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. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 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. 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. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.Paul begins with a simple statement that has profound implications: love never fails. We see Paul provide the members of the church at Corinth, and us here today, with a second reason why we are to use God’s gifts by giving God’s love. And that second reason is that we are to use God’s gifts by giving God’s love because God’s love is enduring in nature.
When Paul uses the phrase never fails, this phrase literally means to become invalid or come to an end. Paul here is revealing the reality that what will stand the test of time is not our spiritual gifts but the motivation behind the use of the gifts that we have been given. Paul then points to three specific spiritual gifts that the members of the church were arguing about and dividing over to make his point.
As we saw last week, the spiritual gifts of prophecy, tongues, and word of knowledge were foundational or sign spiritual gifts that were used to deliver and confirm new verbal revelation from God when it came to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. When Paul states that these gifts will be done away with or cease, these phrases literally means to come to an end where they no longer exist in terms of time.
Paul then provides the reason the members of the church at Corinth and us here today as to why these gifts will come to an end and no longer exist. Paul explains that while the members of the church may know and proclaim new revelation about the nature and character of God, this is only a small fragment of what we will come to know about the nature and character of God. But when the perfect comes, Paul explains that our partial knowledge about God’s nature and character will come to an end.
But what is Paul referring to when he says the perfect? While many people have tried to explain that the perfect refers to the compilation and completion of our Bibles that is not what Paul intends here. Because if Paul had in mind the Bible, then Paul would be saying that we would have a total knowledge and understanding of the nature and character of God today, which is not the case. What Paul is revealing to the church throughout history is that our partial knowledge about God’s nature and character will be done away with when Jesus returns to earth to usher in the kingdom of heaven in its fullest sense.
When Jesus returns again, we will see the final chapters of God’s story on earth completed and our minds will be opened to be able to comprehend and understand God’s nature and character. And Jesus return to earth will result in spiritual gifts coming to an end and no longer existing. The members of the church at Corinth, however, were living their lives with the wrong priorities in mind. They were prioritizing the exercise and use of the spiritual gifts that they had been given over loving others through the use of the gifts. And just as in Corinth, when we make specific spiritual gifts and their use as the priority instead of the motivation of love that is to drive us to exercise those gifts, we become Christians who act unchristian.
Paul then transitions to address the problem that was occurring in Corinth when it came to the misuse and abuse of spiritual gifts with two illustrations. First Paul explains that just as a child and an adult speak, think, and reason differently in each stage of life, the members of the church should be acting differently now than they did when they first became followers of Jesus. Instead of competing over the exercise of the spiritual gifts they were given by God like children do with one another over a toy, Paul calls the members of the church to grow up spiritually. Paul directs the members of the church to set aside the spiritually immature behavior that they should have grown beyond by now in their relationship with Christ.
Paul then transitions to the word picture of a man looking in the mirror to describe what will occur when Jesus returns to earth in terms of us being able to wrap our minds around the nature and character of God. The phrase, see in a mirror dimly, literally means to see something that is hard to understand because it is puzzling or is a riddle in nature. Paul’s point here is that while many aspects of the nature and character of God are puzzling and difficult to wrap our minds around in order to understand or comprehend, when we enter into Jesus presence we will see God’s nature and character completely and exactly, just as Jesus has completely and exactly known us from the beginning of our existence.
Paul then concludes this section of his letter with a summary statement designed to reveal the supreme and enduring nature of love: but now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. To understand what Paul is communicating to us in this statement, I would like us to think through two questions.
First, will we need faith in heaven? Will we need to have faith in heaven? No, we won’t. We will not need to exercise a confident trust is something that we cannot see, because we will see Jesus face to face for all eternity.
What about hope. Will we need hope in heaven? Will we need to have hope in heaven? What will we be hoping for in heaven? I’m really hoping for a better job? Nope. A better car? Nope. A better house? Nope. We will not need to have hope in heaven, because every possible hope will be perfectly fulfilled by Jesus in Heaven.
What will we will have and what we will exercise in heaven for all eternity is love for God and love for one another. And it is the enduring nature and character of love that should cause it to be the motivation that drives us to exercise the gifts that God has given us. As Christians, however, we can act unchristian when we prioritize gifts, emotions, or attitudes that fail to stand the test of time over love.
So what is the driving motivation behind what you do in life? What drives and motivates you to exercise the spiritual gifts, the talents, and the abilities that God has given you? Is it pride? Is it the desire for position, possessions, or pleasure?
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