Love 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. For we know in part, we prophesy
in part. But when that which is perfect
is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 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. For now we see through a glass
darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then
shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith,
hope, love, these three. But the greatest of these is
love." You know, if I was talking about these things and this wasn't
the Word of God, I would hesitate to rank one grace above another,
wouldn't you? There's not much ambiguous about
that, is there? No, it's not hard to understand.
The greatest grace that God ever gave to man is love. Prophecies,
tongues, and knowledge all fail. Not love. These other graces
are not to be thought light of. He's not doing that. All of these
are graces from God, gifts to men whereby the Lord has propagated
the gospel. What light would we have without
the prophets, preachers that God has given throughout the
ages of time, given the message to preach? What light would we
have? Without the gift of tongues,
what light would the Gentiles have? Without the gift of knowledge,
what would the prophets have preached? In fact, in the next
chapter, Paul is going to speak on the importance of prophecy,
of preaching. And we'll see that next time
we're in the book. So these are not things to be
taken lightly. This is not a slight placed upon
these wonderful gifts from God. They're not mentioned for that
reason. They're mentioned as inferior here to show the supremacy,
the surpassing excellence. of this greatest grace of all.
Love. Love. And there's one attribute
of love that's given here that's said to set it apart from all
the others. You notice the words used, fail,
cease, vanish away. They're all the same Greek word.
I'm not sure why they translated them the way they did. The same
Greek word, fail, cease, vanish away. They're used in connection
with all of these graces. But there's one difference in
the case of love. One word is added, never. Never. That's what distinguishes
it from all the others. Never. Never. Never fails. Remember
that love is defined by what love does and what love does
not do. It does not seek its own. What
does it do? Well, it's kind, it's gentle,
long-suffering, all these things. It does some things and doesn't
do some things. We saw what we call the attributes
of love. But love is also defined in this.
It never stops doing what it does. And it never starts doing
what it doesn't do. Oh, love will endure in this
life and in the life to come. That's what separates it from
every other grace that there is. And that's what Paul said
here. That's the one attribute of it
that distinguishes it here. I'll emphasize again to you that
what men call love and what God calls love are two different
things. And that's not hidden in the text here, is it? It's
plainly seen. This love never fails. Never
fails. What men call love changes with
the wind. I love you. Is that right? Give
it about ten years. And then when that time is up,
give it another ten. And we'll see what kind of love
you have. This love never fails. In fact, Paul is writing here
on the subject of love to these Corinthians for a reason. Because
what men call love and what God calls love are two different
things. In his other epistles, Paul never speaks so eloquently
and in such great detail and at such length on the subject
of love. There was a reason why he did here. These were greatly
gifted believers. We read that. He acknowledged
that and he thanked the Lord for that. But based upon their
behavior, if there was one gift that many of them lacked, it
seemed to be that perhaps this greatest grace of all was absent
in them because they used the gifts that they had without much
evidence of love. And so Paul, I think, does a
pretty thorough job of exhorting them in this. And this is why
He does so. He admonishes them here. Love
is preeminent among these gifts. No matter how gifted you are,
if you don't love, if you're not all these things that love
is and does and doesn't do, you're nothing. Your gifts are meaningless. Now look at verse 9. For we know
in part, and we prophesy in part, Let's put the thinking caps on
for a little while. This doesn't seem like deep scripture
here when I read it, I'm sure. And I didn't expect it to be.
But this requires some thought right here, my friends. We prophesy,
we know in part. Now, in verse 10, he speaks of
that which is perfect as opposed to that which is in part here.
And you've got to jump forward to verse 10 and see that in order
to understand what he's talking about here. That which we know
in part and the fact that we prophesy in part is set over
against the fact that that which is perfect is coming and then
these things will be over. So understand this now and think
with me. It's not uncommon at all for
that which is perfect to be referred to and taught to be the Scriptures. You may have heard that interpretation
before. I remember way back when I was
a kid, that's the way it was interpreted in the Baptist church,
that that's talking about the Scriptures. And it was used as
a proof text to deny the fact that people are able to speak
in tongues now. All these gifts, like tongues
and these things, when the Word of God was complete, when all
the epistles were written, which wasn't true at this time. When
Paul wrote this, he was still writing the Word of God. And
they didn't have the complete Word of God. And so they would
use that as a proof text. If you ever have to use the Scripture
as a proof text, the only thing it proves is that you're not
honest and you're dealing with the Scriptures. The Scriptures
are not a set of proof texts to prove your ideas on things.
We take the Word of God as it is. But that interpretation is
not at all uncommon. One of the arguments that's given
is that the only thing that's perfect in this world is God's
Word. That part I agree with. That's
right. The only perfect thing in this
world is this book right here. The Word of God is infallible. It's the Word of God. It's not
man's word. It's not man's opinions. bodies of divinity and doctrinal
creeds, however sound they may be, are written by men. But not
this. Not this. That's why I don't
have much use for doctrinal creeds and bodies of divinity. But this book is perfect, no
doubt about that. So when you talk about that which
is perfect, I could see how you might think that. But let's look
at the context of this verse. If that which is perfect is the
Word of God that Paul didn't have, at this time. He didn't
have the complete scriptures as we do. If that's what that
which is perfect is, then that which is done away is Paul's
preaching and knowledge of the gospel. You follow me? When this book is written, in
other words, if what he's saying, when this word is complete, then
my knowledge and preaching that I've done without the perfect
Word of God is obsolete. It's done away with. That can't
be right, can it? That can't be what he's saying.
If Paul knew in part, then I know in part too. I know the same
things he knew, don't you? You understand? I told you, you
have to put your thinking cap on now. If Paul prophesied in
part, then so do I, because I'm preaching the same thing he did.
I don't have any more light than he did, any more truth than he
did. Maybe more light, but the same truth. When this book was
written, it didn't make what Paul preached obsolete. You see
what I'm talking about? So that can't be it. That cannot
be it. And I'm not done. If that which is perfect is perfect
knowledge of God as He perfectly knows me, which the context here
clearly teaches, then what Paul refers to as being done away
is that imperfect knowledge of God. Stay with me. Look at verse
12. And I think this is the inevitable
conclusion that we must come to, that what he's talking about
here, that which is perfect, is a perfect knowledge of God. Look at verse 12. For now we see through a glass
darkly, but then face-to-face. Now I know in part. There's the
same thing again. Know what in part? Well, we know
God in part, don't we? We know His Word. We know the
truth, but in part. But then shall I know even as
also I'm known. There's perfect right there.
That's the perfect He's talking about. Perfect knowledge of God. Then. The key word there is then. I don't have that now. So you
see, when he says we know in part and we prophesy in part,
we know God, but not like we're known. Not yet. You see that? Paul is not changing his thought
in midstream here. He's talking about the same thing
in verses 9 and 10 as he is in verse 12. He's talking about
in part and perfect. In part and perfect. It's the
same thing. And verse 12 sheds a lot of light
on verse 9, doesn't it, in verse 10? A lot of light. And so you see there, if we don't
learn anything else tonight, we'll learn this. Well, we'll
learn two things. It's not talking about the Scriptures
there. It's just not. If it does, he's throwing a thought
in there completely out of context. And secondly, it'll teach us
the importance of the context of Scripture. And maybe the third
thing is don't use the Scripture as a proof text. I don't need
that to declare plainly and clearly that people aren't speaking in
tongues in this day. I can see what's taught in the
Word of God about tongues and know that. Compare it to what's
going on now, and it's ridiculous. So I don't need a proof text
there, and if I did need one, I wouldn't get it from here,
because that's not what it's saying. the experience that will do away
with that which is in part. It's not the completion of this
book, though I'm grateful for that. I'm glad we have the entire
complete Word of God. But that's not what Paul said
is going to do away with that which is in part. What he said
will do away with that which is in part is to know God even
as God knows me. That's what's going to end it,
do away with it. Paul's preaching and knowledge
didn't become done away with when this book was written. My
knowledge is no better than his, is it? My preaching? No, absolutely not. So what he
means by prophesying in part and knowing in part is that our
understanding is partial. He's going to illustrate that
here coming up in two ways. When I was a child, I thought
I knew everything when I was a kid, didn't you? But then I
grew up. That's a pretty good illustration
of what he's talking about here. We know in part. And then the
other illustration is we're looking through a dark glass. We see
something. I see the Lord Jesus Christ.
I see Him dying for my sins. I see His blood effectual to
redeem me. He obtained me. I see those things.
Ah, but I don't see them perfectly. Do you? What a wonderful illustration. That's so revealing, isn't it? But look at it now. Prophesying
in part, knowing in part, our understanding is in part, so
our preaching's got to be in part. We're just preaching what
we know. And we don't know everything,
do we? We discern all things that are
vital, Paul said in the first part of this book. We discern
the truth of God, that which He's revealed. We discern those
things. but not perfectly, and so we're not going to preach
him perfectly. And that's exactly what he's talking about here.
Preaching, and let me say this, you might be thinking, well,
prophecies, talking about prophesying, Chris, that's for telling the
future. No, it's not. No, no, the word, it does, it
can mean that. The prophets were able to see
future things in the Old Testament. The Lord revealed things to come
to them because Christ was coming. He was to come, and he's always
been the message of God. to sinners. His Son has always
been the gospel, and how He can be just and justify sinners by
faith in the blood and righteousness of His Son, that's always been
the truth. And so they had to foresee some things that hadn't
happened, and prophecy includes that at times. But the word also means this.
This is another definition. To utter forth, to declare a
thing which can only be known by divine revelation. You've
done that. If you've told your children
that God is God and that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior
of sinners, that His blood is effectual, you say, well, everybody
knows that. Oh, no. Very few people know
that. How do you know that Christ died for all of His sheep and
that everybody He died for is redeemed? How do you know that? Because God revealed it to you.
So how are you going to tell somebody that? About the gift
of prophecy. You're going to utter that which
can only be known by divine revelation, the truth of God. You see that?
I'll give you an example of the word prophecy, prophesy, that
has nothing to do with future things, just to kind of drive
this point home. In Matthew 26, 68, remember when
they smoked the Lord Jesus Christ on the face and the head? And
they had his face covered up, and then they hit him, And they
said this, prophesy unto us, thou Christ, who is he that smote
thee? In other words, tell us which
one of us hit you on the head with your face covered up. You
reckon he knew who it was? But they said you prophesy unto
us who it was. Well, that's something that already
happened. You see, that's not a future event. But it was prophecy
because he couldn't have known it unless God revealed it to
him, right? in their point of view, because how are you going
to know who did it if your face is covered up? Well, he knew
because he is God. He knew everything that they
had ever done and when they did it and why. And so they were
playing games with God is what they were doing. But you see
how the word prophesy is used there. All right, I do know some
things. And you do too, if you're God's.
They shall all be what? Taught of God. The Lord's taught
you some things. He's taught you some things that
nobody else knows. We do know. I know God. But I
don't know Him like He knows me, do you? I know Christ. And I don't say that lightly.
By His grace, I know Him and I believe Him. Don't you? I believe
Him. I believe He's exactly who He said He was. I believe he
can do what he said he'd do. Don't you? That's what I said.
Abraham believed God. He said he staggered not at the
promise of God. He believed that what God promised,
he was able also to perform. You believe that? You believe
God will do what he said he would? The Lord Jesus Christ will do
what he said he would do? We wouldn't have much to say
otherwise, would we? And I preach the truth. I know and I prophesy. I tell some things that I wouldn't
know if God hadn't revealed them to me. That's prophecy. I do
these things in part, but I do these things, and you do too,
by God's grace. Let me illustrate to you what
I mean by knowing in part and prophesying in part. It doesn't
mean that I don't know the gospel. It doesn't mean that there's
something missing from the message. Paul said, I haven't kept back
from you. I've preached to you the whole
counsel of God. There's nothing lacking in the
message, is there? Not a thing. Well, what do you
mean? Turn to 1 Kings 10. And I'm sorry
if I'm stumbling all over myself trying to explain this, but I
want you and I to know what this means when we get done here tonight.
This is one of the most beautiful and wonderful and well-known
passages of Scripture in the Bible, and very few people know
what he's talking about here. 1 Kings 10, verse 1, When the
queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name
of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. And
she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that
bear spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when
she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that
was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her
questions. There was not anything hid from
the king, which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had
seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,
and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants,
and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers,
and his assent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord,
there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It
was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts
and of thy wisdom." There's the gospel right there, right? It's
a true report. I wouldn't lie to you about God.
No, I wouldn't do that. No, it's true. It's the truth.
His acts, what He's done, His wisdom, His glory, I'm telling
you the truth about Him. How be it? I believed not the
words until I came, and mine eyes had seen it. And behold,
the half was not told me. That's what we're talking about
there. It's in part, isn't it? Oh, my. Thy wisdom and thy prosperity
exceedeth the fame which I heard." I've tried, honestly, to tell
you about His glory, to tell you who He is and what He did
for sinners. But I'll tell you this, His glory
far exceeds anything I've ever said. Far exceeds. The half hasn't yet been told.
There's Scripture I hadn't even preached on. There's verses,
there's passages of Scripture I will never preach on. and the
ones I have, I hadn't done them justice. I've told you the truth. She said the report I heard,
it was a good report. Oh, but now I see your glory,
now face to face, and I see now that it's far greater than anybody
could have ever said or told. That's what we're talking about
now, when we see Him as He is. Now, honestly, in the context
which Paul has written here in 1 Corinthians 13. Is this what
he means when we say we preach in part? Or is he talking about
we're not going to speak in tongues anymore when the Word of God
is complete? You settle that matter in your heart. Now look at verse 10. When that
which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be
done away. Again, to understand this verse, we must read it with
verse 12, particularly verse 12, but the rest of the context
also. According to verse 12, what is that which is in part?
Well, as we saw, the obvious and only answer to that question,
what is that which is in part? He said those words now in verse
9, that which is in part in verse 10. You see that there in the
second clause there, the second phrase, that which is in part. Well, what is that? Look at verse
12. I know in part. Now, he's either
changed the subject or he's talking about his knowledge of God in
verse 10. You see what I'm saying? All
right. Then what is that which is perfect?
Look at verse 10 again. You see those words? That which
is perfect. Right there in the first phrase
of the verse. Well, the answer in verse 12
again is what? But then shall I know even as
I am known. There's that which is perfect.
A perfect knowledge of God. A perfect experience of that
which now we've only heard about. Oh, it was a good report. The
report I heard was true, she said. But now I see your glory. Oh, that's perfection right there.
I'm thankful for that which is in part, aren't you? Now that's all we have. What
a thing to have. A revelation of who He is, a
saving knowledge of Him and His grace and mercy in Christ. I'm thankful for that which is
in part. I'm thankful for revelation, for understanding of the truth,
for the true report. I'm grateful for that, aren't
you? But I long for that which is
perfect, don't you? Oh, look at verse 11. He illustrates
here what he just said in verse 10. And what a beautiful illustration
now. Oh, when I was a little child,
when I was a boy, my speech reflected that, didn't it? I talked about
stuff, you know, that didn't matter. didn't even want to listen
to, you know. You know how kids will rattle
on about stuff. If you love them, you'll sit there and listen to
them. If you don't, you're like, you know, your mind is off somewhere. They're talking child, kid stuff,
aren't they? It's not that interesting, is
it? I spake as a child. I understood as a child. We thought
we knew everything, didn't we? I saw some things clearer, I
think, when I was a little kid than I do now, because my mind
was sharp then, you know what I mean? But we were so childish
in our understanding of things. We put the wrong priorities on
things when we were children, didn't we? I remember my daddy
always teaching me that. He said, I want to teach you,
if I can, a sense of priority. What's important and what's not
so important. Children need to learn that,
don't they? Because the stupidest things are everything to them. And the most important, eternal
things. You know, I don't have much time
for that. We need a sense of pride. We understand as children
when we're children, don't we? I thought as a child, but when
I became a man, I changed, didn't I? I changed. That which was
important to me didn't mean that much anymore. My understanding,
my knowledge, and therefore my speech What I say is affected
by how I think, isn't it? What I know, the way I understand
things, the way I perceive things. All of these things changed.
And in like manner to this, when we see Christ face to face as
He is, what we used to call knowledge, you know what I'm talking about?
What we used to think, well I know, if I know my Bible, you know,
oh my, what we used to call knowledge, done away, done away. It'll seem childish compared
with His full, true, perfectly perceived glory. I'll see Him
as He is. Not as I think He is. Even if
my thinking is right, there's a difference. There's a difference. Job said, I've heard of You with
the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee. And there's
a sense in which that's true in salvation. We've heard some
things, but then when we see Him as He reveals Himself in
the Gospel, but then in a whole other sense when we see Him face
to face. It'll be like what we thought
we knew. What do we need with that? What do we need with our
past perceptions of Him? Now look at verse 12. Here's
another illustration of what he's talking about. Now, we see. Thank God we see. It's by God's
grace that we see. Don't take for granted that grace,
that privilege. Proverbs 20.12 says, The hearing
ear and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.
The Lord said to His little flock, Blessed are your eyes. The favorite
of God are your eyes because they see. They see. In John 9.39,
you remember we read just the other day, Jesus said to that
blind man, for judgment I'm coming to the world that they which
see not might see. Are you grateful that He came
to make that distinction concerning you? To make a blind man see? I once was blind, but now I see. Oh, amazing grace. Amazing grace. Aren't you grateful to be able
to see by His power and grace? To understand the truth. To have
a knowledge of God. But let me ask you this. Are
you satisfied with your eyesight? Oh, satisfied with Him. No question
about that. Satisfied with the sight that
I have in the sense that what this world calls sight has no
attraction to me. None. None. They've got nothing
to teach me. and nothing I want to hear. I'm
satisfied with my sight in that sense, aren't you? Satisfied
to never see Him any more clearly than you do right now? I don't
think so. Are you? No, no, no, no. We see through a glass darkly.
The disciples prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, increase
our faith. Do you have that desire? I want
to know Him more clearly. Paul said that I may know Him
in the power of His resurrection. Don't you know Him, Paul? Yeah,
but I want to know Him, don't you? I want to know Him. John
said, I've written these things to you that you might believe. You see what he's talking about?
We see through a glass darkly now. No, I want to see Him more
clearly, even in this life that I do now, don't you? I want to
know Him better. I want to love Him more deeply,
more exclusively, if I could just do that. But Paul says one
little wonderful word here in this verse, in verse 11. And
he uses it twice. Then. Then. I'm looking for then,
aren't you? Then. Then what? Face to face. I said verse 11. It's verse 12.
He says then. Do you even know what that is? Face to face? Do you know what
the Lord's face looks like? I will then. I know it doesn't
look like what it did when he lived here. It's not going to
be the same, exactly is it? The same Jesus will come again. But even he was transfigured,
do you remember? In the sight of his apostles
in Matthew 17, it says, He was transfigured before them, and
his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as
the light. He's going to look more like that, I think, than
he did when He was just walking with them and teaching them.
Don't you think so? He's changed. His face has changed just like
ours will. It will still be us. But we will
change even. So I imagine He doesn't look
exactly like He did when He was here. You think? It says we'll
see Him as He is. Not as He was. In 1 John 3, 2,
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be. But we know this, that when he
appears, we'll be like him because we'll see him as he is, face
to face, not as he was. Religion likes to depict him
as he was, don't they? A little baby in a manger or
a shepherd, you know, they like to have him holding the shepherd's
staff and there's little sheep, you know, and there might even
be like a halo or something around his head. Yeah, that's not what
he looked like even when he was here. That's sure enough not
what he looks like now. You can't paint that. You can't
paint that. I want to see him as he is. I
just know it'll be glorious. I know where he is. Do you? Revelation 7, 17, for the lamb
which is in the midst of the throne shall feed and shall lead
them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes." Where is he now? He's not in a manger. He's not hanging on a cross.
He's on the throne. He's on the throne. And he looks
like a king, but not any earthly king. Well, then, then, that's
such a beautiful word, isn't it? then language will not be
a barrier to knowledge of Him. Therefore, tongues shall cease.
You won't need me to tell you about Him in any language, because
you'll see Him as He is. Then you won't need anybody to
prophesy to you concerning Him, will you? My preaching days are
over then. You won't need me to preach to
you. For you will know Him even as you are known, and I will
too. There won't be any need for that now. It's wonderful
now. and hear His glory spoken of like we did Sunday. I sat
there with you, and we heard about Him sitting on that throne
that we just read about. And then the imperfect knowledge
that we have now will be superseded by a perfect one, perfect knowledge. Knowledge itself won't cease.
You notice that in the text? He said we know in part, but
then we'll still have knowledge, won't we, but not like that. And it's not that knowledge itself
will cease, but knowledge as a gift. Here he's talking about
the gift of knowledge. If you know anything about God
now, it's because He's gifted you to understand His Word. That
won't be necessary then, the gift of knowledge, because we'll
have what? We'll have a personal knowledge
of Him, face to face, an experiential knowledge of God. So we won't need that gift anymore,
it'll cease," Paul said. And all of this is an explanation
of how love excels these graces of knowledge and prophecy. Love
is not like them in this. Now I know in part when I see
Him, I'll be ashamed of what I call knowledge now. You reckon?
In 1 Corinthians 8, too, Paul said, If any man thinketh that
he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
Well, how do you know how much I know, Paul? It don't matter
how much you know. You don't know anything like you ought
to know, do you? Be ashamed of it. Not like you
will then. I preach in part. I preach in part. Oh, when I
see Him, I'll realize that like never before. You reckon? I thought I knew some things,
and I guess I did. It was true. Oh my, but how His
glory surpasses what these feeble lips could tell. I've tried,
but what a pitiful effort. Paul calls it here childish.
I'm grateful for it now, don't misunderstand. I'm grateful to
know anything. Oh, but Paul said when we see
Him face to face, we'll put away childish things. If the preaching
has been a blessing to you, thank God for His mercy. Thank God
for His mercy. tongues, that gift that men have
been so proud to possess. And they boasted here, obviously,
Paul said, your glorying is not good, your gifts are vain if
you have not this love of God in your heart. And many have
even counterfeited this gift of tongues so that they wouldn't
appear to be inferior or less blessed of God somehow or other
in the eyes of their peers. What use will it be then, face
to face with God? What use will it be? So these
things will seem childish and foolish. And they've got to be
done away when we see them face-to-face. But what about love? What happens
to love then, when then comes? What will happen to our love
for Christ and His sheep? It's not going to go away, is
it? It's just the opposite. It's just the opposite of what
happens to that other stuff, the tongues and the prophesy.
No use for that anymore. But the love, what happens to
it? It just increases. And that's an understatement.
It becomes perfect. Perfect love. Exclusive. We're going to love Him and His
people. And that's about it. It's a short
list. Love. It won't be done away with. It will only increase. Look at
verse 13. He's talked about the preaching
and the supernatural gifts such as tongues And now he lists the
three main graces, the three main graces that God gives to
a believer. Now abideth faith, hope, love,
these three. But the greatest of these is
love. And now, he says, and now. He's talking about then in verse
12, wasn't he? Now he's talking about and now.
Now abideth these three. Faith. What is faith? It's simply
believing God. It's believing God. Faith is
believing that God is who He said He is, and that He's done
what He said He's done, and He will do what He said He'll do.
Hope is believing that I have an interest in who He is and
what He did. You see the difference? They
can't exist apart from one another, but there is a distinction there.
Faith is believing that christ died for sinners and when he
did he saved him he redeemed him when he shed his precious
bloody bought somebody with it he redeemed them with that bloody
obtained eternal redemption for somebody hope is i'm one of them
you see how important hope is i believe the truth now but by
god's grace i have hope that the truth concerning me is that
god has loved me with an everlasting and therefore with loving kindness
He's drawn me." That's my hope. Christ is my hope. He's the object
of our faith and He is our hope. And I believe, I believe and
I do hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is that gift
of God that's unto salvation, Paul said. In Ephesians 2, 8
and 9, by grace are you saved through faith. You're saved through
faith. And that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God. Faith is that gift of God that
is unto salvation. It's that gift without which
it's impossible to please God. Hebrews 11, 6, without faith
it's impossible to please God. And faith, Paul said, it abides
now. That word abide means remain.
It remains now. Faith is not something that comes
and goes. You can't have faith one day
and then lose it the next and then maybe get it back. The gifts
and calling of God are without repentance. If faith is something
you came up with, you probably have lost it. And you probably
won't get it back. But if it's something God gave
you, you can't lose that. What God hath joined together,
let not man put asunder. And God joined you with His Son.
He put you in Christ, if you're His, before the foundation of
the world. How are you going to change something
that happened before you were a twinkle in your mama's eye?
You got no effect on that. None. And now abides faith. It stays. It remains. As long
as this world stands, the faith of God's elect stands. Hope. It abides, Paul said. It abideth. It remains. We don't have a transient
hope that's here today and gone tomorrow. Acts 2.25, David speaketh
concerning Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, when he said, I foresaw
the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand, that
I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice,
and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh shall
rest in hope. Even King David all those centuries
ago, His hope is my hope. He said, My flesh shall rest
in hope. What hope? I saw the Lord. I
saw Him always before my face. Romans 15, 4, For whatsoever
things were written aforetime were written for our learning,
that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might
have hope. Hope. Hope abides. Hope is the reason that I preach.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3.12, seeing then that we have such
hope, we use great plainness of speech. If I didn't have that
hope, what would I talk to you about tonight? When God took
everything else away from Job, and He may take everything else
away from you and me too, but Job was still able to say, I
know that my Redeemer liveth, and I have a hope. What's your
hope, Job? Someday in my flesh I'm going to see Him. I'm going
to do what Paul said here. I'm going to see Him face to
face. I'm going to stand in the presence of my Redeemer someday. That's my hope. How about you?
When you lose everything else, God will never take that away.
His gifts and calling are without repentance. So these things abide,
don't they? Why then is love greater than
faith and hope? In what way? Well, true love
and faith and hope never exist apart from one another. Not in
this life, anyway. Not in this life. If you have
faith in Christ, then He's your hope. There's your hope right
there. And I guarantee you, you love Him. And if you love Him,
you believe Him, don't you? These things can't exist apart
from one another in this life. But then, love will exist without
these other two. Is that right? It will exist
independent of faith and hope. When I see Him face to face,
and I know Him even as I am known, where will faith and hope be
then? In Romans 8, verse 24, Paul said, We are saved by hope.
Thank God for hope. Thank God that Christ is our
hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth,
why doth he yet hope for? We're not looking forward to
seeing Him anymore because we see Him. We're not looking forward
to being in His presence anymore, because we're in His presence.
We're not looking forward to that change that Paul talked
about. He said, we shall be changed. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed. We're not looking forward to
that anymore then, because we are changed. We'll be like Him
because we'll see Him face to face. Is that right? So hope,
faith, faith will be exchanged for sight. I believe. But you read Hebrews 11 and understand
what faith is. It's believing that which is
not seen. The definition of faith at the beginning of Hebrews 11
there is what? The evidence of things not seen. The substance
of things hoped for. Why do you need evidence of something
not seen when you're sitting there looking at Him? Oh boy,
I can't even talk about it right. It's in part, isn't it? My goodness. Hope shall be turned into reality,
experience. And faith will be exchanged for
sight. And when faith and hope become... How can I even say
this? Obsolete? When faith and hope become obsolete,
then love will just be beginning. Do you see what he's talking
about? He said, I show you a more excellent way. Oh, the greatest
of these is love. So these Corinthians here, Paul
said, are you proud of your gifts? Do you seek to be blessed of
God with gifts? Then seek this one above all
others, that God would put in your heart the love of Christ
Love for Christ. The love of Christ. The love
of Christ for His people. Shed abroad His love in your
heart. Love one another, brethren, John said, for love is of God. And then the first part of the
next chapter, seeing what he said is true, follow after love. You remember the definition of
that word follow? Pursue it. Run after it. It means this literally runs
swiftly in order to catch it. Where are you going to get it
from? From God. By His grace. Lord, that we might
love Thee. More love to Thee, O Christ.
More love to Thee.