1 Corinthians 13:8-13

                                                             1 Corinthians 13:8-13

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.  When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

The presence of the Holy Spirit in our life produces the character of Christ in us.  His holiness, His joy, and His love overflow into our lives in a way that complete and fulfill us.  The Spirit also provides capabilities in us that we have the privilege of using for the glory of God and the building up of the body of Christ.  The Spirit defines who we are and equips us for what we do.  What this passage makes clear is that who we are in the power of the Spirit is more important than what we do because of the giftings of the Spirit.

 

THE PERMANENCE OF LOVE: Paul speaks of three specific gifts of the Spirit: prophecy, tongues, and knowledge that are passing away.  He contrasts this with the fruit of the Spirit: love, that “never ends.”  In other words, these gifts are temporary while love is permanent.  I don’t think that Paul’s point in this passage is to single out three specific gifts that are temporary in nature so as to say that in later generations of the church, they would become extinct.  I believe Paul’s point is to contrast the nature of all the gifts that are passing with the fruit of love that will never pass.  Gifts like evangelism will be of no use in our eternal home.  The point of the passage is not to show which gifts were temporary but to show that love is permanent.  The debate over whether the gift of tongues is legitimately in use today should always be regulated by the overriding principle of love that is clearly taught in this text.

 

THE PERFECTION OF LOVE: All of the gifts we exercise today are imperfect and partial.  They are all marred by the sin nature of our lives.  None of us do the things we do to perfection.  We are partially productive, but perfection is on the way.  When Christ returns and takes us into His presence and we will be perfected in our love.  All our flawed gifts and imperfect love will pass away and be replaced with that with is perfect and permanent in our glorified state.  All our current giftings and attempts at love are like a child’s attempt to do and think things.  One day we will put all of our childishness away and we will become like Christ because we will know Him perfectly.  We will see Him face to face and that perfect knowledge will produce perfect love in us for eternity.

 

THE PRIORITY OF LOVE: Until the day we are perfected in Christ we are left on earth with faith in what Christ has done for us, hope for what Christ will do in us, and the love of Christ within us.  However, the greatest of these three is love because love is permanent.  We will not need faith in heaven because we will see Christ.  We will not need hope because all our hopes will be fully realized in Christ.  However, we will love Jesus and one another forever in a perfect yet growing way.  Since love is permanent, it should be our priority to develop in life today.  

 

APPLICATION:  Focus more on who we are supposed to BE than what we believe we should DO.  Be patient with our own imperfections and the imperfections of others.  Understand that we are all flawed and waiting for the return of Christ.  Have an abiding faith in Christ.  Never lose hope because of the promises of God.  Love God and love others to the best of our ability.

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