In this way "Love is the fulfilling
of the law." It is the rule for fulfilling all rules, the new
commandment for keeping all the old commandments, Christ's one.
Secret of the Christian life.
Now Paul has learned that; and in this noble eulogy he has given
us the most wonderful and original account extant of the "summum
bonum." We may divide it into three parts. In the beginning of
the short chapter we have Love CONTRASTED; in the heart of it, we
have Love ANALYZED; toward the end, we have Love DEFENDED as the
supreme gift.
I. The Contrast.
Paul begins by contrasting Love with other things that men in those
days thought much of. I shall not attempt to go over these things
in detail. Their inferiority is already obvious.
He contrasts it with ELOQUENCE. And what a noble gift it is,
the power of playing upon the souls and wills of men, and rousing
them to lofty purpose and holy deeds! Paul says, If I speak with
the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become
sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." We all know why. We have
all felt the brazenness of words without emotion, the hollowness,
the unaccountable unpersuasiveness, of eloquence behind which lies
no Love.
He contrasts it with PROPHECY. He contrasts it with MYSTERIES.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25