1Corinthians 13:1-13
The Excellence of Love
1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part;
10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Theme: three reasons why spiritual gifts are inferior to Christian love so you will never lose sight of keeping it in the center of your ministries.
I. The gifts are temporary in their duration vv.8-10
(11) THE MINISTRY AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS
a. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and, that he gifts of evangelists, pastors and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and, that speaking tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established ( 1Cor 12:4-11; 2Cor 12:12; Eph4:7-12).
A. Gifts were intended to be temporary in the life of the church vs.8
B. Gifts were partial in their contribution to the life of the church vs.9
C. Gifts would be done away with at the arrival of the perfectvs.10
II. The gifts belong to a less developed stage of church history vv.11-12
A. The illustration of childhood progressing to adult confirms this vs.11
B. The completion of knowledge confirms this v.12
1. The mirror analogy
2. Full knowledge
III. The gifts do not continue into eternity vs. 13
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
