Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 12-13
Maturity: The Graces of the Spirit
Please review 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 for background to this section.
From Last Lesson: “Love “does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil.” The phrase “thinks no evil” means “does not keep any record of wrongs.”
Love is edifying (verses 4-7) – continued. Forgiveness means that we wipe the record clean and never hold things against people (Ephesians 4:26, 32). Love does not rejoice in iniquity, yet the Corinthians were boasting about sin in their church (1 Corinthians 5). Love “will cover a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). Like Noah’s sons, we should seek to hide the sins of others, and then help them make things right (Genesis 9:20-23).
Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 carefully and compare this with the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. You will see that all of the characteristics of love show up in that fruit. This is why love edifies: it releases the power of the Spirit in our lives and churches.
Love is enduring (verses 8-13). Prophecy, knowledge, and tongues are not permanent gifts, they are meant to build up the church. (Knowledge does not mean “education,” but the immediate imparting of spiritual truth to the mind.) These three gifts go together. God would impart knowledge to the prophet, and he would give the message in a tongue. Then an interpreter (sometimes the prophet himself) would explain the message. These were gifts that some of the Corinthians prized, especially the gift of tongues.
These gifts will fail (be abolished) and cease, but love will endure forever; for “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). The Corinthians were like children playing with toys that would one day disappear in the face of love. You expect a child to think, understand, and speak like a child; but you also expect the child to mature and start thinking and speaking like an adult. The day comes when he must “put away childish things.”
In the New Testament (which at the time of the Corinthian Epistles was not completed) we have a complete revelation, but our understanding of it is partial. (Review 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 if you think otherwise.) There is a maturing process for the church as a whole (Ephesians 4:11-16) and also for the individual believer (1 Corinthians 14:20; 2 Peter 3:18). We will not be fully completed until Jesus returns, but we ought to be growing and maturing now. Children live for the temporary; adults live for the permanent. Love is enduring, and what it produces will endure.
Note that all three of the Christian graces will endure, even though “faith will become sight and hope will be fulfilled.” But the greatest of these graces is love; because when you love someone, you will trust him and will always be anticipating new joys. Faith, hope, and love go together, but it is love that energizes faith and hope.
Unfortunately, some of the emphasis today on the Holy Spirit has not been holy (because it has ignored Scripture) and has not been spiritual (because it has appealed to the carnal nature). We must not tell other believers what gifts they should have or how they can obtain them. This matter is in the sovereign will of God. Yet, we must not minimize gifts either, but neither should we neglect the graces of the Spirit. In my years of ministry to many congregations, I have run across too many church problems created by people who were zealous for the gifts, especially those they perceived as the sensational ones, but were careless of the graces that govern the application of them.
Remember, in the church body, of which Christ Jesus is the head, we strive for unity—diversity—maturity; and maturity comes through love.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
You must be logged in to post a comment.