Love Trumps Knowledge
Text: 1
Corinthians 8:1-13
Aldersgate
I.
Love Trumps
Knowledge
a.
Always wanted to learn to play bridge
i.
Some aware
ii.
Father played
bridge
iii.
Pretty good
iv.
Uncle played
contract bridge
v.
Well known
throughout
vi.
Think Imay have inherited gene
vii.
Cards with
sisters and brothers
viii.
Father taught
1.
cribbage
2.
canister
3.
poker
4.
but not bridge
b.
Mom explained why I didn’t learn to play bridge
i.
Years ago, Dad
tried to teach Mom to play bridge
ii.
Played with
friends a few times
iii.
Dad yelled too
many time at Mom
1.
bidding wrong
2.
not playing right
3.
she decided love more important than bridge
4.
for some that’s hard to believe
c.
Apostle Paul trying to tell us
i.
when God is your
bridge partner
ii.
Love trumps
knowledge
II.
Exact words, Knowledge puffs us, love builds up
a.
Paul knows that knowledge can lead to
i.
a certain
puffiness (start blowing up balloon)
1.
same verb as in three other warnings
a.
4:6, not to be puffed up in favor of one against
another, pride in the NIV
b.
4:18-19, advises some, beware being puffed up against
Paul’s own apostolic authority
c.
5:2, incredulously, proud of a man who married his
father’s wife (let the balloon go)
ii.
gnosis (knowledge) puffs up and can lead to arrogance
1.
watch
Sunday-morning political show-feasts
2.
listen to a
theological debate
a.
how would church be different if we truly heard
Paul’s words
b.
instead of fighting over political positions, put our
passion into outdoing each other in love
iii.
Paul realizes
that knowledge can lead to spiritual elitism that separates church into classes
1.
Mom got a new pastor
2.
took her a few months to get used to the big words he
uses
3.
perhaps she is source of my desire to translate theological
terms – What good is sophisticated preaching is some do not understand?
iv.
beware of pride
in knowledge
1.
pride in self and one’s knowledge can lead to sin
2.
knowledge is defective if it fails to build up the
community
3.
Paul reminds us we are members of a community and
love takes precedence over knowledge
b.
knowledge does not lead to salvation
i.
the initiative
of salvation comes from God
ii.
told worship
planning team preaching on knowing and loving, a couple of them started
thinking about an old rock and roll song
1.
“to know, know, know Him, is to love, love, love him”
2.
“he loves, loves, loves us, so we know, know, know
him
c.
love inspires
i.
compassionate
attitudes
ii.
actions that
succeed in building up
1.
church
2.
and church members
3.
thinking for last few days about Jack Houghton
a.
Met about 15 years ago
b.
Member of my congregation
c.
Deep faith in pre-destination, life planned from
beginning
d.
In the beginning, difficult for me to communicate
with him
i.
Because of
tragic deaths
1.
death of my father at age 46 and breaking apart of my
family
2.
death of the aunt for who I am named when she was 20
3.
death of my niece when she was 18
a.
in a car driven by her brother
b.
he went through a stop sign
4.
death of a second niece when she was 20
a.
in another car accident
b.
we don’t know what happened
ii.
Could not
believe that God of love would predestine all this pain and sorrow
iii.
Wesley taught
e.
Then I heard
Jack’s story
i.
Navigator on a
ii.
Shot down on his
last mission
iii.
Lived while so
many others died
iv.
Not captured in
v.
Plane limped
into
vi.
Not imprisoned,
neutral country
vii.
Walked by
himself back to European front
viii.
Across a bridge
that was not there when he went back with others to look for it
f.
Amazingly, after
hearing each others stories, we no longer argued about predestination
i.
It was love that
allowed that to happen
ii.
All of a sudden
it just happened
iii.
We no longer had
to try to convince each other of our respective views
d.
What does love require?
i.
Building a
foundation of understanding and trust
ii.
Developing deep
personal relationships
iii.
Talking about
our perspectives in an invitational respectful manner
1.
Bread for the World
a.
hope many familiar with
b.
Board of Directors for
i.
includes Bob
Dole, former republican nominee for President
ii.
and Leon
Panetta, President Clinton’s budget director
c.
interesting to sit in on one of their board
meetings
iv.
Love requires
recognizing that liberty,
1.
the exousia of
verse nine, NIV as freedom
2.
does not mean doing what you like
3.
but being free to do what is best for the whole
Christian community
4.
For example, let’s talk briefly about Mission Shares
a.
Many organizations to which we belong have membership
fees
b.
i.
ii.
Be best for us
if we did not pay them or all of them
iii.
But we have
liberty to do what is best for the whole community of UM’s
throughout
iv.
So we trust and
support, continuing to work with others who have made a different decision
e.
More than anything else, Paul advises
i.
Behave in a way
that
1.
nourishes
2.
strengthens
3.
and builds up the Christian community, the body of
Christ
a.
when we tear down the church
b.
we in a sense tear down Christ
i.
the one who gave
self for us when we were weak
ii.
yes, when we
were weak, Paul says, Christ died for us
iii.
always remember,
Christ died for the one we don’t agree with, as well
c.
so Paul calls us to temper our views and act in
loving ways
d.
confession in vs. 6 speaks to this One
i.
this Love of
God, the One we know as Jesus
ii.
this Love of God
supports and strengthens
1.
our origin
2.
and our destination in God
a.
Creator
b.
Christ
c.
And Comforter
ii.
In concise
words, Paul is saying, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is
progress; working together is success”
1.
if my parents could have figured out how to work
together with love in their bridge game
2.
then I would know how to play today
f.
With Jesus as
our Bridge partner, love trumps knowledge!
Amen.