Lessons From 1 Corinthians – Lesson 15
There are 2 categories of Spiritual gifts, one was for confirming the Word until the Word was all given. When the Bible was completed there was no more need for the confirming the Word gifts.
The 2nd category is still in effect and there purpose is to help and be a blessing to others.
Some get confused by this, Paul mentioned all the gifts in both categories in chapter 12. But that should not be confusing because when Paul wrote chapter 12 all the gifts were still in operation.
After Paul went over some of their issues with Spiritual gifts he says this.
1 Cor 12:31 …. and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
This is a principal you will see over and over in the Word of God. Do not stop with telling what they have wrong, continue to tell and teach how to do it right.
Teach what to put off, but then teach what to put on. Do not stop with what displeases God, but continue with what does please God.
This principal is missed by many. I cannot begin to tell you how many sermons I have heard where they just hammer home on the what you are doing wrong and never move on to the what pleases God part.
And in chapter 13 Paul is moving on from what they had wrong with spiritual gifts to a more excellent way.
And that more excellent way is love that does. The bible calls it charity. A way to highlight and make a distinction between sentimental feeling love that does not act and a real practical working biblical love that does and moves and works. Love that makes a difference is charity.
1 Cor 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
Paul is saying if I do the gift and do not have the loves that does, that works, then, and he gives an object lesson of being as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.
Neither of those give clear musical tones. They are off the mark, they don’t sound right. And here is a big point, no one wants to listen to that.
You have someone making music with a tinkling cymbal and people stop their ears and walk away.
The same thing happens when you are using a spiritual gift, but your motivation is all wrong. The focus is on you or your duty and if it is devoid of love, then people walk away.
Your gift then does nothing in the work of God, it does not impact people today and it will not make a difference in eternity.
The only way, the more excellent way is to have your motivation as love. Doing it for the sake of others and for their benefit.
1 Cor 13:2 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 charity, I am nothing.
The same thing goes for the spiritual gifts that remain today. And this is quite a list in verse 2.
The gift of preaching and the gift of knowledge. And even understanding all mysteries. Even if you have all of that and if you do not have charity, then you are nothing.
Think about that. Nothing. It is not that you have an 75% reduction. No, you go all the way to zero. Daryl would be a good example of this. He said he saw a light and all the sudden he understood it all. Of course he did not, he did not get any of it.
But even if it would really happen and even was true, God says here he is still nothing. Why because a man can know a lot. Even if he could know everything, even if that were possible, without charity, a working love that does, without that then God declares you nothing.
Zero, zip, zilch.
Without faith it is impossible to please God. And Paul says here that even if you have all faith. I mean so much that you could remove mountains. Even with that level of faith, if it is without charity, then you are nothing.
1 Cor 13:2 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 charity, I am nothing.
I have said it a lot, and I will keep saying it because it is the absolute truth. It is a heart matter. God is after your heart. The attitude and the motivation behind what you do is more important than what you do.
So far Paul has covered spiritual gifts in connection with the motivation behind it.
Then Paul has covered preaching, and knowledge, and faith in connection with the motivation behind it. And all of those without charity count for nothing.
Next Paul is going to cover doing works.
This principal goes for everything. To count with God everything you do needs to be done with charity. Your motivation, your heart needs to be in the right place.
1 Cor 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Good works done out of any other reason are nothing.
And are you noticing the extreme way Paul is stating this. Even if I have all knowledge. Even if I have all faith. Even if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor.
The point being made is that there is no way to get around it. You cannot out work or out give or out do this principal. You cannot overcome it with any amount of anything.
Men can and have and do preach for a lifetime and it can all be counted as nothing if they don’t have charity.
People can and do good works out of duty or a sense of morality, or because of what they get out of it, like pride. They can give more than I will make in my entire lifetime, and it will still all be nothing if they don’t have charity.
Are you getting the point? Paul is making the point that the motivation behind all of this is critical to God.
Now so that there are no misunderstandings about what he means by charity, Paul is going to be real clear and lay it all out.
There are different feelings and attitudes that people call love. In fact, many different ones. Sentimental love, good feeling love, love because of what they get out of it, a love out of duty, or just because I am supposed to…. The list can go on and on.
Some loves are only about thimble deep. Very shallow.
Paul is now going to give us the attributes of the kind of love that counts. It is having this love working in your life that Paul is calling a more excellent way and only this type of love and not the shallow kind.
1 Cor 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
1 suffers long. The kind of love Paul is talking about puts up with some stuff. It does not quickly run out of patience.
2 is kind. I know there are times for what is called tough love, but that is the exception not the rule and is reserved for certain circumstances. This kind of love is kind as its very nature. Kindness is the norm.
And the focus is not itself
3 charity envieth not. It is not envy someone else. It does not look with envy at what someone else has or how someone else is treated.
4 charity does not lift itself up. Look at what I did. Look at how great I am. None of that
5 is not puffed up. Pride has no place here.
And the list continues.
1 Cor 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 does not behave itself unseemly.
You are thinking that can include a lot, and you are correct. This kind of love knows how to behave. In the field planting corn or in the market or at the workplace. Even out playing mini golf. In any place and in all situations, this kind of love knows how to behave.
7 seeks not her own
This love does not seek out what it can get. The focus is not self. It is not me, me, me.
8 is not easily provoked
This kind of love gives people some grace. It lets people make mistakes. Has a thick skin. Let’s things roll off the back like water on a duck.
It does not say never is provoked. Just not easily provoked. There are limits. There is something that is called righteous indignation.
Like when Jesus overturned the tables. But it takes something really major and wrong like what was going on in that temple.
I love these next ones.
9 thinketh no evil
I have known Christians who just love to gossip. And they have a tendency to view things the wrong way by default. In a way that will feed the gossip that they love.
Jump to conclusions. And when they see something happen and they don’t have all the information, the tendency is to think wrong of the person.
I think this covers that and that also fits with number 11.
But I think this also means that this kind of love does not think of evil things to do for pleasure. And it does not think of evil things to do to others. Those kinds of thoughts in no way comes from this kind of love.
1 Cor 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
10 This kind of love does not get any kind of kick or pleasure out of hearing about someone who fell into sin. The person with this kind of love does not rejoice in sinning in their own life and does not rejoice in the sinning of others.
Instead this kind of love rejoices in the truth of God’s word and in His principals and it rejoices in doing, in living out that truth.
1 Cor 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
11 Beareth all things. That is carrying the load. It holds up, It helps others bear their load.
12 believeth all things. 1st believes all things in God’s Word. But also tends to believe what others tell them. It gives the benefit of doubt. Trust but verify.
13 hopeth all things. It wants people to do well. It has hope that people can and do change.
Tends to think toward the positive on what is possible.
14 endureth all things. That is putting up with stuff. It does not quit. It endures what is thrown at it. Both in your own life, the hardness and struggles of life does not stop it, and when others throw hate your way that also does not stop it. It endures all things.
You should really start to be getting a picture of the fact that what most people call love is not what Paul is talking about here. What most call love falls way short of this.
This is God empowered love. Love that flows from God thru you. The source of this love is actually God’s love.
And this kind of love never fails. It never falters. The reason is the source does not originate with us.
1 Cor 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
The source of this love is God and so it is eternal. It never stops and it never fails because God is perfect. And it is God’s will that this love flows forever.
However, other things, even though they also came from God, they have a limited time to be active.
Whether there be tongues, they shall cease.
Paul is clearly telling them that the confirming sign gifts are going away. Here he specifically mentions tongues.
1 Cor 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
So Paul is talking about what they know and what they have preached and foretold so far. And they are still doing that when Paul wrote this.
1 Cor 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
You cannot take verse 10 without verse 9. The word But ties them together.
In verse 9 Paul is talking about what they know and what they preach and he is still talking about that in verse 10.
So when it says that which is perfect is come, it is talking about the perfect complete total word of God. The Bible.
Some will try to say that is talking about Jesus and when He comes for His 1,000 year reign then they will be done away. But if that were true then the grammar tense would have to be masculine.
It is not. It is clear to me it can only be talking about when the completed Bible comes.
Next Paul brings up the maturity issue in connection with this.
1 Cor 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
The context here is Confirming sign gifts, specifically tongues. And Paul is saying grow up.
Learn and grow and mature. As a child you behave and think appropriately for a child. But as time passes what was appropriate before becomes not appropriate.
As you gain more knowledge and experience and learn more, then what had its time and place needs to be put away.
That is tongues in a nutshell right there. They had their time and place early on when there was no N.T. or only Matthew, and then as Galatians and Thessalonians and James came out their purpose and place started to diminish.
And by the time the N.T. is finished their time is done.
Paul is telling them to already start putting them away.
And now comes what will endure after the sign gifts are gone.
1 Cor 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
They abide. They last, they are always there, they stand regardless of circumstances.
And the greatest one is charity.
It is the greatest in importance. It needs to be a part of all we do for God’s Work and a part of all we do for others. It needs to be the top motivating factor for everything.
And it is also the greatest in power. It can do more for others and for Christ than anything else.
The description of this love is here as a measuring stick so we can see when we are not loving this way. And we are given this description of this love and told this is the more excellent way because it is possible for us to love this way.
But not in our own strength. We cannot manufacture this great love. We have to be willing to let God’s love work in us and thru us. And when we miss the mark we need to pray and ask God to use us in this way.
And when God empowers us to love this way, then we need to thank Him and praise Him and give Him all the glory for it because it is actually His love.