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"Charity
suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity
vaunteth not itself, is not
puffed up,
doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not
easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in
iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth ...."
1st
Corinthians 13:4-8a
LESSON 1 ...
August 15, 2005:
Paul taught us that love, real love, God's Love has over a dozen
beautiful characteristics.
One of them is simply the
fact that it "suffereth long!"
1st Corinthians 13:4 says
of love: "Charity
suffereth long!"
The Greek word is "makrothumeo"
and basically means "to have patience."
"Makro," the prefix, means
long ... either in distance or in time! (Here it's "time" for
sure!)
And "thumeo" means to feel
passion! Its root, "thuo" means to breathe hard, to blow
out of one's lungs and mouth, and then to kill or slay (in a fit
of rage)!
Thus to be longsuffering is
... not to be quick in getting angry or frustrated!
This is a
quality often used in describing God too!
In Luke
18:7 we are specifically told that God "bears long" with His
children!
Peter later
adds: "The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men
count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2
Peter 3:9
An old
Preacher once defined "longsuffering" as: The spirit that
has the power to take revenge if it liked, but utterly refuses
to do so!
A Greek
teacher adds: "Our word here, in its fullest sense, is the
power of bearing with suffering, assimilating it, and using it
creatively ... instead of being irritated, fretted, and put out
by it!"
And, yes,
one more thing must be added!
This
particular word "makrothumeo" and its related terms are
Biblically applied to people ... not things!
This term
says that real love "puts up" with
hard-to-love or
irritating people ... not lashing back at them ...
but responding to them as Jesus would!
This is NOT
the word that teaches patience toward things!
So, ladies,
if we have times when people at home (or wherever) ...
particularly that one person who is trying you at
the moment (like a husband or a child or a friend) ... DO NOT BE
UGLY TO THEM IN RETURN!
Rather,
trusting the Holy Spirit and His Power, be longsuffering!
Put up with
it ... accepting the situation as a "tool" to help you grow in
the Lord!
Gracious!
Our Love
Text is off to a pretty "rough" start!
Most of us
today will have at least one opportunity to be patient with some
individual ... a troublesome one!
When the
time comes, remember 1 Corinthians 13:4!
--- Norma Bagwell
LESSON 2 ...
August 19, 2005:
We are studying the sixteen
traits of real Christian love!
They are enumerated in 1st
Corinthians 13:4-8.
Verse 4 tells us that
"Charity is ... kind."
What does that mean?
The Greek word is "chrestotes"
and means that which is characterized by gentleness or
sweetness!
A mild disposition!
An ancient citizen of
Paul's day would have used the word when describing an apple
that had fully ripened and reached its sweetest peak of flavor!
It was also used of wines
(juices from the vine) that were mellowed by age! See the
word "better" in Luke 5:39. One teacher
said "this word knows nothing of real revenge or a bitter
spirit!"
The
adjective "chrestos" describes Jesus' "yoke" in Matthew 11:30.
"Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke
is easy,
and my burden is light." Jesus is inviting folks to
come to Him ... partly because He is so kind and gentle!
The word "easy" is "chrestos."
In Luke
6:35 our great God is "kind" to all!
"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." That attitude
should describe our "love" one to another!
Such love
(its kindness) will lead men to Jesus too! God said so.
"Or despisest thou the riches of his
goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the
goodness of God
leadeth thee to repentance?" Romans 2:4
In loving
one another we are to have "good" manners also. Listen to
Paul use our word "chrestos" in 1 Corinthians 15:33.
"Be not deceived: evil communications
corrupt good
manners."
Two
synonyms ascribed to "kind" love are found in Ephesians 4:32.
"Tenderheartedness" and "forgiveness" are companions to real
godly love! "And be ye
kind one to
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
When we are
told to love one another in kindness, we are in reality being
commanded to act as God does! Something that is only
possible through the Power of the precious Holy Spirit!
Peter writes: "As newborn babes,
desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is
gracious." 1
Peter 2:3
Again I
say, "chrestos" love, sweet love, godly love ... is not capable
of harshness or bitterness of attitude or action!
"Charity is ...
kind!"
--- Norma Bagwell
LESSON 3 ...
Wednesday, August 24, 2005:
Charity "envieth not."
That's what Paul says in 1
Corinthians 13 where he lists sixteen traits of real love, God's
love, "agape" love!
But what does it mean to
"envy not?"
The verb "zeloo" means to
burn or to be hot!
Its "root," zeo, means "to
boil" in modern day Greek!
Usually in a Biblical sense
the word implies wrath, malice or indignation ... the heated
kind!
One can
find the word 14 times in the New Testament Scriptures.
It
describers the angry feeling Joseph's brothers had as they sold
him into Egyptian slavery! "And the
patriarchs, moved with
envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him."
Acts 7:9
It also
depicts one of the attitudes Paul would not allow in the
Corinthians Church! "For I fear, lest,
when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that
I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest
there be debates, ENVYINGS, wraths, strifes, backbitings,
whisperings, swellings, tumults." 2 Corinthians
12:21
In
Galatians 5:20 "zelos" is translated "emulations," an inordinate
ambition to equal or surpass a brother in Christ!
And in
James 4:2 our verb is "desire to have!" See it here:
"Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and
desire to have,
and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye
ask not."
If I really
love someone, whatever the Lord has given them ... is fine with
me! I will not long after their possessions or talents or
abilities at all! I will thank the Lord for His goodness
to them and be content with His blessings on me as well!
Now, in
summary, here's what we are being taught today.
Real love,
Biblical love, will NOT get hot at the one being adored!
It will NOT boil in anger! It will not allow to develop
that long-lasting hard-to-shed feeling of wrath that many
so-called Christians seem to have! And it will be
satisfied (and thrilled) with God's goodness on those who are
dear to one's heart!
It looks to
me like charity stays calm!
Remains
content!
It behaves
itself according to God's standard as recorded in His Word,
particularly here in 1 Corinthians 13.
We will all
have to work on this one, won't we?
--- Norma Bagwell
LESSON 4 ...
August 28, 2005:
What does it mean when the
Bible teaches us that real love, God's love,
"vaunteth not itself?"
In essence, the verb "vaunteth"
means to brag!
The Greek word, "perpereuomai,"
is derived from the root "perperos" which means a braggart!
That is one who always elevates himself or herself!
In context here we are
being told that if a wife really loves her husband ... she will
be his "helpmeet" humbly and meekly, without the need for a lot
of self recognition!
Or
conversely, if a man loves his wife ... he will not
inflate himself every time he does something for her!
Love knows
how to give and give and give ... without self recognition!
Charity
(agape) love is NOT showy!
God's love
is not always on display!
It works in
secret as well as in public!
Some men
open the car doors for their wives in the Church parking lot ...
where many can see! But NOT at home in the dark when no
one is looking!
That's
pretty "showy," isn't it?
Now, I am
not saying that all boasting is wrong!
Paul
boasted ("gloried") in some things!
In the
Cross! "But
God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto
the world." Galatians 6:14
In the
Lord! "That, according as it is
written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
1st Corinthians 1:31
Even in
tribulation! "And
not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that
tribulation worketh patience ...." Romans 5:3
And in his
own sicknesses or infirmities! "And
he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my
strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will
I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me." 2nd Corinthians 12:9
But Paul
NEVER gloried in himself. At least not in a sinful way and
certainly not when loving other believers!
Yes,
"Charity vaunteth not itself!"
Ladies, do
not brag!
--- Norma Bagwell
Lesson 5 ...
September 2, 2005:
When Paul
told us that real love "is not puffed up,"
what did he mean?
That little verb, "phusioo,"
literally means "to blow," like when one blows into a baloon,
inflating it for one of your children to enjoy!
It then comes to mean "to
cause to swell up!"
It is first of all a Bible
"word picture" for pride or conceit or some form of
self-exaltation.
Yet Ladies,
it implies even more than that I believe.
It also can
involve a little act which we in the South call "pouting!"
Pouting,
you know!
A response
many ladies use as a reaction to something their husbands did
which did not meet their feminine approval!
Now it may
not literally involve puffed out cheeks or firmly set lips ...
signs of defiance and disagreement ... but in spirit it's the
same thing!
Pouting!
Being all
"puffed up!"
"Well, if
he's going to act that way ... I'll just not go with him Sunday
to that reunion!"
Or ... "He
can get his own supper tonight!"
Or ...
"Good night! The bedroom door will be locked! Sleep on the
couch!"
Now, that's
pouting!
Or again,
you might just give him the "silent" treatment!
No words
for a few days!
Ignore him!
Don't
answer any questions or offer any comments for a while!
That will
fix him!
Yes, Sister
all "puffed up," that sure is good Christianity, isn't it?
Paul uses
our "puffed up" word in 1 Corinthians 4:6 where the brethren
also aren't getting along! (So it's not just a "lady" thing!)
Some at
Corinth had gotten all "puffed up" at Paul ... because he had
not paid them a return visit sooner! (That's not the last time
some church-member got "puffed up" because the preacher didn't
come to see him either!) Read 1 Corinthians 4:18 to get Paul's
exact words: "Now some are puffed up,
as though I would not come to you."
The one who
exercises true godly love will NOT be pouting, proud or
perturbed at everything that comes along!
Maybe today
the Lord should "deflate" some of us!
That would
solve the problem for sure!
--- Norma Bagwell
Lesson 6 ...
September 8, 2005:
Today we
learn another trait of real love!
Paul says it
"doth not behave itself unseemly!"
Now this verb is
interesting for sure!
All those English words ("doth
not behave itself unseemly") translate one Greek verb, "aschemoneo."
The word means "to behave
in an unbecoming manner!"
"To act inappropriately!"
Usually we ascertain the
Holy Spirit's meaning of a word by studying how He uses it
elsewhere in Scripture! (A good method of Bible study, I might
add!)
But here,
with "aschemoneo," we only have one other location to analyze!
I will
capitalize the words used for aschemoneo. Paul says:
"But if any man think that
he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she
pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him
do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry." 1st
Corinthians 7:36
Paul is
teaching a Christian Daddy how to respond toward his unmarried
daughter ... particularly in the area of her future.
He says ...
you may do some things here (allowing her to marry being one of
them) ... without acting discourteously! Without being
uncouth! Without seeming ill mannered!
Look at
this!
Etiquette
just made it into the Word of God!
Real love
has ... good manners!
Real love
is not rough or sharp or ugly!
It behaves
itself!
Men, it
(godly love) still might open the car door the wife!
Ladies, it
still might cook his favorite meal occasionally!
It still
would say "please" and "thank you!"
It still
would be ruled by "the law of kindness!"
In fact,
that's the very wording of Proverbs 31:26! Read the whole verse
as it's used in reference to the truly wise woman.
"She
openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the
law of kindness."
Now doesn't
this sound just like the instructions the dear kind Lord
would give?
"Charity ... doth
not behave itself unseemly!"
Live a
well-mannered life today ... especially toward you mate!
Respectfully,
--- Norma Bagwell
Lesson 7 ...
September 13, 2005:
Now from
1st Corinthians 13:5 we learn that real love ...
"seekth not her own."
Here's something
interesting.
My husband told me that the
gender of the noun "charity" (in Greek) is feminine!
Yet it is God's Love!
"God
is love!" (1st John 4:8 and 16)
So ... we Christians have a
FATHER God (masculine gender) who loves us with a MOTHER Love
(feminine gender)!
No, I am not a feminist!
I believe
with all my heart that God the FATHER is just That, Father to
God the Son ... but I also want to be true to every word in the
Bible, including the nouns and pronouns, which involves gender
as well!
That's why
Paul says, "Charity ... seeketh not HER
own!"
God is
tender and kind and loving and supporting and nurturing ... yet
the Father of each Believer in Christ!
He is ALL
... Everything ... Altogether Lovely!
But what
does it mean when we are told that Love (God's Love)
"seeketh not her own?"
This:
It does not
concentrate on just the things it likes!
It is not
selfish!
It will not
practice self-centeredness!
The husband
says: "Honey, let's eat at the fish place today!"
She says:
"You know I hate fish! I will NOT go there! You will have to
eat that stuff some other time!"
That's an
example of "SEEKING ONE'S OWN" way!
Let's try
it again ...
Him:
"Honey, just for today let's eat at that little fish place!"
Her: Well,
they do have chicken I believe! And that's certainly on my
diet! I believe I'd like that! Plus, Sweetie, eating
with you is more important to me than what I eat
anyway!"
Now that's
"seeking not your own!"
Wow!
Jesus,
while one earth, sought not His Own way!
Rather ...
He sought (and secured) our very Salvation!
We, through
the Power of the Holy Spirit, can follow in His steps too!
Ladies,
next time you're about to get "mad" (excuse me, "hurt") ... just
yield that great big will of yours and "seek not your own"
desire for a while!
Then you
will be practicing and living godly "agape" love!
--- Norma Bagwell
Lesson 8 ...
September 16, 2005:
Now we
learn that love "is not easily provoked!"
This exact statement is made by Paul in 1st Corinthians 13:5.
In Greek
this whole clause is spelled: "ou paroxunetai." The verb
"provoked" has as its center the Greek word for "point," a sharp
protruding object!
The idea
behind the word picture here is that love is not easily
prodded! Not easily stirred! Not easily pushed into harsh
action! No matter how much one "picks" at it ... it tends to
not respond with anger or rage!
The
lexicons give it meanings such as: to sharpen alongside, or to
exasperate!
I like that
last one!
God's kind
of love will not become exasperated! Exasperate comes from two
Latin words that mean "ex" ... thoroughly + ""asper" ... rough!
To "rough something up quite thoroughly!"
Love just
won't let you upset it!
Another
time the word is used in Scripture is in Acts 17:16 where Paul
is described as being "stirred" in
spirit! "Now while Paul waited for them
at Athens, his spirit
was stirred
in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry."
The only
other use of the word in the Bible is in Acts 15:39 where Paul
and Barnabas had such "sharp contention" between themselves that
they (permanently) parted ways! "And the
contention was
so sharp between
them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so
Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus!"
The kind of
love God has placed in our hearts is calm and placid, not
yielding to devilish attempts at provocation!
It's just
hard to push this kind of "charity" love into a tumultuous
frenzy!
What a
lesson to learn!
Ladies, how
easily provoked are you?
--- Norma Bagwell
Lesson 9 ...
September 21, 2005:
God's love,
real love, "agape" love ... "thinketh no
evil." 1st Corinthians 13:5d
But, what
does that mean?
The verb "thinketh"
is in Greek spelled "logizomai." You can see the word "logic"
in it! It means "to reckon, to compute, to account or to
calculate!"
And the
word here for "evil" is "kakos," the milder one of two nouns the
Holy Spirit could have used in this context.
It means
that which is "good for nothing" or "troublesome" or
"injurious."
It
generally speaks of evil or harm that is within a person, but
does not spread to others, infecting and harming them too!
Here's what
I believe this clause mean.
Real love
will not, when upset or "hurt," think up a long list of "wrong"
things your loved one has done at previous times!
For
example, he (your husband) yelled at me again today!
Just like
he called me a name yesterday ... and wouldn't empty the garbage
the day before and ... forgot our anniversary last week ... and
wouldn't go with me to the Revival last month ... and so on!
Real love
does not "count" ("thinketh") the past failures and mistakes and
shortcomings ("evils" ... remember the milder word is used by
the Holy Spirit here) of my loved ones!
We tend to
get more angry and bitter if we have a mental "list" of other
wrongs a person has committed toward us!
Like our
computers, our memories sometimes are a little too good!
I am glad
God has chosen to forget something ... precisely, our sins!
Thus ...
"saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and
I will remember their
sin no more." Jeremiah 31:34
If God can
do that ... surely we can forget (not think upon) our friends'
mistakes!
All in the
"spirit" of grace and mercy!
Ladies,
think about it.
Throw away
that "list" today!
That list
of all his "failures."
Truly ...
charity "thinketh no evil!"
--- Norma Bagwell
Lesson 10 ...
September 25, 2005:
God says
that His kind of love ... "rejoiceth not
in iniquity." 1st Corinthians 13:6
The verb "rejoiceth"
(in Greek = "chairo") just means to be glad. It is a
present tense verb, depicting on-going continual joy. A
lifestyle of gladness when someone falls into sin is here
absolutely forbidden!
The noun"
iniquity" (in Greek = "adikai") means that which is NOT ("a")
RIGHT ("dikai")! Not righteous in God's eyes! That
which is wrong and sin!
Real love
never argues and wrestles with its object, being pleased when he
or she makes a mistake or errs from God's Way or Plan!
Simply
stated ... Agape Love wants God's Best, God's perfect Will ...
for those around it!
If I love
my true Preacher Brethren, I could never snicker or smile or be
relieved (all such actions are forms of rejoicing) when he falls
into some kind of evil!
If I love
my Husband ... I must also long and pray for his growth in the
Lord, never encouraging him to fail to live for Jesus in every
way possible!
Never
should we say: "Oh, Honey, you've studied your Bible
enough today! Let's go do something else!"
Ladies, our
prayer should be that the Lord would help those we love to
constantly draw nearer and nearer Him, living godly lives until
Jesus comes!
In other
words ... don't do anything to make sinning any easier for those
you love!
Truly, real
"charity," real love ... "rejoiceth not in
iniquity."
--- Norma Bagwell
Lesson 11 ...
October 1, 2005:
The next
clause we must consider is that "charity
... rejoiceth in the truth!"
The verb "rejoiceth"
is a compound word. It attaches the preposition "sun" onto the
front of "chairo" and thus means "to be glad WITH someone!" (In
Greek "sun" means "with.")
This word
does not necessarily picture being "happy" or "joyful" when you
are alone. It includes your loved one in the process! I just
looked ... and all seven times it is used in Scripture it has
this emphasis!
And there
is reason to believe that the Greek word for "truth" means that
which does not have anything to hide! "Aletheia" is derived
from "a" (the "alpha" privative ... which negates the meaning of
a word) and a root word that means "to conceal!"
Do you see
this?
Truth is
that which does not have to hide
anything!
No need to
lie or deceive!
Just tell
it!
And,
Ladies, in our verse today "rejoicing in the truth" is
contextually contrasted with the previous clause, "rejoiceth not
in iniquity!"
If I really
love someone, I will be thrilled with their victories over sin!
I will be
glad when they read their Bibles!
Or when
they lead a soul to Christ!
Or when
they faithfully attend Church!
Or when
they see an answer to some prayer they've prayed for a while!
Just as I
do NOT think about their failures (last lesson), now I do ponder
their victories!
I WILL
reflect upon their successes, particularly spiritual ones!
Now today,
think about your husband's life this week.
WHAT aspect
of it brings joy to your heart?
Mention
that to him please!
"Honey, I
am so glad that every Wednesday and Sunday you take us, your
family, to Church!"
"I also am
thrilled that you love the Lord as you do!"
"And when I
see you sitting here reading the Word of God, I am so proud of
the kind of godly Husband the Lord gave me!"
Go ahead,
rejoice in the truth!
This sure
beats, "You didn't take out the garbage, did you? This is the
third time I've had to remind you!"
This 1st
Corinthians 13 business gets "close to home," doesn't it?
--- Norma Bagwell
Lesson 12 ...
October 10, 2005:
First
Corinthians 13:7 begins with these words: "Beareth
all things."
Real love
"beareth all things!"
God's Love
"beareth all things!"
The
significance of those words is astounding!
The little
Greek verb for "beareth" is spelled "stego" and means to cover
with a roof! To place a deck over something!
Its noun
form, "stege," is translated "roof" 3 times in our King James
New Testaments.
We are here
being taught that God's love actually builds a roof of
protection over our heads and cares for us in every area of
life!
If I love
my family ... I will do the same for them!
But our
word here seems to also take on another emphasis in the
Scriptures.
It can mean
"to put up" with something!
To "bear a
load" without breaking down and caving in to the pressure it
exerts!
Watch Paul
use it ("stego") in this way:
1
Thessalonians 3:1,2 --- "Wherefore when we
could no longer forbear,
we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; and sent
Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our
fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to
comfort you concerning your faith." Paul just
couldn't "put up" with the uncertainly any longer!
1
Thessalonians 3:5 --- "For this cause,
when I could no longer
forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means
the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain." Here
it is used in the same way again.
Then
in 1 Corinthians 9:12 --- "If others be
partakers of this power over you, are not we
rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but
suffer all
things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ."
Here "stego" is translated "suffer." It still however
means "to put up with a load" ... just like a roof does when it
snows!
Ladies, if
we love our husbands, we will "tolerate" and "endure" and "bear"
a whole lot ... before becoming angry and bitter or rebellious!
Think of
what Jesus endured while on earth!
His Love
truly did "bear all things!"
What do we
"put up with" without exploding in hurt feelings or resentment?
Next time
you are about to "lose it" ... remember that love "beareth all
things!"
Don't let
your "roof" fall down!
It will
hurt those who are underneath it ... those whom you love so
dearly!
What impact
a single divinely inspired verb can have!
--- Norma Bagwell
Lesson 13:
The words
"believeth all things" carry a
powerful meaning!
The Greek
verb "pisteuo" means to have faith in someone! To have
confidence in them! To trust them!
Ladies, I
sense that this clause is teaching us that the one we love
will also be one we trust!
The idea
that "I love my husband" but "I wouldn't trust him for a minute"
is foreign to this Bible Text!
If you love
him ... you will trust him!
You will
believe him!
You will
have confidence in him!
You will
rely upon him!
You will
not be afraid to lean upon him!
In fact, we
will want to believe the BEST about the one we love!
For example
...
He is
losing weight!
He is so
smart!
He can do
just about anything!
Real agape
love just will NOT habitually look on the dark side of life!
And,
ladies, while I hesitate to mention this ... you deserve your
husbands treating you in the same way too!
He should
TRUST you as a fellow Christian and as a Mate for life!
He should
express confidence in you and what you do!
He should
look for the BEST areas of truth about you and emphasize them!
For example
...
Honey, your
"vegetable soup" is the best I've ever eaten!
Sweetie,
are you losing weight? Sure looks like it to me!
That dress
looks good on you!
Your hair
is lovely!
Now some of
you might be saying, "Sister Norma, this is just not happening
in our home!"
Well,
honey, someone has to start "believing" the best about his or
her mate!
And since
you are the one reading here ... I guess it's YOU!
Start now!
Believe the
best about him ... and express it with all your heart!
And I think
that the more you live that lifestyle ... unselfishly believing
all good things about him, having confidence in him ... the more
he will respond to you!
Perhaps
slowly at first ... but eventually it will happen!
What you've
been sowing (love that believes and encourages) ... you will
begin to reap ... from the one you've married!
You may
disagree with much I've said today ... but do remember:
Charity, love, real love, God's love
"believeth all things!"
I promise
you that's true!
--- Norma Bagwell
Lesson 14,
Saturday, October 15, 2005:
In our Text
the verb "hopeth" (in Greek = "elpizo") means "to wait for
something or someone with full confidence!"
In the
exact form it's used here, the word occurs only three times in
the New Testament.
First it is
found in Acts 26:7 where saved Jews are waiting for the
resurrection of the dead! I think that's called the Rapture in
Paul's theology!
This use
alone gives us the idea the Holy Spirit has incorporated into
the word "elpizo."
Hope:
To believe something is true ... simply because God says so!
At least that's the Bible definition of the word!
But how can
this truth be applied to our loved ones?
How does
real love, God's love, "hope" all things!'
I today
will again apply it to the married life of a Christian couple.
Many are
now saying that married life is doomed!
It is even
being called obsolete in some sociological circles!
Many
feminists hate the concept of permanent marriage!
Well, they
are wrong!
And the
Bible is right!
Christian
marriage is God's way of continuing the human race! It is
designed to "raise up godly seed" or children according to
Malachi 2:15.
It is also
God's way of illustrating to a dark world a beautiful picture of
Christ and His relationship to His Church!
And it is
build on "hope!"
Now,
ladies, if we truly "love" our husbands, we will "hope" concerning him
such things as:
His
eternity in Heaven!
His growing
in Grace, being conformed more and more into the likeness of
Jesus Christ!
That means
his becoming kinder and kinder and more and more joyful and more
and more peaceful and more and more patient!
His rearing
the children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord!
His being a
true spiritual leader in the home!
And so much
more!
That's
Bible hope ... because all these desires are based upon the Word
of God!
When a man
gets saved and grows in Christ ... ultimately all these things happen in his life!
When love "hopeth"
all things, it does not give into pessimism and a defeated
attitude!
It will not
quit believing that God can bring us all to maturity!
It "hopes"
for the salvation of the children!
It "hopes"
for a home that is separated from the world!
It "hopes"
for a marriage that truly symbolizes the relationship between
Christ and His Church!
It "hopes"
for answers to prayer!
(What's
THAT got to do with a husband-wife relationship? Answered
prayer? "Likewise,
ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving
honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being
heirs together of the grace of life;
that your prayers be not
hindered." 1st Peter 3:7)
It "hopes"
for everything that is pleasing unto God!
Paul even
calls the will of God (presumably for a marriage too) "good and
acceptable and perfect!"
What
abundant hope
we have as believers!
What hope
we can exercise as Christian wives and Moms!
Get you a
verse of Scripture ... a promise from God's Word (7,000 of them
are in there) ... and HOPE on it today and tomorrow and next
week and next month and the rest of your life!
Remember,
love "hopeth" all things!
--- Norma Bagwell
LESSON 15,
Thursday, October 20, 2005:
We often
wonder about those beautiful old King James verbs!
"Endureth all
things!"
What does
that mean?
Especially
in connection with love?
How does
love "endure all things?"
The Greek
word used here, "hupomeno," combines two short words, a
preposition and a verb.
"Meno" just
means "to remain" or "to stay" or sometimes just "to stand!"
And "hupo"
means "under!"
To "endure"
something suggests putting up with it! Staying under the
load it brings without quitting or falling or being crushed by
it!
Staying
there with no grumbling or complaining!
You husband
is sick?
Getting
worse?
If you love
him, really love him with God's love, you will stay right by his
side! You will remain under the "load" his illness brings,
not complaining or quitting or running away!
You will
just endure it to the Glory of God!
Just think
what Jesus endured for us to be saved!
Listen to
the encouragement Paul tries to give us in Hebrews 12:3.
"For consider Him (Jesus) That
endured ("hupomeno") such contradiction of sinners against
Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."
Wow!
Well,
Sister Bagwell, you just don't understand our situation!
Things have been a little "troublesome" down at Church lately.
Some have not liked the Pastor's strong preaching against sin.
I believe we're just going to move on ... get away from the
conflict and stress! WELL THEN ... you do not love your
Church or your Pastor! Real love ENDURES such pressure!
It will
stay "under the load" and encourage the Man of God to keep on
preaching the Truth! Let that grumbling crowd leave!
They can find plenty of places now where sin is never mentioned.
Again I
say, Stay!
Also let me
mention our love for the Lord.
So many
today are quitting, no longer remaining faithful to our Saviour!
They cite
financial difficulty or some health problem or a splintered
family or some other hardship as "proof" God doesn't love them
any more!
If we love
the LORD, we will remain under any burdens that come our way,
trusting Him to deal with them in His time. After all, He
encourages us to ... "cast all our cares on Him" anyway!
And if you
want to talk about "loads" today, do remember Psalm 68:19.
"Blessed
be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of
our salvation. Selah."
He LOADS us
with His blessings every day!
In Christ
Jesus, the blessings will surely outnumber the burdens!
But even
when the burdens and loads of heaviness do come ... real love
does not run! It "endures!
Charity,
agape love, God's love ... "endureth all
things!"
Now that's
loyalty!
That's
faithfulness!
That's
being steadfast and immoveable!
--- Norma Bagwell
LESSON 16,
MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2005:
We have
often read those great words, "Charity
never faileth."
But what do
they mean?
"Charity"
(in Greek= "agape") just means love! But not any love,
God's Love! Unselfish love! Giving love! Here is its
greatest example: "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."
John 3:16
And God
calls us who are Christians to a life of that kind of love!
Ladies,
listen to how much our husbands are to love us!
"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the church, and gave himself for it." Ephesians
5:25
The verb "faileth"
is "ekpipto" and means "to fall down from!" Or "to fall
out of!" Or "to fall off of!"
Using our
word here, the New Testament says in Mark 13:5 that the stars
will some day FALL!
It is used
in Acts 12:7 when the chains miraculously FELL OFF the
imprisoned Simon Peter!
Once, in
Romans 9:6 "ekpipto" is translated "hath taken none effect!"
Here's the whole sentence: "Not as
though the word of God hath taken none effect."
James uses
it when describing the blooms and leaves of a flower FALLING
OFF! See James 1:11
And Peter
talks about people FALLING from their steadfastness! 2
Peter 3:17
Now let's
put together a composite meaning.
Real love,
agape love ... will NOT become unfaithful!
It will not
wilt and die!
It will not
turn loose!
It will not
lose its effect!
It just
will not quit loving!
Isn't that
the very kind of Love God has for us?
Then it's
logical to believe that's the very kind of love He has placed in
our hearts ... when He saved us! Romans 5:5 teaches us
that when we were born-again ... "The love
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is
given unto us." That verb "shed abroad" means "poured
out!"
It's this
never-failing love that the Scriptures mean when they tell
us to be FILLED with the Holy Spirit, whose Fruit is
predominated by love! "But the fruit
of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance." Galatians 5:22-23
Ladies,
when you vowed (during your wedding) to love your husband all
your days ... you subscribed to a love "that never fails!"
May God, by
means of the Power of His Spirit, enable you to live that love
moment by moment!
There's no
disloyalty in this kind of love!
No getting
mad and "turning against" someone!
No divorce
courts either!
No wonder
Paul prayed for us that we would grow into an understanding of
such wonderful love ... its breadth and length and depth and
height!
Love "never
fails!"
What a
glorious ending to a sixteen part description of God's Love!
Let me put
it one more way. I'm now quoting Jeremiah the Prophet.
"The LORD hath appeared of old unto me,
saying, Yea, I have loved thee with
an everlasting love:
therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."
Jeremiah 31:3
Amazing!
--- Norma Bagwell
LESSON 17,
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2005:
The love
that has been described by Paul here is astounding!
Sixteen
traits of godly love!
That's what
we're given in 1st Corinthians 13!
Each new
"facet" of agape love is like a beautifully cut brilliant
diamond reflecting a new "hue" of bright light as it is gently
turned in one's hand!
Think about
a love that never fails!
Or is
always kind!
That is
never sinfully angry!
Indeed this
is the love of God placed in believer's hearts through the
ministry of the Holy Spirit! Yes,
"Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the
Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Romans 5:5
Once, when
contemplating this kind of love, John exclaims:
"Behold,
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us!"
1st John 3:1a
What
"manner" of love!
See that
word "manner?"
According
to W. E. Vine's Dictionary of Greek Words, an old stand-by
reference work, the word "manner" (in Greek = "potapos") means
"from what country!"
What "kind"
of love is agape love?
What
"manner" of love is it?
This is
synonymous to saying "from what country" is this love?
I'll answer
that!
It's from
"out of this world!"
Mankind
certainly cannot produce it!
It's from a
far country!
A heavenly
country!
It's from
God Himself!
Agape love
is God's Love!
Behold!
Sisters,
having together learned these 16 truths about real love, let us
indeed obey 1st John 4:11. "Beloved,
if God so loved us, we ought also to
love one another."
Amen!
--- Norma Bagwell
what
amazing love!
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