1 Corinthians 13:8-13

Butler's Comments

SECTION 3

Giftedness is Temporary, Love is Eternal (1 Corinthians 13:8-13)

8 Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; 10but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. 11When 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. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. 13So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:8-9 The Passing: The text clearly states that these miraculous gifts would stop. They would fulfill their purpose and cease to exist. The question is; when were these gifts to stop? Again, this text clearly says the gifts were imperfect (Gr. merous, in part). 1 Corinthians 13:11 of this chapter states the gifts were for an infant church (Gr. nepios, lit. without the power of speechsee Matthew 21:16; Matthew 11:25; Romans 2:20; 1 Corinthians 3:1; Hebrews 5:13). If we are to believe the Bible, miraculous gifts were never intended to be universal or perpetuated beyond the lifetime of the apostles. Miraculous gifts were never given to all believers. They were never to heal all believers, edify or deliver all believers. There are clear indications that Christians could be endowed with miraculous gifts only through the laying on of the hands of the apostles (see Acts 8:14-24).

The infant church had difficulty in two areas: (1) in believing that Jews and Gentiles were acceptable to God on the same terms (faith, repentance and immersion in water for the forgiveness of sins), without the Law of Moses. Judaizers constantly harassed the church insisting their message of circumcision and the Law was the true way to salvation. So the message of the gospel had to be confirmed by miracles before the church could ever be fully weaned from the infantilism of the Law to the manhood of the gospel (see Galatians 3:23-29; Galatians 4:1-7; Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 5:11-14; Hebrews 6:1-12). When the church finally shed its immaturity (and when God destroyed the threat of Judaism by destroying Jerusalem and the Jewish nation at the hands of the Romans in 70 A.D.) miracles were no longer needed; (2) distinguishing between true apostolic doctrine and false doctrine. Once the apostolic teaching was put on record (written in our New Testament books) and verified by miraculous manifestations, there was no longer any need for these miracles. Miracles evidently passed away as the generation of believers upon whom the apostles had laid their hands passed away, for there is no divine sanction for perpetuating miracles beyond the hands of the apostles.

Paul uses the Greek word katargethesontai to declare the gifts of prophecy and knowledge will be abolished. The Greek word literally means, reduced to inactivity. When he says tongues will cease he uses the Greek word pausontai, meaning to stop, to make an end. They are strong, unequivocal words, predicting the cessation of miraculous gifts.

1 Corinthians 13:10-12 The Perfect: The miraculous gifts were partial (imperfect) and temporary (will pass away). When the perfect thing (Gr. teleion) came, the partial thing (Gr. to ek merous) was abolished (Gr. katargethesetai). The Greek word teleion is a noun in the neuter gender. It should not, therefore, be translated to mean, when Christ comes again. The word teleion is not referring, either grammatically or contextually, to a person, but to some thing. The word teleion means, that which has reached its goal; that which has matured or come to its fulfillment. It does not mean that which is sinless.

The perfect thing in this context is referring to the mature church; the church which no longer needs miraculous confirmation of the apostolic message. The perfected, matured church will have had enough miraculous confirmations and guidance to acknowledge that the Judaizers, Gnostics, Nicolaitans, and other abberant religious teachings are false. The perfected, matured church will know that Gentiles or Jews do not need to keep the Law of Moses to be members of Christ's body. The church in its manhood will be able to eat and digest the strong meat of the final, complete, New Testament scriptures. The mature church will realize that agape-love is the surpassing way to sanctification and evangelismand that possession of miraculous gifts is not the way.

When spiritual maturity came, from the completed, integrated church, from the completed apostolic revelation, from perfected, Christ-like love, the church reasoned or reckoned (Gr. elogizomen), or thought, like a man (Gr. gegona aner), abolishing the things of the infant (Gr. katergeka ta tou nepiou). As long as the church was spiritually immature, it spoke like an infant (Gr. elaloun hos nepios), it thought like an infant (Gr. ephronoun hos nepios), and it reasoned like an infant (Gr. elogizomen hos nepios). As long as the church was infantile, unable to distinguish between true and false without miraculous guidance, it was not seeing the whole picture of redemption and sanctification. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12, the infant church was then seeing only a reflection (Gr. esoptrou, in a mirror) and that, dimly. The Greek word ainigmati is translated darkly in the KJV and dimly in the RSV, but it is the word from which the English word enigma comes. Enigma means, puzzling, perplexing, questionably, or obscurely. As long as the infant church was eager for miraculous manifestations of the Spirit in preference to agape-love, the aim of the completed New Testament scriptures, they could never see themselves or circumstances as they really were.

Paul is saying that as soon as the completed apostolic revelation had been written down, the church would see the whole scheme of redemption and sanctificationit would no longer be enigmaticand the church would grow and mature through agape-love, and the temporary, partial manifestations of the Spirit would cease to exist for the church. When the faith was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3) the church could distinguish true from false, good from evil, by the completed apostolic word (1 John 4:1-6). God granted to the church in his word all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:2-4). God has given in the completed scriptures everything the church needs to make the man of God complete, thoroughly furnished (equipped) for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The church in its mature manhood, without miraculous gifts of its infancy, may now look in the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere (James 1:22-25). The church may now see the whole picture of redemption and sanctificationin the New Testament scriptures it lacks nothing that pertains to life and godliness. The aim of the apostolic message and ministry is not miraculous manifestations of the Spirit, but love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5).

1 Corinthians 13:13 The Perpetual: Love will never fall (Gr. piptei), it will endure forever. Love never falls to the groundthere is nothing temporary about love. Love never loses its strengthit is inexhaustible. Love never leaves its placeit is unassuming and immovable.

Faith possesses the past by giving us a conviction of things not seen. Hope claims the future, and looks beyond to the glory not yet realized. But love is the goal God has for us. And faith and hope are the means to that end. Paul does not mean that love will outlast faith and hope. He does not mean that faith and hope will someday cease. Faith and hope and love will all go on as long as our relationship to Christ lastsfor eternity. We will trust, put our hope in, and love God in heaven, forever. But love is the greatest. Faith and hope serve to develop godliness, but love is godliness, for, God is love (1 John 4:16).

Our possessions and gifts we leave behind us. Only godliness abides. At the gates of death we will lay down forever the various weapons and tools which God, in his marvelous grace, has put into our hands for this earthly pilgrimage. All our gifts and every other capacity designed for this temporary earthly existence we shall resign. But we will carry through the pearly gates the moral and spiritual character which the Holy Spirit, through the conflicts and testings of life, has developed within us through the word. Faith, hope and love abidebut the greatest is love. Make love your aim (1 Corinthians 14:1).

APPLICATIONS:

1.

If God said he would grant you one wish, either the supernatural power to predict the future, or the trials and tribulations that would help you love your enemies like David or Jesuswhich would you wish?

2.

What do you think this chapter has to say to those today who insist the church, and Christians, need to have miraculous gifts of tongues, healing, prophecy, etc.?

3.

Do you really believe that just plain, old, Christian love is the most important thing for Christ's church today, or ever?

4.

Do you think the church has it?

5.

How do you think the church, or Christians, may get it?

6.

Do you know people who believe that Christian love accepts all thingstrue and false, right and wrong?

7.

Where do you think you might improve your agape-love-life?

8.

Do you think the church today is more mature (less childlike) than the church of the first century? How?

9.

Is love the most important virtue you wish to cultivate in your Christian experience?

10.

May agape-love be cultivated? In what way?

APPREHENSIONS:

1.

What is agape-love? How is it different from other aspects of love?

2.

Why are all Christian gifts and Christian actions hollow without love?

3.

May a Christian do an act of love without feeling like it?

4.

What is kindness?

5.

What does courtesy have to do with Christian love?

6.

Why were miraculous gifts destined to pass away?

7.

When did miraculous gifts pass away?

8.

What is the perfect that was to come?

9.

When did the church see in a mirror, dimly?

10.

When did the church see face to face?