“What Love Really Looks Like!”.....Part #10......“Love Believes All Things, Hopes All Things!”

“What Love Really Looks Like!” #10

Text: 1 Corinthians 13

“Love Believes All Things, Hopes All Things!” - vs 7

Here we are again in this blog series "What Love Really Looks Like!" from 1st Corinthians 13. Let's dive in! The cultural definition of love is vague at best, watered down, these days it's just a word used loosely, typically to get an advantage or a desired outcome! We're so removed from the practical use of the word but what's scary is how far removed we've become from the spiritual weight of the word! So far we've covered that love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous, love does not brag and is not arrogant, love does not act unbecomingly, love does not seek his own, love is not provoked, love doesn't remember wrongs, love doesn't rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth, and love bears all things! If you've missed any of these I encourage you to go back in the archives and check them out. With this blog I want to go verse by verse through the pictures of what “agape”, true, biblical love looks like! I want us to see how Jesus' loved. In each blog entry I want to view the particular picture of love in these scenarios, Spiritually, Specifically, and Socially! 

** Let's find out what it means, love believes all things? **

believeth - pisteuō (pē-styü'-ō) -

to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in

1. of the thing believed
   1. to credit, have confidence
2. in a moral or religious reference
   1. used in the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul
   2. to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith
   3. mere acknowledgment of some fact or event: intellectual faith
1. to entrust a thing to one, i.e. his fidelity
   1. to be intrusted with a thing

Gill's commentary -

believeth all things; that are to be believed, all that God says in his word, all his truths, and all his promises; and even sometimes in hope against hope, as Abraham did, relying upon the power, faithfulness, and other perfections of God; though such a man will not believe every spirit, every preacher and teacher, nor any but such as agree with the Scriptures of truth, the standard of faith and practice; nor will he believe every word of man, which is the character of a weak and foolish man; indeed, a man of charity or love is willing to believe all the good things reported of men; he is very credulous of such things, and is unwilling to believe ill reports of persons, or any ill of men; unless it is open and glaring, and is well supported, and there is full evidence of it; he is very incredulous in this respect:

Hopes - elpizō (el-pē'-zō) -

to hope

1. in a religious sense, to wait for salvation with joy and full confidence
1. hopefully to trust in

-From G1680 Elpis which means EXPECTATION! -

- Translated hope, trusted, shall, hope for! -

Love is optimistic, optimistic concerning others, optimistic concerning purpose, optimistic concerning God's promises that if we do God's command (Love) all things work for good! Love sees the best in people until sin is obvious and clear.

- Literally – innocent until proven guilty! -

- Love expects the best out of people, things, situations, and life! -

If all things work for good then our expectation is good and resistance to do good subsides! Why do we not do good most of the time? FEAR! Perfect love casts out fear! Why? Because we trust God's promises, protection, purpose, providence, and power!

What does this love look like?

1.) Specifically

* Person to Person Relationships, spouses, friends, siblings, etc. *

- We see this in Paul's vouching for Onesimus to Philemon! (Go read Philemon!)-

- Paul was spiritually optimistic for, not only Onesimus, but both he and Philemon! -

- Christ to Malcus! -

2.) Socially

* Individual to Society, to Individuals with which we don't have a “personal” bond. *

- Paul's blind optimism hidden in God's promises concerning Israel in Romans 11! All Israel SHALL be saved! -

3.) Spiritually

* God to Man and Man to God! *

- Spiritually is the most important as it's correct position will produce the first two! -

- Man to God -

- Abraham as he hoped against hope! -

- Every sinner who comes to salvation! -

- Job (go read it too!) -

- God to Man -

- We see this in the reaction of Christ to every sinner that was brought to him and condemn before him! The woman at the well, the adulterous woman, Matthew, Zacceus, and YOU!

God sees the good in you, HIS SON!

In Closing:

Love always sees the good!

Love is ALWAYS optimistic, not just in a maybe so kind of way but in a certainty!

-The Excellence of Love

1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.