Closer To Heaven
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Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dr Adenilton Tavares de Aguiar, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson.
View an in-depth discussion of “A portrait of Love” in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris.
Click on the image below to view the video:
With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/7-a-portrait-of-love-hope-sabbath-school-video-discussion/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=7-a-portrait-of-love-hope-sabbath-school-video-discussionDaily Lesson for Thursday 13th of August 2026
Thus far, we have learned that love is patient, kind, joyful, resilient, believing, hopeful, and enduring (or perseverant) because Jesus is all these things. Once we see these qualities in Jesus, the next step is to imitate Him. That was Paul’s wish for the Corinthians. However, if we remove the “not” in the eight negative features of love, “we get a pretty good description of the Corinthians’ conduct within their church circle: envious, boasting, arrogant, rude, self-seeking, easily offended, and looking to see what others were doing wrong. Paul is tailoring the verbs he uses here to the Corinthian situation.”—Verlyn D. Verbrugge, “1 Corinthians,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans–Galatians, revised edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), p. 372.
The Corinthians had much to learn. So do we. After describing what love does and does not do, Paul concludes his section by emphasizing the everlasting nature of love so as to stimulate the practice of genuine love.
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One day, prophecies will no longer be necessary; we will speak only one language; and flawed human knowledge will be replaced by a brand-new knowledge of God (1 Corinthians 13:12). The gifts of the Spirit will cease only when the purpose for which they exist has reached its fulfillment (1 Corinthians 13:10). “But love will last forever!” (1 Corinthians 13:8, NLT).
Likewise, when Christ returns, faith will give place to sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), and that which we have long hoped for will be reality (Romans 8:24). And, most of all, love will endure as an emblem of the character of our triune God. Yet, there is a sense in which faith and hope will also last forever. Faith as the experience of salvation (Romans 4:3), and hope as the desire and expectation of new delights and knowledge in the new earth, will mark the experience of the redeemed forever. Yet love, God’s love, will eternally prevail.
Very soon, we will see our Lord face-to-face (1 Corinthians 13:12). Until that day comes, we are supposed to define our lives with these three virtues: faith, hope, and love. This triad is representative of the fullness of Christian life through the Spirit. That is why it was often referred to among Christians (Romans 5:1-5; Galatians 5:5-6; Ephesians 1:15,18; Ephesians 4:1-5). Love, however, is the greatest; after all, it is the only virtue used to describe the very nature of God Himself (1 John 4:8).
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Dwell on the statement “God is love.” How are we supposed to understand exactly what that means? And though we can grasp the idea only in part, why is that phrase such good news for us? |
Daily Lesson for Wednesday 12th of August 2026
As we read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, we may feel frustrated at realizing that, to a lesser or greater degree, we fall short of displaying all those features of love. Likely, Paul had the person of Jesus in mind when writing 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Indeed, only Christ perfectly revealed all those characteristics of love. Thus, ultimately, Paul’s portrayal of love is a portrait of Jesus.
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God is love (1 John 4:8). He loves us so much that He gave His only Son (John 3:16). Jesus is the full expression of this love (Hebrews 1:3). If we want to know how love expresses itself, we must take a long look at Jesus. If we pay close attention to the portrayal of Jesus in the New Testament, we will realize that all the positive features of love in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 are seen in Him.
Jesus is patient. “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience [makrothymia]” (1 Timothy 1:16, NIV).
Jesus is kind. The Bible says that “the Lord is kind” (1 Peter 2:3, LEB). The word “Lord” in this passage refers to Jesus. The term “kind” renders the Greek word chrēstos, which comes from the same root as the verb chrēsteuomai (“to show kindness”) in 1 Corinthians 13:4.
Jesus rejoices in the truth. Jesus experienced joy as He followed the will of the Father and felt His love for Him (John 15:9-11, John 17:12-14).
Jesus bears/endures all things. Hebrews 12:2-3 says that Jesus “endured the cross. . . . [He] endured such hostility from sinners against Himself” (NKJV). Nobody has endured so much as Jesus (Philippians 2:8). He did this for the joy set before Him!
Jesus believes all things. When Ananias questioned the genuineness of Paul’s conversion (Acts 9:13-14), Jesus answered, “He is a chosen instrument of mine” (Acts 9:15, ESV). Jesus sees people not only as they are but as they will become through His power.
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What are other ways that Jesus reveals to us what true love really is? |
Daily Lesson for Tuesday 11th of August 2026
Yesterday, we focused on seven things love does; today, we will look into eight things it does not do. Love . . .
Does not envy (zeloō). Zeloō can be used positively as in “desire [zeloō] the higher gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31, ESV), “desire [zeloō] the spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 14:1, ESV), and “desire [zeloō] to prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:39, ESV). Here, though, as in Acts 7:9, it is negative. It is OK to desire spiritual gifts but not to envy gifted persons. This causes division (1 Corinthians 3:3).
Does not boast (perpereuomai). The verb perpereuomai conveys the idea of arrogance and desire for praise from others. Love, however, is not self-focused like that. This is even clearer in what follows.
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Does not puff up (physioō). The verb physioō occurs in 1 Corinthians 8:1 in Paul’s remarkable statement, “ ‘Knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up” (ESV). It refers to a person inflated with self-importance.
Does not behave rudely (aschēmoneo). The verb aschēmoneo may have an ample range of meanings. By and large, though, it means acting contrary to social and moral standards in a dishonorable, shameful, indecent, or improper manner. Paul likely is referring to the arrogant and rude behavior of the “strong” party toward the “weak” members in Corinth (1 Corinthians 4:10, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13).
Does not seek (zēteo) its own [rights]. This is similar to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:24: “No one is to seek his own right, but rather that of others” (author’s translation). Love gives up its own rights for the sake of others (see Lesson 5). In a setting in which everyone seeks each other’s rights, all benefit.
Does not get easily irritated (paroxynō). The verb paroxynō suggests an inward state of arousal pointing to someone easily provoked to anger. This means that love is not short-tempered or touchy.
Does not keep records (logizomai) of wrongs. The verb logizomai has an accounting sense here, meaning that love does not take one’s wrongs into account. In other words, love also means to forgive.
Does not delight (chairō) in wrongdoing. Love not only keeps no record of someone else’s wrongs but takes no pleasure in them. When we truly love others, we do not rejoice at their mistakes but, instead, seek to help them.
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