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.”
1 Corinthians 12
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Chapter 12
Basic truth involved with spiritual gifts
1. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not
want you to be ignorant:
2. You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to
these dumb idols, however you were led.
3. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking
by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is
Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
4. There are diversities of gifts, but the same
Spirit.
5. There are differences of ministries, but the same
Lord.
6. And there are diversities of activities, but it is
the same God who works all in all.
7. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each
one for the profit of all.
In
verse 1, the word gifts is not in the
original Greek, but simply spirituals. It
is helpful in understanding our subject, to think about some synonyms for
this word. I copy these from the Strong's Greek Dictionary: non-carnal, supernatural, regenerate. Our subject is not about
anything human, it is supernatural, belonging to the regenerate or spiritual
new nature. In verse 4, we do have the word gifts
in the Greek, so it is proper to think and speak of these as gifts. They
are not part of our physical make-up, which we have obtained by birth. Oswald
Chambers comments in My Utmost for His
Highest that spiritual gifts are not the accident of genes, derived from
our parents. In other words, they are not natural talents or abilities. They
are given directly by God to the regenerate person.
Paul
leads us into the study of spiritual gifts by emphasizing a basic truth in
verse 3. As early as in Genesis 4:26, we have people calling on the name of the
Lord: “Then men began to call on the
name of the Lord” and in 12:8, Abram specifically, “built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.” This
is very significant, now that we begin to study Paul’s teaching, to know that no
one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Natural man
cannot honestly say it, because of his fallen nature. A true declaration of the
lordship of Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit in a human being.
Special Introduction (1 Co. 12-14)
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A special introduction to 1 Corinthians, chapters
12-14
(From this point on I will be using the New
King James Version)
Chapter 12:1 & 2
1. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:
1. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:
2. You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to
these dumb idols, however you were led.
Just as he
began chapter 10, Paul shows again that he is an enemy of ignorance among
Christians. He states in 10:1, “I would
not, brethren, have you ignorant…” (ASV)
concerning Old Testament accounts, and he uses the exact same Greek word here
in 12:1, “I do not want you to be ignorant,” and in his second letter
to the Corinthians: “We would not have
you ignorant, brethren…” (2
Co.1:8) of the personal troubles that Paul’s team experienced. He affirms the
same to the Thessalonians: “We would not
have you ignorant, brethren…” (1
Th.4:13), concerning the Lord’s return for His church.
1 Corinthians 11
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Chapter 11
A clear difference between men and women
1.
Be imitators
of me, as I am of Christ.
2.
Now I commend
you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I
delivered them to you.
3.
But I want
you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of a wife
is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.
4.
Every man who
prays of prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head,
5.
but every
wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since
it is the same as if her head were shaven.
6.
For if a wife
will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is
disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her
head.
7.
For a man
ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman
is the glory of man.
8.
For man was
not made from woman, but woman from man.
9.
Neither was
man created for woman, but woman for man.
10. That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on
her head, because of the angels.
11. Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man
nor man of woman;
12. for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of
woman. And all things are from God.
13. Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to
God with her head uncovered?
14. Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long
hair it is a disgrace for him,
15. but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her
hair is given to her for a covering.
16. If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such
practice, nor do the churches of God.
To
be able to give a recommendation conscientiously, such as Paul does in verse 1,
tells of his assurance of his own true and successful discipleship. He was
wholeheartedly and truly submitted to Christ, therefore he could enlist
followers. However, the statement also suggests a limitation, as there must
always be among imperfect human beings… follow me only to the extent that I follow Christ. It is necessary to
comment, as well, that biblical definitions give a different connotation to
that which immediately comes into our mind, when we see the word imitator. It should express Paul’s
desire that through his example, he would turn every head towards Christ, as
the writer of Hebrews states, “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter
of our faith” (He.12:2).
We
can break this chapter almost in half by these words in verse 2, “I commend
you,” and these in verse 17, “I do not commend you”. He commends
them, because they take his ministry and his teaching seriously, putting them
into practice. You will notice that there were apostolic traditions in the
early church, differing from ordinances and biblical instruction, perhaps, as
there may be in the church today. Traditions must be limited, so they do not
take the place or overrule God’s commandments. They pertain, especially, to
good order and testimony before society, I think, rather than spiritual
principle.
1 Corinthians 10
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Chapter 10
A false presumption due to experience
1.
For I do not
want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud,
and all passed through the sea.
2.
and all were
baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
3.
and all ate
the same spiritual food,
4.
and all drank
the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed
them, and the Rock was Christ.
5.
Nevertheless,
with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the
wilderness.
The
apostle Paul took upon himself the responsibility of assuring that Christianity
would not be a religion of ignorance. In chapter 12:2, he wrote of their
blindness as pagans, following their leaders in idolatry, as uninformed as the dumb
idols that they served. Christian instruction is not an adornment, given to
embellish the church and its members, but is essential in order to carry out
its mission and to give glory to God.
What
is the apostle’s source for the text, from which he will teach? It is the Old
Testament Scripture. Jesus said, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent
me” (Jn.7:16). It was already established before He came to earth and He
simply built upon those Scriptures. Jesus recognized the divine inspiration of
the 22 books already determined by the Jews to be inerrant and infallible
truth. His disciples followed him and later taught the church their doctrine
(Ac.2:42). Today we have divided those 22 books into 39, but they are precisely
and completely the same text, from which the earliest believers were taught.
It
is truly astounding that there are many believers, who treat the Bible with
indifference. God has graciously bestowed upon us this unique treasure store of
divine thoughts and ways. There is nothing in the world to compare to it and
nowhere else on earth can we learn of heavenly, eternal truth.
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