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I Corinthians 13:8-13
Excerpted from: Love's Importance and Source

What we are seeing stated here is love's supreme importance to life. In no way is Paul belittling the things that are contrasted here with love. I am talking about prophecy, about tongues, about knowledge. Despite all of their usefulness and despite all of their great qualities, neither prophecy, knowledge, nor tongues can even begin to compare in importance with love.

Prophecy, tongues, and knowledge—all of them—are, in the context of I Corinthians, gifts of God. You can see this stated in I Corinthians 12, which leads into I Corinthians 13. The Corinthians took great pleasure in their gifts, even as we might. But their relative importance, when compared to love, is shown in that they will all end. That is, that there are times when these things are of no use. But, you see, love will never end. There will never be a time when love cannot be used. It will always be of use.

Prophecy ends, because it is fulfilled. Tongues are not needed—even as today, they are not needed as they were in that ancient world. The reason is because the English language is virtually the universal tongue of business. In order for people to do business with the most powerful consumer nation in the world, they have to learn English. So, these other nations, then, instruct—teach—their people how to speak English, so that their country will be benefited. And so, through the English language, then, the gospel can go out to other nations. So being able to speak in another tongue is not necessary—not as necessary as it was back in those days, when that was not the case. And so, being able to have the ability to speak in another language is not useful anymore in the same way that it was at that time.

Knowledge becomes obsolete because new developments arise. The world does change. There is some knowledge that never changes, but other knowledge that a person might have becomes unusable anymore. It used to be common knowledge where people, let us say, in frontier times, in colonial times—virtually everybody knew how to make soap or candles. The quality of life depended upon one being able to make those things, because you could not just walk down to the store (as we can today) and buy a bar of Camay. And so, the knowledge of something like that has slipped away, and we no longer have that as common knowledge. And thus it is in other areas as well. The use of knowledge becomes obsolete as new developments arise.

Paul also admonishes through his reference to children and putting away of childish things, as well as the reference to a mirror in verse 12, that love is something that one grows into. It is something that must be perfected. It is part of a maturing process. What we have now is partial. It is, therefore, not something that one receives in one huge portion from God to be used until one runs out of that supply. So, in one sense then, we always have to look upon ourselves as being somewhat immature. There is more to life, more to love, than we have ever tapped or ever used. But there is coming a time when love will be perfected, and we will have it in abundance—like God. In the meantime, while we are in the flesh, we are (according to I Corinthians 14:1) instructed to pursue love.

I Corinthians 13:12
Excerpted from: Speaking the Truth in Love

Can we see the transformation process of our image becoming and growing more like our great God? As we spiritually mature with humility, we can see God's image and His light in our heart more clearly. Fellow Family members, just as the Word of God reveals His marvelous light that reflects His holy image, so too our words reflect our heart's image out to each other and out and back to God.

I Corinthians 13:12
Excerpted from: The Eyes of the Blind Shall Be Opened

There is so much we do not know and cannot know until we are fully spirit beings. Ancient mirrors were crafted from polished metals like bronze, so the reflections were even more dim than what we see in our modern mirrors. This is the condition of the newly-called and those who can only handle the milk of the Word.

Articles

Are You Living the Abundant Life?  
Clouds (Part Three): The Revealing of Christ  
Ecclesiastes and Christian Living (Part Eleven): Paradox, Continued  
Ecclesiastes and Christian Living (Part Three): Time  
God's Sovereignty and the Church's Condition (Part One)  
No Private Interpretation  
Our Uniqueness and Time  (2)
Spiritual Blindness (Part Two): The God of This Age  
The Beatitudes, Part 6: The Pure in Heart  
To Watch and Keep  

Bible Studies

Holy Days: Trumpets  
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: A Second Large Catch of Fish (Part Two)  

Essays

Overcoming Doubt  
The Unique Greatness of Our God (Part Two)  

Sermons

Spiritual Fine Tuning  
Themes of I Corinthians (Part 3)  
Five Major Problems in the Wilderness  
Living Abundantly In Tough Times  
Lacking Nothing (Part 3)  
Re-Embracing the Berean Model  
Re-Embracing the Berean Model  
Reluctant Leaders  
Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part One)  
Are You Living an Abundant Life?  
The Epistles of II and III John (Part Two)  
Hebrews (Part Fifteen): Chapter 2, A Mind Bending Purpose (Part Four)  
Tests of True Knowledge  
Hope to the End (Part Three)  
Pentecost - The Beginning - All in All  
The Ultimate Gift  
Using God's Given Authority  
Discerning Spirits and Discerning the Body  
It is Done! The Perfect Peace of God  
Differences of Opinion  
Hebrews (Part Fifteen): Chapter 2, A Mind Bending Purpose (Part Four)  
Motivation to Endure  
Strategies for Interfacing with Babylon without Becoming Assimilated (Part Seven)  
Strategies for Interfacing with Babylon Without Becoming Assimilated (Part Three)  
We Are Saved in This Hope  
God Expects a Return on His Investment (Part Six)  
Seeks Not Its Own  
Pentecost and the Mystery of the Church  
Go Forward  
Job and Self Evaluation (Part Three)  
The Resurrection From the Dead  
How Big Is God?  
Facing Times Of Stress: Lack of Clarity  
A Survey of God's Gifts to Us  
Is God's Way Simple?  
The Spirit of Antichrist  
Prophecy Fails  
Trial by Fire  
Uniqueness and Time  
Childrearing (Part Six)  
No Real Love Without God  
Do You Really Want Just Any Eternal Life?  
Focus  

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