The Greatest that Abides 1 Cor. 12:31b–13:13; Jeremiah 1:4–10; Luke 4:31–44 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who loves us with the greatest love.

The Greatest that Abides is our message, taken from our Epistle, especially verse 13: Now these three abide: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love. 

How great and wise our God is, that He should make it the best that lasts, the greatest that abides. Of all there is, it’s God’s very best that stands the test of time, and endures in eternity.

In our fallen world, it doesn’t always seem to be that way. In fact, it sometimes seems as if it’s the bad and the worst that persist, while what’s godly and best, lose out and fade away.

But God is always at work, bringing His goodness and love into the world though His Spirit.

In our Old Testament today, we hear the Lord calling Jeremiah to speak His Word and do His will. 4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

One can’t help but think of last Sunday, when we celebrated the sanctity of life, and we talked about how God chose us for life and salvation, even before we were born.

Before Jeremiah was born, God chose Him for a noble task, to be His voice in the world: 9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. 

10 See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

To tear down by your words, what is evil and unjust, and opposes God, and to build up what brings glory to God, and good to people; that’s what God called Jeremiah to do, and us to do.

Jeremiah responded with fear and timidity: 6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” “I’m too young and inexperienced to stand up to and speak out against evil in the world.”

7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.”

You’re never too young, and never too old, to speak up and stand up for God and His Word. We never need be afraid to do so, because He is always with us. Some people may not like us for doing it, but God always loves and helps us.

The greatest of words are the words that are a witness to God’s Word, and His works, and His ways. His Word endures and abides to the end; and after that, it abides in eternity. Heaven and earth shall pass away, Jesus says, but my words will never pass away. 

God’s Word is the best of words, and they are the words that abide forever. Since His words never mislead and never become obsolete, like all worldly things inevitably do, let us hold to and abide in God’s Word and His ways every day of our lives, no matter how young or old we are.

When we hold to God’s Word, we’re holding to the best there is, and ever will be.

In our Gospel, it says that Jesus was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum, and, Luke says, they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. As the Son of God, He taught the Word of God.

The devil attempted an intervention, he tried to get in the way of the Word, and he does the same today. The devil tries to set up every roadblock he can to keep people from hearing and being impacted by God’s Word, because he knows how powerful it is, to change and save lives.

Luke says, 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”  

How ironic that some people deny God, and His Son, but the demons don’t. 

They recognize Jesus for who He truly is, and so they fiercely hate and oppose, and they fear Him. 

 35 Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 

No worldly words, no amount of secular knowledge can do something like that. 

What Jesus did would be impossible for any worldly power to do. His power is the greatest of powers, because it does what the world can’t do, it gives healing and life and love… for eternity. 

When this world ends, the powers of this world end; but the power of God continues into eternity. His power is the greatest and lasts the longest; it endures and abides forever.

The same is true of His love; it stands the test of time, even for eternity. Forever isn’t long enough for God to ever quit loving us. 

When Jeremiah was discouraged by all the rejection and opposition, God told him, in chapter 31:3, I have loved you with an everlasting love.

God loves us with a great and eternal love. In the greatness of His everlasting love, God gave us His best, His Son, who loved us to the point of dying for us, and who rose, that He might love us forever. 

In Baptism, the Holy Spirit gave us God’s best: His perfect grace and forgiveness, His dear family to belong to, His heavenly inheritance for our everlasting glory, and His unconditional love for now and for eternity.

These good and perfect gifts equip us to be more like Christ in this world; to love this world more in the way Jesus does.

That doesn’t mean becoming more worldly and embracing worldly values; it means becoming less worldly, and more genuinely loving, because genuine, godly love is what makes the biggest difference, and what lasts the longest, forever.

Paul says in our Epistle: And now I will show you a more excellent way...  4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;  6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends… Now these three abide: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love!

When faith is no longer needed, because we will see God face-to-face; and when hope is no longer needed, because our salvation will be realized in Heaven, love will continue. 

Love is why we’ll be there; we’ll be in Heaven to love and serve God and others with that timeless, perfect love that we will be raised and glorified with, and will have and will share forever.

What lasts and never ends is what’s best and greatest and most important – love, love that is true, the love that’s born of and comes from God. 

Imagine how different our world would be if we all would strive to love one another with a more Christ-like love.

Since godly love makes so great a difference, let us give it our greatest attention. Paul says, If I have not love, I have nothing. Make God’s redeeming love the focus and purpose of your life.

Knowing how His love for you endures and abides, let not a day go by when you fail to embrace His love; let not a day go by when you fail to embrace the love that your family and friends, and your church have for you; and let not a day go by when you fail to show Christ-like love to all the people God has placed in your life.

And as you embrace and abide in this most excellent of ways, the way of holy love, the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, will guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus, who loves you with an everlasting love. Amen.