Divine love is not to be mistaken for natural amiability, or sentimental gush. Divine love is begotten of the knowledge of God. It partakes of His nature, for “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Love “is the bond of perfectness” (Col 3:14). “Love is of God; and every one that loves is born of God, and knows God” (1 John 4:7). This gives us the character of the love. There is no abatement of holiness and truth with God. These are upheld in all their integrity. The knowledge and power of this will preserve us from mistaking human sentiment for divine love.
The Apostle John brings before us the great manifestation of the love of God, in sending “His only begotten Son into the world that we might LIVE through Him,” and that He might be “the propitiation for our sins” on the cross (1 John 4:9-10). As we realise this, love is drawn from our hearts to Him. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). And not only so, but as a consequence our love goes out to all God’s people. “Every one that loves Him that begat loves him also that is begotten of Him” (1 John 5:1).
It is quite remarkable that a whole chapter is devoted to love. We refer to 1 Corinthians 13. The place where it occurs is striking. It lies between chapter 12, which takes up the truth of the assembly in its constitution and chapter 14, which takes up the directions as to the assembly in function. 1 Corinthians 12 is like the locomotive; chapter 13, the oil that will cause the machinery to work smoothly; chapter 14, the machinery at work. How necessary it is for us all to lay the lessons of that central chapter to heart.
We know of a Christian who reads 1 Corinthians 13 every day of his life. We might do well to imitate his example. A cursory glance at the chapter shows how highly intelligent we may be in the things of God, how very active we may be in philanthropic work, and yet utterly miss the mark. If divine love is missing, our speech will be only empty sound, we shall be NOTHING before God, and our efforts, however strenuous, and self-denying, be profitless in His presence.
The Apostle Paul gives great emphasis to all this, because he puts the truth before us in the first person. He begins, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity [love] I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” Evidently the subject matter of this speech is beyond reproach. He is not referring to unkind gossip or the like, but to speech of excellent matter, seeing he brings in the allusion to the tongues of angels. But if it lacks this divine love, it is empty and valueless, without edification.
The next verse presents us with an imposing array of wonderful qualifications. The gift of prophecy! The understanding of ALL mysteries! The mastery of ALL knowledge! The possession of ALL faith able to remove mountains! Surely anyone with all these qualifications must be a wonderful help. You cannot ask him a question, but he can give a clear and correct reply. His industry is amazing. No mystery but what he can unfold! Faith, too, that can surmount the unsurmountable is his. How remarkable!
Yet without love, this brother is NOTHING. How crushing! How exercising!
We have known some, who might in measure be described by that verse. Lacking divine love, with all their ability, their knowledge only became a scourge in the Church of God. Diotrephes, we expect, was one such. Such can open their lips on every occasion, and a stream of encyclopaedic, scriptural information flows forth. Their memory is wonderful! Their diligence praiseworthy! But all this knowledge, apart from divine love, will only prove lifeless matter, calculated to weigh down their hearers with a feeling of oppression. It lacks that something that only love can give. Without love it has no spiritual vitamins.
But now we come to what is self-sacrificing. This tests us more than speaking from the platform. To strip oneself of possessions to feed the poor, even to go so far as to give one’s body to be burned in defence of the truth, is conduct that appears to be moved by something profound. Surely a person cannot go so far as this, and not be right. The Apostle tells us that all this can be done, and if divine love is absent, it is PROFITLESS; all smoke and no fire. How searching! How much of this has been witnessed in monastic circles. How much can be done from love of self, not from love of God
Then some of the qualities of divine love are brought before us. We recognise them as we see them exemplified in the lives of Christians. Lives speak more loudly than lips. There is no more powerful Christian apologetic than the life that is truly marked by divine love.
Love suffers long, and is kind. Too often we suffer and hit back. We suffer, and forget to be kind. We get upset over trifles.
Love envies not. If I love a person I shall rejoice in all that he has. I shall not envy his better looks, greater gifts, whether of mind, disposition or possessions, whether spiritual or material.
Love “vaunts not itself, IS not puffed up.” Self-love and divine love do not go together. Love is not vainglorious. Love is engaged with its object, and not with self. To praise oneself, to talk about oneself, is not a sign of love. Indeed the excess of self-occupation often betrays want of mental balance. There are instances enough in history, secular and ecclesiastical, to warn us against that.
Love “doth not behave itself unseemly.” Love makes spiritual gentlefolk in actions and ways. Someone said to the late G.V.Wigram, “Mr. Wigram, there’ll be no gentlemen in heaven.” “On the contrary,” he replied, “they will all be gentlemen there.” We have known saints of very humble origin, with little or no education, and divine love has made them spiritual gentlefolk.
Love “is not easily provoked.” It is not touchy. Love will put the best construction upon what is questionable. For instance you meet a brother in the Lord in the street. He takes no notice. Love would not be affronted at being apparently cut dead, but would believe that the brother had not seen you, and would not have acted in that way if he had. In such simple things divine love helps.
Love “rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears ALL things, believes ALL things, hopes ALL things, endures ALL things.” How comprehensive are these “ALLs.” Let us sit down and ponder over them. How far short we come in all these things.
Then we are told that love never ceases. Prophecy ceases. There will come a time when the last prophecy will be fulfilled. Then there will be no more prophecy. It will cease.
Tongues will cease. Tongues are only useful in a world that owes its diversity of tongues to the sin of the tower and city of Babel. One day there will be only one tongue spoken in the universe of God, one universal language. Then tongues will cease.
Knowledge as we have it now will vanish away. If everybody in the world were a Master of Arts with first class honours, the degree of M.A. as a distinction would vanish away. We only know in part down here. One knows this, another knows that, and we can therefore speak of knowledge, for it is relative. But there all shall know as they are known.
Our present position is likened to a child in comparison to a full-grown person, to our looking at objects as through a dim window obscurely. In the future we shall see face to face. There will be no temple in the holy city, for God and the Lamb are alike the temple and the light of it. Then the “part,” precious as it is, and known in this life, will leap at one bound into perfect knowledge.
This is where divine love will land us. Blessed prospect! Heavenly outlook! There are three great handmaids in the Christian path, faith, hope, love, but the greatest of these is love. Do we realise this as we should?