1 Corinthians 13:8-13

1 Corinthians 13:8-13

Love does not cease.  But as for prophecies, they will be ceasing.  But as for tongues, they will stop.  As for knowledge, it will be ceasing.  For out of the part we know and out of the part we prophecy.  But whenever the perfect thing should come, the thing out of the part will be ceasing.  When I was a child, I was speaking as a child, I was thinking as a child, and I was reasoning as a child.  Since I have become a man, I have abolished the things of the child.  For we now see in puzzling images as through a mirror.  And then we see as face to face.  Now I know in part, then I will understand just as I was even being understood.  And now these three things remain: faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought

Paul reminds us that there is a difference between life as a child and life as a mature adult.  As a child, we are tossed about by our whims, our desires, and our inability to see the big picture.  We threw tantrums.  We thought selfishly of our own needs.  We thought even more selfishly of the present without considering the future.  We undervalued the parents that we desperately needed to guide us through life.  But in our maturity, we can think more clearly, plan for the future, and not always be ruled by our passions.  Spiritually speaking, here is what Paul is saying.  Before we knew God – and even in the beginning as we were coming to know God – we were ruled by our own passions.  We needed direct and sometimes firm guidance in the spiritual walk.  But as we draw closer to God we should be less controlled by our passions.  We should be able to rely on our ability to choose God’s ways for ourselves rather than being obedient because someone makes us.  A true sign of spiritual maturity is one who chooses grace and love and acts accordingly because they imitate the love of the Father rather than one who is obedient simply because it is God’s Law.

Are you obedient to God because you have to be or because you truly want to be?  When are you most likely to act as a spiritual child and need to be told what to do spiritually?  When are you most like an adult and can choose grace and love freely?

Second Thought:

I have always loved the traditional “we see through a mirror dimly” line in this chapter.  But the Greek word here is ainigma (αἴνιγμα).  This is the etymological root of our English word enigma.  In Greek, the word literally means “a puzzle, riddle, or thing that is difficult to understand.”  Now I think I love this verse even more!  Paul is saying that in the here and now, when we try and look into the things of God we get confused because it’s like a puzzle out of the box.  We don’t see all the pieces in the proper order.  We struggle to make connections with what God is doing in our life.  Not because we are blind – or because there isn’t enough light – but because we are puzzled by how God works!  God has given us the full light of the world – Jesus Christ.  We don’t need to be blind or worry about seeing dimly.  We need to concern ourselves with working on the puzzle of life that God has placed before us – knowing that when we get to the end and are with God we will no longer see it as a puzzle but see it through the wisdom of His eyes.

Is this a new way of thinking about this passage for you?  Why is it neat to think about this passage and your life with respect to a puzzle rather than an image that hard to see because there isn’t enough light?

Third Thought:

Paul makes a really bold statement at the end of this section.  We often miss it because we focus so intently on the “greatest of these is love” portion.  He says, “These three things remain: faith, hope, and love.”  Remember, Paul has been contrasting the part with the full picture.  We need prophecy and wisdom and knowledge and miracles and healing and speaking in various tongues now because we cannot see the complete picture.  But in the future when – as Paul says – the “perfect thing” comes, we will not need prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, miracles, healings, or speaking in tongues, or any of those gifts.  We just simply won’t need those displays because we will be in the presence of God eternally.  Who needs any of that when God is right there beside you!  So what does all of this mean?  What do we as human beings tend to get all worked up?  We love the people who can prophecy, or speak in tongues, or work miracles, etc.  We love to see those displays because we convince ourselves that those things demonstrate that a person is closer to God.  But Paul is telling us that is bad thinking!  Paul is telling us that in the presence of God all of those things that we think are cool, neat, and proof of a spiritual closeness with God will actually all be unnecessary.  It isn’t that they are bad, but those gifts are lesser because in the presence of God they will be unnecessary.  Now we come to understand what Paul meant at the end of the last chapter when he says, “I will make a better way known to you all.”  It is far better to focus on faith in God, hope in God’s ways, and especially love through God than through any of the displays of God’s power that will be unnecessary once we are in His presence permanently.  Do you want to know who is truly spiritually closest to God?  It isn’t necessarily the one who can do miracles or speak in tongues or prophesy or preach or even pray in a fancy manner.  The ones who are spiritually closest to God are the ones who have an unshakeable faith in God’s action, the ones who have a resolute hope in God’s promise, and the ones who have the ability to display God’s unconditional love regardless of how they are treated and without taking into account whether the recipient deserves their love or not.  After all, isn’t that the model of Christ on the cross that we are asked to follow?

Why do you think we get way more excited about things like speaking in tongues, miracles, and prophecy than we do about faith, hope, and love?  Now that we’re at the end of this chapter, how would you describe this “better way” that Paul seems to be talking about in 1 Corinthians 13?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 14:1-5