The problem revolving around spiritual gifts, though not precisely identified to this point, is apparent. The Corinthians were elevating gifts and individuals who possessed certain gifts above others.
Any time an individual or a group of individuals separate themselves from the whole body, there will be trouble in the church, 1 Corinthians 12:14. Eventually, such selfish ambition will lead to a schism in the body, 1 Corinthians 12:25.
The objective of 1 Corinthians 12 is to identify the gifts and their purposes. The fundamental objective of gifts was to ‘profit all’, 1 Corinthians 12:7. Those Corinthians who did not approach spiritual gifts from this perspective had lost sight of their identity within the church.
Paul reminds the Corinthians that they were added to the church through baptism for the forgiveness of their sins, 1 Corinthians 12:13. When one is baptised into the one body of Christ, the church, they are no longer many but one in purpose and identity, 1 Corinthians 12:27.
To divide along lines of gifts goes against God’s divine will for gifts. All things done must take into consideration the welfare of the body that the saint is a part of.
Things done contrary to the one body are not healthy for the body as a whole, 1 Corinthians 12:25. To do things for reasons other than profiting the whole body is to be ignorant, selfish and lack love for other parts of the body, 1 Corinthians 12:1.
Without love, gifts were useless, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. Paul speaks of tongues first to illustrate the inverted level of importance and the apparent interest the Corinthians had in this spiritual gift.
The word ‘tongues’, in Greek, is ‘glossa’, and it is defined as ‘a tongue, language’. The languages of men vary from race to race, 1 Corinthians 13:1 / 1 Corinthians 12:10.
The language of angels is clear communication as well, 1 Corinthians 13:1 / Genesis 16:7-12. Would not this reference prove that tongue-speaking could involve languages beyond those spoken by humans?
In the first place, consider the role, purpose, and activity of angels described in the Bible. The word ‘angel’, in Greek is ‘angelos’, in Hebrew it is the word ‘malak’, and it simply means ‘messenger’, one who ‘speaks and acts in the place of the one who has sent him’. It does not mean merely ‘to send,’ but rather ‘to send a messenger/message’.
It is true that angels in both the Old and New Testaments carried out a wide range of activities beyond message-bearing, including worshipping God, Revelation 5:11-12, comforting, aiding, and protecting, Daniel 6:22 / Matthew 4:11 / Luke 22:43 / Acts 5:19 / Hebrews 1:14, and executing judgment and inflicting punishment and death, Matthew 13:49 / Acts 12:23.
But it still remains true to say that the meaning of the term ‘angel’ is a messenger, one who communicates a spoken message. Therefore, their principal role in God’s scheme of things was to function as messengers to humans.
Consequently, angels are always represented in Scripture as communicating in human language. In the second place, what logical reason exists for humans to speak in an alleged ‘angelic’ language that is different from human language?
What would be the spiritual benefit? The Bible certainly makes no provision for humans to communicate with angels in such a language, nor would there be any need for an angel to communicate to a human in a non-earthly language.
The whole point of 1 Corinthians 12-13 was to stress the need to function in the church in ways that were meaningful and understandable. Since God, by His very nature, never would do anything superfluous, unnecessary, or frivolous, it follows that He would not bestow upon a human being the ability to speak in a nonhuman language.
The ability would serve no purpose! The Bible simply offers no rationale nor justification for identifying the ‘tongues of angels’ in 1 Corinthians 13:1, with some heavenly, otherworldly, non-earthly languages.
In the third place, if the ‘tongues of angels’ refer to known human languages, what was Paul’s point? Since angels were God’s appointed spokesmen, they naturally would perform their assignment in such a way that God would be represented as He would want to be.
God’s own angelic emissaries would have complied with their responsibility in such a way and manner that they would have God’s approval. In other words, angels would naturally articulate God’s message as well as it could be expressed, i.e., perfectly.
When God inspired mere humans to communicate His will, He integrated their own educational background, stylistic idiosyncrasies, and vocabulary into their oral and literary productions.
No such need would have existed for angels. Their communications would have been unfiltered through human agency. Their announcements would have been the epitome and pinnacle of eloquence and oratorical skill.
Perhaps then, Paul was not drawing a contrast between human and nonhuman languages at all. Before referring to the ‘tongues of angels,’ he referred to ‘the tongues of men,’ 1 Corinthians 13:1. Why would Paul say, ‘Though I speak with the tongues of men’?
After all, isn’t that precisely what all adult humans do? We, humans, speak at least one human language! Paul must have been referring, then, not to the ability to speak a human language, but to the ability to speak all human languages.
No tongue-speaker in the first-century church had the ability to speak all human languages. In fact, the textual evidence indicates that most tongue-speakers probably had the ability to speak only one human language, which he, himself, did not understand, thus necessitating the need for an inspired interpreter, 1 Corinthians 12:30 / 1 Corinthians 14:26-28.
Paul could apparently speak more languages than any of the others, 1 Corinthians 14:18. If the ‘tongues of men’ referred to the number of human languages, rather than referring to the ability to speak a human language, then the ‘tongues of angels’ would refer, not to the ability to speak an angelic language but to the ability to speak human languages the way angels do.
Here then, would have been Paul’s point, even if a tongue-speaker could speak every human language known to man, and even if that tongue-speaker could speak those human languages with the efficiency, skill, and perfection that God’s angelic messengers have spoken them in history, without love, the ability would be wasted.
With this understanding of the text, Paul was not contrasting human with nonhuman language. He was encompassing both the quantity, if I could speak all human languages and the quality, if I could speak them perfectly, of speaking human language.
One final point on the matter of the ‘tongues of angels’ merits mention. Even if the expression actually refers to angelic tongues that are nonhuman, it is still likely that tongue-speakers were incapable of speaking such languages. Why?
Paul was speaking hypothetically and hyperbolically. No human being, with the exception of perhaps Jesus, has ever been able to speak in all human languages. For Paul to suggest such was to pose a hypothetical situation. It was to exaggerate the facts.
So Paul’s meaning was, ‘even if I were capable of speaking all human languages, which I’m not.’ Likewise, no human being has ever been able to speak the tongues of angels. So Paul’s meaning was, ‘even if I were capable of speaking the languages of angels, which I’m not.’
This conclusion is supported further by the verse that follows the reference to the ‘tongues of angels.’ There, Paul used two additional hypothetical events when he said, ‘If I know all mysteries and all knowledge’ and ‘if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains,’ 1 Corinthians 13:2.
Lipscomb, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Judas Iscariot is an example of faith to perform miracles, but with no love of Christ. ‘Judas had faith to work miracles, Matthew 10:1, but he did not possess love, betrayed the Lord, and went to his own place.’
But no one on the planet, with the exception of deity, has understood all mysteries and all knowledge, nor has had faith that could literally remove mountains. Again, Paul was merely saying, ‘even if I could do such things, which I can’t.’
It’s important to note the word ‘if’ because Paul never said he could speak in tongues of angels, etc., he says ‘if’ I could, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. Without love being the motivation for speaking in tongues, the gift would be useless, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.
When one, through ignorance, separates from the body they were baptised into so that they may form a schism based upon an individual gift they ‘have not love’, 1 Corinthians 12:1 / 1 Corinthians 12:25 / 1 Corinthians 12:31.
The word love, in Greek, is ‘agape’ and it is defined as ‘brotherly love, charity, the love of God for man and of man for God, New Testament.’ The apostle John gives us a clear commentary on what this love is, John 15:12-17.
John said, ‘God is love’, 1 John 4:8 / 1 John 4:16. God’s love is made manifest in the fact that He sent His Son, Jesus, for the propitiation of our sins, 1 John 3:16 / 1 John 4:10. Christians are commanded to love as God loves, 1 John 4:17. God loved in that He provided a way for man to rid himself of sin.
Christians are to care for brethren in such a way that helps them get rid of the sin in their lives, Acts 20:26. The Corinthians had this opportunity by delivering the Gospel of our salvation. Secondly, God cares for the physical well-being of His people, and so must we, Isaiah 63:9 / 1 John 3:17.
The Corinthians, who practised their spiritual gifts without this love as its motivation, were as a ‘sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal,’ 1 Corinthians 13:1. The word ‘resounding’, in Greek, is ‘echo’, and it means ‘to sound, often of metal, to let it sound’.
The word ‘brass’, in Greek, is ‘chalkos’ and is defined as referring to its colour. Copper was the first metal wrought for use, hence chalkos came to be used for metal in general, and when men learnt to work iron, chalkos was used for sideros, and chalkeus came to mean a blacksmith.
Chalkos also meant bronze, i.e., copper alloyed with tin, not brass, i.e., copper alloyed with zinc, which was a later invention, and this was its sense when applied to arms. Paul’s use of a ‘sounding brass’ is obviously intended to mean an annoying or unnatural sound made with the metal.
The word ‘clanging’, in Greek, is ‘alalazo’ and it means to raise the war cry, to shout the shout of victory, to cry or shout aloud. The word ‘cymbal’ in Greek is ‘kumbalon’, and it means one of a pair of concave brass plates that are struck together as percussion instruments. Again, the idea is an annoyingly loud sound that disturbs the peace.
In an orchestra, a percussion instrument serves its purpose among the strings, woodwinds, and brass instruments. Take the percussion or brass, trombone or French horn out, and the loud noise is useless. Likewise, one who speaks tongues that others do not understand is useless and lacks love.
If the tongues speaker properly understood the function of the tongues, out of love, he would speak with an interpreter for the purpose of edifying all hearers, 1 Corinthians 14:12. Paul’s point is that the single instrument or gift can only serve its designed purpose when acting together with the whole body, 1 Corinthians 12:14.
If love, care and concern for my brother’s physical and spiritual wellbeing is not the motivation for the Corinthians exercising their gifts, then their efforts amount to ‘nothing.’ The word ‘nothing’, 1 Corinthians 13:2-3, in Greek is ‘oudeis’, and it means to be good for nothing, to make of no account.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Paul teaches two things by this: 1. that the exhibitions of the Corinthian tongue speakers were of the same significance as heathen worship and 2. that both were noisy, empty and worthless.’
The spiritual gifts of prophecy, knowledge, and faith were discussed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. As a single instrument is good for nothing, so is the one who exercises gifts for a single motivation of pride.
Those Corinthians who were divisive and formed divisions with the use of their gift were actually ‘nothing’, though they and others thought they were something special.
The word ‘give’, 1 Corinthians 13:3, in Greek is ‘psomizo’, and it means to employ in feeding others. What if I do such good work without love as its motivation? Am I doing this to be recognised by others as generous, rather than doing it because I see a real need?
Is my personality such that of needing a pat on the back for all the good works I do? It is obviously wrong to have such pictures of men. Paul says, ‘if I give my body to hardship’, 1 Corinthians 13:3, means through persecution so that I may bring myself glory, it profits me nothing.
Here were brethren who may have displayed a great spirit of conviction and zeal, yet they lacked love and thereby their profit is ‘nothing’ in relation to God’s will to profit the whole church. When spiritual and physical benevolence is achieved without love it profits nothing in relation to the church as a whole, 1 Corinthians 12:4-7.
The apostle Paul gives such a wonderful description of what love is all about. You will notice that he doesn’t describe love in terms of feelings or emotions but in practical ways. In fact, we could say he is describing the love of God, 1 John 4:8 / 1 John 4:16, which should be displayed in all our lives, Galatians 5:22-23.
The love Paul is describing is a motivation for action that we are free to choose or reject. It’s the Greek word ‘Agape’ which describes a sacrificial love that voluntarily suffers inconvenience, discomfort, and even death for the benefit of another without expecting anything in return, Ephesians 5:1-2. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and replace the word ‘love’ with the word ‘God’.
1. Love patient. 1 Corinthians 13:4.
The word ‘patient’, in Greek, is ‘makrothumeo’, and it means to patiently endure wrongs or difficulties. This word is found nine times in the New Testament and generally means to be patient with those in error as the Lord is with us, 2 Peter 3:9. The one who truly loves will not just give up on a brother who is in sin, but rather is willing to study the matter.
In the New Testament, patience has to do with how we should respond to abuse. Taking a long time to get angry! Love patiently waits and attempts to win over our adversary.
William Barclay tells the following enlightening story. Edwin Stanton was the bitter opponent of Abraham Lincoln in the early days of their political careers. Stanton characterised the awkward-looking Lincoln as a clown, a gorilla, etc.
When Lincoln became president, however, he appointed Stanton as his secretary of war because he felt that he was the best man for the job. Later, when President Lincoln lay dead from Booth’s bullet, at the bedside, Stanton tearfully said, ‘There lies the greatest ruler of men the world has ever seen.’ To be patient is to be God-like, 2 Peter 3:9. Can you think of an occasion where patience won the day? How did it make you feel?
2. Love is kind. 1 Corinthians 13:4.
The word ‘kind’, in Greek, is ‘chresteuomai’, and it means to be good and kind. God is a loving and kind God, Jeremiah 9:23-24. Such goodness and kindness led to sending His Son, Jesus, into the world so that we might have the opportunity to be saved from our sin, John 3:16. Christians are commanded to be just as kind and good. Think about the souls and well-being of others.
A wise man declared, ‘that which makes a man to be desired is his kindness.’ Proverbs 19:22. Kindness includes attributes like friendliness, compassion, generosity, and tenderness. In a world that is saturated with harshness, a kind character is a refreshing breeze.
There are many a woman who would trade a handsome husband for a kind one. Kindness would stifle the plague of child abuse. More kindness among brothers in the Lord would alleviate so much church trouble.
The Scriptures demand that we be kind to one another, Ephesians 4:32. To be kind is to be God-like, Luke 6:35. Can you think of an occasion where kindness has changed someone’s life? How did that make you feel?
3. Love does not envy. 1 Corinthians 13:4.
The word ‘envy’, in Greek, is ‘zeloo’, and it means to rival, to be jealous of, envy. This word describes the condition of the Corinthian brethren. They were rivals and jealous of each other in the realm of spiritual gifts.
Such conduct revealed their true lack of love for brethren and caused the existing schisms, 1 Corinthians 1:10 / 1 Corinthians 11:18 / 1 Corinthians 12:25. Real love does not envy others, but it rejoices when others rejoice and hurts when brethren hurt, 1 Corinthians 12:26.
What is jealousy? Jealousy is a feeling of displeasure caused by the prosperity of another, coupled with a desire to extract the advantage from the person who is the object of one’s envy, Song of Songs 8:6.
The loving person will rejoice at the success of others. Jealousy has destroyed many a home and church. Envy was one of the sins responsible for the death of Christ, Matthew 27:18 / Acts 7:9 / Acts 17:5. Can you think of an occasion where envy may cause someone problems? How did it make you feel?
4. Love does not boast. 1 Corinthians 13:4.
The word ‘boast’, in Greek, is ‘perpereuomai’, and it means to boast or vaunt oneself. A Christian who truly loves his brother will not boast or vaunt himself above his brother. All the Christian’s efforts are in elevating the brother rather than self, Philippians 2:3.
The Corinthian who boasted of his abilities in the area of tongue-speaking lacked love, a true care and concern for his brother’s physical and spiritual well-being. All were to open their eyes and note these truths. Those who formed parties based upon gifts did not truly love the Lord.
Is there anyone more tedious than listening to someone bragging about what they have done or are doing? Genuine love is selfless; it seeks to praise the virtues of others. Love has words of encouragement for the lonely, the downtrodden, and others who deserve and need uplifting Proverbs 27:2.
But some like to blow their own horns. When a Christian begins to boast, if it wasn’t for them, the church would be lost; we can’t help but think of the word boasting. Can you think of an occasion where someone was boasting about something? How did it make you feel?
5. Love is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4.
The word ‘proud’, in Greek, is ‘phusioo’, and it means to be puffed up, inflated with pride, to be proud, vain, arrogant. When one views his brother’s soul with great value and is desirous to do any and all things to benefit that brother, where is the room for arrogance and inflated pride?
The tongue-speaking Corinthians apparently felt that they were superior in some way to a brother who did not have this ability, Proverbs 6:16-19. When the church acts as one, there is no place for a part of the whole to act as though it were more significant than the other parts, 1 Corinthians 12:21-31.
The original language here denotes someone who is inflated with a sense of personal pride. Pride is unreasonable self-esteem, generally accompanied by insolence and rude treatment of others.
Pride deceives the heart, Jeremiah 49:16, hardens the mind, Daniel 5:20, and results in destruction, Proverbs 16:18. Love is characterised by genuine humility, Philippians 2:3-4. Can you think of an occasion where someone was full of themselves? How did it make you feel?
6. Love does not dishonour others. 1 Corinthians 13:5.
The phrase ‘does not dishonour itself’ is one Greek Word; it is the word ‘aschemoneo’, meaning to disgrace oneself, to be put to shame. What brings shame and disgrace to someone?
The spirit of pride, self-importance, and divisions in the realm of gifts certainly would be disgraceful because such attitudes are antithetical to gifts in the first place.
The Greek expression here literally suggests the notion of being ‘without form’. It encompasses all sorts of evil activity, bad manners, and brutal rudeness. The Christian’s vocabulary should be characterised by such expressions as ‘no, you first,’ ‘please,’ ‘thank you,’ ‘how may I help you?’ etc.
Love operates with determined politeness. The terms ‘gentleman’ and ‘lady’ should reach their high point in the context of Christianity. Love doesn’t deliberately seek to be offensive. Have you ever witnessed someone who loves nothing more than putting other people down? How did it make you feel?
7. Love is not self-seeking. 1 Corinthians 13:5.
The word ‘seek’, in Greek, is ‘zeteo’, and it means to search after, search out, to search or inquire into, investigate. The word ‘own’, KJV, in Greek is ‘heautou’, and it means himself, herself, itself, etc. Here is one who seeks to please self alone.
One who wants all actions to benefit oneself alone. One who so acts has lost sight of the whole body, 1 Corinthians 12:13-14. Again, such a disposition is antithetical to the love of God and is therefore against the love of a Christian. Have you ever experienced someone who thinks of themselves all the time? How did it make you feel?
8. Love is not easily angered. 1 Corinthians 13:5.
The word ‘easily angered’, in Greek, is ‘paroxuno’, and it means to be urged, prick or spur on, stimulate. What kind of brother would purposely irritate or exasperate another brother?
The answer is, one who does not truly love has no care and concern for a brother’s physical and spiritual wellbeing. Again, what kind of brother would allow himself to be irritated or exasperated at another brother? Truly love suffers long!
Love does not pursue its own interests; love is not selfish. It has been said that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who are always thinking of their rights and those who concentrate on their responsibilities. In our world today, there is a lot of selfishness around.
Everyone is protective of their own rights, but all too often, many people say, ‘let others fend for themselves; I’m looking after ‘Number One.’’ After all, it’s a jungle out there, a dog-eat-dog world. Whence came the origin of this fang and claw philosophy?
By way of stark contrast was the sacrificial example of the Son of God, Philippians 2:5-8, the apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 12:15, Timothy, Philippians 2:20, and numerous souls since those ancient times. Love thinks of others and seeks to serve. Have you ever had someone help you, and they didn’t want anything in return? How did it make you feel?
9. Love keeps no record of wrongs. 1 Corinthians 13:5.
The phrase, ‘keeps no record of wrongs’, in Greek, is ‘logizetai’, and it means to count, reckon, calculate. Here is the brother who is quick to point a finger at another in the body and blame them for some wrong. Christians are to be careful not to make quick judgments about their brethren.
We ought to think the very best of our brethren until proven guilty. Those brethren who have repented of sins committed are to be forgiven, rather than another keeping a ledger of others’ sins.
Anger in and of itself isn’t sinful but it’s what you do with that anger, which causes you to sin, Ephesians 4:26-27. Some people are bubbling, just ready to explode, and their day is ruined if someone doesn’t provide the opportunity for them to give a piece of their mind.
Genuine love does everything possible to avoid combat. If conflict for truth has to come, so be it; but a person shouldn’t live in such a way that they can’t wait for an excuse to kick off at someone.
Love doesn’t have a short fuse; it doesn’t walk about with a chip on its shoulder. Have you ever witnessed someone kicking off for apparently no real reason? How did it make you feel?
10. Love does not delight in evil. 1 Corinthians 13:6.
The word ‘evil’ in Greek is ‘adikia’, and it means injustice. Love doesn’t delight in evil; the Christian will focus on that which brings him joy, the faith of my brethren, 2 John 4 / 3 John 4. One who truly loves will find no joy in another Christian falling from grace.
This doesn’t mean that love ignores evil; that view would contradict numerous other passages of Scripture. There are times when evil must be exposed, rebuked, and disciplined.
The Greek word for ‘record’ is from ‘logizomai’, a commercial expression which suggests writing a transaction in the record so as not to forget it. Love does not keep score, as in, ‘three times this month they have neglected to speak to me.’
The one who says, ‘I must forgive you, but I will never forget what you did,’ has miserably failed the test of agape love. Love does not harbour bitterness nor does it plot revenge, Hebrews 8:12. Have you ever heard someone raise an issue which happened years ago? How did it make you feel?
11. Love rejoices with the truth 1 Corinthians 13:6.
The word ‘truth’ in Greek is ‘aletheia’, and it implies that truth brings true joy to the man and woman who loves his brethren and works to promote unity for the betterment of the whole body.
Since love always seeks the good of others, it can never rejoice when evil prevails. When someone falls, even an obnoxious person, we should never entertain secret thoughts of satisfaction. Rejoicing in moral wickedness conflicts with biblical love and doesn’t have humanity’s welfare at heart.
For example, those who rejoice in parades for ‘same-sex marriage,’ or who cheerfully celebrate the liberalisation of abortion laws, have utterly no perception of what real love is.
Divine love cannot be divorced from objective truth, Psalm 1:1-2. Have you ever seen people celebrate something contrary to what the Bible teaches? How did it make you feel?
12. Love always protects. 1 Corinthians 13:7.
The word ‘protect’, in Greek, is ‘stego’, and it means to cover closely, so as to keep water either out or in, to keep water out, to keep off rain from oneself. When a brother sins against me, my love will not permit me to let the world know of the matter, but to work the sin out with my brother and thereby contain the matter.
A brother who continues in his error and even teaches it, however, must be marked and avoided, Romans 16:17-18. Love supports and uplifts those who are in need of protection. Jesus was constantly in trouble with His Jewish critics because of His encouragement of the downtrodden, Luke 15:1-32.
Anyone who operates out of love will cover, i.e., be slow to expose the mistakes of another. Love ‘would far rather set about quietly mending things than publicly displaying and rebuking them.’ Unfortunately, some are quick to expose and rebuke, but so stubbornly resistant to forgiving.
There may come a time when someone needs to be challenged about what they are doing, 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 / 1 Timothy 5:20, but this shouldn’t be our first response. Christians should be eagerly waiting for an opportunity to expose people’s shortcomings. Have you ever seen people who are quick to expose but slow to forgive? How did it make you feel?
13. Love always trusts. 1 Corinthians 13:7.
The word ‘trust’ in Greek is ‘pisteuo’, and it means until proven wrong, a loving brother gives one who is at fault the benefit of the doubt. This does not state that the loving brother is to be gullible nor foolish, but that we simply hear, and believe one unless two witnesses expose otherwise, 2 Corinthians 13:1. I am to always believe and hope the best for my brethren in the body of Christ.
This doesn’t mean that love is gullible; we need to be careful about what is being taught to us, 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12. Paul is speaking about giving people the benefit of the doubt.
All too often, we come to the wrong conclusions about people because we haven’t taken the time to listen to the facts. We should always trust our brethren until they give us a reason not to trust them.
When you hear a distasteful report concerning a fellow Christian, do you hesitate to believe it until the evidence is overwhelming? Have you ever heard people being accused of something, but you know the accusers don’t have all the facts? How did it make you feel?
14. Love always hopes. 1 Corinthians 13:7.
The word ‘hope’, in Greek, is ‘elpizo’, and it means to hope for, look for, expect. It is the desire and expectation of one who truly loves to think the best of a brother before we ascribe evil and sin to one.
Love is optimistic; it entertains the highest expectations. Sometimes we see someone struggling with their faith, and some may think, ‘that person will never make it.’ What we should be thinking is, ‘I believe that with God’s help and mine, they will make it!’
We should never give up hope, Jude 22-23. Have you ever helped someone who was struggling as a Christian and went on to become a stronger, faithful Christian? How did it make you feel?
15. Love always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:7.
The word ‘persevere’, in Greek, is ‘hupomeno’, and it means to stay behind, survive. The Christian who loves the souls of his brethren will ‘endure.’ Such a one will take the wrongs of others patiently while standing his or her ground in a discussion about a matter.
The attributes of love revealed here help us identify those who are causing the true schisms in the church. Those who are overzealous spiritual bullies who seek to cause all to conform to their individuality and personal convictions are guilty of schisms in the body.
The Corinthian brethren who formed factions in the church tried their hand at this, and Paul exposes them. Let truth and the unity of the church be the motivating factor that moves our zeal.
When challenges, trials and temptations come our way, love should continue to work in and through our lives. Agape love is hard; it’s not easily discouraged. It may leave us feeling down or broken-hearted, but it keeps us pushing forward. True love doesn’t give up on God, or on others, James 1:2-4. Have you ever had moments when you wanted to give up on God? How did it make you feel?
16. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:8.
The word ‘fail’, in Greek, is ‘ekpipto’, and it means to depart from, digress, or to fall off. There appears to be a play on words here. Love is sandwiched in between gifts.
Those who do not perform actions within the church that are motivated by love for brethren are identified as those who are ‘nothing’, i.e., good for nothing, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.
While the man or woman who seeks to form divisions in the church, due to a lack of understanding of God’s purpose for gifts, comes to nothingness, this is not the case with love. Divisions will have their doom and end, yet love is eternal.
The love of God is a care and concern for the spiritual well-being of His creation, 1 John 2:5. Whenever I keep God’s commandments by loving my own soul and the soul of my brethren, ‘love for God is truly made complete in them’.
The word ‘perfected’ is in the perfect tense, which indicates the present state of one based on past actions. I am now perfect, without the guilt and due punishment of sin because I previously confessed those sins in a spirit of humility unto God and asked for forgiveness, 1 John 1:9.
As long as I have this type of character, I will not ‘fail’, 1 Corinthians 13:8, depart or digress from the truth and come to nought. The ultimate failure in life is to depart from and digress from the truth. As long as the Christian exercises a disposition of genuine care and concern for brethren, our efforts will not come to nought!
The apostle concludes by telling us that agape love, ‘never fails’. By saying this, Paul is saying that God’s type of love will not fall or falter; it’s constant and forever, Jeremiah 31:3.
Have you ever had moments when you wanted to give up on God? How did it make you feel? Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 again, this time replacing the word ‘love’ with ‘your name’. How does it make you feel when you put your own name in the text?
When we read what love is, we can’t help but see our own failings, but love as described in these passages should always challenge us to love right. After all, this love shows that we belong to Christ, John 13:34-35.
Now notice that the same three gifts mentioned here were mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. The obvious conclusion is that these three gifts stand as a representation of gifts as a whole.
And as we will see in a moment, Paul is going to tell us that all the miraculous gifts will one day ‘be done away’ with, 1 Corinthians 13:8. And I say, ‘one day’ because the text implies it’s in the future because Paul uses the word, ‘will’, 1 Corinthians 13:8.
‘Prophecy’ is the gift of expounding Scripture, of speaking and preaching. The apostle Peter explains the process in 2 Peter 1:19-21. Both knowledge and prophecy have to do with divine revelation, the word of God, truth, or the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The phrase ‘they shall cease’ is one word in Greek, ‘katargethesontai’, which means to be abolished. In other words, at some point in the future, gifts given by the Holy Spirit to man will be abolished or cease to happen. The miraculous gift of prophecy will one day in the future cease to exist, 1 Corinthians 13:8.
Hodge, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The gift (of prophecy) shall cease to be necessary, and therefore shall not be continued.’
Notice that ‘tongues shall be ‘stilled’, 1 Corinthians 13:8, the word ‘stilled’ in Greek is pausontai. The Greek verb ‘pausontai’ is future tense as well. The word ‘cease’ means to bring to an end, make an end of. The miraculous gift of tongues will one day in the future cease to exist, 1 Corinthians 13:8.
Notice that ‘knowledge’ shall ‘pass away’, 1 Corinthians 13:8, this is the Greek word, ‘argethesetai’. Again, the Greek verb ‘argethesetai’ ‘katargethesontai’ is future tense. The miraculous gifts of Knowledge will one day in the future cease to exist, 1 Corinthians 13:8.
Wallace, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The miraculous endowments designated SPIRITUAL gifts have FAILED, have CEASED, have VANISHED AWAY and are therefore no longer in force. All such powers were temporary and provisional and cannot now be exercised.’
If the supernatural gifts of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge will cease, what about the other miraculous gifts? The three ‘gifts’ mentioned are but representative of the more complete list in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10. None of these supernatural gifts will remain after ‘that which is perfect’ arrives.
It is no coincidence that Paul used the three gifts of knowledge, prophecy, and tongues due to their direct relationship with the Gospel message and the coming to an end of gifts. Remember, we’re dealing with the will of God being miraculously revealed here.
The word ‘for’, 1 Corinthians 13:9, naturally brings this thought along as a representation of the present time as opposed to what shall take place in the future. Paul says, ‘For we know in part, and we prophesy in part,’ 1 Corinthians 13:9.
He’s talking about those miraculous gifts. Do not lose sight of the fact that Paul is explaining to the Corinthians the fact that gifts will one day, in the future, come to an end.
The word ‘know’, 1 Corinthians 13:9, in Greek is ‘ginosko’, and it means knowledge of a special kind and relatively high character. The word is used of the word of God in 1 Timothy 6:20.
The obvious conclusion is that some were given the gift of knowledge, whereas others had to gain knowledge of truth through actual study. If I only possess a part of something, I don’t possess the whole thing. He’s saying that the church only possessed bits and pieces of God’s will.
You get a little bit of God’s will when someone prophesies, you get another little bit of God’s will when someone speaks in tongues, and you get another little bit of God’s will when someone has supernatural knowledge revealed to them by God.
Paul continues to add to divine revelation. As a new revelation was being proclaimed ‘ek meros’, that is ‘in part’, it was being confirmed by the signs that followed, Mark 16:20 / John 20:30-31 / Hebrews 2:3-4.
Men and women were being edified, 1 Corinthians 14:12, and God was revealed as the one true deity, Isaiah 46:9-10, all of which promoted unity in the body of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.
We naturally conclude that there is a direct correlation between spiritual gifts and the process of divine revelation. The gifts confirmed the reality and validity of any new revelation.
The natural conclusion would thereby be that when all revelation was completed, gifts would come to an end; they would no longer be needed. When Revelation was made complete, there would be no more need for gifts.
And so, the natural question would be, when will prophecies, tongues, and knowledge, i.e., when will all the miraculous gifts be abolished or cease to exist? Paul tells us, doesn’t he, ‘when completeness comes’, 1 Corinthians 13:10, or ‘perfect’ as most translations have it.
In other words, the ‘in part’, in Greek, that the word ‘ek meros’, 1 Corinthians 13:9, would end when the ‘perfect’ came. Paul proclaims to the Corinthian brethren the relationship between inspired knowledge and prophecy to the ‘once for all’ delivered Gospel, Jude 3.
Piece by piece and bit by bit, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was being revealed by the aid of spiritual gifts. An example of this would be the full disclosure of the Gentiles’ part in the kingdom of God, Acts 10:13-16 / Acts 10:34-35. The information in 1 Corinthians 14-16 illustrates this point.
And so, the next natural question would be, what is the perfect? 1 Corinthians 13:10. Does it mean perfect love? Does it refer to Jesus’s final coming? Does it refer to heaven?
Before we get into the three main views concerning what the word ‘perfect’ means, let me share with you a recent view I heard. Some people believe the word ‘perfect’ refers to love. This particular view holds that it does not refer so much to ‘perfection’ but to the ‘totality’ or ‘maturity’ of the Corinthian Christians in terms of agape love.
The context of 1 Corinthians 13 is the supremacy of love, suggesting that the ‘perfect’ refers to a state of maturity where the church operates in complete love, rendering childish spiritual gifts unnecessary.
We must bear in mind that, in context, Paul was not contrasting qualities. He is contrasting quantities, i.e., those things that were incomplete and partial, that is, the miraculous gifts, with that which would be total and complete.
How would love make miraculous gifts unnecessary? Since the text indicates that it was miraculous gifts that would be done away with when the ‘perfect’ came, if the ‘perfect’ is love, this would mean they didn’t have full love, and the miraculous gifts would still be in effect today.
The problem with this interpretation is that it implies that the early church didn’t have the capability to fully love God, each other or their enemies. The New Testament clearly teaches us to love completely not only God, but also each other and our enemies.
If the early church wasn’t capable of loving fully, this would make no sense of everything Paul spoke about earlier concerning love, 1 Corinthians 13:1-8. It would also imply that Jesus’s command to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbour as ourselves, Mark 12:30-31, couldn’t be fulfilled until we have complete love.
It would also imply the early church couldn’t obey the command of Jesus, when he said if we love him, obey his commands, John 14:15. It also implies that the early church couldn’t obey the commands of Jesus to love one another, John 13:34-35.
Let’s go ahead and look at the three main views concerning the word ‘perfect’.
Some people believe that the word ‘perfect ‘ refers to Jesus. It is quite clear that this phrase is referring to an inanimate object, not a person. The phrase ‘that which is perfect is come’ of 1 Corinthians 13:10 does not refer to Jesus Christ or His return.
The KJV says, ‘when that which is perfect is come’. Jesus is never referred to as a ‘that’ or ‘thing’ in the Bible. The word ‘perfect’, in this form, ‘teleion’, is Neuter in gender, and would never be used to describe a mature person.
The fact that it is ‘that which is perfect’ and not ‘he who is perfect’ indicates that we are referring to a thing and not a person. If the Holy Spirit had intended us to understand this as a reference to Christ, it would have been easy for Him to have said, ‘when He who is perfect’, or even, ‘when Christ comes again’.
Some people believe that the word ‘perfect. refers to heaven. The word ‘perfect’ isn’t once used in the Bible, in reference to Heaven’s state of perfection. This word, ‘perfect’, common though it is in the New Testament, is not once used with reference to Heaven’s state of perfection.
1 Corinthians 13:10 says nothing about us going anywhere, but it does teach that something is coming to us. Something coming to us and us going somewhere are two completely different situations.
Some people believe the word ‘perfect’ refers to the completed Canon of Scriptures. Remember, 1 Corinthians 13:10 says nothing about us going anywhere, but it does teach that something is coming to us. The question is, what is coming to us?
The word ‘perfect’, in Greek, is the word ‘teleios’, and it means something which is complete. It has to do with ‘reaching maturity’, or ‘the attaining of a purpose or goal,’ Matthew 5:48 / Matthew 19:21 / 1 Corinthians 2:6 / 1 Corinthians 14:20 / Hebrews 5:14.
Paul wrote that there would come a day when the gift of prophecy would fail, the gift of tongues would cease, and the gift of knowledge would vanish away, 1 Corinthians 13:8.
Such gifts were to reveal and confirm the Word, Mark 16:19-20 / Hebrews 2:3-4, Once the Word was completely revealed and confirmed, the need for such gifts ceased, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 / 2 Peter 1:3 / Jude 3.
The church would move away from doctrinal immaturity and into doctrinal maturity. In other words, the completed revelation from God would be given, and this would bring about mature saints, people who fully grasped what God wanted them to know, Ephesians 4:11-14.
Therefore, the contrast is between something incomplete, in part, and therefore transient, 1 Corinthians 13:9, and something complete and abiding. Paul is making a contrast between something that is incomplete and something that is complete.
So, what is the perfect? Let’s allow the Bible to interpret itself. James speaks about the ‘perfect law of freedom’, James 1:23-25, which most commentators agree is the Word of God.
And so, the perfect is the completely revealed New Testament Scriptures. In other words, the complete Bible, which helps us to become Christ-like and mature, 1 Peter 2:2 / 2 Peter 3:18.
Houghton, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Because believers today possess complete revelation, they are able to understand what God’s Word teaches about themselves, their potential, their limitations, and the means that God has made available for them to obtain victory over sin in a clear and detailed manner that was not possible before the completion of the canon. The Scriptures equip a believer for every good work by being profitable for teaching, reproving, correcting, and training, 2 Timothy 3:16–17.’
When the church only possessed bits and pieces of God’s will as revealed through scattered miraculous gifts, the church couldn’t mature. It was still in its infancy; it was still a spiritual baby.
Paul had already told them that back in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2, and he will tell them again in 1 Corinthians 14:20. And so, because they weren’t mature or couldn’t mature as Christians, Paul says you guys are still like children.
That’s why he says, ‘When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child,’ 1 Corinthians 13:11. When God’s will for the New Testament era had been revealed, the church then had the means available to be a man and grow up.
That’s why Paul goes on to say, ‘When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me,’ 1 Corinthians 13:11. Children need help in the early days of life so that they may grow up to be men and women. Children do not know many things and must be taught.
Likewise, the infant church needed divine guidance and help as it grew spiritually. Miracles gave the infant church the spiritual sustenance that confirmed truths and established faith in their minds.
Adulthood is compared to a time in the future when man would not need a guiding hand to teach them the difference between right and wrong, and so forth. As adults, the people of God would have the completed revelation at their disposal.
All that God intended for man to know was given, and they would be able to spiritually sustain themselves without the aid of gifts. Adults’ faith and conviction are formed through the completed revelation of God. Such individuals do not need a miracle to convince them of the truths that have already been delivered. Do you see how he contrasts being a ‘child’ with being a fully mature ‘man’?
When I go for a shower, the bathroom usually gets all steamed up, and sometimes, I go to have a shave, but I can’t see all of my face; I can only see parts of my face, and it’s really difficult to go ahead and have a shave. But for me to see my face clearly, I need to clear away the steam off the mirror, so that I can see my face clearly.
And that’s what Paul uses as an illustration in 1 Corinthians 13:12. Remember, they didn’t have mirrors like we have today; they would use highly polished brass to see their reflection. But even at that, they couldn’t see themselves clearly like we can today, using the mirrors we have.
The word ‘now’ means present-day, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, meaning gifts and revelation, in part, 1 Corinthians 13:12. The word ‘then’ means a time in the future when all revelation had been revealed, meaning revelation, perfect or complete, 1 Corinthians 13:12.
The point is this: the existence of the miraculous gifts to acquire God’s Word is compared to looking through a clouded mirror. Once the complete New Testament was available in written form, the miraculous gifts were no longer necessary.
Paul says, it’s like standing face to face with someone, rather than looking through a clouded mirror. Paul uses the same language as James did, James 1:23-25. Note that 1 Corinthians 13:12 does not say, we will see ‘God’ face to face.
Paul says God’s will isn’t clear right ‘now’, but ‘then’ we will be able to see clearly ‘then’ everyone will be able to know the full will of God, 1 Corinthians 13:12. Paul says the same thing over in Ephesians 4:8.
Paul speaks about the gifts that were given in Ephesians 4:11-15. The gifts were given ‘until’ we all reached unity in ‘THE faith’ and have ‘the knowledge’. Remember the word ‘faith’ in Ephesians 4:13, doesn’t mean belief, it means the entire teaching and words we find within the Scriptures. The apostle Paul kept ‘the faith’, 2 Timothy 4:7.
Notice also in Ephesians 4:11-15, how he contrasts and uses the same words as he uses in 1 Corinthians 13:11, he uses words like ‘mature’, ‘infants’ and ‘grow up’.
In other words, Paul knew that when we finally get the Bible, God’s completed revelation to man, we won’t fall for every kind of doctrinal teaching that comes along. Why?
Because we can check it out for ourselves, we can measure what’s been taught with the Bible itself. Paul’s speaking about the complete revelation of God, which we call the Bible, so now we can all grow and mature as we read and study the Bible.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The comparison which Paul at once made contrasted the childhood age of the church with the church’s maturity, not the present dispensation with the ultimate condition of the saints in heaven; and this demands that the expression ‘that which is perfect’ must be associated, not with conditions in heaven, but with the maturity of the church; and that condition is met only by referring the words to God’s completed revelation, the Bible.’
Now, did that time come when God’s word was complete? According to Jude, it did. ‘The faith’, the complete Bible, was entrusted or delivered once for all, Jude 3.
‘Once for all’ means it’s done, there will be no more revelations from God. Someone once explained these miraculous gifts to me like this, and I hope this helps your understanding of the subject.
The next time you are walking somewhere, and you see a new superstructure being built, and you see that new building starting off with its foundation, and as it starts to grow, the builders usually erect temporary scaffolding around it, to keep it steady and so that they can do more work on it.
These miraculous gifts in the first-century church were like scaffolding, which was temporally erected while the superstructure was being built. But what do you do with the scaffolding when the building work is finished? You remove it and take it away because its job is done, it’s served its purpose. Once the structure is complete, the scaffolding is removed and discarded.
Lipscomb, in his commentary, says the following.
‘These gifts were to continue in the church to guide and instruct it until the completed will of God was made known. They were to serve a temporary purpose; then, when their office was fulfilled, they were to pass away and give place to the revealed will of God.’
The miraculous gifts were only temporary; they were to help build up the church until the Bible was readily available. The miraculous gifts have ceased, all of them; we don’t need them anymore because we have everything we need to know about God in His word.
The question Christians need to ask themselves is simply this: Is the Bible enough? And if you answer yes, but you still believe we need miraculous gifts of some kind, then you’ve just contradicted yourself with the Scriptures.
The Bible either thoroughly equips us, or it doesn’t! 2 Timothy 3:16-17. The Bible either gives us everything we need to live our lives right for God and gives us all the knowledge of God we will ever need, or it doesn’t! 2 Peter 1:3.
The question the Christian world needs to ask itself is this: how long will they continue to be deceived or deceive themselves? Now I know the word deceive sounds a bit harsh, but it’s not my word; it’s the word Paul uses, 2 Timothy 3:12-13. The gifts have ceased.
The word ‘remain’ helps us identify the ‘but now’ statement, but the very fact that Paul uses the word ‘remain’ here implies that the miraculous gifts were never to stay. And though spiritual gifts will pass away, ‘faith, hope and love’ will remain.
Faith is produced by the word of God, as Romans 10:17 tells us. As divine revelation is revealed through His word, faith continues to be produced. And a consequence of this faith is ‘hope.’ Christians are confident, through divine revelation, that a heavenly home awaits the faithful, as 1 John 2:25 and 1 John 4:13 tell us.
But why is love greater than faith and hope? The word ‘greatest’ indicates the level of importance in relation to faith and hope. The reason that love is greater than faith and hope is that love is an act of the reality of our faith and hope. Love acts for the benefit of others, love looks at both the physical and spiritual needs of others and acts upon those needs.
A street preacher once asked me if I spoke in tongues. I replied, It depends on which language you’re speaking about, he said, It’s an unknown language. I said if that is the criterion, then no, I don’t speak an unknown language.
He went on to tell me that I wasn’t a Christian, and the proof that a person is a Christian is the ability to speak in tongues, which is a complete contradiction of what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:29-30.
Jesus didn’t say, ‘they will know you are His disciples because you speak in tongues or have some other miraculous gift’. He said everyone will know we are Christians by our love, not only for Him and each other, but also for those who aren’t believers, John 13:34-35.
Coffman, in his commentary, asks, Why is love the greatest thing? and answers as follows.
‘Love is the fulfilment of the law, which was never true of faith, Romans 13:10. Love outranks faith in the power to motivate people. Love includes obedience, John 14:15, which is not true of faith or hope. Love is to be the motivating factor in every Christian’s life.’
Gifts without love were truly worthless. When an action has a specified purpose, and that purpose is not met, what good is the action? Even so, gifts exercised without the salvation, ‘profit’ of the souls of other people as its motivation were truly useless.
There would come a day, Paul explains, when gifts would be done away with; however, love will always remain. Gifts were never intended to continue throughout time. Love, however, lasts forever.
The Corinthians needed to learn their true purpose as God’s people and put away their childish attitudes toward the gifts. When the completed revelation of God had come, gifts would forever be gone, 1 Corinthians 13:9-10. Where would this leave the Corinthians? A proper view of the gifts would leave them in a state of continuation.
Gifts would end, and Christians would continue to teach out of the same motivation and love for the souls of men, to profit all. If, however, an individual only performs gifts for selfish purposes, when the gift is gone, where would that leave this person? Truly, love is to be the motivating factor in every Christian’s life.
All Christians today ought to take note that the revelation of God is now complete, Hebrews 1:1-2 / 2 Timothy 3:16-17 / Jude 3 / Revelation 22:18-19. There are absolutely no reasons for the Holy Spirit to distribute gifts of prophecy, knowledge, tongues and so forth.
Those who claim to have gifts today have been deceived and deceiving themselves, 2 Timothy 3:13, and the truth is not in them, 1 John 2:4. While there is no doubt God continues to work in men’s lives through providence, there is equally no doubt that no man is being moved by the Holy Spirit to perform miracles.