Love is an eternal gift: (13:8-13)
- Love never fails: (13:8): When Paul says, “Love never fails,” he means love never ends. The synonym for this expression is “love abides” in (13:13). These phrases serve to bookend this final section where Paul argues that the spiritual gifts will be done away with one day even if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away, if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away but love never fails.
- The gifts will continue until perfection: (13:9-10): Presently we are limited in our understanding, but this will not always be the case. A time of perfection is coming! The “perfect” refers to the returning of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gifts will continue for sometime. The Spiritual gifts are for our lives on earth in order to build up, serve and strengthen fellow Christians. The Spiritual gifts are for the church. In eternity we will be made perfect and there would no need of the Spiritual gifts because we will be in the very presence of God. In other words the gifts are for us in this world until Jesus reappears on earth. At present we are limited in our understanding.
- Two analogies: (13:11-12) Further Paul explains that our understanding of God is indirect in this life. He uses two analogies, (a) childhood and (b) a mirror.
In using the analogy of childhood, Paul is not suggesting that those who speak in tongues are childish and immature. Rather, he is adopting an eternal perspective and simply saying that there will come a time when the gifts of the Spirit will no longer be necessary.
The analogy of the mirror implies that our visibility of Christ is indirect. In other words, Paul is comparing the nature of looking in a mirror to the relationship we will enjoy with Jesus when we see Him “face to face.” We enjoy looking at pictures of people, but if we have a choice we definitely would prefer to spend time with the people..
- The greatest is Love: (13:13): “ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” For all eternity, we will enjoy these three attributes. We will experience God’s incredible love, we will experience a deep love for God, and we will love one another with a perfect love. We will also continue to have “faith” in the Lord for all eternity. But the meaning of hope could be, when we are in an eternity there would be no pain or tears or sorrow. In eternity, we will continue to trust in God’s goodness in our lives and in His provisions for us. Hope in this sense “abides” or “remains,” as do faith and love. But the greatest of these is love. In love what ever we are experiencing with others, we experience the same thing with God Himself.
- Let’s cultivate the attribute of Love:
- We must desire to have a long and vibrant relationship with God.
- Secondly, we must love those nearest to us. This means that if you are married, you focus on your spouse. If you have children, you prioritize your children. If you are serving in a ministry, you love those children, teens, or adults. You strive to love your neighbours and co-workers.
This will be enable us love the world around you. God has called us to love people. Let the world around us will know that we are His disciples by the love that we have for one another.