The Superiority & Durability of Love

Transcript

GR 1354
05-20-07
The Superiority and Durability of Love
1 Corinthians 13:8-13
Gil Rugh

We're studying the book of 1 Corinthians together, so if you want to turn there in your Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, one of the more familiar chapters in our Bible because it is known as the love chapter. It's a chapter that we often refer to or come to for a variety of reasons. We might be talking to someone planning on getting married and we want to talk to them about the love they will need to demonstrate in their marriage. We talk to people having problems in their marriage, we come to 1 Corinthians 13. Any time you're going to talk about love in any kind of context related to the Bible, you'll end up spending some time in 1 Corinthians 13. And that's fitting and proper because it does give the fullest development of love as we are to demonstrate it. It helps us to understand it in a fuller and more complete way.

But we need to keep before us the context of this chapter. This chapter was not written primarily to help us understand about love in a marriage relationship or in our human families. This chapter was written so the church could understand how it is to function together as the people of God, particularly the context in which and out of which our spiritual gifts are to operate. Love is to be the controlling factor.

Chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians is about spiritual gifts, chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians is about spiritual gifts, chapter 13 fits in the middle of that. And remember, the first three verses of chapter 13 opened up showing that without love even the greatest spiritual gifts had to the greatest degree would be worthless. And more than that, the people with those great gifts would be worthless to the church, if they didn't exercise those gifts in love. The in verses 4-7 Paul moved on to list 15 characteristics of biblical love, the love that we are to demonstrate as those who have been the recipients of God's love. Each of these characteristics, you remember, was in the form of a verb, indicating it is something that we are to do. This love requires action, it requires doing something. That's why it can be commanded, it can be required. It is a love to be demonstrated when I feel like it, and when I do not feel like it; when I want to, and when I don't want to. It is a love in that sense, by the grace of God, through the power of the Spirit, that I can control, I can choose to love you by doing what is right and best and good for you. I may say, I don't feel like it, but that doesn't matter. I do it because God requires it and I draw on His strength to do it.

Now in verses 8-13 he's going to close out the chapter. And he returns specifically to spiritual gifts. After laying out what are the characteristics of the love that he is talking about, he wants to put it back in the context of spiritual gifts. And he's going to show that without love the gifts are nothing, because love supersedes the gifts, and his point will be that love will go on, even after these gifts have stopped functioning. So there is a permanence, a durability about love that will make it more important than even the spiritual gifts. You remember how verse 7 placed it. The first statement in verse 7 and a characteristic of love—love bears all things. And then the last statement in verse 7, love endures all things. And then verse 8 begins. Love never fails. And I noted, that's really a 16th characteristic or attribute of love. We have focused on the 15 characteristics of verses 4-7, because that first statement really repeats and picks up on what was said in verse 7, love bears all things, love endures all things. The fact is, love never fails. And then down in verse 13 he'll conclude this section, now faith, hope, love, these three abide, they continue. But the greatest of these is love. So love never fails. Along with faith and hope, love abides, it continues. But the gifts will cease. So love is more important than the gifts. The Corinthian church had gotten caught up in how important each one was, and each individual thinking, I have such a wonderful gift. I ought to be honored, I ought to get recognition, I . . . In their sight their gift was worthless, their contribution to the body was of no value if it was not exercised in love. And you understand, when your gift is over, love will endure. So it supersedes the gifts.

Let's pick up with verse 8. Love never fails. And that's a good translation. The verb literally means to fall. Love never falls, and of course it's used then in a variety of contexts. We talk about people falling from grace. They had an exalted position in a company, perhaps. You say, they had a great fall, they lost that position, they don't have it any longer. One writer said, one of its ideas is love never falls apart and thus comes to an end. The durability of love, it endures all things and so you can say love never fails, never falls apart. Genuine biblical love never stops. Now I don't know how else to say it for our good, how else God could have said it, this would resolve 99.99% of the problems and conflicts we find ourselves in the church, as well as in our physical homes and families. True biblical love never stops, never quits, never falls apart. So when I think it has, I have to stop and say, God, something is wrong with me, not them, me. Because your love endures all things, your love never falls apart. The love you require of me never fails. So that's the point, and he'll pick up on that to close in verse 13, it abides, it continues.

The contrast he wants to draw in verse 8, love never fails. If there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are gifts of tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. You'll note that contrast. Love never fails, but, and then three “if” statements—if prophecy, if tongues, if knowledge. And those three repeated ifs show the impermanence of the gifts. If you do have that gift and it is present, it's not permanent, in contrast to love which never quits, never fails. It's always to be there and demonstrated. Some have this gift, some don't, its not on the same level of love. And furthermore, if you do have it, there'll come a time when that gift will not exist. So he says concerning these three gifts in verse 8, if there are gifts of prophecy, they'll be done away. Makes the same statement at the end of the verse. If there is knowledge, it will be done away. Two strong verbs. The passive voice means something is done to them. The word means to abolish, to render inoperative, to bring to an end. And if there is prophecy, knowledge, God will bring it to an end, render these gifts inoperative. For the gift of tongues, it will cease. Uses a different word, a milder word, means they'll just die out. We'll talk about tongues more fully when we get to chapter 14 where Paul is going to develop that more, and I think we'll get an idea when the Bible indicates tongues would cease, in light of what the purpose of tongues is indicated to be in chapter 14. His focus here will be on knowledge and prophecy. We see that, because he doesn't mention tongues again after this verse, but he does mention knowledge and prophecy through this section. Then when you get to chapter 14 he'll pick up on prophecy and tongues and develop that more fully.

So we have the statement, if there are gifts of prophecy, remember what prophecy and knowledge involved? It involved direct revelation from God. What did tongues involve? Tongues involved the ability to speak in a language you had not learned, receiving revelation from God and speaking it forth in a language you had not learned. Each of these gifts are what we call revelatory gifts. They involve receiving revelation from God, and then giving it forth in one form or another. And here we're told, where there are gifts of prophecy, they will be brought to an end, they will be rendered inoperative, they will no longer function. Same with the gift of knowledge, supernatural knowledge and insight given by God. Remember before the completion of the New Testament, if you were here for our previous studies in chapter 12, God gave these gifts. The church at Corinth would have had those with the gift of prophecy, the gift of knowledge, the gift of tongues, because they could not turn to a New Testament and find out what God's plan and will for the church was, how to function in certain situations. So God gave revelation through these individuals. But it's going to come to an end. There will come a time when revelation will not be given any longer. Clear statement, love never fails, the gifts, prophecy and knowledge, they'll be brought to an end, rendered inoperative. Tongues is going to cease, as we'll see, it's going to die out. The point being, there will come a time when these gifts are no longer present.

Look at verse 9, for we know in part and we prophesy in part. What does he mean by that? Well those with the gifts of knowledge, the gift of prophecy received parts of revelation. No individual with the gift of prophecy or the gift of knowledge received all the revelation God was going to give. So you have a prophet in the church at Corinth receiving revelation from God regarding a certain situation in the church at Corinth, but that wasn't given necessarily to the church at Thessalonica. But a prophet in Thessalonica would receive a revelation and even our New Testament writers, Paul didn't receive all the revelation there was. The Apostle John received some revelation. And you know what? John didn't even write his books, the gospel of John, the epistles of John, or the book of Revelation until long after the Apostle Paul was dead. The Apostle Paul never got to read John's writings, never got to read the fullness of the unfolding of God's plans for the future in the book of Revelation. But Paul received part of revelation, John received part of revelation, Jude received part of revelation, Peter received part of revelation. You have the different individuals who are the writers of our scripture, each receiving part of the revelation. So that's the point of verse 9, we know in part and we prophesy in part.

At this point in time in the early history of the church, no one had all the revelation that God was going to give. Later Peter would write in 2 Peter 3, Paul has written about some things that are hard to understand. Peter didn't have all the revelation, and when he read some of the revelation that Paul had received from God, he said, some of that is difficult to understand, because it was given in pieces and parts to different individuals. It wasn't brought together as one whole, what we have as our New Testament, at that point in time.

Note the contrast again, verse 10, but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. There are some differences in the view on this verse. When the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. And our English translation of this Greek word, telios, translated perfect, gives us an idea of something that has no imperfections, no flaws, or anything like that. And often is taken to refer to Christ. When the perfect Man comes, the partial will be done away. And we often quote verse 9 when we say, we don't know everything. No, we know in part and we prophesy in part, but there will come a time when we will know fully. But I don't think that's what it's talking about. We prophesy in part, we know in part, but when the complete has come. That word translated to be perfect means to be complete. The idea is of totality, wholeness, completion. Another one puts it, the completed whole. So if we translate this word a little differently, we're talking about that which is complete, that which is whole, all the parts.

Where am I going? I believe that which is complete refers to the New Testament, our completed New Testament. So we know in part, we prophesy in part, all these individuals during Paul's day were getting pieces of revelation. He was getting pieces of revelation, but not all of it. Some of it would be given to Peter and Peter would write 1 and 2 Peter. Some of it would be given to John, as we noted, and he would write the book of Revelation, the gospel of John, the epistles of John. Some of it would be given to Luke and he would write his gospel and the book of Acts. And on we go. But when the completed comes, then the partial will be done away with. And the contrast is between that which is partial and that which is complete. Once you have a completed revelation, there is no need for more revelation.

Come back to Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, the last book written. John wrote the book of Revelation about 95 A.D. Revelation 22:18, as Jesus closes this final revelation. God now is done speaking. All He has to reveal that is necessary for us to know has now been revealed. I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book. If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city which are written in this book. You see the finality of that? Here John writes, there is nothing else to be added to prophecy with the closing of the book of Revelation. You can't add anything, you can't take anything away, and if you do, you come under the condemnation of God.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 13. If there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away. That's the word I was referring to before that's translated four different ways in this context. Done away, rendered inoperative. What happens, John completes the book of Revelation under the guidance of the Spirit of God, and God causes prophecy to cease and says now you cannot add anything else or take anything away. What I have to say to you is complete. The same with knowledge, we don't need supernatural knowledge anymore in the sense of revelation from God, concerning what to do. We turn to the New Testament to find out what is to be done.

So when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away because we don't need these pieces continually adding, because it's complete. It's like you put a puzzle together and you have the different pieces. But when you put the puzzle together and it's complete and all the pieces are there, you don't have to go around having more pieces added because the puzzle is complete. That's what God has done. When the revelation is complete, there'll be no more revelation. So we have the New Testament, or the new covenant.

There are some illustrations to demonstrate what Paul is saying here, and we pick those up beginning with verse 11, “When I was a child I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. But when I became a man I did away with childish things.” Now note the comparison here. We are told, verse 8, that there will come a time when gifts like prophecy, tongues and knowledge, gifts that involve direct revelation from God, will stop. The reason is we know now in part and we prophesy in part, but when the complete comes, we won't need the parts anymore. Now an illustration. When I was a child I spoke, thought and reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I did away with childish things. Paul using himself as an example. So the comparison is, in childhood there are a variety of things you do, way of thinking, way of acting and so on. But there comes that growth and maturity and that period of time now as an adult, the childish things you are done with. The end of verse 11, I did away with childish things. That's the same verb you have translated will be done away twice in verse 8. It's the partial will be done away at the end of verse 10. And now the childish things are done away, a time when they are no longer operative because now I have become a man.

The contrast is when scripture was being given during the early period of the church, the church's development, you had all these pieces, they were partial. It was a time of childhood, the early period of the church's life. But when the completed revelation comes, you no longer need all those parts, you now have maturity, like a child becoming an adult.

Turn over to Galatians 4. Paul uses a similar analogy. Similar in that he is going to compare incomplete revelation from God with complete revelation from God. Now the comparison in Galatians 4 is a little different than we have in 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians Paul is talking about the early time of the new covenant and the later time of the new covenant, the early period of the church's history and the later period. In Galatians he is comparing the old covenant, the Mosaic Law, with the new covenant, revelation given with the coming of Christ. And note how Galatians 4 begins, now as long as the heir is a child. And that word translated, “child,” is the same word we have in 1 Corinthians, when I was a child I thought as a child, reasoned as a child and so on. As long as the heir is a child he does not differ from a slave, under guardians and managers and so on. Verse 3, so while we were children we were held in bondage under the elemental things, the ABC's. Paul is a Jew writing in the context of Jewish issues. When we were under the law it was like being a child, like when you are learning the ABC's. But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son and brought redemption, so that now we have been brought into maturity. The end of verse 5 says, we received the adoption of sons. When that child was formally placed as a son, entered into his adult phase of life, and thus put behind him childish things. Comes on down, verse 9, to say, now you can't go back to the weak and worthless elemental things. You don't go back to the ABC's. What we want to note here is the comparison. Paul compares that time when revelation wasn't full and complete, to the time when it is. Now he is comparing the Old Testament with the New Testament in Galatians. So don't get confused. But you see the Mosaic Law wasn't all God had to reveal. But with the coming, now, of the new covenant, our New Testament, Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross, the revelation associated with that, we've entered into adulthood. The law just prepared people. It was like the schoolmaster, preparing for the coming of Christ. So that analogy is the same kind of analogy, only Paul is talking about now let's narrow this down and say this is the time with the coming of Christ. Well that early period after Christ has come and suffered and died, been raised, and revelation concerning His finished work is being given, that's the childhood state. But when the revelation is fully given, it will be complete and then we won't need the partial to be revealed anymore. The inferior is replaced by the superior. The incomplete is replaced by the complete, partial replaced by complete. Important to follow along the analogy and comparison here.

Back in 1 Corinthians 13. I don't think we're talking about Jesus Christ as the perfect man here, in fact this is a neuter, the Greek word translated, “perfect.” If it were masculine you could translate it, when the perfect man comes. You read some Greek commentators, they'll translate it, when the perfect thing comes, because it's a neuter, not talking about the perfect man. We're talking about the complete in contrast to that which is incomplete, which is partial. What is done away with, the end of verse 11, is the continuing giving. We say, we don't just disregard previous revelation. That's not the point. The point is that the gift of prophecy and the gift of knowledge and the gift of tongues are part of the child state. Those gifts are no longer necessary, they are no longer operative, now that we've become adults, that the revelation is complete, any more than a child. We say, I put away childish things. Well, a lot of things you learn you grow to adulthood, you just don't throw away everything you learned. You learned to talk and speak and so on when you were a child. You say, I don't throw away everything. So don't confuse what the analogy is making here, the illustration, the point being made.

Look at the second illustration, verse 12. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. We don't have a problem here. We have good mirrors. I read something that said mirrors as we know them didn't come into existence until around 1300 A.D. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's as good a reference for me as any. Before that they had polished metal to look at. Now we have mirrors that are so good and so clear you see more than you want to see. I mean, I have a mirror in my bathroom that magnifies five times. Why do I want to see my imperfections five times greater than they are? You know, we look in a mirror, we see an accurate reflection, but in biblical times, and Corinth was famous for its mirrors, polished metal mirrors, even in the best polished metal mirror, you didn't get that sharp, clear image that we can get in our modern day mirrors. And remember in 1 Corinthians 1, most of the Corinthians were from the poorer class. Not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble have been called. And those who were poorer dealt with inferior quality mirrors, inferior metals, inferior polishing done and so on. So they got less of a clear picture. In fact, in biblical times, those who really saw what you looked like were those who looked at you face to face. So that's the contrast here. We see in a mirror dimly; we get the English word enigma, enigmatic. We just carry that over, that's the Greek word. It means a puzzle, something that is not clear. That's why we say, it's an enigma to me, it's a puzzle, something not clear, something I don't understand. Well that's Paul's point here. Now with the revelation we have, it's only partial, so we can't see things sharp and clear. That would be true of Paul, he didn't get a chance to read Revelation. For him, he had great revelation, but it wasn't complete. Peter, in 2 Peter 3 said that God had revealed things to Paul that are hard to understand. Here is Peter who gets direct revelation himself and writes two books of our New Testament, he says I read some of the revelation Paul has and I can hardly understand it. Because he's taking pieces. It's like you're putting together a puzzle, you know you sometimes lay it out and you start to pieces here. You say this goes with this piece, but I don't know where it fits in the puzzle yet. And the more I get the pieces together, more of the picture is coming together, but some of these things I can't figure out. I don't know how that's going to fit in this puzzle. I know it does, but I don't know how. Remember Peter said that was true of the Old Testament prophets. They couldn't understand how the glory of Christ and the sufferings of Christ could go together. If He's going to rule and reign in glory, how could He suffer and die? They didn't have complete revelation.

So it is now with the revelation, since Christ has died on the cross and the New Testament is being written and revealed, until it is complete, no individual or individuals have the completed picture. Until Paul received revelation regarding the church, he says in Ephesians 2 and 3 together, nobody really understood the church until God revealed it to me. So that's what we have, we have pieces.

So we see in a mirror dimly, Paul said. I take it he's talking about his time, the time of the Corinthian church, that period up until almost 100 A.D. when the book of Revelation is written. We just have pieces coming together. Every time the Spirit of God directed with the writing of 1 Corinthians and the circulating of that, now we have a major piece to understand God's purposes for His church and the workings of His church, and how love is to operation, how the spiritual gifts are to function. That's a major piece, but it's only a piece. We see in a mirror dimly, not clearly. But then face to face. Now often people take this and put it together with perfect. They say the perfect has to refer to Christ and it refers to when I will see Him face to face. And we do have the song, face to face I shall behold Him. So all goes together. But I don't think that's what he's talking about. Keep in mind the context. You see in a mirror dimly, not clearly, you're looking into a piece of polished metal. And you have metal in your home, we have some brass lamps. They deteriorate and the quality that you don't see, you look at a reflection, it's not as clear as it was. But then face to face. When is the “then?” When the complete comes, verse 10. It will be when the partial is done away. What does it mean face to face? You'll have clarity. Keep in mind [in] biblical times, you look in a mirror, you see your face and it's an enigma, a puzzle, not clear. You're depending on the quality of the mirror, you see a little better a little worse. It's just a piece of polished metal. Go home and get out a pan with different metals, look and see. You say, I can see, but I don't know if I want to take a splinter out of my cheek with what I can see, it's not that good a detail. That's why they make makeup mirrors that magnify 4, 5, 7 times, [etc.].

Now you contrast that, but a person who looked at your face saw your face as it was. There was no distortion caused by the metal mirror. So the face to face denotes clarity. I saw my face in this piece of polished metal and it's not all clear. But if you look at my face you see it as it is. That's the contrast, that which is not clear and that which is clear. That's what it means to be face to face, the clarity. He picks up on this in the next statement as well.

But first let me take you to a couple of verses, then we'll pick up the last part of verse 12. Maybe it will make a little more sense. Go to James 1. And James uses a similar analogy. Again for James, he's contrasting the Old Testament law and the new covenant in Christ. So the comparison was with the Word of God and a more complete revelation from God, but his completion is the new covenant compared to the old covenant, what we call our Old Testament and the New Testament, basically. Verse 21, the end of the verse, you received the implanted Word which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the Word and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For anyone who is a hearer of the Word and not a doer is like a man who looks at his natural face, the face of his birth, in a mirror. And once he has looked at himself he goes away and forgets what he's seen. The one who looks intently at the perfect law, there is our word, perfect, complete, law, which is the law of liberty. We'll see in a moment that law of liberty is the new covenant. That is what has been revealed now in Christ. So in contrast to the old covenant under Moses, the revelation concerning Jesus Christ and His finished work is part of the new covenant, is a complete revelation. Contrast between the incomplete and the complete, the partial and the complete. The one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, this man will be blessed in what he does.

So you see the contrast here, using the Word of God, the picture of it, as a mirror. And here you see clearly or less clearly. The point James is making is, don't forget what you see in the mirror of the Word. Paul's analogy is a mirror is not as clear as what someone who sees you face to face sees. But you see the comparisons here, similar analogies.

Come back to 2 Corinthians, Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 3. And 2 Corinthians 3 is about the new covenant, what God has revealed in Christ and as a result of the finished work of Christ. He contrasts the new covenant with the Mosaic covenant. The end of verse 3, he's talking about that which is not written on tables of stone. Remember Moses went up on the mountain and received the Ten Commandments inscribed on stone tablets? I'm not talking about a law inscribed on stone tablets, but on the tablets of human hearts. Remember Jeremiah 31? I will write my law on your hearts as a result of my new covenant. The contrast in verse 6, we are servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. The contrast is between the Mosaic law, inscribed in letters on stone, and the work of the Spirit who writes it on our hearts. So the contrast between the old covenant and the new covenant. The ministry of death in letters engraved on stone, talking about what Moses received on the mountain. But all that law could do was condemn us for sin. But now the Spirit with the new covenant, the finished work of Christ, brings life.

So you have the context, come down to verse 18. In Christ the veil that keeps you from seeing and understanding truth is lifted. So verse 16, whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Then you understand what the law, what Moses wrote, really was anticipating in the coming of Christ. But only in Christ through faith in Him can your eyes see and understand truth. Now the Lord is the Spirit, verse 17, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Remember James? We are looking into the perfect law of liberty. It's a law of liberty in contrast to the Mosaic Law, which is a law of condemnation. The new covenant has commands, it is a law, but it is a law of liberty.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. So you see he takes this analogy of that which is not complete and that which is complete, that picture of a mirror. Now here again he's looking and comparing the old covenant and the new covenant, now we're looking at what has been fully revealed in the new covenant. So his picture here is of being able to see in the Word of God, which is pictured as a mirror, something that was not visible before, because you had something over your eyes. So it's not the exact picture, but using the mirror in the context of the Word of God and how you see, and so on. Characteristic of James, characteristic of Paul.

So he takes that same analogy, now, back in 1 Corinthians 13, and draws a picture. And what happens in 2 Corinthians 3:18 as you're beholding in a mirror of the Word the glory of the Lord, you are being transformed by the Spirit into the same image. You are becoming more like Jesus Christ. His character is being produced in you, by character we mean like the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love. Through that revelation. Now back in 1 Corinthians 13, we see in a mirror dimly, then face to face. So his analogy here with the mirror is these pieces of revelation don't give a clear picture yet. But I will have a clear picture, a face-to-face kind of picture when the revelation is complete.

Look at the last part of verse 12, then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. This will bring the knowledge I couldn't have before. That partial revelation couldn't give the complete knowledge that I have when the revelation is complete. Now with the completed revelation, we have everything that God intends us to know for life and godliness. Well, we don't know everything there is to be known, so it must refer to heaven. But we will not know everything there is to know in all eternity, because we will never be God. We will always be finite. And He is infinite. So even in eternity we will not know everything there is to know, only God knows everything there is to know. That's why we will never be done learning through all eternity, because in a hundred billion trillion years, I won't have exhausted the knowledge of the infinite God. But his point here is not, well when Christ comes, the perfect Christ, and I see Him face to face then I'll know as I am known. The contrast is between the partial revelation that's being given through prophecy and knowledge and tongues, with the completed revelation that then will give you the full, complete knowledge of what God intends you to know. Then you have clarity. Where do we go? We go to the Word. I was reading some material this morning before I came that one of you gave me last week that you received in the mail. And this was a man who received direct revelation. I wasn't supposed to unseal it and read it until I sent back the appropriate give, but I cheated and I opened it up to read what the revelation was. Silliness. I knew it was false to begin with. Why? Because there is no new revelation being given, right? It's complete. So when John signed off with the book of Revelation and Jesus said, this is it, you can't add to this, you can't take away from it, it's done. Then these writings under the direction of the Spirit are pulled together as the Old Testament was, now the New Testament has been, and we have a completed revelation. Where do I need to go for knowledge about God, about a life of godliness? I go to The Book, right? This is the new covenant. It’s a completed revelation.

So that's the point that is being drawn here. I'll know fully, even as I am known. That's comparison with the mirror. So now you look in a mirror, you see dimly; somebody looks at you face to face, they see you as you are. Remember we have to deal with the dim mirrors, the mirrors of Corinth, not today's mirrors. So then I will know fully just as I am known. Then I will see clearly, just as you see me clearly face to face, then I will see clearly. It takes the completed revelation to give the clear, complete picture. Paul didn't have it all, Peter didn't have it all, John didn't have it all. By the gracious direction of the Spirit, though, He guided so all these pieces are put together so the revelation is complete.

So you have verse 13, now faith, hope and love abide, these three. What is he saying? Well we've already indicated there will come a time when prophecy and knowledge will cease, they'll stop, they'll be caused to come to an end, they'll be rendered inoperative, no longer necessary, no longer functional. Tongues will cease. But faith, hope and love go on. John completed the last book of our New Testament about 95 A.D. nineteen hundred years, going on two thousand years later we don't have the gifts of prophecy, knowledge, tongues. But faith, love and hope go on. That's the point. These abide, they abide after these gifts that you are so focused on no longer exist. And out of these three, the greatest is love. Why is love greater than faith and hope? Well according to verse 7, love believes all things, love hopes all things. Even the faith and the hope flow out of the love. And love is out of God's very character, remember. God is love. God doesn't have to have faith. There's a song I hear, it always grates on me, that God believes in me. I mean, talk about theology on its head. It's just not right, not correct, bad theology, wrong theology. So God doesn't have faith in that sense, God doesn't have hope. The Bible says hope that is realized is not hope. Well what does God not know, what has God not seen? So love supersedes these.

So faith, hope and love will abide after these gifts have stopped, and even the greatest among these three is love. So you see he's moved them out of the realm of the gifts, they are qualities that are to characterize us that are enduring. The point being, we ought to focus on that which is permanent and enduring. You say, well are you saying gifts don't have a function? There are spiritual gifts present today. We’ve talked about that. The revelatory gifts have ceased. We have a completed scripture. But even the gifts we exercise now are to flow out of love. The first three verses, if the gifts don't flow out of love, they are of no value. So keep in mind, even if you have the greatest gift of prophecy, or the greatest give of tongues, or the greatest gift of knowledge, as he used as examples in the first three verses, but you didn't have love, it would be worthless. So what's most important? Love.

And furthermore, when those gifts have ceased, love will continue. So what's more important? The gift is of no value without love, and love will endure after the gifts have ceased. So be most concerned about your love. In other words, doesn't matter whether we exercise a gift. Well, if you're functioning in love, you will exercise your gift. Why? Because love means doing what is best for the other person, and that's what will draw my gift out. It's my desire to do what I can to serve you and help you and do what is best for you, the Spirit has gifted each of us to function in such a way. So what matters is love. That's why we take these 15 characteristics now, back up and say, I want to analyze my life in this body of this church, because that's the context of love here. You can evaluate it in your home, in your marriage, in your family and so on, but the Spirit of God has directed it here for the church. Is this how I really function in the church? How much do I think about me? How much am I concerned about me? How much attention do I look to get? What do I do? . . .Or do I say, this is the way I could serve.

We had a good testimony of that this week. We put in speakers in the ceiling and we had some men here from Minnesota, someplace. And they remarked about the men we had here, giving of themselves and working day and evening and they said, “It's unusual.” We don't go to places and find people who get things done like this. Well, they don't necessarily get paraded. I get up and talk about the speakers, but they just do the job. Why? Because that's what is necessary for the benefit of this church, and that goes on in how many ways. I mean, you're sitting, the church has been cleaned. Who gets recognized and say, know who cleaned that so you're not sitting in the mess that was there and the gum wrappers or the papers? No, it just happens, happens because people function in love. Not because I don't have anything better to do than go clean the church this week. I guess I'll do that. No, because love moves me to look and see what I could do and to teach a class, to minister to the kids, to care for the babies in the nursery. On it goes. Love draws us out, right? So if I start concentrating on that, everything else falls into place.

That's what Paul is talking about with the gifts. With that in mind, now, he'll be ready to say in chapter 14 verse 1, pursue love, yet earnestly desire spiritual gifts. There is a place for the gifts, but you have to put them in their context. And if they're not put in the context of love, then you're back to chapter 13 verses 1-3, they are of no value at all. So love is the focal point out of which everything else is to come for us as God's people.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your grace. Thank you for your love for us. As we have seen so many times, a love sacrificial, complete giving. Thank you for the completion of your Word. How awesome to consider that we have in our possession that which the Apostle Paul was not privileged to have, or the Apostle John or the Apostle Peter, or others in those early days of the church's history. But we have a completed revelation, we have everything that we need to know to function in a way that honors you. Lord, to whom much is given, much is required. May we take this responsibility seriously, may your love characterize us in all of our service. We pray in Christ's name, amen.