The Supremacy of Love - General Considerations

Paul concluded his treatment of love with a grand doxology celebrating love's supremacy. Sadly, the passage is a lightning rod in the debate over the cessation of the so-called sign gifts, with the result that many miss Paul's point and the richness of the passage's contribution to his larger argument. Paul wasn't taking a sidebar in his discussion, but was still treating the subject of the Spirit's gifts and the way they are to be understood and employed in view of the law of love and the purpose of God in Christ and in His Church. This first message, then, seeks to lay the necessary foundation for discerning Paul's meaning and deriving the instruction and benefit he intended.