Well, again, we've been looking at the subject of love from 1 Corinthians 13, from two perspectives of things love doesn't do, and you know there are things that love doesn't do, right? We saw that in verses four and five. Also, in terms of some positive characteristics of Christian love in verses 6 and 7, which we considered last week. So we come now today to the last six verses of chapters 13, 8 to 13, where the theme is the permanence of Christian love. And Paul makes this point from the beginning in verse eight with three simple words. You notice those words? Love never ends. In other words, it's permanent. Everything else passes away, but love continues, and given enough time, even the planets in our solar system and our sun will eventually expire and pass away. But there's something that does last forever. Love. And that's the subject of the 13th chapter of Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians. In the last six verses of this chapter, in verse eight and following, the Apostle Paul now turns our attention to one last aspect of Christian love. which is its permanence. And this theme is repeatedly compared and contrasted with four things in our text passage, and those are in your bulletins, so please follow along there. On the right-hand side, they're printed in green, first in verse eight. The permanence of love is contrasted and compared with the temporary duration of spiritual gifts. That becomes very clear in this passage, doesn't it? That certain of the gifts that Paul names are temporary in duration. Second, in verses 9 and 10, the permanence of love is contrasted and compared with the partial possession and experience of spiritual gifts. And third in verses 11 and 12, the permanence of love is contrasted and compared with the immature nature of spiritual gifts. And fourth and last in verse 13, it's contrasted and compared with the inferior character of lesser spiritual graces and virtues. Again, the first of four comparisons is in verse 8, where our first point is this, the permanence of love is contrasted and compared with the temporary duration of spiritual gifts. Look at verse number eight with me, would you? Love never ends. As for prophecies, however, he says, as for prophecies, they will pass away. As for tongues, you know, speaking in languages that you've not been trained to speak in, is what that first century gift was, they will cease. As for knowledge, the gift of knowledge, revelatory knowledge, it will pass away. In verse eight, Paul compares the permanence of love with the temporary nature of three spiritual gifts in the early church, prophecy, tongues, and knowledge. Paul already mentioned these gifts in verses 1 and 2. You can look back and see them referred to there. In verse 1, you see tongues referred to, and in verse 2, prophecy and revelatory knowledge are referred to. And here in verse 8, Paul mentions these three again, prophecy, tongues, and knowledge. And they are representatives, as it were, representatives of all spiritual gifts which had temporary revelatory functions that came to an end with the completion of the New Testament Scriptures and with the passing of the Apostles. And therefore, he asserts that unlike love, which never fails, the spiritual gifts of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge will eventually no longer be exercised, nor will they exist. These spiritual gifts were temporary in duration, but love, by way of contrast, is forever. It's permanent. And that's Paul's point, and that may seem simple, but I believe it has application for our Christian lives. The application is this, only love is eternal. Spiritual gifts are not. Only love is eternal, spiritual gifts are not. The Corinthians were guilty of having their priorities out of order. They regarded spiritual gifts as supreme, not love. They were guilty of living for things that were temporal and that would not last. And this isn't to say that gifts given by the Spirit were unimportant, but in overemphasizing these gifts, which the Corinthians did, They had placed something good above the best. They treasured something temporary in duration above something eternal. And therefore, Paul compares the temporary duration of the spiritual gifts with the permanence love. Now it's sad to say but true that many Christians spend their time and energy on temporal things that will perish and they ignore the things that are eternal. Paul didn't tell the Corinthians to ignore the gifts, but to place love above them all because unlike spiritual gifts, only love is supreme. Only love is eternal. Only love survives into eternity. Spiritual gifts don't and won't. John MacArthur Jr. wrote this, he said, in heaven we will have no need for the gifts of teaching, preaching, helps, prophecy, discernment, knowledge, wisdom, tongues, miracles, healings, faith, mercy, or leadership. None of those gifts will have a purpose or place in heaven, yet love is and forever will be the very of heaven, the very heir of heaven." End quote. Love survives throughout eternity, but spiritual gifts, all of them, will come to an end. Think of it this way. Spiritual gifts temporarily aid and support the church on earth until she gets to heaven. where she will no longer need them. Why? Well, there she will see clearly, right? Faith will become sight. Teachers will not be necessary in the presence of the master. In heaven, there will be no need for spiritual gifts, only, only love. because only love is eternal in duration, but spiritual gifts are not. Alright, let's move on to the second point in our text. After Paul compared the permanence of love to the temporary duration of spiritual gifts in verse 8, He next compares it to the believer's partial possession of it. In the second place, in verses nine and 10, the permanence of love is compared to the partial possession of spiritual gifts. Look at your outline, number two. The permanence of love is contrasted and compared with the partial possession of spiritual gifts, verse nine. Paul says, notice, for we know in part not in full, but in part. And we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. Now in verse 9, Paul points to two of the three spiritual gifts he just mentioned in verse eight as examples of things that Christians only partially possess. He says knowledge, the gift of knowledge, the revelatory knowledge that even he himself possessed is only what? Partial. And prophecy is only partial. In verse 9 he repeated what he said in verse 2 when he wrote, and if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing. Nothing. Remember that Paul is using hyperbole here. You know what that is, right? Hyperbole is exaggeration. He's exaggerating to make a point. And the point is that everything a Christian does should be done in love. And to make that point, Paul exaggerates reality. He exaggerates reality by saying, even if I possessed the gift of prophecy such that I understood all mysteries and had all knowledge, which of course he didn't, but have not love, then I am nada, nothing. So don't miss what Paul is saying here about spiritual gifts. He confesses that he only partially possessed them. His spiritual gift of prophecy was in part. In fact, he didn't understand all mysteries, nor did he possess all knowledge. Something significant to note in verse nine is that Paul includes himself in the word we. In other words, even the apostles knew in part and prophesied in part. Paul's confession is the same as ours should be. Through the Word and the Spirit's illumination, we can have true knowledge of God. And that's good news, isn't it? We can have the true knowledge of God. We only partially possess it because now in this life we know in part. The same is true of prophecy. Paul wrote verse 9, we prophesy in part. And then notice, notice this in verse 10. how the comparison is made again with the word but. But when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. The permanence of love is contrasted with the partial possession of spiritual gifts. And the phrase that's critical The phrase that's critical to our understanding of this comparison in verse 10 is that expression, but when that which is perfect has come. Oh boy, has that been a wrestling match for the church for a long time. As you might know, those few words have divided the church for centuries. They have divided professing Christians by the millions over this question. Do revelatory spiritual gifts such as prophecy, tongues, and knowledge continue throughout the church age? Or did they cease to continue in the apostolic era in the early church? That's the question. No one questions that Paul taught that spiritual gifts will eventually come to an end. But the question is, when do they come to an end? And everyone's answer, yours and mine both, right, is in verse 10, when that which is perfect has come. But the million dollar question is, what is that which is perfect? Right? That's the question. There's a division of opinion among Christians concerning what that refers to. Some say it refers to the completed canon of Scripture. The argument is that in Paul's day, the Bible wasn't yet complete. But later, when all of the New Testament books were written, and all of the Old Testament books were combined with them to form the Bible as we know it today, that this was the event in view here in verse 10, when that which is perfect has come. And according to that view, Paul is referring to the completed canon of scripture, including all of the New Testament books, which then made prophecy and revelatory gifts obsolete. However, this interpretation overlooks something very significant that Paul says a little later in the passage, because in verse 12, He equates the coming of the perfect with seeing face-to-face and with full knowledge. Verse 12, look at it. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face-to-face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. In the Apostle John's first epistle, he used language that sounds very much like what Paul says here in verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 13. Just make a note of it, 1 John 3 verse 2 says this, We are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. Now John says that when Jesus is revealed at his second advent and we are gathered together to him, then we shall see him as he is. Are you looking forward to that day? When we're gathered together to Christ, then we shall see him as he is, or in Paul's language, we shall see him face to face. And therefore, in verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul talks about when the perfect comes, he is talking about the coming of the perfect age, or the coming of the perfect state, or condition in heaven. The event referred to as when the perfect comes is the believer's experience of perfection at the return of Christ at his second coming. It is the eternal heavenly state believers. How many of you have a Geneva Study Bible? Anybody have a Geneva Study Bible? We've got a few people that have one. It has a very helpful note in it. It says this, the context of 1 Corinthians 13, especially verse 12, suggests strongly that Paul is here referring to the second coming of Christ as the final event in God's plan of redemption and revelation, in comparison with what we will receive then The present blessings are only partial and thus imperfect. It is therefore a sign of immaturity for the Corinthians to treat the temporary, incomplete gifts of the Spirit as having ultimate significance." Well this insightful comment in the Geneva Study Bible kind of leads us right into a third point in our text passage and look at it on your outline now. The permanence of love is contrasted and compared to the immature nature of spiritual gifts. What does he say in verse 11? When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child, but when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. Now Paul here illustrates what will happen to believers, listen, when the perfect comes. During their lives on earth, all Christians are children compared to what they will be when they are perfected In heaven, it seems that Paul was comparing his present spiritual maturity to his boyhood, when he was a child. Let me illustrate. A Jewish male is considered a boy until when? Until his Bar Mitzvah. after which he is considered to be a man. One moment, as it were, he is a boy. The next moment, he is declared to be a man, right? Well, in a similar manner, our perfection in Christ will be like a spiritual Bar Mitzvah. Think of it that way. It will be that moment when we come into immediate, complete, and eternal spiritual adulthood and maturity. At that moment, all immaturity will be done away with. all childishness, all imperfection, and all limitations of knowledge and understanding will be forever gone. You notice next in verse 12 that Paul explains that in this present life, even with God's Word completed and the illumination of His indwelling Holy Spirit, yet he says, we see in a mirror, what? Dimly, dimly. For now we see in a mirror dimly, verse 12, but then face to face, Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So Paul uses a mirror as an illustration of something that reflects a dim image. That's a little confusing to us, right? I mean, you don't Think of that because all the mirrors that we have today basically give us a crystal clear image, don't they? Not a dim one. But back in Paul's day, the mirrors were made of polished bronze. You ever looked at a polished bronze mirror? A very dim reflection indeed. Perhaps the closest companion we have is a stainless steel mirror. You know, you go to places like parks and other municipalities, maybe schools even, and in some cases they don't want to put glass up there because it breaks so easily, right? So they put up a stainless steel mirror. but they don't give as good a reflection as a regular mirror and on the contrary they're a bit dim. So this is Paul's point by way of application. Spiritual gifts are childish things compared to the maturity of Christian love. Spiritual gifts will only be used for a time, until the perfect has come, when Christ is revealed at his second advent and we shall be like him. So Paul wants us to see this huge chasm, this incredible gap between something immature and something fully mature. As great a difference as childhood is from manly maturity. That's how much greater love is than spiritual gifts. And brethren, that's something we really need to take to heart. Spiritual gifts are elementary and immature compared compared to the maturity of Christian love. In fact, there's so vast a difference between these things that Paul concludes chapter 13 by comparing the permanence of love to several other lesser spiritual graces and virtue. Look at number four on your outline, the last item, the permanence of love. is contrasted and compared to the inferior character of lesser spiritual graces and virtues. Verse 13, so now, he says, here's his conclusion, so now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love. Paul says that of the three spiritual virtues of faith, hope, and love, faith and hope are inferior, but love is what? Superior. Of the virtues that presently abide, only one is the greatest, and that one is Christian love. It's greater than hope, of which the scriptures speak so often and so highly, like Psalm 33, 18, which says, Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you." Or faith. Love is also greater than faith. And think of the things that God says about how incredibly great faith is. To the church at Rome, Paul wrote, we conclude, here's the conclusion of the whole matter, that a man is justified by faith, apart from the deeds of the law. And the writer of Hebrews penned these indispensable words, without faith it is impossible to please God. God, and yet, the superior Christian grace and virtue is not hope, it is not faith, it is, in fact, love. Far and away, love is the greatest of these. So here's a few applications in conclusion. The first one is this, spiritual gifts are not the greatest manifestations of grace and virtue in a Christian's life. Love is. Again, spiritual gifts are not the greatest manifestations of grace and virtue in a Christian's life. Love is. It's not teaching or preaching or helping or giving or exhorting or mercy or any other spiritual gift. No, all of these have their place and purpose, but only one has the preeminent place and the greatest purpose, and that is love. Spiritual gifts are not the greatest manifestation of grace and virtue in your life, Christian. only love is. A second application is this, since love is the greatest grace and virtue, then you should desire it above everything else. Since love not only abides, but is greater than hope and even faith, then as a Christian, you and I should pursue love more than anything else. Did you get that? We ought to be pursuing love more than anything else. In fact, love should be the greatest pursuit of your life. That's why Paul's very next thought in chapter 14, look at it, verse one is this. He says, what? Pursue love. In other words, he says, because the greatest of these is love, pursue it. Pursue it. That's maybe a great way to start every day, by opening our Bibles to those words and reminding ourselves that this is the sum and substance of what it's all about. It is the greatest thing in the world, the greatest grace and virtue to pursue, and therefore we should desire and pursue love above everything else. In fact, in John chapter 13, you remember Jesus said by this, all people will know if you are my disciples, if you have what? Love, love for one another. One final application is this, spiritual graces and virtues abide. Did you notice in verse 13 that Paul said, so now faith, hope, and love abide? And it means just that, it means they continue, they endure, they remain. Faith, hope, and love don't fizzle out and quit. Instead they hang in there, they abide. Many, too many, claim to be Christians today but give no evidence or indication of continuing and abiding in faith, hope, and love. I think it's about time the church got back to saying clearly that those who are saved will abide and they will continue in faith, hope, and love. And those who do not continue in those graces and virtues have never truly come to know Jesus Christ, because you see, it's the nature, listen, it's the nature of Christian graces and virtues to abide. Jesus insisted that this was the case. You remember what he said back in John 15 concerning himself, I am divine? and you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire and are burned. What is that but hell? hell. In other words, Christ said that it's the nature of Christian grace and virtues to abide. But if they're not abiding in you, if you're not bearing fruit, then it's because you're not attached to the vine, who is Jesus Christ. And therefore your greatest need is not to love, but to repent of your sins and to believe in Christ. And then and only then will you be able to abide in him. Faith in Christ is the bridge, think of it this way, it's the bridge over which you must pass in order to be enabled to love and to abide in the love of God the Father and God the Son. In conclusion, I'm going to ask you to turn with me to 1 John chapter 4 in your Bible. 1 John chapter 4 and beginning at verse 7. This passage says a lot about love and about abiding and I'll conclude with it. 1 John chapter 4 verse 7. Let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this, the love of God was made manifest among us that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love. one another. And now beginning at verse 12, look at the word abide. No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us of his spirit. And we have seen and testified that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he abides in God. So, we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him.