisee.

10. 4:44

    He came with. He sees I came not with Excellency of speech. There’s also a connection out of Numbers chapter 12, this idea of being faithful, faithful in all my house, God’s description of Moses, and likewise a connection into the stewards and the man being found faithful. I’m not going to go through them all in detail here, but what I just want you to to do is to see the number, to be impressed by the number of connections that there are back to the wilderness wanderings. And to see this is a very clear theme. So First Corinthians 2 and four, as you see here, and then into the section of First Corinthians 13 and 14 where there’s also a number of connections as you see on the screen there. And as we saw yesterday, there was also the very strong connections into First Corinthians 10. So there’s a number of connections that take us back in our thoughts to the congregation in the wilderness. So why does the Apostle Paul do this? Why is he making this clear connection back to the concepts of the ecclesia in the wilderness? Well, I believe it’s because the particular issues of the congregation in the wilderness are exactly those that he was struggling with in in Corinth.

11. 5:59

    The first was that they challenged the authority of Moses. There was this constant challenge against the authority of Moses. The second was that there were individuals who would create issues that would then spread throughout the whole congregation. And interestingly, if you go back and have a look in 1st Corinthians 10, as we did yesterday, a number of those issues had occurred from individuals who had started that often because they were challenging Moses, and that that would then go and spread throughout the whole congregation.

12. 6:27

    We find that God’s glory is revealed both in judgement and in evidence of His support towards the faithful and particularly of Moses, but also, interestingly, that everyone, including Moses and Aaron themselves, were learning that they did nothing in their own strength. They learnt that they were there as instruments of God to help, to build up and to encourage the congregation in its journey through the wilderness until they could finally come into the Promised Land. It’s the challenge against Moses, individuals who cause issues to spread through the whole congregation, God’s glory being revealed both in judgement and support, and all of us learning that we do nothing in our own strength but as instruments of God.

13. 7:13

    So why then does Paul pick up this obvious and strong connection back to the wilderness wanderings? Well, clearly he is drawing a comparison between himself and Moses as faithful stewards with whom God had communed. I believe that actually the apostle Paul is showing the Corinthian ecclesia that the attitude that they were showing towards him and their challenge of him as their father in the truth was very similar to the constant challenge that Moses had with the ecclesia in the wilderness.

14. 7:43

    He showed the clear parallels that existed between Israel in the wilderness and the issues that were eating out the heart of the Corinthian ecclesia, and therefore he is warning the Corinthian ecclesia to look closely at themselves. Now here’s the lesson for us, because living in these last days, could we imagine that the that the warnings of Paul taken out of the congregation in the wilderness are not equally applicable to us? Well, he tells us in 1st Corinthians 10 that they are exactly there for our case.

15. 8:20

    Now these things were our examples to the intent we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. These things were our examples was the comment that Paul made. So he’s telling both the Corinthian ecclesia, but 2000 years later he’s calling out to us also that the things that happened to that ecclesia were examples to us because they mirror what happens in ecclesial life even today.

16. 8:45

    Am I taking that too far? Well, let’s go to the next verse he uses on that. Now all these things happened unto them, for in samples they’re an example. They’re an in sample to us, and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. He writes to the Corinthian ecclesia upon whom the ends of the world are come, brothers and sisters and young people.

17. 9:07

    If that phrase was relevant to the Corinthian ecclesia in Paul’s time and the change of the world that was to occur in that time, how much more powerful is that phrase for us who live with a cacophony of the screams of the world as it’s going to the end of the world of all worlds.

18. 9:26

    For us who live at the time, we’re the end of all the world’s that come essentially as all of time is come together focused upon the return of Christ. And we can clearly take the the lessons out of both the congregation in the wilderness, but also out of the ecclesia and Corinth to ourselves, can’t we?

19. 9:43

    Because it’s saying those things were in samples. They were provided to us as an in sample. They are written for our admonition, that we need to take the example and the admonition out of it. Upon surely whom the ends of the world are come.

20. 10:02

    And then comes the warning in the very next verse. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth. Take heed lest he fall. The Apostle, as he has done throughout this book, but is now starting to do so very powerfully, is pleading with us to take the principles from the Corinthian ecclesia and to apply it to ourselves personally.

21. 10:26

    He’s saying to us that the words he has spoken, that the principles he has talked about, are principles that we must personally make our own, that we must take and actually take into our own hearts. It’s not just something that someone else in the ecclesia should be considering. It’s not something that we can use to take a good whack at someone else in the ecclesia who’s clearly missing the point.

22. 10:50

    The apostle has made a a dramatic plea for each of us personally to take these principles and apply them to ourselves. You know, it would be so easy for us, wouldn’t it, brothers and sisters? Because this is often what we do is to just be touched by the principles we’ve heard, to think about them and and to be touched by them, and then to walk away without changing, without transforming ourselves. We need to take the time to sit down and to think about the principles that we’ve seen out of this book to the Corinthian ecclesia.

23. 11:27

    We actually need to take the time to sit down to stop the rush of daily life and to write out how we can apply them to our life. Maybe to take the top ten issues or or the top ten matters that are that we’re struggling with and to say, how can we take these principles?

24. 11:45

    How can we apply the the wisdom of the apostle Paul and go back to the godly principle involved? Here’s the issue now. What’s the godly principle involved and how can we learn ourselves to respond to this? Let him that thinketh, he standeth. Take heed lest he fall. It’s it’s a plea to each of us to stay, to say even when we think we’re going well, there is a clear lesson here that we need to stop and examine ourselves and learn and see where we might actually be struggling underneath.

25. 12:18

    It’s not good enough just to be touched and to walk, walk away, but we need to actually apply them in our own lives, he says in the next verse. There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

26. 12:42

    There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. And what the apostles point is, the temptations that the ecclesia in the wilderness faced were exactly the same temptations that the ecclesia in Corinth were facing. There was no difference. He’s shown it was a completely different era with completely different technologies. Even in Paul’s time, it was in such a different environment. You couldn’t take a a more different environment, really, could you?

27. 13:09

    Between the the ecclesia or the congregation in the wilderness with all of their struggles, and the thriving metropolis in the beautiful city of Corinth with all their struggles. And yet the apostle says the temptations that have taken both of those eccleses are exactly the same. There is no new temptation. And if that’s the case, brothers and sisters, then how much more do those words apply to us who are living at the times of the ends of the world?

28. 13:34

    To say, even in our technological age, even with all of the struggles we have, the temptations and the difficulties that we face are exactly those which are brethren in the wilderness and our brethren in the Corinthian ecclesia themselves faced. How can that be? They didn’t face the sort of temptations that we face with technology and all the the the the busyness of life and rushing from from place to place. They didn’t have those issues.

29. 14:05

    But the point that the apostle has shown us is the principles, the underlying principles are exactly the same. That we need to learn that flesh is nothing, that no flesh can glory in God’s presence. That we are not our own, that we are brought with a price, and therefore that our whole work is to become a slave, a minister for God.

30. 14:31

    That God can then lift us up and turn us into Co labourers with Him, so that our focus becomes only upon building and developing and growing the ecclesial environment. Those principles are powerful for the ecclesia in the wilderness, for the ecclesia in Corinth, and for our ecclesia now in the last days before Christ’s return.

31. 14:55

    And so the apostle in this section here from First Corinthians 12 through to 14, starts to turn his focus to the problem of the Spirit gifts and the use of the Spirit gifts. Interestingly, the issue with the Spirit gifts was exactly the same issue as had been faced by Moses. Not that they had the spirit gifts in the wilderness, but so the issue time and time again in the wilderness was the challenge to the authority of Moses. In every circumstance there were individuals who were envious of Moses and ambitious for pre eminence in the congregation. That one of the major problems of the ecclesia in the wilderness was ambition for pre eminence in the congregation. And that is exactly the issue that the Apostle Paul deals with this morning around the matter of the Spirit gifts. Because the issue in One Corinthians 12 and the use of the Spirit gifts was caused by the ambitions of people within the Corinthian ecclesia who wanted to have the most visible and the most respected of gifts.

32. 16:11

    Although interestingly, we shall find that it was not the most beneficial of gifts, the gift that they all desired, that they all wanted to have, was not the one that would build up the ecclesia the most, but which was the most visible so that other people could see them and their use of the gifts and their pre eminence in the ecclesia. So this chapter has to do with the use of the Spirit gifts, which of course we don’t have today. But the reality is, as we have often found with the apostle, that in answering this particular issue he gives us the border principle, which becomes utterly relevant for us today. The issue created by the misuse of the Spirit gifts in Paul’s time, the disharmony that it created, is exactly replicated today.

33. 17:04

    If we act in a selfish, or more particularly if we act with ambition in ecclesial life today, there is no place for ambition, no place for seeking pre eminence in the ecclesia. To have ambition in ecclesial life will inevitably lead to division and heartache in ecclesia. You see, the principle of Corinthians is that it is about flesh being nothing, that we become slaves of God and therefore we are working to the expansion of God and of his glory. And so we find that the Apostle Paul gives us the perfect antidote, the perfect answer to his to to the ambition shown within the ecclesia and to show instead the fundamental importance of diversity that each diverse brother and sister brings to eclesial life together. It is not about ambition in terms of pre eminence, but about the contribution that we make as diverse brothers and sisters working together for the sake of and for the glory of God, that we can build and develop the ecclesia together. And so here in first Corinthians 12 and verse one. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

34. 18:33

    So the apostle is dealing particularly clearly with the use of Holy Spirit gifts in Corinth. So what was the problem? Verse 2 You know that you were Gentiles carried away into these dumb idols even as you were led. Wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Spirit.

35. 18:55

    So there were people who were clearly saying things that were against the principles of truth, but claiming to do so with the Holy Spirit. And that the apostle says it cannot be the case. You cannot have the Holy Spirit and be using the Holy Spirit to say things which destroy the principles and the doctrines of the truth.

36. 19:13

    Verse 4. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of administrations, but the same law. There are diversities of operations, the same God which worketh All in all. And so he’s telling the ecclesia that there is this diversity, this difference of contribution that they make to the ecclesial environment.

37. 19:37

    But if we come across to chapter 14, we find that this diversity of contribution in itself had become what then started to cause the issue within that environment. So chapter 14 and in verse one follow after love and desire, spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophecy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue or in tongues, speaketh not unto men, but unto God.

38. 20:00

    For no man understandeth him, howbeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men, to edification, exhortation, and to comfort. So he says if someone’s there speaking in a foreign language in tongues and no one understands it, then the whole thing is pointless, isn’t it? He said someone can stand up and talk in a foreign language, and if they did that to me, I would have no idea whatsoever. I did very badly in French and Latin at school, and even worse in German.

39. 20:29

    If someone speaks to me in a foreign language, I’ll have no idea what they’re saying, I can’t understand it, and the whole thing is pointless. But he says, if they’re speaking in the common tongue and using the Spirit of Prophecy to build up the power of scriptural exhortation and exposition, then it encourages all. Verse four, He that speaketh in a tongue edifieth himself, but he that prophesieth edifieth the ecclesia. I would that ye all speak with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied.

40. 20:58

    For greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret that the ecclesia may receive edifying. Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I speak to you either by revelation, or knowledge, or prophesying, or by doctrine? So he’s saying just the use of tongues itself is not going to be helpful, that it has to be actually the contribution of the opening up of the word.

41. 21:23

    That was to be the powerful contribution for for the ecclesia. So there were people who who thought that the best gift to obtain was the ability to speak in tongues. It was the most obvious, the most impressive and visible. Wow, look how impressive they are. They must be spiritual because they’re able to stand up and visibly, visibly show the power of God by speaking another language.

42. 21:48

    It’s clear that they have the spirit gifts there. It was an obvious visible gift, and people had become ambitious to have this visible gift. It became the gift that everyone wanted to have. We want to have this visible gift of the tongues. And Paul says no, it’s not about that, he says it’s about desiring to have gifts that can be used in a way that edifies the most.

43. 22:13

    So here is the lesson of ambition. There is no place, no benefit for ambition in ecclesial life to seek the pre eminence or the importance.

44. 22:32

    No ambition does exist and it exists in Eclesial life and it devastates eclesial life because we put ourselves above the ecclesia. God is asking us to contribute with every fibre of our being the gifts that God has given us.

45. 23:03

    But it can never be on the basis of ambition because ambition will always cause division. It will always lead to division because it’s about me and what I’m doing and what I try to achieve. And whenever that becomes the focus of an ecclesia and the whole power of an ecclesia and its ability to work together is destroyed.

46. 23:24

    You may have noticed in those verses we read that edify and edification becomes one of the key themes and of course that picks up from what we’ve looked at in the last few sessions, isn’t it? All things are lawful to me. I can justify anything, but all things edify not, do not build up and and assist the ecclesia. So verse three, he that prophesied speaketh unto men to edification and exhortation and comfort. The purpose of it was to edify to build up. Verse four, he that speaketh in a tongue edifieth himself. He might help himself, he might learn some things himself, but all he’s doing is building himself up. It doesn’t contribute or assist anyone else. But if you can prophecy that edifies the entire body of the ecclesia, at the end of verse 5 he says I would through that verse I would.

47. 24:14

    You’ll speak with tongues, but rather you prophesied. For greater is he that prophesied than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret that the ecclesia may receive edifying. And so the Apostle shows us that the focus of our contribution must not be on our pre eminence and what we can do to be visible, but to see what we can do to contribute the most for edification and for building up.

48. 24:39

    What can we contribute with every fibre of our being that will build up and assist our ecclesial environment? You know he says in verse 33 of of that chapter in such a beautiful phrase, God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. As in all the eccleses of the Saints. God is not the author of confusion. God does not intend our ecclesial environments to be 1 of confusion.

49. 25:06

    He wants them to be a place of peace and of harmony. If matters are creating confusion and division in ecclesial life, then they cannot have come from God, because God will never be the author of confusion, but of peace. You know, it got to such an extent in that ecclesia in Corinth that Paul had to tell them that if they were giving a a public lecture to preach to external people who had no knowledge of God, that if they all stood up there in their pre eminence, in their ambition to have their show and were babbling away at the same time in tongues that no one else could understand, then it was clear they were not making sense. You imagine that as a picture for a public lecture. In walks the visitor and everyone’s standing up at the same time, all rabbiting away in tongues which no one else can understand.

50. 25:56

    And the visitor looks there and says this is madness, this is confusion. And to someone who doesn’t understand the tongues, they’ll come in and say you’re mad and the glory of God is absolutely destroyed. It made no sense to me. It made no sense to you. I’m going to leave this place because they’re mad.

51. 26:18

    Paul’s message is very clear that rather than wanting to have the visible, impressive, obvious gifts, he pleads with them to control the use of the gifts. He says the Spirit is subject unto you. So even even if you have the spirit that allows you to speak in tongues, if no one can interpret, then you stay quiet, because otherwise you are causing disharmony, not edification.

52. 26:49

    When we come together in our ecclesias, brothers and sisters and young people, God is never the author of confusion, but of peace. He wants us to edify and to build up rather than bring confusion.

53. 27:08

    There’s a lovely little phrase at the end of chapter 14 and verse 14. Let all things be done decently and in order. It’s a phrase perhaps we we rather glibly throw out there in an ecclesial context, doesn’t it? But just stop for a moment and contemplate the beauty of that phrase. All things done decently and in order.

54. 27:33

    If only that could be the focus that we bring to our contribution to ecclesial life. It’s it’s not about me. It’s not about my visibility. How can I constructively provide to the enclosure what will be done decently and in order so that the whole ecclesial environment there is is in a decent and ordered and harmonious sense.

55. 27:55

    It’s not people focused on themselves, but want, wanting things to be done pleasantly and constructively to build up. So Paul was dealing with this situation where the where the ecclesia had become ambitious for the visible gifts, ambitious to be seen with the greatest gifts. And therefore the focus had gone on perhaps the least beneficial of all gifts, the gift of tongues.

56. 28:23

    And so therefore, if we come back to chapter 12 and verse 4. The apostle starts to tell us about the power of the different gifts that the Spirit has given in First Corinthians 12 and in verse 4. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

57. 28:52

    There are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all and in all. There are different gifts, but it’s the same Spirit that gives. So whether the Spirit has given an ability to speak in tongues or to prophecy or in some other capacity, I need to remember that it is what the Spirit wants rather than how I appear.

58. 29:19

    The Spirit has deliberately provided a diversity of gifts in order for the whole ecclesial body to work together. Can I say that again, because this is fundamental to the working of our ecclesias, the Spirit has deliberately provided a diversity of gifts in order for the whole ecclesial body to work together. But the point is that that just cries out to us from this section here, that those diversities of gifts are given by the same Spirit that is working, the same Spirit that is working for the same common outcome to build up and to develop the glory of God.

59. 30:01

    So chapter 12 and verse 4, we’ve seen here it’s the same spirit. Verse 5, it’s the same Lord. Verse 6, it’s the same God which worketh All in all. Verse 8 it’s given by the one Spirit, the Word of wisdom to another, by the Word of knowledge by the same Spirit. Verse 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit.

60. 30:23

    Verse 11 all these worketh that one in the self same spirit. Verse 13 For by 1 spirit are we baptized into one body, whether George, Gentiles, whether bond or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit. So the point is this is God’s work. It’s God’s focus that he has here and he is using his Spirit to, to use our diversity and the strengths that we bring to, to develop the unity through the same spirit that he’s using to build up that ecclesial environment. It’s God’s provision, it’s God’s work, not our own. Interestingly, in verse 5, there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord begins to expand the concept, doesn’t it?

61. 31:06

    It’s not just the the visible spirit gifts we have, but it’s the ministry, the service, the slavery that we can provide. Remember, we’re slaves. That was the concept we saw earlier in Corinthians. We’re slaves to provide service for the building up of an ecclesia. And can you see how this takes the focus of the ecclesia away from their ambition to have the visible gifts to remind us all that we are slaves together who are ministering to the ecclesial environment? Each of us have different services that we provide. It’s not about me or my ambition or my greatness. It’s about what I as an individual can do in service to serve my Lord and brothers and sisters and young people. It’s the same Lord who we all share together. Verse 6.

62. 32:05

    There are diversities of operations, but it’s the same God who worketh all and all. It’s God’s work as the Spirit. Diversities of service, yes, but one Lord who we serve, diversities of operation. But what we do in ecclesial life underneath it all is exactly the same God who is there working in your life and in my life. And the point is, it’s God which worketh all and in all. That concept is that God is working in each one of us as individuals.

63. 32:42

    There is not one of us, brothers and sisters, who God is not working with, who he is taking and working with and working in. Can you see that He is all and in all that every one of us with our different gifts are a, are a, a work which God is doing to work in US and as part of us and through us.

64. 33:02

    And this concept of All in all actually becomes a major theme throughout this this book of, of Corinthians, the concept of God being All in all, which we shall see in its final glorious conclusion in the resurrection tomorrow in One Corinthians 15 is really the concept of God’s glory. So I want to take a moment to go back and just to show you the theme of God’s glory as it’s been developing through this book. The 1st that we saw was in One Corinthians 1 and verse 29 that no flesh should glory in God’s presence. We saw that very clearly, didn’t we? The first concept that ecclesia had to learn and which we need to learn is it’s not about us.

65. 33:42

    It’s not our glory, no flesh, no ability of the flesh to glory in God’s presence. But verse 31 of that chapter instead to to turn our attention and to show us that he that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. And what we found in in that talk was not that that us glorying in the Lord is just to say, well, there’s God and I can rejoice in him, But more particularly that the concept of US glory in the Lord is that we desire to contribute to, to become part of his glory. It’s the concept of God manifestation, isn’t it? No flesh can glory in his presence, but we desire to, to become part.

66. 34:19

    We can glory. He’s telling us we can glory in Yahweh’s glory, his work to, to, to fill the earth with his glory. We’ve got no glory of ourselves, but we can glory in God. In First Corinthians 2 and verse 7, he said we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory.

67. 34:47

    So he’s just changed that focus a little, hasn’t he? We are to glory in the Lord, to glory in God, but God interestingly before has taken the hidden wisdom and before the world, He’s ordained it unto our glory. So God’s actually saying that His glory can become part of our glory, that we can become glorious with Him as we grow and develop with Him. Well, First Corinthians 2 and verse 8, which none of the Princess of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. And so he’s telling us there that Christ becomes the ultimate Lord of glory, the Lord who provides glory. I’ll, I’ll just quote to you from Hebrews one. Don’t worry about turning this up, but Hebrews 1. So here’s this concept.

68. 35:39

    If we just keep this in our mind that no flesh glories in in God’s presence, but that we can glory in the fact that we become part of God’s glory, and that God is wanting us to become part of His glory, in that context, just listen to this phrase in Hebrews 1. God hath in these last days spoken us unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom He made the world, Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His Person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. He is the brightness of God’s glory, we’re told. So here is Christ as the Lord of glory who picks up and reflects the glory of God and who becomes our Lord of glory that that we learn to focus on.

69. 36:32

    So it’s no glory of ourselves, but God is asking us to learn the glory of the Father, and He’s given us the Lord of glory, who is the brightness of God’s glory as the one who we can focus upon. And we saw yesterday in one Corinthians 10 Wherefore whether therefore ye eat or drink, whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

70. 37:00

    That the Father is asking us to shift our focus so that our entire life becomes one that is bound up in living to God’s glory. That everything we do, even the even the question of eating and drinking, which she had dealt with in the Corinthian ecclesia, was one that we must consider in the context of doing everything to the glory of God.

71. 37:25

    See, it’s just an expansion of the principles we’ve already looked at, isn’t it? That God’s asking us to realize our entire life becomes bound up and living to God’s glory. And here in First Corinthians 12 and verse for diversities of gifts, but the same spirit diversities, differences of administration, but the same Lord, and they’re diversities of operation, but it’s the same God which worketh all and in all.

72. 37:51

    And here it brings together the sense doesn’t of God’s glory in this way in which He is encapsulated in everything that we do, that each one of us become the reflection of and the working of God. So that when we are working, it is God who is working, That when we are interacting together, it is God who is interacting together.

73. 38:09

    And it is All in all, it is God who is working in our midst. It is God who is working with every one of us. Every one of us become a reflection of him.

74. 38:26

    So I’ll ask a question for a moment. It’s one I’ve asked a few of you through the school and generally I’ve had the same answer, although there has been some diversity of answers. What is the glory of God?

75. 38:39

    We generally define the glory of God as being His character, and we say the whole earth is to be full of God’s glory, and therefore the earth is to be full of His character. It’s that perfect balance of righteousness and mercy, of love and compassion and of judgement that God is working to fill the earth with His character. And that is absolutely true, but it does limit the full extent of what God’s glory is.

76. 39:10

    If I said to you, what was Solomon’s glory, you would tell me that it was a combination of things. You’d say it was his wisdom, it was his riches, it was the work that he accomplished. See, Solomon’s glory is not just his character, but it’s the full extent of his accomplishments that he achieved that his character and his personality achieved. Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like these is the phrase.

77. 39:38

    It’s it’s a, it’s a, a concept of, of glory being everything that’s achieved by Solomon. And when we restrict God’s glory to just being his character, we, we limit perhaps the fullness of what God’s glory is and actually the power of what God’s glory is to us. Now don’t get me wrong. God’s character. Is the fundamental component of how His glory is accomplished. But to say that his character, that His glory is his character, removes the full extent of his work and of the power of his glory.

78. 40:18

    Paul’s point throughout the book of Corinthians is that it is God’s glory to take us as weak, foolish people with all our foibles and problems and struggles we have, and somehow to transform us into people who have his character, who reflect his glory and who contribute to his work of building. So that he’s not just given his character to us, but he has turned us into people who contribute to his work and the accomplishment of his work. So here is Solomon in all his glory, who accomplished incredible things.

79. 41:02

    And in the same way, God is working with his character, but with his glory to expand that in us so that we become an extension of God’s character and an extension of God’s glory. Here’s the picture. We’ve, we’ve seen this PowerPoint before. So remember, we saw the fact that we’ve got Yahweh’s glory in its fullness and entirety around us. But Paul was telling us back in, in early Corinthians that he was man and their wisdom.

80. 41:25

    And if they sat in the little bubble of man’s wisdom, they would never see, they would never comprehend or be able to understand the fullness of, of Yahweh’s glory.

81. 41:35

    But he’s showing us that if we learn to put aside man’s wisdom, then we become part of the extension of God’s glory that we have. We have to lose, as it were, that that sense of our own wisdom and and the power of flesh and learn to look outside that to see the fullness of Yahweh’s glory and his wisdom. And when we do that, then we become part of God’s glory itself.

82. 42:01

    But see, the interesting thing is that when we become bearers of God’s glory, there are other people who look at us in their wisdom and they see God’s glory. And in a very real sense, that individual has looked at us in seeing God’s glory. And they learn that it’s not about man’s wisdom, but it’s about God’s glory. And therefore they are transformed themselves to become part of that glory.

83. 42:34

    So it’s the brilliance of God’s work and the power of his glory to take us as individuals with all our struggles and our weakness in our problems, and to transform us into children who bear his character and who work for the building of his glory. To take on that glorious ourselves, but with our motivation, not being for ourselves or our own preeminence, but with a deep motivation to share that glory with others so that we contribute to the work of building of God’s glory. Can you see that His character is made so glorious in this work of transforming individuals from weakness into glorious strength, from false to wise.

84. 43:14

    So what is God’s glory? It’s His ability to take us who are weak and failing and struggling individuals, and to transform us bit by bit until we become the fullness of His glory. We know that, don’t we? How? We all know how much we struggle and how much we fail, how much we fall short of the glory of of God, but it’s his work to pick us up and to transform us and to build that work in US. What a glorious work that is, brothers and sisters and young people, and what an incredible glory it is to to the Father for that work to have been accomplished in US. Do you remember the phrase that he takes the foolishness of preaching that concept that he takes all his glory as the magnificent Creator of all things, and for some reason he takes a weak individual and he places that glory in them and says, go and teach others about my glory. It’s a foolish thing from the world’s perspective, but it’s the glory of God to accomplish that, building the growth of His glory through each one of us.

85. 44:15

    The real glory of God is to expand His character and His work and His accomplishments through the use of us as weak, insignificant creatures until we are transformed into the glorious light of the Father Himself.

86. 44:37

    Can you see that His character is made so glorious in this work of transforming individuals from weakness into glorious strength? It’s God’s glory revealed in individuals. And the point of the apostle is we do that when we learn that man’s wisdom is nothing and instead we desire to be part of God’s glory. And the interesting thing is that there is then an extension of that work of God’s glory, because what we’ve seen is God’s glory revealed in individuals.

87. 45:20

    But even more surpassing that is the glory of His work, to take those individuals with all their foibles and struggles and inadequacies, and to bind them into the body of Christ in unity so that they have the same mind. So that that body of Christ in itself becomes a reflection of the glory of God.

88. 45:47

    So that their individual diversity is channelled in the most selfless of ways to build together and to bear up the congregation until it strides forth as the one united body of Christ in all its diverse unity, and it’s shining forth and shouting forth the glory of the Father. Can you see that this building sense of His glory and of the glory of His work, and if it’s an incredible thing that He can take us in our weaknesses and overcome those so that we become a reflection of Him, how much more glorious is that?

89. 46:16

    He takes each one of us in our diversity and manages, manages to put us together so that we lose ourselves and become the United body of Christ working together solely for His glory. That is Yahweh’s glory that the apostle is talking about in this section here. It’s a work which He is doing now in our eclesial environments, to gather together all of our eclesial body into one, so that we might shout aloud the glory of the Father. And that work continues, brothers and sisters, until one day, as we shall see tomorrow, His glory as revealed in everything and anything in every way upon the earth. Can I just expand on this idea that Yahweh’s glory is more than just His character?

90. 47:10

    If we come across to Exodus 33, see Exodus 33 is where we find this concept that that Yahweh’s character is His glory. But it also hints to us that it is just that little bit more, that it is His work in pulling together the body, the glory of his character revealed in a whole group.

91. 47:38

    Exodus 33 and verse 18. Moses said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. So Moses pleads with God to see God’s glory, and he says, yes, Moses, I know you want to see my glory, the physical glory that comes from me. He said, actually, I’m going to take all my goodness and it’s going to pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before thee and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

92. 48:04

    So in response to God’s to Moses’s request to see God’s glory, God says, yes, I’m going to make my goodness pass before you. I’m going to proclaim the name of Yahweh. And I’m telling you, Moses, that I will be gracious to whom I will, I’ll be merciful to whom I will. And that tells us, doesn’t it, that it is the work of His character, of His grace and of His mercy, and of the work of the name of Yahweh to accomplish that salvation. Verse 20 He says, Thou canst not see my face, for thou shall no man see me and live.

93. 48:36

    And so Yahweh says, I’m going to take you, I’m going to place you in a rock. Verse 22 And and it shall come to pass, that while my glory passes by, that I’ll put the inner cleft of the rock, and will cover thee my with my hand. While I pass by, I’ll take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen.

94. 48:54

    So that in itself tells us, doesn’t it, that it’s not just His expression of His character that becomes the glory because he does actually say I’m going to show you my physical glory. You can’t see my face in the glory of my face. He says, I’m just going to let you see the back parts of my glory. I’m going to put you in the Cliff of the rock and then I’ll let you see the back part of my physical glory as I go past. So even in this section here, which we look at and say is the the concept of God’s character being revealed in glory. We’re told that his character that his glory expends also to encompass his physical glory.

95. 49:26

    The glory that he would show that he couldn’t see. He couldn’t handle the the front fullness of God’s glory, but would see his glory passing by from the hind part, verse 5 of chapter 34. And Yahweh descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of Yahweh. And Yahweh passed by before him and proclaimed Yahweh, Yahweh, Elohim, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. And that will by no means clear, the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children unto the 3rd and the 4th generation. And so there we have it, don’t we? Yahweh has taken His goodness showed to show God’s Moses His goodness, to proclaim His name.

96. 50:14

    And what’s His name encompass? Well, it does encompass His character, doesn’t it? Merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands for forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and 4th. It is his character that is being revealed, isn’t it? But can you see that it’s not just his character, but it’s the work of his character and the accomplishment of his character that’s being revealed because he reveals his character at the same time that he reveals His name. And what is his name?

97. 50:55

    He who will be. And the whole concept of Yahweh’s name is that he is gathering a multitude of people who will reflect his glory. And so God has told Moses, yes, there is a physical component to my glory which is too powerful for men to see. It is encompass my character, but particularly it encompasses my character in a way which will allow my purpose to be fulfilled so that everyone left upon the earth is a complete reflection of my glory and of my majesty.

98. 51:35

    And we can see that reinforced for us in verse 10. He said, Behold, I make a covenant before all thy people. I will do marvel such as has not been done in the earth, nor in any nation, and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of Yahweh, for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. And His point is My glory.

99. 51:56

    Moses is going to be revealed in my work with the nation of Israel, that my character will work in a way where the rest of the world will look at it and will see the power of my glory and will understand that that is the work of Yahweh to pick up and to reveal His glory in so many people.

100. 52:20

     It’s just a little change, a little nuance, isn’t it? But I believe, brothers and sisters and young people, it gives so much more power to the sense of God’s glory that it is not just the building of His character in us, but it is. It is desiring us to become part of His work, to use us in our weakness, to become part of His glory and to build His glory, and then to take us as weak individuals and somehow to bind us together in united ecleses that shine forth the glory of the Father Himself. It’s God’s work to take every one of us in our diversity and to bring us together into the body of His Son. He’s made His Son as the head and is bringing each of us individually as components of that body to show forth the fullness of His glory in His Son. There is that diversity of work that we each bring, but it’s one God who is working.

101. 53:24

     All in all, it’s a very, very powerful way that the apostle deals with the ambitious use of the most visible gift. It’s not your work, he says. It’s not your gift. You bring the diversity that the Spirit has given you, but God brings the ability to unify and to transform you into the reflection of His glory. In fact, your most visible gift, your most ambitious pre eminence, is useless unless it contributes to the unity and strength of the body and even more from God’s eyes. That the sole reason we have that capability is to use it to enhance the ecclesial body.

102. 54:18

     We do have diversity, and we need to appreciate and love that diversity, as we’ll see shortly. But as individuals, we cannot use the excuse of diversity to impact at all upon the ability of an ecclesia to unite around the glory of God and to grow as a full reflection of the fullness of the Father’s glory itself. And so we come to the concept of the ecclesial body back in First Corinthians and chapter 12.

103. 55:01

     We saw the concept in our first talk together of the power of the same mind that essentially the apostle was pleading with that ecclesia to to put aside their own thinking and to become one mind bound together. And we saw that that concept is, is one of, of a mind that thinks the same as if it’s one person who’s thinking the same, that he’s asking an ecclesia to be bound together so that it approaches life and things the same way that that when one thinks, it’s as if the other thinks. But we look at that and say, how can that work? Because we have diversity within the ecclesial environment. And so now he, he transitions his focus onto this concept of the body.

104. 55:41

     Verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 12 For as the body is 1 and hath many members, and all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. So he’s drawing the picture now of the ecclesial body, and he’s saying that body is 1. It’s got many members, different parts of the body, but we are one body in Christ who think according to the same mind of our Lord. For by 1 Spirit are we baptized into one body. We’re the George Intiles bond or free, Whoever we are, whatever characteristics we bring, we’re made to drink into one spirit. And then he says the body is not one member, but many. So here’s the picture, isn’t it?

105. 56:28

     It’s an ecclesial body that is made-up of a whole lot of diverse individuals. And that body is 1 body, but at the same time it’s not one body but many. It’s an ecclesia, a body that is in diverse parts, but we are part of Christ bound together in one body. It’s the perfection of diversity in unity.

106. 56:57

     And then he says, verse 14 and 15, the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say because I’m not the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? So here’s the foot down here at the bottom and if it decides actually I’d prefer to be a hand, I don’t want to be a foot anymore.

107. 57:14

     I’m not the hand. And in fact, because I’m not the hand, I don’t want to be part of the body. Can the foot just take itself off and walk away from the body? Well, I’ve tried, but it doesn’t work. I can’t actually take my foot off and and take it away from the body. The foot is a fundamental part of the body that only exists because it is attached to the body. Its sole purpose of being for being is to be part of my body. If I didn’t have my foot, I wouldn’t be able to stand up here.

108. 57:42

     The body requires the foot to be there. And just because my foot decides that it would prefer to be a hand doesn’t mean to say that it’s not contributing to the body. It needs to be there for the sake of the body is the point he’s making, isn’t it?

109. 57:59

     So you can’t say my role in ecclesial life and the contribution I can make is 1. I’d prefer not to be, but I want to have some other contribution I want to make. I’m a foot now and I hate being a foot. I want to be a hand because I can’t be a hand.

110. 58:14

     I’m not going to contribute, is his point. It’s a ridiculous example, isn’t it? But it shows the power of the fact that each of us have a contribution that we make as part of the body and we cannot live or exist away from that body.

111. 58:36

     But he’s also telling us that that foot has a fundamental contribution. It makes verse 16, if the ears shall say, because I’m not the eye, I’m not of the body. It’s therefore not of the body. It’s the same thing, isn’t it? The ears sitting here saying I’d actually prefer to be the eye and because I’m not the eye, I’m not part of the body.

112. 58:54

     No, the body needs to have ears. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole we’re hearing, where were the smelling? He says, imagine if the whole body was was just an eye. You just have one huge ginormous eye on the table, wouldn’t you? But all it could do would be to see. And in fact it wouldn’t see.

113. 59:13

     It wouldn’t have that because it wouldn’t have food coming to it, wouldn’t have any of the other parts that required life. So you cannot have an ecclesial environment that’s made-up of just one sort of person. It needs the diversity of an ecclesial life in order for that to work perfectly and to contribute perfectly towards the ecclesia.

114. 59:32

     We all have our diverse contributions that we are able to make to our eclesial life together. If we desperately want to be an I to force ourselves into that role, then the ecclesia loses its ability to hear or to smell or to eat. Can you see the picture of chaos that the apostle shows or talks about by people who wanted specific roles for ambition’s sake?

115. 1:00:06

     To have the pre eminence or perhaps who felt inadequate or or second class. And yet the apostle says never underestimate the power of the contribution that you can make as an individual to ecclesial life. There is not one of us here saying, who don’t have the ability to contribute to the ecclesial environment.

116. 1:00:30

     Verse 18 But now hath God set the members, every one of them, in the body as it hath pleased him? And here he gets the point, doesn’t he? Brothers and sisters and young people, the Father in heaven has given every one of us our capabilities and our attributes, our characteristics, and God has set us together in the body to create the body as it hath pleased Him.

117. 1:00:53

     This is God’s work, and He’s saying to each one of us that we have a powerful contribution that we can make, and if we take those capabilities that the Father has given us and don’t use them, then we rob the ecclesial body of the capabilities that the Father has provided.

118. 1:01:13

     So the point is screaming out to us, isn’t it, that there is something very powerful and immensely necessary that every single one of us here in this room can contribute to the ecclesial body. There is not one of us in this room who does not have a function that we can play in ecclesial life. We’re all part of the ecclesial body, and regardless of what capability we have, we all have a part to play. We all have capability.

119. 1:01:40

     We all have strengths. We all have contributions that we can make that benefit the ecclesia. And if we don’t, the ecclesia suffers. And if we provide it, then the ecclesia thrives. Now verse 21 and 22, he turns it on its head and focuses on it from the other angle. The I cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee, nor again the head to the feet I have no need of you. They much more those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary.

120. 1:02:11

     And so he dealt first with the fact that the person who was a a foot wanted to be a hand. But now he says you her a hand, can’t say to the foot, I don’t need you. I’m so good as a hand. I can walk around on my hands all the time. I don’t need you as a foot.

121. 1:02:25

     He’s saying actually the body needs all of those different components together. And there is no way, brothers and sisters, that any of us can look at someone else and say we don’t need you and your contribution in the ecclesial environment. God’s put us together to build and to contribute the power of that body working together.

122. 1:02:46

     There is no way that we can work as a body unless we appreciate the diversity that each of us brings to ecclesial life. Each of us has capabilities and strengths. There’s no one who cannot contribute. We each have capabilities and strengths which we have to use if we are to bond together the ecclesia and the unity of the body. The answer is that we use the strength of our diversity, the strength of the characteristics that we bring in an ecclesial environment to contribute to the growth of an ecclesia. But we do so remember on the basis that it’s not about me and my preeminence, but the basis of what can I do to assist the growth of the glory of the Father. It’s not diversity so that we can do our own thing. It’s diversity that enriches because we bring it in self sacrifice with different strengths and different contributions for the good of the body. Now I have to say brothers and sisters and young people that we see that diversity working so beautifully in this school together, don’t we?

123. 1:04:00

     There are so many brothers and sisters and young people who are working tires tirelessly in so many different contributions to the bringing together of the atmosphere and the environment of this school. I saw it yesterday afternoon with the brethren who were doing the Craft class. So I just was there for a moment and really enjoyed the way there were so many different brethren working together with the young kids absolutely enjoying themselves and enthralled with just the way that they were working together.

124. 1:04:26

     It was, it was a beautiful picture just for a moment of the power of that diversity working together in a way where brethren were working so perfectly. And I’ve seen it in so many other ways throughout the school together. It’s all there because we all bring our contribution. It’s what invigorates it. What’s it’s what lifts up the ecclesial body. Verse 25.

125. 1:04:54

     There should be no schism in the body, but the same members should have the same care one for another. Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. We bring our diversity together because we become part of the body of Christ. We’re there with the same mind.

126. 1:05:21

     It’s not our work, It’s not man’s work who can achieve this. It’s only possible by the wisdom and power of the Father. And therefore it’s that great accomplishment of His glory, isn’t it? How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

127. 1:05:45

     At the end of that chapter, he says covet earnestly the best gifts. I believe what he’s saying there is covet those gifts, desire to have those gifts that are going to build up the most in the ecclesial environment. And yet he says, I’m actually going to show you that there’s something even more powerful, yet show I unto you in a more excellent way. That word excellent is the Greek word hyperbole, hyperbole. And you can see the the connection there to our English word hyperbole.

128. 1:06:13

     It’s a, an absolute super eminence that it’s talked about a throwing behind others. And that idea is that that someone’s throwing a distance and someone else comes who just manages to throw the ball way, way beyond what anyone else has accomplished. The sense of of just excelling way beyond super eminence, far more exceeding, he says.

129. 1:06:32

     So here’s the work of the spirit and the different diversities of spirit contribution that that are made. He says, I’m actually going to show you something that far exceeds the contribution that that the spirit gifts can do. The spirit gifts might be helpful, but there’s another contribution which you can make to the ecclesial environment that is going to far more exceed that in the far more excellent way he says is the concept of love and bringing love to the ecclesial environment. I’m conscious that we’ve only got 5 minutes left, so you have to bear with me as I go through this relatively quickly. But let’s just spend the time to to look at this concept because it is extremely powerful.

130. 1:07:13

     There is one thing that that that can create ecclesial unity. It is not about our pre eminence or the great thing that we do. It’s not the grand, impressive, visible thing that we do, but it’s about our love for one another. I can have all of those gifts, the most visible of contributions, but he says if I have not love, it is nothing.

131. 1:07:38

     One Corinthians 13 and verse 1, though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not love and become a sounding brass or a tinkling symbol. You might have the gifts of tongues, he says, and be the most pre eminent in in in your ability to speak visibly with the gift of tongues.

132. 1:07:53

     But if you don’t do it in love, you’re just like a a little tinkling symbol or a sounding brass. And though I have the gift of prophecy, it might even be that I have the the gift of prophecy that and understand all mysteries and have all knowledge. I can have all of that capability so I could remove mountains and have not love. I am nothing, not just that your your contribution is is reduced. If you do it without love, then you are nothing. He says you can be there in the greatest exposition of of prophecy, but if it’s done without love, then you’re absolutely nothing.

133. 1:08:31

     It’s extreme, isn’t it? The greatest extent of all of those gifts can be used in a way without love that accomplishes nothing. But see, in verse three, he expands the concept beyond just that of the use of gifts. Verse 3 Though I bestow all my gifts to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and have not love, it profiteth me nothing. We’ve given our gifts to the poor. We’ve given our body to be burned. Hang on, don’t we define love as being our willingness to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others? Christ himself says that greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And here’s someone who’s responded to that, and they’ve been willing to give their body to be burned. But it’s not love.

134. 1:09:31

     Love is a difficult concept to track through scripture. It’s difficult to find a verse that tells us what love is. Almost every verse tells us either God is love, or more particularly, tells us what love does. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And so many other verses on love tell us how love responds in its actions, but they do not tell us what love in itself is. So what we often end up doing is we define love as being an action.

135. 1:10:13

     We say that if we self sacrifice, then I must have love. That if I’ve given all my gifts to the poor, then I’ve revealed love. If I’ve sacrificed myself to the fullest extent and given my body to be burned, then I’ve revealed the action of love. The apostles telling us that actually that is not the case, that just the action of self sacrifice is not in itself love.

136. 1:10:45

     They can show the appearance of love, but have not acted in love. And if we do so, brothers and sisters, then it accomplishes nothing. I’ve done all these incredible things. I’ve, I’ve got the tongues of men and of angels. I’ve the greatest orators who speak as an Angel. I’ve got a great understanding and knowledge and prophecy and faith, awareness of mystery that all the world holds.

137. 1:11:09

     I could give every last cent that I own to the poor, and I could even give my body my life in complete sacrifice and yet do those things without love. So what is love?

138. 1:11:24

     Well, love, as we’ve seen, is more than just a visible act. Let’s have a look in verse 4. Love suffers long and is kind. Love envieth not love. Vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly. Seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, Thinketh no evil. Again, these can be seen as actions, can’t they? But I, I believe the apostle here has actually given us that little key which opens up just that little bit further what the fullness of love is.

139. 1:12:12

     See, these are the responses to the little things of life. It’s not necessarily giving my body to be burned in the ultimate sacrifice or giving all I own to the poor, But love is about our daily response to the little actions of daily life and our interactions with one another. But that in itself does not explain the fullness of love.

140. 1:12:35

     Love suffers long and is kind. It envieth not. It vaunteth not itself is not puffed up. And the apostle is taking us back to the concepts that he’s already talked about, hasn’t it? These were the issues within the Corinthian ecclesia. They were puffed up. They were envying in their ambition. And he’s saying love. We’ll only be love when it’s done. So because we have put ourselves completely to the side. It’s not just actions which I love, but actions which are done because we are recognizing that we are nothing. That we have come to the point where the focus is not upon ourselves, but the work of the growth of the ecclesial body. That we desire to be an extension of the glory of the Father Himself.

141. 1:13:25

     And therefore everything we are doing is being done for the sake of the edification and the building up and the growth of our ecclesial environment. It’s not just that we act in self sacrifice, it’s that we are prepared to empty ourselves to be the slaves of God because we are not our own, and therefore that motivates us to contribute every component of our life to the building up and the glory of the of God Himself.

142. 1:13:53

     It’s the responses in the little things of life that reveal whether in reality we are prepared to put ourselves to one side, to recognise that the flesh is nothing and to live our life to the glory of God Himself. It’s not there for itself. We’re there in love and consideration for others to contribute to the growth of the ecclesial body. We cannot force love.

143. 1:14:22

     By forcing action we fulfil love. We become love when we learn that we are nothing but with all our fibre, with every part of our heart. We long to build up and to encourage and to assist the growth of the ecclesial environment. We fulfill love, brothers and sisters and young people, when we are prepared in humility to use the gifts that the Father has given us to contribute to the growth and the unity and the strength of the ecclesial body. John tells us in First John Four. We love one another because love has come from God, and we love him because he first loved us.

144. 1:15:21

     Our love together, our care together, our contribution to ecclesial life, our willingness in our diversity to contribute our part to the ecclesial body is a response to the love that the Father has shown to us in the giving of his Son.

145. 1:15:43

     And therefore we are prepared to become nothing to ourselves, to become his, and all we do is for him. In that way it is agape, a true life, a true love based on self sacrifice. It is to the measure we come to understand the sacrifice of Christ, the body broken and the blood out poured, that we are able to comprehend the fullness of the love of the Father and the love of the Son as they work together for the unity of the body.

146. 1:16:25

     Brothers and sisters and young people, may that become the motivation that helps us to love truly one another, to contribute to the unity of the ecclesial body with all of the diversity that we share together.