This summer I’ve been preaching about the Holy Spirit after all our Church is Pentecostal! The book of 1 Corinthians contains an in-depth teaching about the gifts of the Spirit and how they are to be thought of and used in the Church. Chapter 12 teaches that the gifts are to be thought of as equally important. That the gift needed at the moment is the one to be desired. Chapter 14 has a very practical teaching about how the gifts should be used and operate in the Church. But right smack dab in the middle is chapter 13, which is known by everyone as the love chapter. There are very few weddings where this passage hasn’t been used as a description of true love. Here’s the thing this chapter has absolutely nothing to do with romantic love. The Greek word used is agape, meaning the all-encompassing love of God.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 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, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
The Bible makes it very clear that without love, the gifts and demonstrations of the Spirit are of no value. Just to be clear, the Bible doesn’t say it is of lesser value it says no value, a big fat zero!
So here is the challenge for us in the Church. The Holy Spirit will teach us how to love. And the tool He uses most often is the Church. Through the Church, we have our best opportunity to love. The world is guided by anger and hatred and people are losing the capacity to love. Why? Because as our culture, especially in America, moves further from God, the ability to love is lost. Love is the reason we need to be Spirit-filled. Love is the reason we need to seek Pentecostal power! The Church is the place where you can practice loving God and loving people. The mark of the truly Spirit-empowered church is a Church that learns how to love God and to love people.
As we enter into the last days, the Church, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will be the last source of love. After the Church, there is no other entity that is capable of love. Once the Church is gone love will also vanish. The point of all of this is that in these turbulent days people need the Church more than ever! More importantly, people need the power of the Holy Spirit!
