Category: 1 Corinthians (Page 5 of 5)

“When the Perfect Comes”

May 4, 2015 / Allan Babcock

Before we take scissors to 1 Corinthians 12, let’s take a closer look at “the Perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13. Because this is the text that reveals when the gifts of the Spirit will end.

“Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease, as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 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 (13:8-12).”

WHY THIS MATTERS. We’re not splitting theological hairs. The gifts of the Spirit are from God and good for building up the church—that’s us together (1 Corinthians12:7; 14:12). So if we believe spiritual gifts have ceased but they haven’t, our church is missing some of God’s good for us. On the other hand, if we believe they haven’t but they have, we’re being deceived by “gifts” not of God.

THE NATURE OF THE GIFTS. They are “partial.” ” . . . we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes the partial will pass away” (13:9,10). The Greek meros essentially means “a part as distinct from the whole.” Paul uses it in 12:27—“Now you are the body of Christ and individually (meros) members of it.” The individual isn’t the whole body; but each individual is part of the whole body. So the Spirit’s gifts are “partial” in this sense: each spiritual gift is just part of what will soon be the completed whole (“the perfect”). Teliown means perfect in the sense of “complete” or “total.” So we can paraphrase: “For now we know and prophesy incompletely, but when the complete comes the incomplete will pass away.”

The gifts will also “pass away/cease”. The Greek word (pauontie) translated here “cease” simply means “stop”. Luke used it of Jesus: “And when he had finished speaking . . . ” (Luke 5:4). ” . . . as for tongues they will stop.” The Greek word (katargeo) is an eschatological (last days) word. Paul used it of the wisdom and rulers of this age “who are doomed to pass away” (2:6). He doesn’t mean that these rulers will merely die, but that this present age which defines them and their wisdom will pass away. That will happen, of course, when the eternal age is consummated at Christ’s coming. He uses katargeo again in 1 Corinthians 15:24-26 where it’s translated “destroying” and “destroyed.” ‘ Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power . . . The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” Here Paul uses the word of the very end of the end times. So in 13:8—“As for prophecies they will pass away”—“pass away” (katargeo) at least implies end times

THE STRUCTURE OF THE PASSAGE. Here’s the passage again . . .

Notice Paul contrasts love with gifts. Love “never ends” but the gifts (represented here by prophecies, tongues and knowledge will “pass away/cease.” He makes that contrast, not to disparage spiritual gifts, but to show the Corinthians shouldn’t be making spiritual gifts (especially tongues) the sign of spirituality. They should be esteeming love as the sign—because the gifts will pass away but love will never end.

After explaining love never ends but spiritual gifts will pass away, Paul gives two reasons (both beginning with the word “For”) and one illustration to support that statement. First reason why spiritual gifts will pass away: they are partial and will pass away when the perfect comes.

One illustration: there is a time for childhood and childish ways and there is a time for adulthood when childish ways are given up. (I don’t think Paul means God’s good spiritual gifts are “childish.” Rather he simply uses childhood into adulthood as a picture of passing away of spiritual gifts for the perfect.)

Second reason why spiritual gifts will pass away: now our knowledge is “partial”, like seeing “dimly” in a mirror (ancient Corinth was famous as the producer of fine bronze mirrors), but when the perfect comes our knowledge will be full. Not like looking face to bronze mirror, but face to face. Gifts won’t be needed to “know” the Lord any longer, because we will see him up close and personal!

The way Paul structured this passage argues strongly for only one interpretation of “the perfect.”

THE PERFECT. On a blog called “The Cripplegate”, Nathan Busenitz (Professor of Theology at The Master’s Seminary), claims the biblical interpreter can believe “the perfect” is love or the completed Scripture canon or the mature church or the believer’s entrance into Christ’s presence at death or the return of Christ or the eternal state and still remain a cessationist. Furthermore, he goes on to say, “Anthony Thiselton (Church of England theologian and author) notes in his commentary on this passage: ‘The one important point to make here is that few or none of the serious ‘cessationist’ arguments depends on a specific exegesis of 1 Cor 13:8–11

. . . . These verses should not be used as a polemic (argument of support) for either side in this debate’ (NIGTC, pp. 1063–64)”. What? My mouth is dropping. How can someone be a cessationist if he believes “the perfect” refers to the return of Christ? Why should 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 not be used to support continuationism?

Pardon me if I respectfully reject Busenitz’s and Thiselton’s views. “The perfect” is clearly the end of this present age when Christ returns. When “the perfect” comes the Spirit’s gifts will pass away. Until then they continue as they have from the outpouring of the Spirit in Acts 2. I am a continuationist and will be until someone convinces me differently from Scripture (not from church history nor from a list of cessationist giants of the faith).

But before we leave our scissors in the drawer and save 1 Corinthians12 in our Bibles, we have one more bit of evidence to consider. To that we’ll turn next time . . .

Gifts To Love

April 29, 2015 / Allan Babcock

Did the Spirit’s gifts end with the apostles? If so, we might as well grab scissors and snip 1 Corinthians 12 from our Bible.

WHY IT MATTERS. If we believe spiritual gifts have ceased but they haven’t, our church is missing some good things (1 Corinthians 12:7)—like upbuilding, encouragement and consolation (1 Corinthians 14:3). On the other hand, if we believe they haven’t and we’re seeking them, we’re being deceived by “gifts” that aren’t of God.

FULL DISCLOSURE. I’m a continuationist—someone who believes the Spirit’s gifts have continued from the 1st century to today and will until Jesus comes again. My wife and I grew up in a Pentecostal church. I graduated from a Pentecostal Bible college. I was originally ordained in a Pentecostal denomination. If you think I might suddenly bark like a dog or get “slain in the Spirit” or break out in “holy laughter”, think again. I abhor the abuses of the abusers as much as the staunchest cessationist does (someone who believes the Spirit’s gifts ceased with the apostles’ death around the end of the first century).

CONTEXT AND PROOF TEXT. How can we know which view is right? Scripture, soundly interpreted. That requires knowing the context of the proof text. (That’s the verse or verses used to substantiate a particular theological viewpoint.) For cessationists, the primary proof text (as far as I can tell) is 1 Corinthians 13:8-12.

“Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 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.”

Generally cessationists interpret “the perfect” to mean the close of the biblical canon. (“Canon” means “rule” or “standard” and in this context refers to the rule or standard of truth that God has revealed in Scripture.) When the apostles died or (some say) when the church officially recognized which books were God-breathed (that recognition came in the 4th century A.D.), the gifts of the Spirit ceased. The gifts were needed to confirm the apostles’ gospel preaching. The completed canon was self-confirming. To evaluate the cessationists’ interpretation of verse 10, let’s look at its context—the rest of 1 Corinthians 13.

“THE LOVE CHAPTER.” Chapter 13 sits in the middle of a larger section—chapters 12-14. So to understand the context of chapter 13, we have to briefly look at chapter 12. Chapters 12-14 are about spiritual gifts. It’s not a complete theology of spiritual gifts. Rather, as chapter 14 reveals, Paul is addressing an abuse of speaking in tongues: the Corinthians were making that gift the sign of being “spiritual.”

Seen in its larger context of chapters 12-14, chapter 13 functions as the way the gifts of the Spirit are to be desired. “But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way” (last verse of chapter 12). “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (first verse of chapter 13). Here’s the whole chapter . . .

Love is necessary (12:1-3). “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 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. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is morally excellent (12:4-7). “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth; Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Love is eternal (12:8-13). “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 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. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

THE SUPREMACY OF LOVE. Since I’ve exceeded my length limit (are you still there?), I’ll have to say “to be concluded next time.” But let’s take note how Paul resolves the Corinthians’ tongues-abuse. Before he issues “how-to instructions” for desiring spiritual gifts (chapter 14), he turns the spotlight on love. Without love, spiritual gifts amount to nothing more than self-indulgence. Without love “how to instructions” amount to nothing more than legalistic regulations. Love is supreme!

THE PRIORITY QUESTION. It’s not “What does ‘the perfect’ really mean?” It’s not “Why should we scissors 1 Corinthians 12 from our Bible if cessationists are right?” The urgent question of first importance is this: “Are we lovers like Jesus?”

Are we lovers like Jesus in the way we desire and use spiritual gifts? Are we lovers like Jesus when we discipline someone who uses a spiritual gift in an out-of-order way? Are we lovers like Jesus when we debate cessationism versus continuationism? Because they won’t know that we are Jesus’ disciples by our spiritual gifts or absence thereof. They will know we are his disciples if we love one another as he loved us (John 13:34,35).