1 Corinthians 13
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Chapter 13
In order to properly enter
this chapter, we must keep in mind, the last verse of chapter twelve: “Earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I
show you a more excellent way.” After giving this treatise on love, which
we are about to study, Paul begins chapter 14 by stating, “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts (again the word gifts is not in the original Greek),
and we must also take this command into account. It is part of the context of
Paul’s entire discourse on spiritual gifts and love, and none of it stands by
itself.
The gifts of the Spirit are
all desirable and none of them are to be despised. Paul certainly does not
disdain them, in fact, the verb desire is
imperative, both in chapter 12 and 14. Paul commands the Christian to desire
the gifts and gives them their place in the sacred Scriptures. He is quite
clear as to what our conclusion should be. It is to pursue love, while you
desire spiritual gifts. Adam Clarke comments: “There is nothing good, nothing profitable to salvation, unless it be
done in the power of God communicated by Christ Jesus, and in that holiness of
heart which is produced by his Spirit.”
The gifts are desirable and, as
Matthew Henry adds, God gave them generously: “Concerning all these observe: The plenteous variety of these gifts and
offices. What a multitude are they! A
good God was free in his communications to the primitive church; he was no
niggard (not stingy) of his benefits
and favors. No, he provided richly for them. They had no want, but a store –
all that was necessary, and even more; what was convenient for them too.”
However, Paul counsels us to
desire earnestly the best gifts and the best gifts, according to the Greek, are the strongest or the greatest gifts.
We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but we need to first see an
illustration of this in chapter 14:1, where Paul shows that prophecy is
greater, that is, more desirable and more useful than tongues, at least, when
the gift of tongues is separated from the gift of interpretation. So then,
prophecy is one of the greater and more desirable gifts. Paul says as much in
14:39: “Desire earnestly to prophesy,
and do not forbid to speak with tongues.” I am making the point, as
strongly as I know how, that love does not replace the spiritual gifts; instead
love is to be added to the gifts to raise them to the highest value possible.
Before we go on, I want to
pause a moment longer to consider this more excellent way by quoting again from
Matthew Henry: “He closes the chapter (12)
with an advice… by giving them the hint
of a more excellent way, namely, of charity, of mutual love and good-will. This
was the only right way to quiet and cement them, and make their gifts turn to
the advantage and edification of the church. This would render them kind to
each other, and concerned for each other, and therefore calm their spirits, and
put an end to their little piques and contests, their disputes about
precedency. Those would appear to be in the foremost rank, according to the
apostle, who had most of true Christian love. Note, True charity is greatly to
be preferred to the most glorious gifts. To have the heart glow with mutual
love is vastly better than to glare with the most pompous titles, offices, or
powers.” To this proposition, we fully agree.
The way of love
1.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but
have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand
all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could
remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and
though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
The controversies
in Corinth involved their preferences of leaders or teachers, their eating
foods offered to idols, their treatment of the Lord’s Table and probably other
matters that I have neglected to mention. Paul has been addressing this problem
throughout his letter and now he deals with their attitudes concerning
spiritual gifts. It is of greatest concern to him, but the fountain of his
concern flows from the grieving and perfect heart of the indwelling Holy
Spirit.
The Corinthians “come short in no gift” (1:7), indicating that they possess all gifts,
therefore their problem not only has to do with tongues, as some Bible teachers
seem to suggest. The theme of chapter 13 will serve to enhance and improve the
Corinthian involvement with the entire gamut of spiritual gifts. There is a
paradox here, in that, while they are endowed with what the Greek terms as spirituals, yet nevertheless, they are
carnal (3:1-4). Think of it, heavenly gifts are a cause for carnal envy and an
arrogant sense of superiority in this church.
There is no
question that Paul is putting an argument before us, but the manner, in which
he does so, is indicative and proof of the authorship and inspiration of the
Holy Spirit. He moves the apostle to compose a beautiful verse of love, worthy
of being put to music. Some have done exactly that, including the beloved hymn
writer, Fanny Crosby, who gleaned from verse 12, “And I shall see Him face to face, and tell the story saved by grace.” Those
words are even more wonderfully moving, when we remember that Ms. Crosby was
blind.
I certainly
recognize my inadequacy in tackling these 13 verses and I have felt a bit of
foreboding, as I neared this majestic passage. Now that we have arrived, I
could wish myself a far better writer and, more importantly still, wished, in
general, that I owned greater and deeper insight into the vast treasures of
heaven’s truth. That confession may help bring you to a state of greater
sobriety and, I hope, expectancy, as we explore these lines together. We need
to do so prayerfully and trust the Lord to add to our appreciation for this
outstanding chapter. May we reach out and take something of that, which Paul
prayed that the Ephesians would comprehend: “To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be
filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph.3:19).
The most gifted
linguist, regardless of his mastery of multiple languages, and though he
possesses the eloquence of angels, is reduced to voicing nothing beyond noise,
if he does not speak in love. Sounding brass and clanging cymbal produce sounds
without significance, beauty or melody. Communication is a powerful tool,
useful in evangelization and in the edification of the church, but its highest
form, turns to empty clanging and clatter, without love. That should show the
vital need for God’s love, as an inaudible force behind all that can be
spoken.
It must be understood that
Paul is not calling us to culture and polish that, which is only a human trait
or quality. As I teach, I never tire of saying that it is not the best of human
faculties that are needed in bearing the light of the gospel before the world.
If you listen carefully, you will hear the passion, as Christ intercedes for us
before the Father, “that the love with
which You love Me may be in them, and I in them” (Jn.17:26). To testify of
Christ means that the attribute of God’s love may be experienced, as Christ
manifests it through us to the world. He expressed the same to His disciples in
15:9: “As the Father loved Me, I also
have loved you; abide in My love.”
Meditate on this statement by John in his first epistle: “In this is (true, godly) love,
not that we loved God (for that would be human love), but that He loved us (with divine, eternal love)” (1 Jn.4:10).
Jake DeShazer joined the U.S. Air Force during World War II with a fierce hatred for the Japanese. That hatred grew considerably, in a Japanese Prison Camp, after he was captured and tortured. Mysteriously, he was given a Bible by a Japanese prison guard and was converted to Christ. Immediately afterward, God called him to become a missionary to Japan. I do not have the quote on hand, but I remember well the essence of what he commented, concerning the love he had for the Japanese. “Love is not something innate in the human heart, which must be cultured and improved; God alone gives true love in a complete form and it comes supernaturally to a human being as a miracle."
In verse 2, Paul speaks of the awful destruction of wonderful, powerful gifts, in order to magnify the tragedy that occurs, due to the absence of God’s love. Understanding is nullified and the removal of mountains loses its wonder, when love is not present. God’s love is far superior to the gift of prophecy, the understanding of mysteries and knowledge, and the possession of great faith. The absence of the love of God reduces all these to nothing and the person who prophecies, understands, and does wonders through faith, himself becomes useless without love.
Jake DeShazer joined the U.S. Air Force during World War II with a fierce hatred for the Japanese. That hatred grew considerably, in a Japanese Prison Camp, after he was captured and tortured. Mysteriously, he was given a Bible by a Japanese prison guard and was converted to Christ. Immediately afterward, God called him to become a missionary to Japan. I do not have the quote on hand, but I remember well the essence of what he commented, concerning the love he had for the Japanese. “Love is not something innate in the human heart, which must be cultured and improved; God alone gives true love in a complete form and it comes supernaturally to a human being as a miracle."
In verse 2, Paul speaks of the awful destruction of wonderful, powerful gifts, in order to magnify the tragedy that occurs, due to the absence of God’s love. Understanding is nullified and the removal of mountains loses its wonder, when love is not present. God’s love is far superior to the gift of prophecy, the understanding of mysteries and knowledge, and the possession of great faith. The absence of the love of God reduces all these to nothing and the person who prophecies, understands, and does wonders through faith, himself becomes useless without love.
All humanitarian work and
acts of charity are of no profit without God's love. We see non-Christian
organizations and totally unconverted people working feverishly to aid their
fellowman. Human compassion and concern can go as far as to empty oneself of
his possessions and even sacrifice one’s life. A soldier on the battlefield can
lay down his life to save his buddies, without the help of God. We may find it
difficult to believe that human love can carry a person to such an extreme, but
that is what Paul is teaching and that is what the Holy Spirit, who inspires
Paul, knows to be true. However, if the
love of God is not the motivating force behind the acts, Paul tells us, no one
has really and truly been helped (3).
Characteristics
of love
4.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does
not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5.
does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not
provoked, thinks no evil;
6.
does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7.
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things.
I think, it is probably not
wise to be wordy or use an abundance of adjectives when writing, but because of
the magnificence of our theme, I feel somewhat obligated to waive the rule in
this article. We begin to consider the attributes of love in verse 4. We will
see in them the opposite of carnality. You can be carnal, while preaching and
teaching. You can be carnal while prophesying and operating in spiritual gifts.
You can be carnally involved in humanitarian work, but you cannot be carnal in
the love of God. The love of God is absolutely selfless. The person, who is
acting in true love, does not think of himself or consider his own well-being.
Love suffers long. It bears
up under insult, abuse, attack and persecution in all their different forms,
whether physical, verbal or as an evil effort against someone’s reputation or
character. Love is kind. Kindness is a subtitle under the heading of love. I
suppose we have all known individual Christians, who are truly kind. We all recognize kindness, when someone
manifests it, but I find it difficult to define or describe it. Even if I can
never find words to express exactly what kindness is, I want to know more about
having a kind attitude towards others. I want to feel their hurts and desire
the best for them. I want to try to help to lift them out of their suffering,
especially the internal pain, sadness and hopelessness caused by the
circumstances that they have experienced.
Love does not envy. It is
happy over the success and good fortune of another. It rejoices when someone
else is promoted, praised and awarded, due to being more talented, skillful and
intelligent. To study the character of King Saul in the book of 1 Samuel will
give a good idea of what it means to have great abilities without love. The
gift of prophecy came upon him several times, but see how he reacts, when David
receives due credit: “Saul was very
angry… and he said, ‘They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they
have ascribed only thousands’” (1 S.18:8). He is envious to the point of
wanting to kill.
On the other hand, love does
not parade one’s own achievements or strengths and is not puffed up. I always
think of leaven, when I consider what it means to be puffed up. It causes bread
to rise, beyond its material substance. It is indicative of pride, especially,
but also hypocrisy and false doctrine. False teaching does not spring from
ignorance, so much as from an arrogant animosity against biblical truth. Paul
has already told the Corinthians in 8:2, “If
anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to
know.” Pride has given him an exaggerated opinion of his knowledge. That is
what the Bible calls leaven. Near the
end of the letter to the Galatians (6:3), Paul stated, “If anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he
deceives himself.” Here again, spiritual leaven has given the person an
exalted view of his self-worth. God’s love is never guilty of praising or
flattering men.
Rudeness demonstrates a lack
of love. To de discourteous, abrasive, impolite, crude, insulting, offensive,
insensitive, and inattentive to civility is to be manifesting traits that are synonymous,
or close to being synonymous, with rudeness. These are not characteristic of
the love of God. Do not excuse them as a character fault: “It’s just the way I
am, or he or she is.” Some might even say that God made them this way. The love
of God deals in careful consideration, so as not to wound or unnecessarily hurt
anyone.
I have already stated that
love is selfless and does not take its own wellbeing into account. David knew
this principle: “Who may dwell in Your
holy hill?... He who swears to his own hurt and does not change” (Ps.15:1,
4). He saw this beautiful character trait in Jonathan, his best friend. Jonathan
and David swore loyalty to one another. Jonathan was in line for the throne of
Israel, but he desired it rather for his beloved friend, David, willing to take
a secondary position: “You shall be king
over Israel, and I shall be next to you” (1 S.23:17). His father, Saul, saw
this as weakness in him. He said to Jonathan: “Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame…?
As long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established,
nor your kingdom” (1 S.20:30, 31).
The high planes of love will
come into our consciousness, when we meditate on the next two qualities: “Love is not provoked, thinks no evil.” (5).
We cannot possibly dwell there, until God’s love dominates our personality.
Love cannot be provoked to the point where the one, who is possessed by it,
will begin to think evil thoughts against the one, who provokes him. Paul taught
the Romans: “Bless them which persecute
you: bless, and curse not” (Ro.12:14). It is nothing more than what Christ
taught and expected from His disciples: “Love
your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray
for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Mt.5:44). We find it impossible
to believe that any human being can fulfill His command. Oh yes, God’s love is
miraculous and carries us beyond our own possibilities. It is super-human!
The next two characteristics
are especially important to know in this day and age: First, love does not
rejoice in iniquity; quite the opposite, love hates sin. It is a paradox, but it is true, that love can actually
hate. In the love of God, His disciple, in order to love righteousness, will
hate iniquity. Do not try to say that you are acting in love, if you are
compromising with sin. The love of God is never comfortable around sin. Jesus
could eat with sinners, but He never compromised with their sin. He always rose
above it and demanded repentance. Notice, when He ate with the publicans: “I am not come to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance” (Mt.9:13).
In the second case, love
rejoices in the truth. The love of God is never happy, when truth is dragged in
the mud. On the contrary, love submits to truth and will not manifest itself to
the one who insists on believing lies. God loves truth more than He loves
people. Let me bring to your attention a verse, to which I often refer: “God will send strong delusion, that they
should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth…” (v.6, 2 Thess. 2:11, 12). Jesus
said, “I am the truth”, and the
person, who loves Him, must, of necessity, love the truth.
Love can carry a heavy load,
it bears all things. Love partners with faith, believing all things, and with
hope, hopes all things. It believes all things. That does not mean, in any way,
that love is gullible. No, it means that love triumphs over intelligence or
mental knowledge. It does not need scientific proof to believe what God says.
Then, biblical hope is not ‘hope so’ hope. It is “an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…” (Heb.6:19). Love
endures; it outlasts its enemies. It keeps on loving, even when rejected or
ignored (7). This is certainly something that we have learned from the
character of Christ, who loved His enemies, “endured the cross, despising the shame…” (Heb.12:2). We are tasting
that, which is sublime and heavenly. May God give grace, so that our souls can
begin to digest it.
Love is perfect
and eternal
8.
Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they
will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is
knowledge, it will vanish away.
9.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
10.
But when that which is perfect has come, then that which
is in part will be done away.
11.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a
child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish
things.
12.
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face.
Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13.
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the
greatest of these is love.
We repeat, love endures all
things, and if God is in love, then love cannot fail, for He will carry it
through to victory. Because of time and space, I dare not get very far into the
subject, which the writer of Hebrews teaches in chapter 7. I will only mention
the spiritual principle, which he teaches: Only
that which is permanent and eternal, is true. God is eternal and dwells in
eternity; love is also eternal. Prophecy is not, neither are tongues and knowledge
(8), referring to three spiritual gifts.
Love is also perfect.
Prophecy, tongues and knowledge are not. We have already seen, and we will see
more of it in chapter 14, that spiritual gifts can be misused. They are
partial, not perfect. We live in an imperfect time, when we ourselves are
imperfect, the church is also imperfect and our understanding is imperfect.
That is an undeniable and obvious fact (9).
We will not find a perfect
Christian or a perfect church at any point throughout this age. Neither will we
find someone, who fully understands all that there is to be known. No one fully
understands the Bible, which fact does away with the idea that “my Bible and I
are enough.” It isn’t, because my knowledge is imperfect, and as long as I
live, it will be imperfect. You and I need help, teaching from others, who
understand things that we don’t understand. To help you understand, you need to
read books, written by people that you cannot learn from in person, whether
they are dead or alive.
That which is in part is imperfect and temporal and
will come to an end (10). In the
introduction to chapters 12-14, I quoted at length D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. You
may want to go back to review his comments on these verses 9-12. A little
later, I will simply remind you of the gist of his viewpoints on them. By the
way, they are also my viewpoints and, I think, the viewpoints of most Christians
down through the ages. Earlier, in my comments on this chapter, I also briefly
referred to the musical composition by Fanny Crosby, And I Shall See Him Face to Face.
I am always wary of things,
of which you must learn from other
human beings. I mean, in saying that, that you will find teaching, which is not
supported by the Scriptures, in general. It is so obscure that the general body
of Christians could never arrive at such a conclusion, by studying on their
own. This kind of doctrine can only be sustained by a chain of teaching, handed
down from one person to another. I often tell cultists: “Somebody had to teach
you these strange doctrines that you hold to, because you would never have
learned them in the privacy of your own devotions.”
So it is with a popular
teaching on this portion of Scripture, from verses 9 through 12, relating it to
the completion of the New Testament canon. There is nothing in this chapter
that gives a hint that Paul is referring to the completion of the New Testament
canon. There is nothing that tells us that “that which what is perfect” is the completion of the Scriptures and
that we will know face to face, when the book of Revelation is finally
written. The Holy Spirit will never teach you that, as you wait on your knees
for illumination. Someone else has to teach it to you.
Therefore Fanny Crosby said: “If I had a choice, I would still choose to
remain blind… for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face
of my blessed Savior.” We already quoted her hymn, “And I shall see Him face to face.” That is the most reasonable
understanding of what Paul is writing. Fanny Crosby saw that that which is perfect and face to face, will occur, when Christ
returns for His church or in death, when He takes His child to glory with Him. This
is what John teaches in 1 John 3:2: “We
know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He
is.” Paul is referring to the same
truth in verse 12: “Then I shall know
just as I also am known.”
Lloyd-Jones shows a hint of
sarcasm as he counters the fore mentioned doctrine, which he said is “nonsense”, and nonsense is worthy of
some sarcasm. As Lloyd-Jones continued, he noted that Paul included himself,
the writer of at least 13 epistles in the New Testament, when he said, “I know in part, but then I shall know just
as I also am known.” Of course, Paul did not survive until the New
Testament was completed by John. Are we to suppose that he always remained a
child (11), and never grew up into spiritual maturity? Did Paul, then, and all
those who died before the Scriptures were completed, only know in part?
Well, that is true, they did
only know in part and they never arrived at the place Paul is talking about in
verse 11, until they went to be with the Lord, which Paul said is far better
(Phil.1:23). Here is what is not true and is, in fact, ridiculous! If the
perfection that Paul is talking about in verse 10, was the completion of the canon,
then all those who lived since that time, can come to spiritual manhood. They
are superior to the Christians, who lived before the canon was complete, because
it is possible now for them to know as they are known. Prophecy, tongues and
knowledge have vanished away, because we have the full canon, and they are no
longer necessary. In these times only faith, hope and love abide,
That is false teaching! Here
is the truth: All those who lived beyond the time, in which the book of
Revelation was completed, bringing the New Testament to completion… they, and
we also, know in part, just as Paul did. They and we, as Paul, speak,
understand, and think in an imperfect way. This is true, because it has nothing
to do with the canon, but everything to do with the time, before and after
Christ returns for His church, or when we die and go to be with Him in glory.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “The ‘now’ and the ‘then’ are not the time before and after the
Scriptures were given. The ‘then’ is the glory everlasting. It is only then we
shall see him as he is. It will be direct and ‘face to face’.” Until then, prophecy, tongues and knowledge are still in
play. As I quoted Martyn Lloyd-Jones and John Wesley, as well, nothing in
Scripture whatsoever limits the spiritual gifts to the time of the apostles and
until the time, when the New Testament was completed.
Finally in verse 13, Paul
speaks of three things that abide, after the gifts of the Spirit will no longer
be necessary, and they are faith, hope and love. Love is superior to faith and
hope, but faith and hope equally abide with love. Hope is sure; it is not an ‘I
hope so’ hope. It is total and perfect assurance and it will abide throughout
eternity. If that is not true, then eternity is unsure, but hope, in a biblical
sense, cannot fail. Nothing can possibly enter in to spoil heaven for eternity.
Here is the biblical definition: “This
hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which
enters the Presence behind the veil.” Hope is an anchor that is sure and
steadfast. Where is it? It is in the Holy of Holies, in the very throne room of
God. It will be there throughout eternity to forever secure our position before
Him.
I think some have a very
limited view of faith. They see it only as something which carries us through
this world, until Christ returns for us. Until then, they think, it sees the
invisible and, when Christ appears the second time, it will no longer be
necessary. However, even after the invisible becomes visible, faith continues
to work. A. B. Simpson believed and taught that God created the world through
faith and faith brought into being, that which did not exist before. Jesus
worked in faith to do the miraculous. As believers, we enter into His faith.
Paul said, “I live by the faith of the
Son of God” (Gal.2:20) and the accurate translation of Mark 11:22 is: “Have the faith of God.”
The word faith, so abundant in the New Testament, is only used twice in the
Old Testament. However, in Hebrews 11, we find that all the Old Testament
saints worked by faith. A synonym for
faith is trust, and that is the word
found throughout the Old Testament. Faith
is trust, trust or confidence in
His person and confidence in His
work. To have faith in the work of
Calvary is to trust only in that
work. To have faith in God is to trust Him. And we will do that
throughout eternity. Therefore, faith, hope and love abide forever… but the
greatest of these is love.
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