Thursday, November 24, 2016

1 Corinthians 14

1 Corinthians 14

Corinthians
Above image from:
https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/first-corinthians

Key verse: 14:1: Let love be your highest goal! ...

Key word: Strengthen (edify) - verses 3, 4, 5, 12, 17 and 26. I have capitalized the word in the verses to bring your attention to its frequent occurrence.

The Concordia Bible With Notes (1946) says: "It is plain from the present chapter that the Corinthians measured the worth of the several spiritual gifts not so much from their power to edify the church, as from their adeptness to strike the beholders with wonder.  For this reason they were ready to put the gift of speaking tongues above that of prophecy. This erroneous judgment the apostle now proceeds to correct."

(1) Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives - ESPECIALLY the ability to PROPHESY.

  • Love is to control spiritual gifts - leading to edification, building up someone else.
  • Prophesy:
    • GotQuestions.Org: "The spiritual gift of prophecy is listed among the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:10 and Romans 12:6. The Greek word translated “prophesying” or “prophecy” in both passages properly means to “speak forth” or declare the divine will, to interpret the purposes of God, or to make known in any way the truth of God which is designed to influence people. Many people misunderstand the gift of prophecy to be the ability to predict the future. While knowing something about the future may sometimes have been an aspect of the gift of prophecy, it was primarily a gift of proclamation (“forth-telling”), not prediction (“fore-telling”).
      A pastor/preacher who declares the Bible can be considered a “prophesier” in that he is speaking forth the counsel of God. With the completion of the New Testament canon, prophesying changed from declaring new revelation to declaring the completed revelation God has already given. Jude 3 speaks of “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (emphasis added). In other words, the faith to which we hold has been settled forever, and it does not need the addition or refinement that comes from extra-biblical revelations.
      Also, note the transition from prophet to teacher in 2 Peter 2:1: “There were false prophets among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you” (emphasis added). Peter indicates that the Old Testament age had prophets, whereas the church will have teachers. The spiritual gift of prophecy, in the sense of receiving new revelations from God to be proclaimed to others, ceased with the completion of the Bible. During the time that prophecy was a revelatory gift, it was to be used for the edification, exhortation, and comfort of men (1 Corinthians 14:3). The modern gift of prophecy, which is really more akin to teaching, still declares the truth of God. What has changed is that the truth of God today has already been fully revealed in His Word, while, in the early church, it had not yet been fully revealed."
    • Micaiah defines of prophecy for us in 2 Chronicles 18:13: But Micaiah replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what my God says.
    • Forms of the word for "prophesy" appear 13 times in this section. Beck's American Translation translates the idea as "speak God's Word" which brings out the meaning much better than to leave it at "prophecy".
    • It could be that what Paul calls prophesying is nothing more or less than a public reading of a portion of Scripture in the congregation, with or without comments on the text. The church in Corinth probably included many converted slaves and the poor, many of whom could not read. To have some in the church who could read the Old Testament and letters from the apostles and explain clearly what was read was certainly the Spirit’s gift to the church. Today, prophesying is basically the explaining and expounding of the Word of God and applying it to our lives.
    • Paul urged the Corinthians to value prophesying above speaking in tongues, because prophesying can edify believers and or lead to unbelievers' conversion
    • Ephesians 2:19-20 explains why there are no prophets giving direct revelation from God today: “So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.”
      2 Peter l:19 gives another reason why we don’t have authoritative and inerrant prophets today. We don’t need them because, Peter says, “Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place...”
    • Romans 12:6-8: In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.  If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
    • 1 Corinthians 13:8: Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!
    • 1 Corinthians 12:28: Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who have the gift of leadership, those who speak in unknown languages.
    • Ephesians 4:11: Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
      • By the way, do you notice any significant differences between the verses in 1 Corinthians and Ephesians?

(2) For if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God, since people won’t be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious.

  • Tongues:
    • The word “tongues” here is the Greek word glossa and it is actually singular here, not plural. In this section of chapter 14, when Paul uses the word in the singular, he is talking about the false use of the gift. When he uses the word glossa in the plural he is talking about the legitimate expression of the gift of languages. Whenever we see people in the Scriptures pray, they pray in their everyday language. When Jesus prayed His high priestly prayer in John 17, He prayed in either Greek or Aramaic, He prayed in His everyday language. There is no indication anywhere in Scripture that one should pray in a special prayer language. The lack of the article in 1 Corinthians 14:2 indicates that it should be translated: “For one who speaks in an ecstatic utterance does not speak to men but to a god.” That is what the Corinthians were doing, they were speaking to their god as in the pagan mystery religions.
    • At Pentecost, Jews from around the empire heard the disciples praising God in their native languages - not unknown languages. This was a remarkable sign, not only to the unbelieving Gentile hearers, but also to the unbelieving Jews. Notice that the word “unknown” is italicized in many Bibles because it was not in the original text.
    • Turn to Paul's prison epistles written shortly after the end of the Book of Acts, while he was a prisoner in Rome and we find not one word about tongues. Even where we might have expected Paul to write of tongues in the passage about being “filled with the Spirit” in Ephesians 5:18, he has nothing to say about tongues or healings. The sign gifts were no longer operating at the time that Paul wrote the Prison Epistles. When Paul gives Timothy and Titus instructions regarding the choice of men to be elders in the churches, Paul says nothing about the desirability of these men having a gift such as prophecy, or healing or other sign gifts. The sign gifts, tongues, prophecy, the gift of healing, etc. were operating all through the Book of Acts, and these gifts are mentioned in the letters that Paul wrote during the Acts period. What Paul could do in Acts 28, he could no longer do in Philippians, or in 1 and 2 Timothy. He could heal all the sick on the island in Acts 28:9, but he couldn’t heal any of his closest co-workers - Timothy, Epaphroditus, Trophimus - after the close of the Book of Acts. With the close of Acts, God set aside Israel for a time and the sign gifts passed out of His program.
    • In Acts chapter 2, we have the first historic occurrence of the gift of tongues. What was spoken on the day of Pentecost? There is no question but that it was real languages: When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. ... and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! (Acts 2:6,8). From this passage we can formulate a definition of the Biblical gifts of tongues: The gift of tongues was the miraculous ability to speak a language which the speaker had never learned. It was miraculous because "the Holy Spirit gave them this ability." (verse 4) and apart from Him, it could never happen. It was a real language because they could hear them speaking in our own native languages" (verse 6). The speakers had never learned the languages which they were speaking: "How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, (verse 7).
    • To correct the tongue speaking excesses of the Corinthians, Paul laid out specific guidelines:
      • The value of tongues was in their being understood (1 Corinthians 14:6-20).
      • Tongues were a sign for unbelievers not believers (1 Corinthians 14:21-22).
      • Uncontrolled speaking in tongues would lead an unbeliever to conclude madmen comprised the church (1 Corinthians 14:23).
      • No more than two or three were to speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:27).
      • No one should speak in tongues unless someone was present to interpret what was said (1 Corinthians 14:28).
      • Women were forbidden to speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:34).
  • People won’t be able to understand you:
    • The carnal Corinthians using the counterfeit ecstatic speech of paganism were not interested in being understood, but in making a dramatic display.

(3) But one who prophesies STRENGTHENS others, encourages them, and comforts them.

  • Strengthens others (edification in the KJV):
    •  The Greek word is oikodomen, Strong's # G3889. Oiko means "house," and domen means "to build." The ultimate criterion for a gift of the Spirit is this: Does it build up the church?
    • Romans 14:19: So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
    • Romans 15:2: We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.
    • 2 Corinthians 10:8: I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But our authority builds you up; it doesn’t tear you down. So I will not be ashamed of using my authority.
    • 2 Corinthians 12:19: Perhaps you think we’re saying these things just to defend ourselves. No, we tell you this as Christ’s servants, and with God as our witness. Everything we do, dear friends, is to strengthen you.
    • Ephesians 4:12: Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
    • Ephesians 4:29: Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
  • Encourages (exhortation in the KJV) Strong's Greek # 3874 paraklésis: a call by someone "close beside" - a legal advocate:
    • The related Greek word paraclete literally means "one called alongside," one of the titles of the Holy Spirit.
    • 1 Timothy 4:13: Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.
    • 2 Timothy 4:2: Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.
    • Titus 1:9: He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.
    • Hebrews 10:25: And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
  • Comforts (Greek paramuthian - Strong's # 3889 - comforts, consoles):
    • Philippians 2:1: Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate?

(4-5) A person who speaks in tongues is STRENGTHENED personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy STRENGTHENS the entire church. I wish you could all speak in tongues, but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be STRENGTHENED.

  • Prophecy is greater than ... tongues:
    • Paul is discouraging the use of tongues.
  • Interprets:
    • This shows that these "tongues" were an actual language, not just babbling.
  • Whole church:
    • When you read this, you probably picture a "church" like the one you might go to - a platform for the preacher, dozens to thousands in the pews, a beautiful expensive building, restrooms, Sunday school class rooms, maybe even a coffee station and TV monitors throughout the building, audio-visual equipment, a choir, full parking lot, maybe even satellite churches to which the message is simultaneously broadcast! Well, these "church" meetings to which Paul references were usually in someone's home with maybe 50 Gentiles and Jews or perhaps in a rented small hall, like the lecture hall of Tyrannus in Ephesus where Paul taught. And the speaker would not be wearing a turned-around collar or "priestly" clothes. In fact, if Paul walked into some of the "high-class" church services today, especially a roman or orthodox church, he might be confused thinking that somehow someone had merged Christianity, paganism and Judaism into a new religion - and he might be right. Unlike our present-day services, the church members were very involved in the service giving their own insights, revelations, encouragements, testimonies, speaking in tongues, etc., which could lead to confusion, chaos and abuse.

(6) Dear brothers and sisters, if I should come to you speaking in an unknown language, how would that help you? But if I bring you a revelation or some special knowledge or prophecy or teaching, that will be helpful.

  • Revelation: Strong's Greek # 602 apokalupsis - an unveiling or uncovering.
    • Spurgeon: “I have heard many fanatical persons say the Holy Spirit revealed this and that to them.  Now that is very generally revealed nonsense. The Holy Ghost does not reveal anything fresh now. He brings old things to our remembrance. ‘He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have told you,’ [John 14:26]. The canon of revelation is closed; there is no more to be added. God does not give a fresh revelation, but he rivets the old one. When it has been forgotten, and laid in the dusty chamber of our memory, he fetches it out and cleans the picture, but does not paint a new one. There are no new doctrines, but the old ones are often revived. It is not, I say, by any new revelation that the Spirit comforts. He does so by telling us old things over again; he brings a fresh lamp to manifest the treasures hidden in Scripture; he unlocks the strong chests in which the truth had long lain, and he points to secret chambers filled with untold riches; but he coins no more, for enough is done. Believer! There is enough in the Bible for thee to live upon for ever.”
    • So many false sects and false religions have arisen since the Scripture was closed by claiming "new revelations" - Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Islam and many others. Adding to the Scriptures and claiming additional revelations by the roman church led to its apostasy, requiring true believers to throw off the roman errors and rediscover the Word of God.

(7-9) Even lifeless instruments like the flute or the harp must play the notes clearly, or no one will recognize the melody. And if the bugler doesn’t sound a clear call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle? It’s the same for you. If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space.

(10) There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning. 

  • Languages: Strong's Greek #5456 phóné - noise, voice, sound, tone. Occurs 139 times in the New Testament and nearly always is translated "voice":
    • Paul changes the Greek word here from glossa (tongues) to phóné (voices). 
    • According to Wycliffe Bible Translators, there are about 7000 languages on the earth. The New Testament is available in more than 1300 languages and the complete Bible is available in only about 550 languages.
      According to Mission Network News, "Wycliffe has been involved in completing more than 830 New Testaments and 35 complete Bibles, impacting 214 million people speaking 799 languages."
    • Genesis 11:1, 6-8: At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. ... “Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.” In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.
  • Meaning:
    • Legitimate languages all have meaning; they all communicate something.

(11) BUT if I don’t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me. 

  • Understand a language:
    • The purpose of every language is to communicate, not to impress and certainly not to confuse, as the Corinthians had been doing with their counterfeits. That was clearly the point in the first instance of tongues: they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers, Acts 2:6. This section shows that the true gift of tongues was never some unintelligible gibberish, but was human language that was to be translated.

(12) And the same is true for you. Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will STRENGTHEN the whole church.

  • Strengthen the whole church:
    • The point is edification, spiritual growth, building up the believers in the faith and in Christ. Edification comes only through a study of the Word of God and the Word of God is what the Holy Spirit uses for edification. This is what Paul emphasizes in Acts 20:32 when he is addressing the Ephesian elders and says to them: “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.” It is the Word of God’s grace which has the ability to build us up, to mature us spiritually so that we can advance to spiritual maturity.
    • Ephesians 4:11-12: Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

(13) SO anyone who speaks in tongues should pray also for the ability to interpret what has been said.

  • SO: Because edification is the prime purpose of spiritual gifts.
  • Interpret:
    • Paul urges them that should only exercise the gift of tongues if they can also interpret what is being said - indicating again a known language.
    • I enjoy opera, but I neither speak nor understand Italian. So, I can only understand what is going on if there is an interpreter such as captions above the stage or on the screen.

(14-17) For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying. Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand. For if you praise God only in the spirit, how can those who don’t understand you praise God along with you? How can they join you in giving thanks when they don’t understand what you are saying? You will be giving thanks very well, but it won’t STRENGTHEN the people who hear you.

(18-19) I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you. But IN A CHURCH MEETING I would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language.

  • I speak in tongues:
    • That is a strong emphasis that raises the question, "When did the Apostle Paul speak in tongues?" In all of Paul's letters and in the descriptions of Paul's life in the Book of Acts, there is no record of Paul speaking in tongues publicly, although he had the gift of tongues. Paul, caught up to the third heaven, “heard unspeakable words.”

(20) Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind.

  • Childish:
    • Eugene Peterson, in The Message, has the following paraphrase of this verse: “To be perfectly frank, I’m getting exasperated with your infantile thinking. How long before you grow up and use your head - your adult head? It’s all right to have a childlike unfamiliarity with evil; a simple no is all that’s needed there. But there’s far more to saying yes to something. Only mature and well-exercised intelligence can save you from falling into gullibility.”
  • Mature in understanding:
    • He is warning them not to assume that everything they hear is the true gift of tongues rather than gibberish. In the next two verses, Paul goes back to the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, to the only prediction of tongues in the whole of the Bible.

(21) It is written in the Scriptures: “I will speak to my own people through strange languages and through the lips of foreigners. But even then, they will not listen to me,” says the Lord.

  • It is written:
    • Isaiah 28:11-12: So now God will have to speak to his people through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language! God has told his people, “Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.” But they would not listen.
      • Fulfilled again in Acts 28:27-28: For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes - so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’
    • Bishop Pearce paraphrases this verse as follows: "With the tongues of foreigners and with the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people; and yet, for all that, will they not hear me, saith the Lord." The Jewish people refused to listen to the prophets sent by God. But, they became so rebellious and disobedient that God abandoned them to the Assyrians, whose language they did not understand.
    • Paul quoted Isaiah’s words of warning of the judgment from Assyria. The leaders rejected him and his words. The time would come, the prophet said, when they would hear Assyrian, a language they could not understand, indicating judgment. Jeremiah spoke similarly of the Babylonians who were also to come and destroy Judah. When the apostles spoke at Pentecost in all those foreign languages, the Jews should have known the judgment prophesied and historically fulfilled first by the Assyrians and then by the Babylonian captivity was about to fall on them again for their rejection of Christ, including the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. as it had happened in 586 B.C. under Babylonian power.
    • In Isaiah 28, the Lord complained that His people had made His word into a bunch of rules. Like children who repeat a rhyme without knowing its meaning, they could no longer understand what He was really trying to tell them, which was that their disobedience would lead to judgment. So in verse 11 He said, in effect, “You don’t understand what I’m telling you when I speak in your own language. Therefore I’ll send your enemies against you and they’ll explain it to you in their language, but even then you will not understand.”

(22) So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers.

  • A sign: This is the only place in the New Testament where Paul tells us the purpose of the gift of tongues.

(23-24) Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear EVERYONE speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy. But if ALL of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say.

  • EVERYONE:
    • Evidently, everyone was speaking "unknown tongues" or gibberish at the same time - pure meaningless, useless chaos with people competing with each other as to who was best at it.
  • Unbelievers:
    • Paul was most likely thinking of unbelieving Gentiles who decided they would visit the Corinthian church and see what was going on there. They were willing to come and to listen to whatever the church had to offer - they were potential believers! Paul knew that the one thing potential believers need more than anything else is prophecy, an understanding of God's Word, not tongues.

(25) As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”

  • Fall ... worship:
    • It was not the speaking in tongues that brought unbelievers to the Lord, but the preaching of Paul.

(26) Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must STRENGTHEN all of you.

  • Summarize: This is the key verse for this chapter where Paul gives what the purpose should be of their meeting together - everything that is done must STRENGTHEN all of you.
  • When you meet together:
    • The last part of this chapter gives us a glimpse in how services in the early church meetings were conducted. It appears that no one person was particularly in charge; everyone present could participate either by singing a hymn, preaching a sermon, passing on a revelation, or speaking in tongues if there was interpretation. Paul does not use the word “prophecy” in this list, but instead he uses the Greek word didache, meaning “doctrine” or “instruction.” This further clarifies for us that prophecy in this context amounts to instruction.
    • The Wycliffe Bible Commentary gives the following introduction to this section: “Instruction for the exercise of the gifts is given here. The section is important because it is ‘the most intimate glimpse we have of the early church at worship’ ... What a contrast is found here with the formal and inflexible order of service that prevails in most of Christendom today! Barclay, in commenting upon this freedom and informality, points out two facts that emerge here. First, ‘Clearly the early church had no professional ministry’ ... Second, in the service itself ‘there was clearly no settled order at all’ ... The early believers did not come to the worship meeting to hear a sermon from one man or simply to receive; they came to give. Much has been lost by the renouncement of these privileges.” Some Brethren Churches still follow this kind of free style order of service, usually in combination with a communion service, but without speaking in tongues.
  • One will sing ... another will teach ... another - special revelation ... one speak in tongues ... another interpret:
    • The problem at Corinth was not that people were unprepared or that participation was inadequate. The problem was that all came ready to actively contribute and were determined to do so. Most, if not all, of the Corinthian saints may have participated, but the results were far from edifying. The principle of edification would serve as the standard for all that was spoken publicly in the meeting of the church.
    • David Guzik Commentary: "We can easily picture how this dynamic would work among the Corinthian Christians. They would, out of necessity, meet in small groups in different homes. There would be many “house churches” scattered all over the city of Corinth. As they would meet in these small groups, there would be a freedom, and a responsibility to not only receive but to give. So, one might give by reading or singing a psalm. Another might offer a word of teaching. Someone might pray in a tongue, along with an interpretation. Still someone else might have a revelation, a word from God’s heart and mind to the gathered church. In a small, home-fellowship type setting, this is how the church should work together. When more people are gathered together, this “everybody shares something with everyone else” becomes more difficult. Among ten people, ten can share something with all the other ten. But among thirty, or sixty, or a hundred people, there isn’t time to allow everyone to share something with everyone else. Plus, in a larger group, the “I want to feel important by talking to everybody” dynamic is much more present. It can be there among ten people, but how much more among a hundred people! This is why so many are blessed and find great spiritual growth through a home group, because it provides a perfect context for the “everyone shares something with everyone else” idea. The hunger for this has also led to the great growth of the home church or house church movement in our generation."
  • Everything that is done:
    • It seems more likely that, when the whole Church came together, among whom there were many persons with extraordinary gifts, each of them wished to put himself forward, and occupy the time and attention of the congregation: hence confusion must necessarily take place, and perhaps not a little contention. This was contrary to that edifying which was the intention of these gifts.
  • Strengthen: Have you seen the common thread which runs through verses 26-36? The most obvious thread is the theme of edification or strengthening.

(27-20) No more than two or three should speak in tongues. They must speak one at a time, and someone must interpret what they say. But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately. Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said. But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord, the one who is speaking must stop.

(31) In this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged.

  • Speak, one after the other:
    • There had been total confusion in their services. Someone had to ensure that order is maintained in the services. Whoever had the message that was the most edifying should be the one that was heard.

(32) Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can take turns.

  • In control:
    • Unger has explained verse 32 as follows: "The prophet (or the speaker in tongues) when exercising his gift is not under an irresistible compulsion or force, so that he is unable to conform to common sense regulations and orderly conduct." - New Testament Teaching on Tongues.

(33) For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.

  • Disorder ... peace:
    • The disorder, spoken of here, would come from some who would push their way into speaking out of turn interrupting others. The church at worship before God should reflect His character and nature because He is a God of peace and harmony, order and clarity, not strife and confusion.

(34) Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says.

  • Women ... be silent:
    • In chapter 11, Paul clearly acknowledged that under certain situations a woman may pray or prophesy.
    • Paul instructed Timothy to teach the women to remain silent in Ephesus:
      • 1 Timothy 2:11-14: Women should learn quietly and submissively. I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly. For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result.
    • The Adam Clarke’s Commentary comments as follows on the words women should be silent - "This was a Jewish ordinance; women were not permitted to teach in the assemblies, or even to ask questions. The rabbis taught that ‘a woman should know nothing but the use of her distaff.’ "
    • The word translated "silent" (Greek sige) means just that, namely, "to keep silent" or to hold one's tongue. However, in 11:5, Paul spoke as though women prophesying in the church was a common and acceptable practice. The best explanation of this apparent contradiction comes out of the context - Paul had just permitted others in the congregation to evaluate the comments that a prophet made (verse 29). Now he qualified this by saying the women should not do so vocally in the church meetings, as the men could.
  • Submissive:
    • The word “submissive” was a military term describing the chain of command. In this context, Paul commands women to respect the God-ordained authority of their husbands. A husband and wife could end up in an open, public disagreement as to the content of something taught at one of the meetings. This would damage the witness of the church to the culture around them.
  • The law:
    • Evidently, “the law” is not a reference to the Law of Moses but to rabbinic tradition - it is a direct quote from the Talmud, a Jewish commentary on the Old Testament.

(35) If they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings.

  • Improper for women to speak:
    • In the Jewish synagogues, then and today, men and women sit apart. If a woman chattered or called out to her husband sitting far off, she would be dealt with severely. The Corinthian church may have adopted the same kind of seating arrangement, but with many women from Gentile backgrounds, they did not know how to conduct themselves at a church meeting. Paul is teaching them how.
      Galatians 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
    • Paul did not have any problem with women ministering. We see in the following Scriptures, that Paul ministered with women as his assistants. We, also, know that Phillip's daughters preached or prophesied.
      • 2 Chronicles 34:22: So Hilkiah and the other men went to the New Quarter of Jerusalem to consult with the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, the keeper of the Temple wardrobe.
      • Acts 21:8-9: The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food. He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.
      • Acts 2:18: In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants - men and women alike - and they will prophesy.
      • Philippians 4:3: And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

(36-37) Or do you think God’s word originated with you Corinthians? Are you the only ones to whom it was given? If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself.

  • Claim ... think:
    • While these saints thought of themselves as spiritual, Paul called them carnal. Many seemed to challenge Paul’s authority. For those who would resist Paul’s teaching, he informs them that their response to his teaching is a measure of their maturity and spirituality.

(38-4-) But if you do not recognize this, you yourself will not be recognized. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues. BUT be sure that everything is done properly and in order.

  • Don't forbid:
    • A focus of this chapter has been to discourage the public use of tongues.
  • Properly and in order:
    • This verse implies that the Corinthians were doing things indecently and out of order! - 1 Timothy 3:15: if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.

NOTES:

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Friday, November 4, 2016

1 Corinthians 13 - the Love Chapter

1 Corinthians 13 - The Love Chapter

Corinthians
Above image from:
https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/first-corinthians

Key verses are verses 8 & 13 (J.B. Phillips New Testament):
Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen. ... For if there are prophecies they will be fulfilled and done with, if there are “tongues” the need for them will disappear, if there is knowledge it will be swallowed up in truth. For our knowledge is always incomplete and our prophecy is always incomplete, and when the complete comes, that is the end of the incomplete. In this life we have three great lasting qualities—faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love.

Jeffrey E. Miller: "First Corinthians 13 is one of the most beautiful chapters in the entire Bible. This "love chapter" has rightly been adored and recited throughout the ages. It also represents a textbook example of our tendency to take a passage out of its context. It does stand on its own as beautiful rhetoric, but this focused digression was part of Paul's correction to the Corinthians. They were in the practice of loving themselves by showing off their spiritual gifts. Paul instructs them to use their spiritual gifts to love and serve others. Is love the engine that drives you to serve others, or do you have ulterior motives?"

The fruit of the Spirit is a more obvious demonstration of the Holy Spirit's presence in someone's life, than the other gifts of the Spirit:
Galatians 5:22-23: But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

1 Corinthians 12:31: So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is BEST OF ALL.

(1) If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t LOVE others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 

  • Languages:
    • Paul takes some of the spiritual gifts, starting with "tongues" (the “gift” the Corinthians held as the greatest), and proceeds to show that these spiritual gifts would be of limited value unless exercised out of a heart of love.
  • Languages of ... angels:
    • Possibly related to what Paul heard in heaven:
      • 2 Corinthians 12:4: that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.
  • LOVE - Greek agape:
    • Family Foundations: Sacrificial Love by Wil Pounds: "Love is not a four-letter word. It is spelled COMMITMENT. Agape love is something you do. God loved us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to come to this earth and die for our sins on the cross. Love is something God did. It demonstrates His commitment to a lost world. Agape demands exercise of the whole person in which we seek the highest good in other people, including those whom we find it difficult to naturally love. This kind of love will transform your marriage and your family. It says I will seek nothing but the highest good for my mate, my children, my in-laws, etc. It is not simply a wave of emotion; it is an attitude and includes the mind and the will."
    • Simple Thoughts on the Love of God by I. Gordon: "God’s Love is to be known and experienced!
       Ephesians 3:17-19 ‘And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.’
      Now Paul had experienced a lot to do with God’s love. That’s for sure! It’s no wonder then that he so eagerly wanted others to experience it for themselves. Here he writes to the Ephesians, and look at the words he uses. He wants them to know this love, grasp the extent of it, be rooted and established in God’s love. And look also at the result of doing this – it results in being ‘filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.’ All Christians should desire to be filled with God and filled with the Spirit. In fact, all types of wacky methods for doing this abound in our day and age. Why not pray and concentrate on what Paul prays here? That you may have your eyes open to the extent of God’s love for you. Speaking of this agape love, Paul wants us to know the following four things:
      The width of the love of Christ – this is expressed in Ephesians 2:11-18. The love of Christ is wide enough to include everyone and exclude none! It reaches out to us gentiles, those ‘having no hope and without God in the world’. His love doesn’t look at race, color, sex, wealth, or status (the very things some do judge by!) but includes all.
      The length of the love of Christ – this is expressed in Ephesians 1:4 and 2:7. It stretches from eternity to eternity. That’s how long it is! In love we were chosen before the foundation of the world. And even in the age to come we will be a demonstration of God’s love, kindness and grace. (Ephesians 2:7)
      The depth of the love of Christ – this is expressed in Ephesians 2:1-5. The depth of His love is shown by the depth of our sin that Jesus took upon himself to free us. How far He descended so that we could ascend. ‘Dead in our sins’, ‘by nature, children of wrath’, ‘sons of disobedience’. Yet His love for us was such that He humbled Himself – even to the death of the cross.
      The height of the love of Christ – this is expressed in Ephesians 2:6. Not only did Jesus plunge down to our depth, but he also raised us up to His heights, seating us with Him in the heavenly places. Is this great position only given to the cream of His disciples? No, His love has performed this to for the lowliest sinner who simply, truly believes."
    • Matthew 22:36-40: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
    • John 3:16: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
    • John 13:34-35: So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
    • Romans 5:5,8: And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. ... But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
    • Romans 8:39: No power in the sky above or in the earth below - indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
    • Romans 12:9: Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.
    • Galatians 2:20: My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
    • Galatians 5:22-23: But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
    • Ephesians 3:19: May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
    • Ephesians 5:25: For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her
    • 2 Thessalonians 3:5: May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.
    • 1 Timothy 1:5: The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.
    • 1 Peter 4:8: Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
    • 1 John 3:14; 4:7-8, 10, 16-19: If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. ... Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ... This is real love - not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. ... We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. ... We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.
  • Noisy gong or a clanging cymbal:
    • A characteristic of heathen worship, especially the worship of Dionysus and Cybele, was the clanging of cymbals and the blowing of trumpets. Cymbals make a clanging noise, with no melody and no harmony.
    • Paul is saying you can speak in tongues all you want, but if you don’t have love you are merely making a lot of noise.

(2) If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t LOVE others, I would be nothing.

  • Prophecy:
    • The miraculous gift of prophecy belonged to Balaam, but his love of money exceed his regard of God and Israel, resulting in his being over-ruled by God and killed in battle:
      • Numbers 24:1-4,31:8: By now Balaam realized that the Lord was determined to bless Israel, so he did not resort to divination as before. Instead, he turned and looked out toward the wilderness where he saw the people of Israel camped, tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him, and this is the message he delivered: “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly, the message of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open ... They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
    • Caiaphas as high priest uttered prophecy; but his loveless heart made him an enemy of God:
      • John 11:51: He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation.
  • God's secret plans (musterion):
    • 1 Corinthians 2:7: No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God - his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began.
  • All knowledge:
    • Corinth is a Greek city, and the Greeks prize philosophy, wisdom, knowledge and mysteries.
    • 1 Corinthians 1:22-23: It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.
    • 1 Corinthians 12:8: To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge
  • Faith ... move mountains:
    • David Lipscomb, Commentary on 1 Corinthians: "Judas had faith to work miracles (Matthew 10:1); but he did not possess love, betrayed the Lord and went to his own place."
    • Matthew 17:20: “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
  • I would be nothing:
    • In contrast to verse 3 where Paul says - "gained nothing".

(3) If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t LOVE others, I would have gained nothing.

  • Gave everything:
    • Matthew 19:21-22: Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
      • Many speculate that the "rich, young ruler" was Saul of Tarsus (Paul).
  • Gained nothing:
    • In contrast to verse 2 - "be nothing".

(4) LOVE is patient and kind. LOVE is not jealous or boastful or proud 

  • Love is:
    • Steve Zeisler: "It has been observed that we can put Jesus’ name in place of the word “love” at every point, and it makes perfect sense. “Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind and is not jealous; Jesus does not brag and is not arrogant....” Jesus teaches us to choose love in a world like ours, full of stress and difficulty. Love is how He acted and thought, how He treated people, what motivated Him, and how He dealt with unexpected things when they came His way."
    • What Is This Thing Called Love? by Bob Deffinbaugh: "Paul declines giving a technical definition of love; instead, he provides us with a description of love, one especially pertinent to the Corinthians. The first two statements describing love in verse 4 are general. Paul then advances to things not characteristic of love. These just happen to be some of the characteristics of the Corinthian saints. Finally, Paul concludes in verse 7 with four characteristics of love, none of which are selective or partial. The Corinthians’ conduct in these areas was partial and incomplete. And so in these four verses, we learn what love is like, and we also learn that the Corinthians are seriously lacking in love."
  • Patient:
    • The Greek word (makrothymia) comes from two words meaning, “long-tempered." The KJV renders this word suffereth long. If you’re patient, you’re slow to anger, you endure personal wrongs without retaliating. You bear with others’ imperfections, faults and differences - very important in marriage. It is the opposite of anger, and is associated with mercy.
    • David exemplifies this kind of patience or long-suffering. King Saul persistently seeks to kill David. David endures this persecution graciously, refusing to take the king’s life when given the chance.
    • The wealthier Corinthians would not wait for the poorer, but started to eat the meal at the church’s weekly gathering so they didn't have to share. Paul had to command them to wait for one another. Had love been present in Corinth, it would have prompted them to wait (see 1 Corinthians 11:17-34).
    • 1 Thessalonians 5:14: Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.
    • Colossians 1:11: We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,
  • Kind:
    • Kindness is patience in action. The Greek word was used of mellow wine, and suggests a person who is gentle, who has an ability to soothe hurt feelings, to calm an upset person, to help quietly in practical ways. The kind person shows kindness in response to harsh treatment.
    • God's kindness with us - Romans 2:4: Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?
  • Not jealous:
    • “Jealousy is wanting what someone else has. Bragging is trying to make others jealous of what we have. Jealousy puts others down; bragging builds us up” (John MacArthur, Jr., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary).
    • The account of Joseph and his brothers in Genesis 37 gives a very revealing picture of the nature of jealousy and its result:
      • Genesis 37:3-5,11,20,28: Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph - a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him. One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. ... But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant. ... Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!” ... So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.
    • Proverbs 14:30: A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.
    • 1 Corinthians 3:3: for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?
    • 2 Corinthians 12:20: For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior.
    • Galatians 5:26: Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
  • Not boastful:
    • Our Lord humbled Himself, and became obedient even to the point of death on the cross. Mark 10:45 reads, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many." He is the supreme example of humility.
  • Not proud
    • 1 Corinthians 8:1: ...while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.
    • Philippians 2:6-8: Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
    • James 4:6: And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

(5) or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

  • Not rude:
    • You would have never heard a dirty joke or off-color story from the lips of Jesus. The missionary David Livingston said, "The Lord Jesus was a perfect Gentleman." Love has good manners. It is courteous, polite, sensitive to the feelings of others. What a contrast to most of our politicians, actors and actresses, singers, sports "heroes", business leaders! With such examples, we should not be surprised that our younger generation exhibits the same characteristics.
  • Does not demand its own way:
    • The Corinthians’ problem was self-love. They emphasized the gifts which brought attention to themselves. But Paul points out that love does not demand its own way.
    • The very essence of love is unselfishness, the absence of all self-seeking - a key element in a successful marriage!
  • Not irritable:
    • The Greek word means to sharpen, stimulate, rouse to anger. Phillips paraphrases, “It is not touchy.”
  • Keeps no record ... wronged:
    • The Greek word here (logizesthai, Greek #3049) is an accounting term used for entering an item in a ledger so that it will not be forgotten. Christian love has learned the great lesson of forgiving and forgetting.
    • While dying on the cross Jesus prayed for those who were responsible for crucifying Him. He prayed over and over again, "Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34). Forgiveness means that we wipe the record clean and never hold things against people (Ephesians 4:26, 32).
    • Acts 7:59-60: As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.
    • Ephesians 4:26,32: And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, ... Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

(6) It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 

  • Does not rejoice about injustice:
    • Moffatt puts it, “Love is never glad when others go wrong.” To rejoice in the truth means to be glad about behavior in accordance with the truth of God’s Word. If someone you don’t like falls into sin, you don’t gloat; you grieve, because God is grieved over sin. If they repent, you rejoice.

(7) LOVE never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

  • LOVE endures through every circumstance::
    • Love Knows No Limits by Keith Krell: "The word “endures” is a military term that means to hold a position at all costs, even unto death, whatever it takes. The battle may be lost but the soldier keeps on fighting to the very end. The word pictures an army surrounded by superior forces, being attacked and slowly overwhelmed on every side. One by one your comrades fall at your side. Through the noise of battle comes one final command: “Stand your ground, men. And if necessary, die well.” So love holds fast to people it loves. It perseveres. It never gives up on anyone. Love won’t stop loving, even in the face of rejection. Love takes action to shake up an intolerable situation. Love looks beyond the present to the hope of what might be in the future."
    • Spurgeon: "You must have fervent charity towards the saints, but you will find very much about the best of them which will try your patience; for, like yourself, they are imperfect, and they will not always turn their best side towards you, but sometimes sadly exhibit their infirmities. Be prepared, therefore, to contend with "all things" in them."
    • Great advice from Spurgeon: "If your brethren are angry without a cause, be sorry for them, but do not let them conquer you by driving you into a bad temper. Stand fast in love; endure not some things, but all things, for Christ's sake; so you shall prove yourself to be a Christian indeed."
    • George Matheson, a Scottish minister and hymn writer who lost his sight and who was disappointed in love, wrote in one of his prayers that he might accept God's will, "Not with dumb resignation but with holy joy; not only with the absence of murmur but with a song of praise." Love can bear things, not merely with passive resignation, but with triumphant fortitude, because it knows that "a father's hand will never cause his child a needless tear." His hymn, O Love That Wilt No Let Me Go, speaks to those Christians whose lives are touched by tragedy and loss but who know that underneath them are the everlasting arms of a loving God and Savior.

Tongues in Paganism by Buddy Dano (www.divineviewpoint.com/sane/dbm/setup/1Corinth/1Cor087.htm: "In 1 Corinthians 13:8-13, we have the central passage that deals with the cessation of certain spiritual gifts. What is interesting, theologically speaking, is that in the past thirty years there has been a tremendous amount of debate over this passage. At the beginning of the 20th century there were no Pentecostals or Charismatics but by the end of the century fully fifty per cent of professing Christians throughout the world identified themselves with in some way with the Pentecostal position. That is an astounding movement. An example of popularity by the end of the 20th century it is supposed that almost all Christian religious television stations were controlled by Pentecostals or Charismatics, and the same thing is true about most Christian radio stations. In fact, Christian music is dominated by people who have a Pentecostal-Charismatic theology, and that theology, which is more than simply speaking in tongues (its most obvious external manifestation), has impacted the modern church in incredible ways. They have set the agenda for worship, for music; they dominate in the hymnals."

www.middletownbiblechurch.org/doctrine/onecor13.htm:
Paul's basic argument in 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 is as follows:

  • THREE THINGS THAT WILL FAIL (verse 8).
    • These are the less important things.
  • THREE THINGS THAT WILL REMAIN (verse 13).
    • These are the more important things.
  • ONE THING THAT WILL NEVER FAIL (verse 8).
    IT WILL REMAIN FOREVER (verse 13).
    • This is the most important thing (verse 13) and therefore
      this is what we are to follow after (1 Corinthians 14:1).

(8) Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge WILL BECOME USELESS. But LOVE will LAST FOREVER! 

  • Unknown languages:
    • 1 Corinthians 14:19, 21: But in a church meeting I would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language. ... It is written in the Scriptures: “I will speak to my own people through strange languages and through the lips of foreigners. But even then, they will not listen to me,” says the Lord.
  • Special knowledge:
    • The gifts of knowledge and wisdom (1 Corinthians 12:8) were needed in the days prior to the completed New Testament. Imagine a local church today trying to survive without the New Testament Scriptures as a pattern and guide! Divine knowledge and wisdom were essential during the infancy period of the early church. Today, “all truth” which is necessary for the godly walk of believers has been recorded on the pages of the completed Bible (compare John 16:13).
      • John 16:13: When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.
    • 1 Corinthians 12:8, 13:2: To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. ...  If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
  • Will become useless:
    • When Did the Gift of Tongues Cease? by Pastor Dennis Kiszonas: "Here Paul writes of the gift of tongues, the gift of prophecy and the gift of knowledge and states that the Lord Jesus had revealed to him that a time was coming when these sign gifts were going to cease to operate. The question has always been: When would these gifts cease? Now we turn to the prison epistles, the four letters written shortly after the end of the Book of Acts, while Paul was a prisoner in Rome - Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon and Philippians…and we find that there is not one word about tongues, or the gift of healing. Even where we might have expected Paul to write of tongues in the passage about being “filled with the Spirit” in Ephesians 5:17, he has nothing to say about tongues. And as for the gift of healing, we read of a co-worker of Paul’s, Epaphroditus, who fell seriously ill during this time (Philippians 2:25-30) and Paul no longer had the gift of healing, and was no longer able to heal as he did only a few years earlier in Acts 28:9. The sign gifts were no longer operating at the time that Paul wrote the Prison Epistles. When Paul gives Timothy and Titus instructions regarding the choice of men to be elders in the churches, Paul says nothing about the desirability of these men having a gift such as prophecy, or healing, or other sign gifts (see Titus 1:6-9 and 1 Timothy 3:1-10). The gifts of tongues, prophecy, etc. were no longer in operation by the time Paul wrote the pastoral epistles. The sign gifts, tongues, prophecy, the gift of healing, etc. were operating all through the Book of Acts, and these gifts are mentioned in the letters that Paul wrote during the Acts period. But when we turn to the letters written after the Book of Acts - the 4 Prison Epistles, and the 3 Pastoral Epistles, we find that the sign gifts either aren’t mentioned at all or we see - as with the gift of healing - that they were no longer operating in Paul’s life. What he could do in Acts 28, he could no longer do in Philippians, or in 1 and 2 Timothy. He could heal all the sick on the island in Acts 28:9, but he couldn’t heal any of his closest co-workers - Timothy, Epaphroditus, Trophimus - after the close of the Book of Acts. The answer: The sign gifts ceased at the end of the Book of Acts. There is no record in Scripture of any of the sign gifts operating in any of the letters that Paul wrote after the end of the Acts period, and it is clear that the gift of healing had ceased since Paul could no longer heal even his closest co-workers after the close of the Book of Acts."
    • There was no more need of prophecy when the New Testament and the whole of the Scriptures were completed, neither was there for tongues when the earthly kingdom testimony ceased. This was when Israel finally failed and was temporarily set aside by God at Acts 28:28.
    • Colossians 1:25-29 (NET Bible): I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship  from God – given to me for you – in order to complete  the word of God, that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature in Christ. Toward this goal I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully works in me.
  • Last forever:
    • Paul shows they should emphasize love more than the gifts, because the gifts were temporary and would soon cease. Therefore, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are imperfect gifts for an imperfect time.

(9-10) Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

  • Perfection = teleios (Strong's Greek # 5046 - having reached its end, i.e. complete, by extension perfect. Complete, perfect, mature).
  • Time of perfection:
    • At long last, we will be at our real home, face to face with Jesus. There is no need prophecy, tongues and special knowledge in heaven, where faith and hope are replaced by sight.

(11) When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

  • Child:
    • Coffman's Commentary: "Can this be anything if not a suggestion that the Corinthians should stop being children and grow up? In case any of them might have missed the point, he added a bit later, "don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. " (1 Corinthians 14:20). Furthermore, the admonition was given in the same breath with Paul's statement that five intelligible words were worth more than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue!"
    • The Corinthian believers who were putting a false value on tongues and possibly the gifts as a whole, were reminded again that this was a mark of spiritual babyhood.
    • Ephesians 4:11-14: Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be MATURE in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be IMMATURE like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
    • Hebrews 5:13-14: For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
  • Grew up:
    • Paul was urging the Christians in Corinth to act like adults - not constantly arguing in a selfish manner, as little children often do. Instead, they should act in love towards each other.
  • Put away childish things:
    • 1 Corinthians 14:20: Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but BE MATURE in understanding matters of this kind.

(12) NOW we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, BUT THEN we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, BUT THEN I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

  • Mirror:
    • Corinth was well known for producing some of the finest highly polished bronze mirrors available, but they still reflected back a rather indistinct, blurred image. Paul’s point in this analogy is that our current understanding and relationship with God is incomplete, but the day is coming when we will see him “face to face”.
  • Perfect clarity:
    • Literally, "face to face", a metaphor for intimate fellowship.
    • 1 John 3:2: Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
  • BUT THEN:
    • Here he is anticipating the end of life, when all the imperfection of life will come to an end, and love will stand face to face with love.
  • Know everything completely:
    • Now, we only get blurred and incomplete images of what God is doing. But, one of these days, ALL our questions will be answered; all our problems will be resolved. I am REALLY looking forward to that day - I have A LOT of questions and want to understand some of the things that have happened in my life!
    • 1 John 3:2: Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.

(13) Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and LOVE - and the greatest of these is LOVE.

  • Last forever:
    • Love REMAINS throughout eternity and is therefore the "GREATEST' of the virtues.
  • Faith ... hope ... love:
    • 1 Thessalonians 1:3: As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Faith:
    • Faith is not just believing. Faith involves believing and acting upon that belief. In Hebrews 11, we have one account after another of those who expressed their faith in God by obedience to His Word. Faith is taking God at His Word …believing what He said is true.
    • Romans 5:4-5: And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
    • 1 Thessalonians 5:8: But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.
    • Hebrews 11:1,6: Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. ... And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
  • Hope:
    • Hope lasts forever because hope is the expectation of yet more to come.
    • Romans 15:13: I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him...
  • Love:
    • The reason love is the greatest is because God is love. God is not faith; God is not hope; but God is love.

1 Corinthians 14:1: Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives - especially the ability to prophesy.

NOTES:

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