The American Wisdom Series 
 http://www.americanwisdomseries.com
.

Presents 
1 Corinthians

Chapter 13

Caution to students of God's Word - Please remember two things when using our studies: #1. Our commentary is not God's Word. It is only our interpretation or understanding of "His Word" and even though we try our best to be accurate we may or may not be correct. #2. The King James translation, or any other translation, of the original Hebrew text has some words which were given different translations at different places probably because of the interpreters preconceived ideas of what they think God meant to say. For example: According to the notes in the "Dake's Annotated Reference Bible" the Hebrew word hayah in the KJV is Trans. (became) 67 times, (becamest or came to pass) 505 times, (become) 66 times, and (come to pass) 131 times, but for some reason in Genesis 1:2 it is translated (was)! That sure changes the way a person perceives the original creation of the earth, doesn't it?  Gen. 1:2 And the earth was (became) without form, ... Having said that, let us continue with our "Key Knowledge" lessons. These are pamphlets containing knowledge, we believe, you must have to fully and accurately unlock and understand the Word of God.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13-14
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

This Bible Study was originally written by Roger Christopherson,
 published at http://www.theseason.org/ 

Without the leading by the Holy Spirit, there is no understanding of the truths, for all the truth of the Scriptures are revealed to us by God's Spirit.

Now here is our study of:

1 Corinthians

Chapter 13

"Love More Excellent than Gifts."

"Men" in the sense that is used here is "human", born in the flesh and innocent of what happened in the first earth age. However the angels do have a much higher tongue or language and thought pattern, for they have come from the Father, and they are in a spiritual body, and are also conscience of their position. They think, and know and are on a much higher plain of understanding and knowledge than man will attain in his flesh body, in this flesh age.

Paul is saying that you could know every thing to know, to have the knowledge of both man and the angels, and if you did not have "charity", which in the Greek tongue is "love", what you would say would be no more than wind chimes clanging and tinkling in the wind. Sure it would make a pretty sound, but there is no harmony or order to what is coming to other's ears. Without love in your heart, your words are no better than the wind blowing against the chimes.

I Corinthians 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."

Though you have the ability to understand all the prophecies of the Word of God, and know exactly what is going to happen in your days, and have not love in your heart, your knowledge is worthless. Though you have the faith in your heart so that you could change an entire nation, and bring it to its knees, and if you have not love in your heart for the souls of others, you are nothing. It just doesn't matter to God what you do, when you do not have love for the souls of others. Friend, Love is the strongest force in the world, and it is always present.

I Corinthians 13:3 "And though I bestowed all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned , and have not charity, it propheteth me nothing."

Love is the most important part of your Christian life. If it is not then it matters not what you do, for nothing you do will matter in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.

I Corinthians 13:4 "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,"

When you have Love you will have much patience. There is room in the heart of a man or woman that has Love for others. Love doesn't boast within itself, for it always puts the other person first, and the one with the true love of our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ knows that any glory that does come our way, is not ours to glory in, but belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ who paid the full price for our salvation. You become happy for that other person that has achieved his goals, and you take joy in the things that make others happy, when they are part of the body of Christ.

Love doesn't parade itself when it achieves glory, and it doesn't put on airs that it doesn't deserve. Love is genuine and it is honest, and when it is given to others, it expects nothing in return. In the Greek tongue this type of love is called "agapao", or number 25 in the Strong's Greek dictionary.

I Corinthians 13:5 "Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil."

Love is not rude to others, or short tempered when dealing with others who are having a difficult time in their life. Boldness is not rudeness. When you have the love of God within you, you do not seek to get or prove your own rights when you are not dealt with properly, and you don't resent others when it looks like you end up on the short end of the deal.

I Corinthians 13:6 "Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;"

When you have the love of God within you, there is no pleasure in seeing iniquity being dealt to others. Love find happiness in speaking the truth, and seeing that the truth is carried out.

I Corinthians 13:7 "Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

True love believes, finds hope, and endures to the end. In the manuscripts of the early text, the word "things" just isn't there, so we carry the reference as to what love believes, finds hope in, and endures in, to be that which the body of Christ finds hope in and endures. Of course that is the body of Christ and those members that are part of it.

When we find one of the body of Christ that truly loves the Lord that just can't shake of some habit or thing that bothers you, we are to love him anyhow. He can't help his short fall, and we are to love him or her anyway, and endure those things for the body of Christ's sake. Every church has someone that bothers the rest of the congregation, and it doesn't matter how troublesome that person can be, we are still to love him or her in the Lord. When you can love someone so much that you can even love their faults, then that is true love. They are part of the body of Christ, and remember what Paul taught in the last chapter. Charity even accepts those with faults.

I Corinthians 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."

Every prophecy in the entire Bible will be "fulfilled" for the very simply reason that it will come to pass. The time is coming when all tongues or languages that exist today will end also and this is because at the sounding of the seventh and last trump, all flesh bodies will be changed instantly, in the wink of an eye into the new soul or spiritual bodies, as the angels have, and all souls will speak the same language, as it was in the first earth age. That is also as it was prior to the tower of Babel. Knowledge will not vanish away, but it will be fulfilled, and known to everyone.

I Corinthians 13:9 "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part."

Our minds in our flesh bodies don't know everything, in fact we know very little compared to the vast knowledge of the universe and the elements that go to make it up.

I Corinthians 13:10 "But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away."

Jesus Christ is the only perfect one, and when Jesus Christ is come to this earth at the seventh trumpet then every thing that is hid from our minds today will be revealed to us. We will see the entire plan of God, for all prophecy will be fulfilled and the knowledge of the entire word of God will be planted within our minds in the Millennium age. In that time you will not have to tell your neighbor about the things of God, for they will know them automatically.

I Corinthians 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."

When I was a child or babe in Christ, I acted just like a babe with no more ability to digest the meat of the word than a child. However as I matured in the Word of God, I put away those childish things of a new born babe in Christ, and I acted as a mature Christian ought to act. There is no gender to this verse, but what is important is that you understand that it is expected of you as a Christian to mature in the Word of God, and get far beyond the milk of the Word, which is salvation and baptism. Sure salvation and baptism are important and essential in becoming a Christian, but after you have received salvation and have been baptized, then it is time to mature to where you are able to stand against the fiery spiritual darts of Satan and his evil spirits.

When you see a baby Christian, which may be an adult, start putting demands on our Lord and demanding that He follow their every whim; that is their immaturity showing through. It is the actions of a spoiled child demanding his way on everything. The only love of this self-centered child is in himself. This is common in the baby Christian, and they think that all the promises are theirs without following through with the ifs, or conditions that are attached to the promises. This is becoming very common also in many church houses today, and it is done because those doing the teaching are no more mature than those that they are teaching.

However when you leave that childhood and move into the maturity of a strong Christian, than love overcome a lot of those demands and childish thoughts that you once had. This is why it is hard to look upon a senior citizen that has been a Christian for many years, and he or she still continues in their life as a new born babe in Christ. All they know about the Bible is what most new born Christians learn in the first few months after the were saved. Many are still coming down the aisle to be saved for the hundredth time, and they still have no idea of the freedom that we have in Christ. They sin and they feel that they need to be saved all over again, which becomes a mockery to God, and the price that Jesus Christ paid on the cross.

In the flesh we will fall short of God's will for our lives, and sin. However when we do sin it is not the time to get saved all over again, but to come to the Father in repentance for those sins in Jesus name, and Father will forgive them and wipe them off the books that are kept in heaven. That is right, we need to repent to the Father for those sins, and our credentials to approach the throne of God is Jesus name, for in Jesus name we are saying that we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, begotten of the Father, and that according to the will and plan of God, he suffered and died on the cross, shedding His sin free blood to cover our sins and after three days and three nights arose again from the dead defeating death.

Friend, when you have the sense and knowledge from God's Word to know when you have sinned and have repented, then that frees your find from the guilt of those sins for they are removed from you. This applies to all sin and that includes divorce, and anything else that you can name except for the refusal to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through you when you are called up during the tribulation. That sin cannot be committed at this time because the time when you will need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through you is after Satan has arrived on earth as the false-christ. So it is time you learn the entire plan of God, and study the Word from cover to cover. Who's fault is it when you see one of those forty or fifty year old spiritual babies?, was it their fault or the teachers fault. Plenty of fault with both, I would venture to guess! 

It is important that we do not remain a baby in Christ, but we should seek to mature to be a helpful servant of God to those in need around us.

I Corinthians 13:12 "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."

Even when we have reached maturity in God's Word, we can still only see through that veil just a little bit into the eternity. However someday we will see our Lord Jesus Christ face to face, and in our soul or spiritual body we will have the spiritual eyes to know and understand everything. In our flesh bodies, we can only see a very small part of that eternal kingdom, but the time is coming very soon when that veil will be taken away and we will be changed out of these flesh bodies and come into our new incorruptible and immortal bodies that will never age, nor get sick. We will discuss this in detail in the fifteenth chapter. Just as God knows ever little thing about me, so also will I know those things.

I Corinthians 13:13 "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

Love is the greatest gift of all the gifts, for it demonstrates charity, patience, and understanding. True love genuinely cares for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and their well being, and for the lost souls of this world that they may come to know the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world today is a terribly confused and mixed up world, where hatred is so strong that a brother even kill his brother for no apparent reason. There is one thing that can overcome all the hatred that is going on today, and that is true love of Christ in our heart. Charity will make things right and bridge the gap that drives people apart.

Where are the teachers of our youth? Both at home and in the schools it seems like God and the Word of God has been removed, and in its place is nothing but confusion. Our public leaders can't figure out what is causing our kids to become so cruel towards each other, while they themselves are striving to remove God and His commandments from their classrooms. The prophecies of the Word of God are coming true, and we are witnessing end time prophecy coming to pass right before our eyes.

It is time for true Christians to mature in the Word, and show that love of Christ that we are to show to others, and put others before ourselves. Love is the most powerful thing in the world, and it is time that we use some of that power that Christ has given to us. Love overcome many faults, and our intercession in prayer for our loved ones, and the lost is another way that we can demonstrate our love.