That Which Matters Most and Lasts Forever

That Which Matters Most and Lasts Forever 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 January 13, 2019 THE BIG IDEA: To people who loved to think of themselves as the spiritual elite, Paul says, “You are using the wrong metric!” We are called to a Christian maturity characterized by 3 things – faith, hope, and love. And, only one of those three things will be found in heaven. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 (ESV) 13 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 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. 12 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 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 11 Underlying Truth: The most extravagant displays of spiritual giftedness are worthless if you are devoid of love. This flies in the face of those who measured spiritual strength and value to the church by which gift you had. From 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 1. 2. 3. 4. Love will never cease to seen, needed, or experienced. (v. 8) Spiritual gifts do all have an expiration date. (v. 8) No spiritual gift sets you up for absolute perfection in knowing who God is – they all give incomplete glimpses of God. (v. 9) One day, “The Perfect” will come and all spiritual gifts are rendered unnecessary. Major Truth #1: For the Christian, we are caught between the “now” and “then” of what God is doing and what He is showing us. § Now, we catch glimpses and hear the hints at the Glory of God. Now, we occasionally see partial answers to question of what and why. § § § Paul says it is like looking into an ancient mirror where we see, but ‘dimly’. The word “dimly” is our word for “enigma”, meaning ‘a puzzle.’ Then, “face to face” [1 John 3:2] Now, we have partial knowledge Then, we will have full knowledge [Philippians 3:8-11] Major Truth #2: We often use the wrong measurement for gauging where we stand in our relationship with Jesus. We should never expect experiences with imperfect and temporary spiritual gifts to usher us into “the perfect” while we are still living in the “now”. Major Truth #3: What the Lord is calling us to “now” is a growing and genuine spiritual maturity that is measured in light of 3 things: [Colossians 1:3-5; 1 Thessalonians 1:3] Faith: more than just believing there is a God, this is trust in Jesus as God’s Son who died on the Cross, taking the punishment for our sin, and who through His resurrection offers us eternal life. “Now” we live by faith. [Hebrews 11:1] “Then” we will live by sight. Hope: confidence in the promises of God that there is life after death for His people and a real place where we will live with Him forever – Heaven. “Now” live with hope, but “then” we live in the kept promises of God! [1 Peter 3:15] Love: we are loved by the Father, love Him supremely in return, and love His children, serving them as Christ served His disciples. Our love for God and His Church is a witness to those who don’t know Him. The greatest act of love for the spiritually lost is to tell them who Christ is and what He has done. Love is both “now” and then”. [1 John 4:7-12] Major Truth #4: The reason love is the greatest is that it is the eternal state of our relationship with God and one another. In heaven, faith will no longer be necessary, because we will see with our own eyes the One we trusted. Hope will be replaced by the kept promises of our Creator and Savior. We will worship and love our Lord and love His Saints forever! Rather than using the presence or absence of spiritual gifts and abilities to check the status of our relationship with Jesus, we ask different questions: Do I have Faith? Am I living in Hope? Am I growing in Love?