SERIES:
BEING A GREAT PERSON FOR A GREAT GOD
I Thessalonians Selected Scriptures13; -3:12
By
D.Z. Cofield, Th.M, D.Min.
June 5, 2022
Scripture Reading
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (NLT2) – If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless. 11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
1. You must GROW in HOW you LOVE.
1 Thessalonians 3:12 (ESV) – and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,
Lord –
2. You must GROW in WHO you LOVE.
1 Thessalonians 3:12 (ESV) – and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,
– LOVE ONE ANOTHER (other believers).
– LOVE ALL PEOPLE.
Matthew 5:43-48 (ESV) – You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
⇒ It is the love of God for the UNGODLY.
Romans 5:6 (NLT2) – When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
⇒ It is the love of God for UNWORTHY SINNERS.
Romans 5:8 (NLT2) – But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
⇒ It is the love of God for UNDESERVING ENEMIES.
Romans 5:10 (NLT2) – For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
John 15:9-12 (NLT2) – “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
Romans 12:9 (NLT2) – Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.
3. You must GROW in WHY you LOVE.
1 Thessalonians 3:13 (ESV) – so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
Establish –
Blameless –
Holiness –
Colossians 3:1-4 (NLT2) – Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
1 Peter 5:4 (NLT2) – And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.
Questions to Consider
1. When was the last time someone walked up to you and said, “Look at how you’ve grown!”? What were they referring to (height, weight, physical development, etc.)?
2. What does growing and growth mean to you?
3. What does it mean to grow in love?
4. What makes growing in HOW you love challenging?
5. How can knowing love is God and God is love help you love others like God?
6. What makes growing in WHO you love challenging?
7. Who do you have the hardest time loving right now? Explain
8. Why is it important to God for you to love all people?
9. What makes growing in WHY you love challenging?
10. How can you make sure you’re loving people for the right reason?