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Chapter 13.
Chapter.
First Corinthians chapter 13, verse one.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I so that I can remove mountains and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity that profiteth me, profiteth me nothing.
Charity suffereth long and is kind. Charity envieth not. Charity vaughteth not itself is not puffed up.
Does not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, and thinketh no evil.
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and endureth all things. 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. For we know in part, and we prophecy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
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. For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three. But the greatest of these is Charity. Chapter 14.
Follow after charity and desire of spiritual gifts, but rather that you may prophecy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue, tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God. For no man understandeth him. How be it in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
But he that prophesied speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself. But he that prophesieth edifieth the Church. I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied. For greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret that the Church may receive edifying. Now, brethren, if I come unto you Speaking of tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation?
Or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine, And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds. How shall be known what is piped or heart? For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue, where it's easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? For ye shall speak into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore, if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
Did you want verse 12 to Bob? OK.
Even so, ye, for as much as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the Church.
About the last verse of chapter 12, I think it's helpful if we read it in the new translation because there were some questions about it. It says in the new translation, but desire earnestly the great greater gifts, and yet show I unto you a way of more surpassing excellence. I suppose if we just read what the King James, our good King James Version says, we might think that we should individually covet.
Of the the platform type gifts, but that's not the thought at all, is it? The thought is that speaking to them collectively as an assembly and there are greater gifts. In other words, they were taken up with assigned gifts there in Corinth and they were actually acting like children and showing off before one another, especially with the sign gifts. And the apostle says don't do that. Be taken up collectively with those gifts that have lasting value.
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Desire the greater gifts, its desire in it as an assembly. Isn't it that there would be edification for the whole body?
And that last phrase of verse 31 really introduces chapter 13. I show unto you a way of more surpassing excellence. That's the way of love which we have in chapter 13. The Lord said, by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, that ye have love one for another. And I think in the surpassing the way of surpassing excellent excellence, love.
Is greater than gift, he didn't say something about. They would know that you're my disciples because of the display of gift among you. It's because you have love one for another.
And so they said in the Roman Empire, see how they love one another.
Explain a little bit to us the word love that it speaks here. We have it translated here as charity, but it's really agape love, isn't it? Can you explain a little bit love? Yeah, we have the love of friendship and and here we have divine love.
Believers have the privilege of showing the love of God, don't we?
As he has loved us.
So we have the privilege of loving one another.
We have the privileged brother, but we are commanded to love. He doesn't say, if you find it in yourselves to love, okay, go ahead and love. He commands it. And I've really found it challenging, brother. And in between the Gospel of John and the Epistle of John, we have.
Seven times when we are commanded to love.
And it's that we don't understand the character of love, brother, and it's the settled disposition of favor towards us on the part of God. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. Why did he love us? Was there something good in us that he loved us? He loved us because God is love.
And as he looks at you and me, that's his settled disposition towards us. People may not accept that love, but it doesn't change the fact that they are loved and over other. And to understand this better, it's not because there's something lovable. We find it easy to love those that are nice to us. That's not what we're talking about. And I sometimes say.
Brethren, in Ephesians 525, as the verse that says husbands, love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. That's divine love. Love them with divine love. That's important. And sometimes I hear husband say, I used to love my wife, I don't really love her anymore. They don't understand.
What love is?
Love does not come and go that way.
It's the settled disposition of favor toward an object. That's the love we're talking about here. And so just let me go back to John's Gospel. The three times in John's Gospel that that command is mentioned because brother, and I'm convicted in my own soul.
That this really needs to be a reality in my life and I'm afraid I fail in this. John 13 and verse 34.
A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love.
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One not to another. Did you notice, brethren, it's a command. He doesn't say if you, if you feel like it, do it. No, it's a command. And brethren, if you and I are born into God's family, you and I have the capacity to do that, to love as He loved us. It's a new commandment because in the Old Testament, remember, the commandment was to love your neighbor as yourself.
The reference point was, how do I love myself? I'm still love my neighbor just that way. But in the New Testament the reference point has changed. What is it? It's the Lord Jesus as I have loved you. And O brethren, who can love like Him? And so may we be exercised. The other two in John's gospel are in the 15th chapter. Just to read them briefly, verse 12.
This is my commandment.
That ye love one another as I have loved you.
Verse 17 These things I command you, that ye love one another. I find that very interesting and challenging.
Remember a problem in South America between a few sisters in a particular meeting and one sister said I hate that sister.
And I thought a brother that responded responded very well. He said, sister, if you are not born truly into God's family, I can understand that you hate that person. But if you have been born into God's family, you have a life and a nature that is able to love that sister that you don't find very pleasant. That's the love we're talking about, isn't it?
It probably doesn't need to be said, but.
This is really the love of the minister who's given, who's exercising a gift, isn't it? I mean, what what you say is absolutely true, but this interpretation of this is that we should minister in love. Is that right?
That's what to motivate us.
And the Lord writes to the church in Ephesus.
In the second chapter of Revelation, he mentions all these good things they were doing.
But you had against them that they had left their first love. And so there can be a lot of activity, but the Lord looks behind that at the motive that is the source of that activity. And so it's the same with how we have here in the question of spiritual gifts or the activity, you might say the Spirit to members of the body of Christ. Well, this these were manifestations, you might say, but what was behind it?
You know, if we didn't have any manifestations, well, the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given unto us. The fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy, peace, long-suffering, all these beautiful things because we have the Spirit of his Son in our hearts. We cry about Father. Well, this is this is more the substance, isn't it, of what we are and what we have. And if God gives us equipment to benefit the body and that we would enjoy these things, you know, we know I know a lot of.
Of brothers who are occupied with gifts and they do not know that they're eternally saved. They're not enjoying the love of the Lord as I have loved you. It's a it's a measure of love that he died for them, but it's a conditional love. And so I just thought of this in connection with what we have in the first verse as to the.
The things producing noise, it says here sounding brass or a tinkling symbol. It compares it later on to a trumpet. You know a trumpet can give a certain sound and you recognize something. But if I had symbols here and I just went.
Oh, you'd recognize that I had a symbol and I made some noise and said, look at me and my gift. Well, that's not the purpose of gift, to draw attention to ourselves. The purpose of gift is to have people understand more of the Lord Jesus and grow in grace and in the knowledge of him. And I believe this is what the Lord is looking for in our service to one another.
Is that there is genuine love for my brethren, that they would be growing in the knowledge of him, and that a resemblance of him, and if he needed.
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Could take gifts of healing or manifestations of tongues or whatever what the Spirit needed to produce that. Not to put attention on the gift himself, but on the purpose for which it was given that they would grow in grace and the knowledge of that blessed person.
Because much gift is used to aggrandize oneself or to build an empire. So it isn't really love for the Saints. But how many radio stations can I get on how? How big can this ministry get?
It's the love of commitment, isn't it? Not so much an emotion. There's a good note in John 21 and the new translation, isn't there, where the two types of love are are given there and, and when, when the Lord is speaking with Peter, both agape and paleo, we don't perhaps have time to go into that so much, but the distinction is agape. I believe it's Mr. Vine that says that. That's the distinctive word of Christianity.
It was an unknown factor in that way. I think the word was around, but not in the way that Christians use it, because it's that which rises above anything that natural man can understand. It's not an emotion so much. That's phileo Remember a story I read recently about a missionary who came to the United States and was speaking to the native Indians years ago? He came to a certain tribe and spoke to the.
To the chief and the chief was standing there by his his dwelling. He had all kinds of of his, the scalps of his enemies lined up by his by his dwelling there. And the missionary says you have to learn to love your enemies. And the chief looked at him and said, then I then I need a new heart. He says, that's exactly right. And that's what Christianity is, isn't it? He gives us a new heart.
Doesn't mean that we have again, the emotional attachment to everybody. It really means that we seek their greater good. Love is used in a wrong way oftentimes today, isn't it? It's used in a way that does not seek a persons greater good, but rather it skates over things that will lead to their destruction and their lack of fruitfulness. And we have to be careful that as a minister that we minister to those things that seek their greater good is before God.
That's what this love is, isn't it?
So we spoke of gift. The word was used, a motive. So in chapter 12 we have the gifts, some of them enumerated and spoken of in principle. And then in chapter 13, we have the motive for the exercise of gift. And I think it's good to notice as we go into this chapter that love is not limited. Love is the thing that is the greatest of all. Love is going to abide. There are other things that will pass off the scene.
But love is going to abide, and that tells us that gift is limited, it has its limitations. It's not the answer for everything. And if you go from the 12Th chapter.
To the 14th chapter where you have the exercise of gift in the assembly and you don't have the right motive. You have those things you're talking about, Vern for, for the aggrandizement of the man or to make the man look good or for some kind of a display, and that's a wrong motive. We learn in the 14th chapter that everything that God has given to sustain the believer here is for the edification of the assembly.
Not for self, but that the that the Christian community might grow thereby in its likeness to Christ. You you have some of that spoken of in Ephesians chapter four and five. God always has a purpose in view, and the purpose centers in Christ himself.
And the motive is love.
And this is the key too, isn't it, to the question, what is the rule of the Christian life Now? I suppose 9 out of 10 Christians would say, well, it's it's the law.
Once we're saved, we need the law to keep us on the right path. But if we truly understand grace.
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That's a far greater motive than the law, isn't it? The example has so often been given of a person who is a is a house nanny perhaps, and she follows a long list of rules in that house. But if by chance she becomes the wife of the head of the house, he doesn't give her that long list of rules anymore. But it's love that reigns, isn't it? You don't need that long list of rules. They may be some guidelines there, of course.
But it's love that reigns there. That's a far greater motive. That is a list of rules, and so is the Christian. The secret is if we walk close to the Lord, then we will seek the to honor the Lord and to please the Lord. And that's the secret of Christian blessing and fruitfulness, isn't it? It's not keeping a long list of rules because we have to, some people say, well, if you don't keep the 10 commandments after you're saved, that's, and I know Mianism.
And that's against the law. But they don't understand grace.
With the heart and draws after in a more powerful way than law ever could. I've been mentioning this to others, but we've been reading through Exodus at home and I was struck by the comment of one of the commentators. He he mentioned how that law was given to Israel to put an end to legality. It wasn't given so they would keep the law because he knew they could not keep the law.
But it was given to show they could not do it and they needed to depend on God's grace. Now, when they first came out of the land of Egypt, they were subject to grace. There's four stages in the wilderness. The 1St is the stage of grace. And so when they first came out of the wilderness, when they needed water, when they needed food, the Lord graciously provided it for him to show that His resources were adequate to meet their needs and more than adequate. But they didn't appreciate it. So in a sense, the Lord at Sinai said OK.
If you think you can do it yourself, I'll give you the measure to do it. But it was known that they would never able to to keep, they would never be able to keep the law in its entirety. It condemns us. And then they would default back to grace. That's the only way we can go on in the Christian pathway. And so that's what we have here is the secret of grace.
Just like to mention briefly.
Brotherly love, which is the word fileo that you mentioned, because it figures quite a bit in the New Testament as well, and it is an important part of Christian living.
Hebrews 13 One says let brotherly love continue. It's the mutual appreciation of one another that's cultivated and develops.
I've known brother Phil Fournier for quite a few years. We've traveled together sometimes. I appreciate you, brother. You appreciate me. I think so. Well, there's brotherly love. It's something that's very real.
But sometimes I use this illustration Sentosa and I give you I get irritated at you and I give you a slap in the face.
Now is their brotherly love.
Do you love me?
And you still do. But that's agape love, isn't it? And I think it's helpful to see the difference. I want to go back to where Brother Michelle read in the prayer meeting in second Peter chapter one to show that those two things are addressed. Second Peter, chapter one and in verse.
Five, he says beside all this giving all diligence, add to your faith. And there's a number of things that we are to add to our faith, not just say we have faith, but show it. Let it be practical. But notice the end of this list in verse 7 to godliness.
Add brotherly love. That's the filial love.
And to brotherly love charity or agape love. And that's why you can still say you still love me. I hope I never do that brother, but I that that I'm just doing it for illustration sake. I appreciate you brother.
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And it's quite a few times in the New Testament. Look at one other point that I think it's helpful to see it In First Thessalonians chapter four, we have the two mentioned together as well.
In First Thessalonians 4 and verse 9, as touching brotherly love, there it is. Phileo, you need not that I write unto you, for ye yourselves are taught of God.
To love, that's the agape love one another. I think that's beautiful to see how they're brought together. I just mentioned that brother because I think it's helpful to see the difference.
First and second single chapter one, verse 20.
Second Samuel 126 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant.
Unto me that love to me was more wonderful than passing the love of woman. And then first Samuel 18.
First one and it came to pass when he had made an end of speaking undissolved Saul of Johnson was knit with the soul of David and Johnson loved him as his own school got a note here that Saul his love was just for what he got out of him. But Jonathan blood was based on faith for who he was and we need to love the Lord for who he is but.
Other question is this filet alone?
Brother being our beloved brother.
I.
So the end of verse one of our chapter, we're only a sounding brass spirit tinkling symbol if there's not love.
The end of verse 2, there's not love. Even though I can have a great understanding and knowledge and faith, it says I am nothing.
That's pretty telltale brother. The end of verse 3. Even though I give to the poor and give my body to be burned, it profiteth me.
Nothing.
It's not the outward things that we see that give value.
It's love that's behind it. Important.
Just to go back for a moment, I the I don't know the direct correspondence between the word for love and the Old Testament in Hebrew and the Greek words in Eric. Do you have you thought about that or? Yeah, the word is a hava mainly in the Old Testament, but it's much more general than the two.
It would include that, but it it, again, agape seems to have been unique to Christianity, going beyond what we have even in the Old Testament. Yeah. So it's difficult to give a quantitative answer to that in, in a sense. So it's, I read the Septuagint. You could sort through it a little better. But of course, we know as a translation, so it wasn't inspired by God. And there's debates as to what would be the best Greek translation for a Hebrew word and so forth.
But certainly. But it's a good thought. Yeah, the love between Jonathan and David was certainly the Phileo type of love, wasn't it?
Tells us that the love of God is should have brought in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given unto us and I I thought that that aspect of love.
Is only experienced by the love of God in our hearts. It's his love really through us. And so I don't know the Old Testament that they could have enjoyed that and the vessels of that love without the Spirit of God.
Dwelling in them.
I think it's important to.
Remind ourselves to who Paul is writing to. He's writing to Corinthians, and these are a a culture of people that are very, very full of themselves. And it's almost like the Paul by the Spirit is poking their balloon in three balloons he takes care of.
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And the first one is this matter of eloquence. So the actual delivery.
And the warning here is be very careful about just working on the delivery. Is there a motive behind the delivery? It's great to have a good delivery. What are you delivering? Do you really have a message from God? And what is the motive for that message? And then in verse two anyway, I should say that the the the little poke that pops this balloon is.
You really thought that sounded good, didn't you? It was real empty. And that's where I believe the Spirit of God and does he not do that to us at times? You command yourself for the delivery and and maybe the Lord uses a brother or a sister, your wife to say, wow, that was real empty. So then we have in verse 2.
Great spiritual power.
Intelligence and that Greek influence of being able to go philosophically very deep and so on. And so now when they become Christians, they they want to be able to excel in this display of knowledge. And we see there that the understanding of the mysteries and knowledge and so on. And so he he says there at the end that the needle that pokes that balloon.
Is that nothing I am nothing. What did you really intend to be? What was it you were trying to achieve And this is where this challenge of divine love that is really a sacrificial love and we know that from from the Lord Jesus Christ. And then in verse three, this other area of of acts of public acts and acts of recognition that you can be known and characterized by.
And he says that if love is not really the motive for it, it's not a sacrificial love, you go really at this level, giving my body to be to be burned. And so there are those that do these kinds of things without even being saved. And so he says it profits you nothing. And so this really is another needle that pops that balloon that why did you do what you did?
Did you do it to be recognized? And he says you're lost. There was no profit for you. And so you can see in these first three verses before we really get into the qualities and the characteristics of love and so on that he seems to address that Corinthians spirit here and there's a there's a Corinthian in every one of us. We're full of it. And so this is a really good chapter for us to.
Contemplate together.
Chapter 13. Just a moment for a verse there.
Romans 13 and 10 as to the things that love does not do, and we certainly have much to learn as to what love does do, but Romans 13 and verse 10.
Says there that.
So it will be my French Bible here so.
Love worketh no I'll to his neighbor.
When there's ill being done to another, that is not love.
I use the example often if you go to the dentist.
It might be painful.
But He's not doing you any ill. And so love, it might include pain and having to inflict pain. And the Lord, we know He has to deal with us that way. But the motive is love. Then there is no I'll being done. There might be pain, but there is positive result to the action of love.
I've got somebody off here.
Appreciating your comment Brother Wayne about.
Those three things.
In the book of Prince or the Epistle of Corinthians, wasn't Pauls eloquence challenged?
Wasn't his.
Accused of being timid and weak.
And is it possible shift challenge?
Just those three, when you brought that out, it made me think of how we've been taught in the business of Corinthians that they're these things of the apostles, apostle were challenged that when you brought that out.
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It seemed that those answered.
And then his, his love for those Saints, isn't there a passage where he lists the ways that his his own sacrifice for them had been put on display? That was all selfless and for their their sake. And it was just when you brought that out, it made me think of those things that that's what was brought out, that they.
Call it in a way had to defend himself before the Corinthians.
And in all those three areas.
His brother Pat was saying earlier, this is a fruit, the fruit of.
Love And if we had an apple tree and we wanted more, a larger apple or a bigger apple, we wouldn't spend our time on the fruit. The fruit comes as a result of the working of the tree, the leaves taking in the sunlight and doing photosynthesis, the roots taking in the water and the minerals and the vitamins and the energy, whatever is in the soil. And so in our lives when we struggle, as you were mentioned, brother Bob, I think that's a really good definition of agape. Love is goodwill towards another person when we struggle with another person.
And we look at our apple or whatever the fruit is and we're like, man, you know, I really don't love them like I should. Trying to shine that up isn't going to help watering it isn't going to help that. You have to, you have to dig deep. And who has love? God has love for that person. And he says you if you say you love God and you hate your brother, you're a liar.
It's this is so real. This is our faith in action. And he tells us in Matthew chapter 5, if we're having a struggle with a brother or a sister, if we're having a struggle with somebody, we dig deep with our roots and go to the Lord who has the love that we need for them. And he says is the Lord Jesus speaking, but I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them, which despitefully use you and persecute you. When we have a a difficulty with someone, pray for blessing on them.
And that opens the conduit in our hearts to let the love of God come up out of that soil through us, His love through us to that other person. And then the fruit grows.
Through and this is kind of peculiar to again, that's what that's what he's getting at here. All it's not how we act in our everyday life and loving our brother, but it's in ministry. That's what this chapter is all about.
It's a gift using that gift for the good of the people, for the edification of the church. And so it's, it's something that is peculiar to having a ministry, isn't it? And how you do I, do I minister for the people of God or am I trying to build up a denomination or something or I have a gift and.
Am I trying to?
Build this empire.
I want to get more money so that I can get bigger and aggrandize myself.
And I think that's a it's a real struggle. Like the brother says, we have a lot of Corinthian in US, so it's really a warning or.
To those who are and and and do exercise gift.
Doesn't go, but it's you have the gift even though someone is trying to build an empire, get it on more stations or be bigger in the denomination or something. The gift doesn't go, but it's not motivated by just edifying the people of God. You would agree, Brother Vern, wouldn't you? That gift is not mere only used in assembly context.
Than at all times in any measure that we meet up with believers who are members of the fellow members of the body that we use our gift at that time. And so it is like you say the important thing is that we keep that in mind. Did want to say what you mentioned, brother Matt about loving and sometimes it seems difficult to love the verse we have in first John 4 is a helpful verse.
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We love because He first loved us. And sometimes when you don't feel much like loving, go back to the person of the Lord Jesus. How they mistreated him, how they spit in his face, how they insulted him, blackmailed him in every form possible. Did he ever say, I've had it, That's enough, I can't stand it any longer.
I'm going back to heaven. Never, never entered the picture. He went straightforward in his sacrifice of love. Oh brother, I say that is a real challenge to us. Let me encourage us rather than that we get on in this chapter unless we just get bogged down. The verses that follow, verse 4567.
Our beautiful characteristics.
Of this love, Love suffers long. Oh, sometimes we don't have very much patience.
Is kind kindness? Brethren? Do we treat each other with kindness?
And so on. And then verse 8 and I love this love. Never fails. Isn't that beautiful? Never fails.
O brethren, how these verses search my heart. May our hearts be searched in our relationships one to another. So often we find the lack of these things. The Lord help us.
Just going back to Vern's comment, I was wondering if.
Because of the importance being put on.
Public service activity in the midst of the Saints that the apostle Paul, the Spirit of God rings before those who would be in that position or activity. The fundamentals of of love. I believe these verses apply to all of us, but these ones that we're going to be public and we're going to take a place and they needed to be reminded that this is what it is. And so I'm sure it's in the constitution mentioning Vernon, but they needed that especially perhaps.
Because the last thing that can do good to a man in a flesh is to be on a platform, to be listened to, to be looked at as authority or knowledge. And so it's a snare for our poor wicked hearts. And so here's reminding us of that beautiful quality we find in the Lord Jesus. How big did he make himself?
He made himself the smallest of all, and he shines the brightest.
The Lord help us to be small.
And you can use this. There's 16 characteristics here in those verses 4 through 7. And somebody has said that the first seven have to do with keeping self down.
And then the last nine, how to behave when the first nine are not manifested? First seven are not manifested. But that's the 1St order, isn't it? Keeping self down. The Greeks again, that the Corinthians were Greeks, they like to show their gifts off and they liked eloquence, All that was human. And they had to learn to go down, didn't they? How important that is.
Speaking to a brother recently where there were some issues and I said brother, it seems to me that those that are most spiritual will take the low place. And that's often the secret to the answer to controversy, isn't it? Those that are the most spiritual are going to take the lowest place and that will be how they contention will be resolved.
And so the first seven again are those that have to do with keeping self down.
Just the opposite of what nature wants to do.
How do I know when I love someone?
And I probably wasn't the right person to give an answer to that question.
00:45:02
4 verses here, verses 4 through 7 through the test, aren't they?
If you look at all these things and just look at how Christ so perfectly filled me.
Greater love after no man than us, said a man lay down his life for his friend.
And then Romans 5.
It goes so far beyond that.
Hate, but God commanded his love toward us.
And that while we were yet sinners.
Before I start rock.
Not at all dependent upon the out death on whom it is disturbed.
It's entirely.
Self dealing.
I.
But brother Chris brought out.
He bears out the truth that when this divine love is in action, it's not always appreciated out there.
And yet that's just its test to bear out the beauty of what it is.
I think the Apostle Paul saying I will most gladly.
Spend and be spent, though the more abundantly I love, the less I be loved. So that's love, never failing history.
But does that that that's that's very true. Does this, you see this on the wall of many people, you know, love never failing. But really it's something for eternity, isn't it? It never will fail. It's a it's it's in that sense that never never will fail. But there's in these verses here that moving on, it says.
Love never faileth.
But whether there be prophecies that they shall fail?
Whether there be tongues, they shall cease, and so.
It seems to be a different word. And then it says down in the 10th verse. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
So it seems that that tongues have ceased. I, I take it I'm I'm not arguing about that.
But at this time.
Tongues were a gift.
And when you get to the 14th chapter, you find out that Paul does not prohibit.
Even being used in an open meeting.
The contrast the best gift with the lowest gift and, and I believe, and this is maybe going on to the next chapter, but I believe that we always feel like it has to be a prophetic meaning or you have to be a prophet in order to be used of the Lord in an open meeting. Because when you get to the the 12Th chapter, it says are all prophets.
And then we jump over to the 14th chapter and we say anybody can can participate. Well, not everybody's a prophet. And there's no such thing as a prophet for an occasion. It's a gift, but all other gifts can be used in that meeting too. Even look at look at the verse 27 of that next chapter. If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by this is in a, in in an open meeting.
Let it be by two or at most three so it could take up the whole meeting. He does that. It's probably probably.
It's the lowest of the gifts, it seems. But nevertheless, there's there's room for a teacher, there's room for hospital. So this is always just a man who has a gift of a prophet. And so I think that's the way to understand it. And so we always say let the prophets, you know, speak and and the others judge but.
In anything, if it's a teacher and he's teaching something that he feels the Spirit of God would would give that out to the audience that he's speaking to. We should judge what he says.
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So the point is, is that an open meeting, a ministry meeting, is for the purpose of edification, exhortation and comfort.
Whatever gift the Spirit of God may choose to use to do that.
And, and I think it's good to for just a moment, go back to these questions that Paul asks at the end of the 12Th chapter. You you touched on that.
Where he asked this question.
Are all apostles? He doesn't answer these questions. They're rhetorical. This is a rhetorical device that the apostle uses. Paul is always asking questions, and then he may answer them or he may not.
Hear the implied answer to all of these questions is no. Are all apostles? No, only some are. He gave some apostles.
Are all teachers, are all evangelists? No, I'm not an evangelist. Now here is a tough one. Do all speak with tongues? Oh, there are those that would say yes. I was told one time that there was concern about my salvation because I had never received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I had not spoken in tongues. I was asked, have you ever spoken in tongues? And I said no. And I doubt if I ever will, but I know that I'm redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.
And I've been sealed with the Holy Spirit of redemption, with the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. It didn't get me off my center. Do all speak with tongues? No. Now a comment on chapter on verse eight of our chapter. You touched on this, Vernon. I think it's interesting if you read this in the new translation. First of all, love never fails. That's going to be eternal.
We will eternally dwell in the light of His love. That will never end. But notice how it reads in the new translation. But whether prophecies, they shall be done away.
Or tongues. They shall cease. That's a different word.
Or knowledge it shall be done away. So with both prophecy and knowledge it says shall be done away. Now my understanding is.
That has the sense of something gradual, a gradual passing away, which is why we need to hold on to the knowledge of Scripture in his pure form, as we have been given.
We live in a scene of.
Of terrible confusion.
But with tongues it's different. My understanding is is that that means it stops.
And the problem that Paul is addressing in First Corinthians 14.
Is not the speaking in tongues as you say. The problem is that tongues were out of control. They were not being interpreted.
And so if an individual who has the gift of tongues was going to speak in tongues in the assembly, which was a known language, there must be an interpreter present to interpret what was said so that the assembly could be edified. If there was no interpreter such that the assembly could be edified by what was being said, then the person who had the gift of tongues was to remain.
Silent. Is that the teaching?
At the Burbank conference a few years ago, there was a Mexican brother that had a word in the open meeting that was translated into English, and that particular year there was a group of brethren from Korea there, and in turn it was translated into Korean. And in that way all could profit.
We might mention the the point here that the word in chapter 14, unknown is not to be there, is it? It's a known language. And I might mention in the first verse, we didn't really refer to it as chapter 13. It's sometimes caused confusion when it says, though I speak with the tongues of men and angels. Well, we know what the tongues of men are. Those are the different languages. What are the tongues of angels? That's simply eloquence, isn't it?
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When angels spoke to men, they spoke in a language they understood. It wasn't babbling. But some of our charismatic brethren will start babbling and they say those are the tongues of angels. They've had some charismatic rather than tell me that. And we speak in the tongues of angels. But if we look at the history book, we find out that that's been a sign of demonism since since before Christ. So it's not the tongues of angels, it's the tongues of demons.
But the angels, whenever they spoke in Scripture, they spoke to men in a language they understood, but they spoke with power and eloquence. Is that what that means? I remember Brother Gordon Hayhoe commenting on that. And he said wherever angels are sent in this world scene, because they are ministers to those who shall be heirs of salvation, if they're sent to the United States, they speak in English. If they're sent to China, they speak in Chinese.
They're spent sent to Israel. They speak in Hebrew. So he says they. That was the adaptability of tongues. I enjoyed that.
First verse, a first word in chapter 13 of my French Bible is if not when. And so it's something that was being said that they were doing. If somebody, as you suggested, brother, if somebody speaks, it's babbling because that's the language of angels. That's all. Well, if I do that, you know, where is the problem and there is no prophet. Just wondering about the the question of prophecy in connection with where we're reading it in First Corinthians.
That we didn't have New Testament and how were they to be entertained in the things of the Lord if it wasn't by the Spirit of God giving communications, by his power of things, revealing things to them that they would share. So they would be speaking for the Lord by the Spirit to bring edification. And now we have the New Testament. And so as we sit together and we we read those things that are given to us by the Spirit of God.
We can all share the thought of God that He wants us to understand from these, from these verses. And so we do not need that kind of ministry. We might say that we find active in the capital. Lord told me to tell you and he told me to do this and he told me to do that. That is not necessarily in accordance with the word of God. So apostles and prophets that were used to lay the foundation. Once the foundation was laid.
These men who were given as gifts, as prophets and apostles are no longer required. We have the apostle Paul with us right now. He's right here. And so Peter and John. So we have that foundation. We're building on that foundation. And so the pretension to be a prophet today in that sense, I don't believe stands a test of Scripture. But if we read the word of God, if we search the word of God and we have thoughts by the Spirit of God from the word of God, when the other vacation of others, we might be prophesying. And that could be done by any brother in this room, couldn't it?
I think that young brothers who make notes in their Bible like what Eric has said where it says unknown, it should be uninterpreted and then you get the right thought right?
Uninterpreted though.
Own language, wasn't it? It was a native language somewhere.
Not babbling. We need to be clear on that.
Apostle uses a picture of a trumpet, you know, in the military in the morning, I think they have a, a call there and I'm not going to imitate it, but I'm sure, you know, I thought that whatever and the brother, the brothers are the people in the tents. And you said that was a nice sound. You know, no, they react to it. There was no words, but they understood there was a message with those sounds. And when there's a sound with no message, what is the purpose of it? So even a trumpet which has no words and there's not much intelligence and what is communicated produces a response in the hearers. And I think that's what God wants us to have by the gifts or use of our mouths or whatever, by his Spirit as a response to what is being said.
What's being presented?
For getting down to the end of the meeting, brethren, and I'd like to touch the end of this chapter. It's.
It seems like it reaches into heaven really the end of this chapter. And I, I just, I don't know exactly how to explain it all, but there's certain things that I, I revel in. Notice at the end of verse eight, it says whether there be knowledge it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we all have to admit that's the way we know.
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In part, and there are some brethren that are very knowledgeable.
But of all that can be known, how much? What percentage would you say you know, Brother Eric? Fraction of 1%, Just a fraction of 1%, in fact, a brother that the more he knows, the more he realizes how little he really knows. Oh, brethren, we know in part now. And that's why there's so many things.
That we cannot understand how important it is like Brother Dave has been exhorting us to go by Scripture and the ministry we have of the precious word of God. We know in part and we prophecy in part. But then verse 10, notice when that which is perfect, that's complete, is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
And then it gives similes here. When I was a child, I speak as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things. We're talking about maturity here.
Now we see through a glass, darkly or dimly, But then.
Face to face now I know in part. There it is again. I know in part. But then.
Shall I know even as also I am known brother?
Brother Dave, how are you known?
Better tell me.
You're perfectly known by the Lord, aren't you? Then shall I know even as I am known? And I that's why I say I think it reaches into heaven. When we stand at the judgment seat of Christ, the Lord's going to open to us the whole picture. We're going to get it. Then shall we know even as also we are known? Isn't that wonderful, brother? Amazing that that's what's ahead for us.
Now we know, in part, it's a privilege to sit in meetings like this, to listen to one brother and another, and sometimes questions too, that help open up the Scriptures.
But we always have to say we know in part.
That doesn't mean omniscience, does it? No, because God alone is omniscient. But nonetheless, it's a state that will be attained to in heaven, isn't it? God knows what that state is, and it's far superior to what we have now. And I, I wonder, I believe that the judgment seat will be a big part of that, won't it? To learn those things that God knows about us.
Then we'll know even as we're known.
It's interesting in the Book of Revelation we have the Elders, which are the figure of the redeemed.
And in the course of the Book of Revelation of times, John doesn't understand what's going on. And often it's an elder that comes to say this is what it is. They were in the know. We can put it that way. They had passed the judgment seat. They knew. And it's wonderful to think, brethren, eternity is a fixed state of things. Sometimes I hear the statement made. I'm not sure what to think of it.
That we're going to be learning through all the ages of eternity. I think that's a expression we use because we can only think in time. But really eternity is a fixed state of things. And so we are going to.
Know as we are known in that day and we really don't know how, what are how bad we are doing, but in that day we will. The Lord will show us just what we are.
But we'll also see what he's done for us. And that will just enhance the praises to the Lord. Bruce was talking about it wouldn't be public because, you know, he, he thought it wouldn't be public because maybe they'll go in alphabetical order and he's an amnesty. So he's hoping they didn't do that. But the thing was, even if it was public, brother, you won't have the flag, you know, just you'll.
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You'll just be glorified and even if people saw what you'd already did are already done, it would just enhance what Christ has done for you and that so it would bring crazy to the Lord. That's all you're going to want to worry about that you want the praise to be to Him.
Brother Albert Hale used to give a beautiful example of He spoke about how.
Pretend he had a debt of $5000 and some dear friend came along and paid that debt in full. He would be so thankful for that. This is a number of years ago, of course, when $5000 was a large sum. And he said years later, perhaps he was going through his papers and he found out that that was not a debt of $5000, but of $500,000. How much more grateful he would be to his friend.
Who paid that debt at great price? And so is the judgment seat of Christ. Well, our time is just about up. But I did want to make a comment, a clarification about face to face. We hear lots of things and we have some hymns about that. But strictly speaking, face to face will be at the rapture, won't it? It's not. When a person dies, they are in the Lord's presence. Yes, that's true, but it's not exactly face to face. They're still waiting for something bad.
As we are, that's when face to face will take place at the rapture. And I might mention there's some confusion about the rapture. It's not that the just very briefly, but it's not that the dead in Christ, it says they rise first. That doesn't mean they go to heaven first, does it? That means the body and soul come back together and they rise from the earth 1St and then we go, go up together to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord? That's the moment.
Of face to face altogether. One time. We look forward to that time.
#25 in the appendix.