The future works of the Lord Jesus Christ are based on
His past and current works and, in many ways, are exactly the same. However, we
change with time and our status changes with time as well. This means that we
will have a different perspective on the Lord Jesus Christ in the future
because “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what
we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for
we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
“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. For we know in part, and 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, charity,
these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
The apostle
Paul was talking about gifts in Christian service before he came to this
chapter. He finished the previous chapter with the sentence “yet shew I unto
you a more excellent way.” Of all the gifts that are available to the Christian
none are of any value unless they are exercised in charity.”
Most versions
use the word “love” in this chapter but charity is used in the AV to
distinguish between this love and the other kinds of love. Anyone who is
familiar with CS Lewis will know that there are different kinds of love
expressed in the Bible. The use of “charity” here shows that we are talking
about the kind of love that comes from the Lord God and is a love that gives
without asking anything in return. The first time that we discover “charity” in
the Bible is 1 Cor 8:1, (“Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know
that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.”)
The section
that we have read starts with the statement that charity never fails but
contrasts this with prophecies, tongues and knowledge. Each of these other
gifts will pass away but God’s kind of love will never fail. We won’t need the
other gifts but charity will always be there.
At this stage
of our existence, we don’t have all the knowledge that we need. We are, after
all, caught in our fallen, sinful state and there are some things that are too
wonderful for sinners to appreciate. (Compare Ex 33:20, “And he said, Thou
canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” with 2 Cor
12:3–4, “And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I
cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard
unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”) Knowledge, in
our current state is something that will lead to pride unless it is moderated
by godly love. On the other hand, godly love is something that builds others
up, in the same way as the Lord Jesus Christ has built up all who believe in
Him.
However, there
will come a time when sin is done away with altogether and then we will reach
the stage of perfection that we were created to know. At that stage we will be
in a position to understand and see things that are too pure for sinful minds
and hearts to see or understand.
Paul then used
an analogy of children. Children are born with very little knowledge at all and
they have to learn just about everything they know. You cannot expect a child
to behave in the same way as an adult. However, when a child becomes and adult
he had to live up to adult standards.
In the same
way a Christian, while they are still living on the earth, are bound by their
sinful nature. In those days they didn’t have glass mirrors but mirrors made of
polished metals. These mirrors didn’t give such a clear image as modern mirrors
do and people had to make some assumptions as to how they looked. This would be
similar to seeing your image on the side of a kettle. In the same way, as long
as we are in our sinful bodies, we will not have a clear image of the Lord and
all the things that He does for us on a daily basis.
However, as we
have seen before, when we finally see the Lord face to face we shall see Him as
He is and we will know Him as He knows us (John 17:3, “And this is life
eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent.”)
During this
time there are three spiritual issues that should be a part of every Christian
life. The first of these is faith.
We find faith
in Moses’ final address to Israel in Deut 32: 20 (“And he said, I will hide my
face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward
generation, children in whom is no faith.”) Moses was looking forward to a time
when Israel proved to be perverse and crooked. Even though the Lord is perfect,
He is the God without iniquity, just and right is He, Israel preferred to
follow their own ways. Even though the Lord caused Israel to prosper, they
chose to go against the Lord and they were a people without faith. This tells
us that faith involves believing that the Lord is good and just and,
consequently, obeying the Lord in every aspect of our lives. We also read about
faith in Rev 14: 12 (“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.) These saints are those
who remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ even though they are passing
through extreme times of trial. They suffer hardship but remain connected to
the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ has spoken.
Faith is completely
defined for the Christian in Heb 11: 1-3, 6, (“Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders
obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed
by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which
do appear... But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that
cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.”)
Faith deals
with the truth. If we believe the truth and accept it, in spite of our
circumstances then we have faith. Faith is also related to things that are not
seen, that is, spiritual things. Our circumstances may tell us one thing but
the Word of God tells us the truth. As long as we believe the truth, as
revealed by God, we have faith.
The next issue
is hope: When Naomi was ready to return to her hometown, Bethlehem, from Moab,
she was a widow and her two daughters in law were widows as well. It was the
custom in those days for a brother to take his dead brother’s wife and raise
children with her if the brother died childless. However, Naomi only had two
sons and both of them had died childless. She told her daughters in law “Turn
again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I
should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should
also bear sons; Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for
them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your
sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.” (Ruth 1:12–13)
Naomi was
grieving and was prepared to return to her home empty handed because she knew
that the widow and the orphan were cared for under the Law (see Ex 22:22, “Ye
shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.”) However she was not in a
position to offer the younger women more sons so that they could raise up sons
to continue their father’s names. There was no hope. While faith is an issue
that deals with truth, hope is an issue that deals with emotions. A person can
believe in the truth but still feel deep pain inside. A good example of this
can be found in the life of Job when he said, “Though he slay me, yet will I
trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” (Job 13:15) We
know that Job experienced great emotional torment but he continued to believe
the truth about the Lord God. Faith does not protect people who believe in the
truth from experiencing difficult emotional times but it gives them an anchor
for the soul during those difficult times. (Hebrews 6:19, “Which hope we have
as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that
within the veil;”)
The Lord gave
us spiritual gifts for the edification of the church (compare 1 Cor 14:3–4,
“But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and
comfort. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that
prophesieth edifieth the church.”) But, as we have seen, there is a more excellent
way, that is, the way of charity. However, when Paul came to the end of this
wonderful poem, he referred to three issues; faith, hope and charity.
These are not
specific gifts given to the individual for the edification of the church, they
are general gifts that are available for every Christian to enable us to
survive and overcome to the glory of God.
One of the
great lessons from this poem is the fact that any of the edification gifts are
nothing unless they are exercised in charity. The Lord sent His only begotten
Son to die for our sins even though the Lord Jesus Christ was already God and
there was nothing that He could do to improve His own position. This is the
definition of charity. He came down from heaven to earth entirely for the
benefit of sinners.
In fact we
also know that God is love, (1 John 4:8,16, “He that loveth not knoweth not
God; for God is love...And we have known and believed the love that God hath to
us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”
We also know
that the Lord Jesus Christ promised that He would come back to take His
disciples to be with Him (“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”.
John 14:3)
We also know
that when we see the Lord Jesus Christ, at His return, we will be like Him
because we will see Him as He is.
Faith is
related to things that are unseen so, when we see Him as He is, there will be
no longer any need for faith. Faith is superior to hope, because faith relies
on the truth but hope relies on emotions. When there is no longer any need for
faith, there won’t be any need for hope either.
At this stage
every Christian needs to have faith, hope and charity in order to overcome and
please God. However, the only thing that will survive after the Lord returns to
take us to be with Him forever is charity. We will be with Him forever but He
will continue to offer us His unconditional love and we will be able to enjoy
this forever.
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