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COMMENTARY
ON
LOVE
Understanding
God's word, the Bible, is necessary for life. Included is
a brief commentary differentiating between the present
dispensation and eternity. The following two paragraphs
from my sermon "Decency and Order" will augment
the commentary.
"Chapter
13 of I Corinthians depicts a time period from the
dispensation of the gifts among the early church unto the
transformation from the 'body of our humiliation' unto
the 'body of his glory' (Phil. 3:21). Knowledge shall
vanish away (I Cor. 13:8). There is a contrast between
'partial' knowledge, which exists now; and with 'full'
knowledge, whereas one shall know even as he has been
known (I Cor. 13:12). In order for the greater to become
existent, the lesser must be annulled--that will happen
when 'that which is perfect' comes (I Cor. 13:10).
"If
the dispensation of the gifts, even though they be from
'part' (I Cor. 13:9), existed from the early church era
and will continue to exist until that which is perfect is
come (an everlasting era in the future), ... the
longevity of the dispensation of the gifts includes our
contemporary era."
(I Corinthians 13:8-13)
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"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" (I Cor.
13.8). |
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Love
never fails. Love abides now, and |
will abide forever. God is
love. God is from everlasting, unto everlasting;
hence, love has been from everlasting; it abides
in the life of those who obey the Lord Jesus
Christ now; it will continue to be present unto
everlasting. |
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The
Greek word "fail" in " ... but
whether |
there be prophecies, they
shall fail ..." is
"katargatha'sonti," which means
"they shall be done away." This word is
used in various forms; it is used four times
within the verses 8 through 11. The incomplete
capacity of knowledge which we have attained at
present through the edification of prophecy,
while living in a corruptible body, will be
changed; we will possess a perfect capacity of
full knowledge in Heaven. |
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Tongues
will no longer continue in |
Heaven--" ... whether
there be tongues, they shall cease." Tongues
are a sign for the unbeliever, at least in some
particular contexts, and there will be no
unbelievers in Heaven. As to speaking in tongues
for edification, the apostle gives account of the
procedure and interpretation in 14:27, 28. |
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The
vanishing inferior capacity of partial |
knowledge that we presently
possess will be changed to the complete,
superior, everlasting capacity of full knowledge:
" ... whether there be knowledge, it shall
vanish away." |
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"For
we know in part, and we prophesy |
in part (I Cor. 13.9)."
Our scope is limited--we do not have the full
picture at the present time. However, the
Scripture does say that we know in part; it does
not say that we do not have any knowledge. Also
the Scripture does say that we prophesy in part;
it does not say that we do not prophesy at all . |
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"But
when that which is perfect is come, |
then that which is in part
shall be done away" (I Cor. 13.10).
"But when" signifies "another
time"; "that which is perfect is
come" signifies that our present "state
of being" is lacking. God will do a further
work unto the creation and unto the
Christian--there is an eternal inheritance to
come. |
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"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" (I Cor. 13.11).
The premature things of a child
"vanish" away into manhood. |
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"For
now we see through a glass, darkly; |
but then to face: now I know
in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known" (I Cor. 13.12). "For now we see
through a glass, darkly" signifies our
limited, immature, incomplete state of being, of
which we are still in a corruptible body which is
about to vanish; "but then" signifies a
"future time"; "face to face"
signifies our "presence" with God:
corruption having taken on incorruption;
incompleteness having taken on completeness;
"now I know in part" signifies the
present; "but then shall I know even as also
I am known" is a key which unlocks the
shackles of erroneous doctrine which prevents the
unenlightened and unstable from understanding the
latter part of the thirteenth chapter: "but
then" signifies a "time" and a
"difference"--a "change";
"shall I know even as I am known"
signifies a change from incomplete knowledge unto
complete knowledge. God is the only one who is
incorruptible and omniscient--the only possible
way that we could know even as we are known is
that God change us from incompleteness unto
completeness; corruption unto incorruption. That
change can not take place until the time that the
Apostle Paul prophesied: "in a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed" has been fulfilled (I Cor. 15.52). |
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"And
now abideth faith, hope, charity, |
these three; but the
greatest of these is charity" (I Cor.
13.13). Though faith, hope and charity abide in
the life of the Christian today, love (charity)
is the most prominent. Nothing pleases God more
than for him to see us loving him and one
another. Love will continue on the other side of
eternity. |
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COMMENTARY
(I Corinthians 14:34-37)
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The
Apostle Paul refers to the Old |
Testament Law,"as also
the law says" as proof of the congruency of
the command for women to be silent and to be
under subjection in the assemblies (I Cor.
14.34). The apostle commands specifically,
"in the assemblies" as to letting the
women be quiet. In 11:4, 5, it seems appropriate
to think praying and prophesying concerns the
conduct of a woman or a man outside of the
assembly. The issue in 11:5 is the covering--the
hair; but the issue of the context in 14:34 has
to do with
assembly order: the differentiation of the
sexes--the males to speak in the assembly; the
women to be quiet and under subjection. |
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Here
again, " ... for it is a shame for |
women to speak in the
assembly," as in verse 34, the apostle
mentions specifically where--"in the
assembly" (I Cor. 14.35). |
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He
sarcastically rebukes the Greeks for |
not adhering to the
authority of God's word, "What? came the
word of God out from you? or came it unto you
only?" (I Cor. 14:36) |
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Even
though an indefinite pronoun is |
used, it is evident the
apostle is addressing men: prof-ay'-tace
preacher; pnyoo-mat-ik-os' spiritual; both forms
of the Greek words denote the male. Both of the
words also have feminine forms which would denote
the female: they are not mentioned in this verse
(I Cor.14.37). |
Br.
Ken
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