Book of 1 Corinthians - Ch. 13, Vs. 1-13 (02/11/2001)

Love as the Greatest Gift in 1 Corinthians 13

Which special gift is the most valuable. One birds the only one going to answer. All right.

Which special gift is the most valuable one? Well, it's love. We're going to study today.

About love. 13th chapter of 1st Corinthians. Though I speak with tongues of men and of angels and Have not charity I'm become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. So that those gifts without charity have no right use.

Without love the gift is of no use a very earnest amplifying of the matter. As he said if there were any tongues of angels and if I had them and Did not use them to the benefit of my neighbor It would be nothing except a vain pratting type of babble.

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 and have not loved I am nothing by faith. He means the gift of doing miracles.

And not faith which justifies which cannot be void of charity as the others may. John. Do you think it's possible to be saved and not have love? Bill do you. And though I bestow all of my goods to feed the poor and Though I give my body to be burned and have not charity it profits mean nothing.

Now Joy what about this body to be burned? Where's can you direct your?

Your answer toward my body to be burned.

Diane you have anything to add to that verge. What does it mean.

The body. That's true, but he's talking of a specific thing here. We're not. That's all true. What you have all said is true. But he's talking specifically about if you become a slave slave and you're burned with the iron of Recognition branded Well knowing the history of the world at that time if I should in order to redeem another willingly give up myself to slavery and Receive the mark of my owner.

By having the flesh stamped with a hard iron and have not loved as before specified it proves nothing. Charity suffereth long and is kind. Charity envious not. Vaughn if not itself is not puffed up. Charity has a long mind to the end which neither trials nor adversaries persecutions nor Provocations can reach.

It suffers all of the weakness ignorance errors and firmities of the children of God And all the malice and wickedness of the children of this world. And all of this not merely for a time But long without end.

I'm afraid mine ends does not have behaved itself unseemly. Seeketh not her own is not easily provoked thinketh. No evil. Never acts out of its place or character. Love never acts out of its place or its character.

Observe do decorum and good manners. Is never rude bearish or brutish That's not love and Is ever willing to become all things to all men that it may please them for their own good and edification. Six rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.

Rejoices in the truth that is in men's loving truth doing justly Living righteously according to the rule of truth the gospel Beareth all things. Believeth all things. Hopeth all things. Endureth all things.

What does it mean? Beareth all things. John. All right, what does it mean believeth all bill? Hopeth all things joy. Greg endureth all things all things. But the true import must be found either in cover or contents.

Love conceals everything that should be concealed. Betrays no secret retains the grace given and goes on to continual increase. How do you increase love? Can you increase love great? All right, so you increase it by exercising it.

All right. Charity never faileth. But whether there be prophecies they shall fail.

What happened when they failed the old-time prophet. Clarence, all right, what. What would happen to the prophet? Yes.

Yes. Do you think you can prophesy today?

When that prophecy has been completed and it has come to an end. That in a sense the prophecy has come to an end. When the event that prophesied happened it would go on to prophesy. And it has a period of time that it lasts.

All right. And love and charity has no end time to it.

The End of Prophecy, Tongues, and Knowledge

All right. All right, that's good. It's talking about foretelling the future. Prophecies shall fail and we know they have. That's what it means other than the preacher today is a prophet. And that he can tell the future which is written down and any of us can read.

Yes. Yes. Whether.

Where it says charity never faileth But whether there be no Be prophecies they shall fail Whether there be tongues they shall cease Whether there be knowledge it shall vanish away. Yes.

All of it is comparing itself to charity. But I was wanting to know more about the tongues And prophecies. We can see where they've quit. There be knowledge. It shall vanish away. Whether the word implies predicting future events or teaching the truths of religion.

To men all such shall soon be rendered useless. There is coming a day when everything here will be gone. The miraculous gifts of different languages. That soon shall cease as being unnecessary. Knowledge shall vanish away.

All human arts and sciences being utterly useless in the eternal world. Though highly extolled and useful here. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. When you have a. When you've learned all you can from your ministers.

Suppose we all knew everything that David knows. Remember you have much to learn from God. And for this you should diligently wait on him by the reading of his word and by incessant prayer. When we have.

When we get to the point that we know everything that is capable of knowing. We still can learn of God, can we not? And he will reveal it to you as it becomes necessary. But when that which is perfect is come.

Then that which is in part shall be done away with. Now before I go into the discussion of this verse, let me get some thoughts from you Greg. When that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.

What is it?

Alright, that's a good point Fred? I said what he did. Verge? I was about to say what he did too. Copycats. Christ will be, though. Brother, I wasn't saying that. When Christ is come, he's the perfect.

And there's going to be no need for anything else, is it not? Well, that's true. There will be the perfect. I don't know whether we were talking about that or not. When Christ is come, there's going to be no need for anything else.

Alright, Clarence? But when we say the perfect has come Does that not mean that we cry into heaven with our Savior? Because earlier we studied that prophecies will return. And if there's going to be prophecies in the future, before the end of time.

Does that mean a written word or does that mean actually. After the tribulation, after Christ's second return. And we go to heaven and live with him. In heaven when all knowledge is there. And we're more in the perfect state.

And we're there and we believe in God at that time. None of this is needed. We still need the scripture. We will have some prophets at the end of time. So how do we arrive at that stage?

Alright, Bill, let me hear your words. Well, I used to believe it meant the Bible only. But I've changed my mind. True, he now begins to know. We have just begun to know. He knows in part. But verily what he here knows Is little of what he should know.

Little of that he might know Little that others know Little that he desires to know. And little that he should know, shall know When he comes to heaven. Then all imperfections shall be done away When that which is perfect is come.

Yes. Let's take that verse The conception and speech of the Lisping infant from those of an Educated and full-grown man. So do our highest attainments in this life differ From what they will be in the life to come.

We haven't experienced any of that. Those of us that are yet alive We think we know it all. But we know it all up to here. For now we see through a glass darkly But then face to face. Now I know in part But then shall I know.

Even also as I am known. Our knowledge of God and divine truth Is indirect and obscure. The original leads you to think We see through a mirror darkly. We see in the mirror The reflected vision Of what is to come.

Like that of a man who looks Not directly on the object itself But only on dim images of it Such as were reflected From the imperfect mirrors. Even as also I am known More literally. Even as also I have been known That is known by God In the present state.

For our knowledge of him Though real and saving Is yet so faint and imperfect That it may be better said That we are known of God Than that we know him. We don't know him completely. The apostle plainly has in mind Not the extent of our knowledge In the heavenly state But rather its manner As direct and clear.

So we see through a glass. Or we see reflected in that glass The future. And I think we'd all have to agree with that. But we see it distorted. As though even though we think We see it real We do not see it real.

Trying to think of an illustration. Well your face. You've never seen your face. You've only seen reflections of it. And you think it's pretty good.

But that's just a reflection. That's right. That's right.

And no man here has ever seen the real thing. I must correct David on one thing. He said all of the apostles were killed. They were not. John died a normal death But he is the only one. And now abideth faith Hope Charity These three.

Faith, Hope, and Charity in the Life to Come

But the greatest of these Is charity. The conclusion. As if the apostle had said. Such therefore will be our condition then. But now we have three things. And they remain sure If we are Christ Without which true religion cannot exist.

That is Faith Hope And charity. And among these Charity is the cheapest Because it ceases not in the life to come As the rest do But is perfected Perfected and accomplished. For seeing that faith And hope Tend to things which are promised And are yet to come When we have presently gotten them.

To what purpose would we have faith and hope. But yet there is length. We have Truly and perfectly Love Perfected love Both God And one another. Now love will go on. Love is the only thing Our hope will be satisfied.

Faith we won't need. So in the future In the other life We will need love. And it is love that gets us there. The love. I'm not talking about love Man has for woman. Or your husband and your wife. I'm talking about the perfect love That which comes down from God.

Only. Alright, anything anybody would like to discuss now? The most important gift is what? Love.

Yes. There's got to be love on the giver.

I cannot answer for the other side. I can give everything in love Honestly and truly. But I cannot answer how John will receive it. But I am supposed to tailor my answer To where he will receive it correctly Or as near correct as possible.

Yet I must give of love If he has love for you As being a child of Christ. Alright, is he a Christian?

No, I'm saying if he has love for the church.

Yes, yes, yes.

I think that's what, believe it or not. Whether what you analyzed and what you saw Really was in love. Or it was being puffed up. Or an envy or pride. Or bring yourself out. Alright, did this answer?

Diane, did that answer your question?

That in time People will see where the love lies. If the ultimate goal Is to please ourselves Or a position Or a title Or a law Instead of the law of love Which is far greater Then I believe that In time, that the real love of Christ.

Will prevail. That's right, if that person is a Christian.

Right, if they don't. Just like he said, if you hate your brother The love of God will not be enough. So when we lived in Detroit And we were forming a hatred toward blacks We had to earnestly pray that God would give us a love For a black man In spite of the things they were doing So that the love of God was still enough.

I think that that's something that only God can do.

That's right, even though some people Are very unlovable.

Fred? I'm trying to connect charity With this love. Well it's the same word. But love comes from the heart. Yes. And it's embedded forever And it creates actions Because of where it is and what it does.

That's right. Charity is normally something you do For someone Out of the feeling that you get from your heart. So that in the long run The charity will be something that's beneficial to you Because it brings home that love.

All right.

Well, in the scripture The word charity and love are the same. And in our youth today We use love versus charity. Which is as you described.

Yes. And we're certain in the church That they do all these things right When they walk into First Love. And it goes back to that First Love is me loving the Lord my God With all my heart, with all my mind With all my strength And in the process of that Desire to love Him In that area It is only It is only an outpour Of what He will do With the situation next month.

That's right. So it's not the person that you're reflecting on. It's the love With all your mind And all that stuff Is to let you know how you should do that.

That's just love the Lord my God. With all my heart, with all my soul With all my mind. Yes, that's true. Now let's understand that love Is not always doing what the other person wants. It may be putting them in jail I don't know.

But seeking the very best for others. So that is Christian love. It may mean that I will have to be very stern with Virg. But that's Christian love If it's done from love.

It will succeed. It's got to. We strayed off the line a little bit. But now I'm intrigued or curious I guess In Revelation it talks about the church. And the first love Am I to understand that it's a A first in terms of an order of importance kind of love Rather than a kind of love that you had in the beginning.

Because I don't saw it as being the love That you had at the beginning of your salvation period. But I can see that it could very well be A higher real love, a love that you should have for God. That they had lost their love for God And as a result they lost all of it.

The Church of Ephesus and First Love

Well, first of all we have to define what is meant by Your first love. That's got to be the love of Christ. And it's ultimate actions and everything. All of the others come after. Yes. That's right. Who started to say?

That's right. The love you had. The church of Ephesus. The first love that you have has to be that of God. Of Jesus Christ. That's got to be first. Then all of the other will fall into place. You cannot start just with your love.

That you have because He saved me. Or that I have for Fred. It has to be higher than that. Well let's stand. And Greg will you dismiss us please.

I was just going to say. It's clear that our love means God's love.

I think. As best that we can.

That first love means we actually receive His love. That's right. That's right. That's all for today. Thanks for listening.