"Spiritual gifts #3: the guiding principle" by Rod Bayley, 1 June 2008, 1 Corinthians 13

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There is an inscription on a tombstone in a small English village
which reads:
“Here lies a miser who lived for himself, and cared for nothing but
gathering wealth.
Now where he is or how he fares, nobody knows and nobody cares.”
In contrast, a tombstone in the courtyard of St. Paul’s Cathedral in
London reads, “Sacred to the memory of General Charles George Gordon,
who at all times and everywhere gave his strength to the weak, his
substance to the poor, his sympathy to the suffering, his heart to
God.”

Here is a contrast with regards to giving of yourself for others,
rather than being self-seeking. In this instance it relates to time
and wealth, but in the passage we are going to look at today, Paul
outlines that the same contrast applies to the use of spiritual gifts
at church, within the body of Christ. We can either selfishly seek
attention and use our gifts for ourselves, or we can use our spiritual
gifts in a loving way, for the service of others.

It is this context which makes this chapter central to Paul’s
discussion on spiritual gifts. This chapter is not a digression from
his argument on spiritual gifts, a separate poem on love, as some
people have thought. Paul has not finished with the gifts, and he
will have a lot more to say specifically about them in chapter 14.
But here he is concerned to insist that the central thing is not the
exercise of any of the spiritual gifts - rather, it is the practice of
Christian love within the church body, which overrides all gifts and
controls their use.

Christian love is the “most excellent way” that he says he will show
the Corinthians in verse 31 of chapter 12. Before we look at the
passage in detail, we need to understand what this Christian love is.
The use of this particular word for “love”, , which is used
throughout the NT, means that quality we see displayed in the Cross.
It is a love for the utterly unworthy, a love which proceeds from a
God who is love (1 Jn 4:8, 16). It is a love lavished upon others
without a thought of whether they are worthy to receive it. The
Christian who has experienced God’s love to him or her while yet a
sinner, has been transformed by the experience. Now they are to see
people as God sees them. Accordingly, their attitude towards others
is one of self-giving love. It is this love which Paul unfolds here
in the context of expressing spiritual gifts.

The first point that Paul makes in verses 1 to 3 of chapter 13, is the
necessity of love in the exercising of spiritual gifts within the body
of Christ. Let me read his conclusion in verse 3:
“If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the
flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

Notice that without love, speaking in tongues, prophecy, faith that
can move mountains, giving and even martyrdom are “nothing”. It is
not that the spiritual gift or action is nothing, it is the person
doing it with the wrong motive that is “nothing.” See how Paul states
this in the first person, “I am .. a .. gong or cymbal”(v1), “I am
nothing”(v2); “I gain nothing” (v3). This value judgment is meant to
be shocking - it’s as if this loveless use of gifts has left a
permanent effect on the person, that has diminished their value and
transformed them into something less than they should be. How can
that be so?

Well, the power behind what we say and what we do is our motive. If
our motive is self-interest, praise, promotion, or advantage of any
sort, our influence for the Lord will be undercut to that extent -
that is despite how relevant and persuasive our words are, or how
helpful our service seems superficially to be. Without the motivation
of love, in God’s sight we are only causing a lot of commotion. The
use of our spiritual gifts without Christian love, or a desire to use
them other than simply to serve others, is completely empty.

The second point that Paul makes in verses 4 to 7, is the character of
love. He initially describes two positive aspects of this love in the
first part of verse 4: “love is patient, love is kind.” Notice that
these two characterisations, like all the others which follow, are not
sentimental but focused on our behaviour. The first phrase, “love is
patient,” means not merely a willingness to wait a long time, or
endurance of suffering, but endurance of emotional injuries without
retaliation. Self sacrificing love and non-avenging patience have
always been considered weaknesses by the world - the world has always
tended to make heroes of those who fight back, who stand up for their
importance and their rights above all else. But God’s love is the
very opposite. Its primary concern is for the welfare of others, not
itself, and it is much more willing to be taken advantage of than to
take advantage, much less to take vengeance. The Christian who acts
like Christ never takes revenge for being hurt or insulted or
abused.

Secondly, “love is kind” - not merely patient or long-suffering in the
face of emotional injury, but quick to pay back with kindness what it
received in hurt. Just as patience will take offense from others,
kindness will give anything to others. To be kind means to be serving
and gracious - it is active goodwill. It not only desires others
welfare, but works for it.

One of Abraham Lincoln’s earliest political enemies was Edwin
Stanton. He called Lincoln a “low, cunning clown” and “the original
gorilla.” “It was ridiculous for people to go to Africa to see a
gorilla,” he would say, “when they could find one easily in
Springfield Illinois.” Lincoln never responded to the slander, but
when as President of the United States, he needed a secretary of war,
he chose Stanton. When Lincoln’s amazed friends asked why, Lincoln
replied, “Because he is the best man for the job.” Years later, as
the slain President’s body lay in state, Stanton looked into the
coffin and said through his tears, “There lies the greatest ruler of
men the world has ever seen.” His animosity was finally broken by
Lincoln’s long-suffering, patient and kind love. Patient love had won
out. How much more should patient love win out between Christian
brothers and sisters who are part of the one body of Christ. We
should be patiently serving one another through the exercise of the
gifts which God Himself has chosen to give us.

The character of love is also negatively described by Paul in verses
4b to 6. Paul lists eight things which love is not, or does not do.
What can we learn from each of these phrases.

Love “does not envy” - love and envy or jealousy are mutually
exclusive. Jealousy or envy has two forms - one form says “I want
what someone else has” - in this context, “I want their spiritual
gift,” or “If they are praised for something they do, I want the same
or more for myself.” The second form is worse - its “I wish they
didn’t have what they have.” That is jealousy on the deepest, most
destructive level. Love “does not boast.” When the spiritual person
is well gifted, he or she does not boast about it. That is, Christian
love which is exercised in the body of Christ does not parade its
accomplishments. Love “is not proud”, or literally “puffed up.”
Every spiritual gift that the Corinthians had came from the Lord, and
therefore they had no reason to be proud, and yet they were puffed up
about their knowledge and their spiritual gifts. Love “is not rude.”
The principle here has to do with poor manners. The Corinthians cared
nothing for the feelings or sensitivities of their fellow believers it
seems. The believer who does not show Christian love in this sense is
careless, overbearing and often rude.

Love “is not self-seeking.” Christian love is not marked by interest
in one’s own gifts or importance, but with the interests of others.
As such, loving concern for the body may mean that I don’t exercise
one of my gifts for a period - that I allow others to express theirs
instead, or I recognize that a particular act of service is not needed
at the moment. Again the Corinthian believers were models of what
loving Christians should not be. They wanted what they thought were
the best spiritual gifts for themselves, and instead of using the
gifts for the benefit of others, they tried to use them to their own
advantage, or to the detriment of the church. Love “is not easily
angered” or provoked. That is, it is not touchy, with a blistering
temper barely hidden beneath the surface of a respectable facade, just
waiting for an incident, real or imagined, at which to take offence.
Christian love for each other should guard against being irritated or
upset, or angered by things said or done. Righteous anger or
indignation will rarely be provoked by something done against us
personally, but only something said or done against God. Paul only
responded strongly against such things as heresy, immorality and
misuse of spiritual gifts, but he did not respond in anger against
those who beat him, jailed him or lied about him (Acts 23:1-5). Love
“keeps no record of wrongs.” This is a book-keeping or accounting
term that means to calculate or reckon. The purpose of an entry in
accounting is to make a permanent record that can be consulted
whenever needed. In business, that practice is necessary, but in
personal matters within the body of Christ, it is not only unnecessary
but harmful. Keeping track of things done against us shows an
unforgiving heart, and is a sure way to unhappiness. Love keeps no
books, because it has no place for grudges. If God so completely and
permanently erases the record of our many sins against Him, how can we
not forgive and forget the much lesser wrongs done against us.

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”
Christian love never takes satisfaction from sin, whether our own sin
or that of others. Treating our fellow believers wrongly is bad
enough, but delighting or rejoicing in it is even worse. Selfish
pride is at the root of all these negative descriptions of what love
is not. It is clear that we are not called to express ourselves
spiritually in a proud manner, but rather in selfless love and
humility.

William Carey, who is often referred to as the father of modern
missions for taking the gospel to India almost singlehandedly, was a
brilliant linguist, responsible for translating parts of the bible
into no fewer than 34 different languages and dialects. He had been
raised in a simple home in England and in his early adulthood, worked
fixing shoes. In India he was often ridiculed for his “low” birth and
former occupation, even among the Christian church. At a dinner party
one evening a man said, “I understand Mr Carey that you once worked as
a shoemaker.” “Oh no your lordship,” Carey replied, “I was not a
shoemaker, only a shoe repairman.” Carey’s attitude in using his
gifts within the body of Christ embodies Christian love, which as Paul
says “does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self
seeking, it is not easily angered.”

The characteristics of love are summarised in verse 7, this time in a
positive light again with four phrases. Firstly, love “always
protects” or “bears all things.” Love bears all things by protecting
others from exposure, ridicule, or harm. For example, genuine love
does not gossip or listen to gossip. Even when a sin is certain, love
tries to correct the other with the least possible hurt and harm to
the guilty person. Love never protects sin, but is anxious to protect
the sinner. The Corinthians cared little for the feelings or welfare
of fellow believers it appears - it was every person for him or
herself.

Secondly, love “always trusts.” Love is not suspicious or cynical of
other believers. Christian love will trust for the best outcome for
the other, even when wronged. Not that a wrong will be ignored, but
that it will be forgiven and the relationship restored. If there is
doubt about a believer’s guilt or motivation, love will always opt for
the most favourable possibility. Thirdly, love also “always hopes.”
Even when trust in a fellow believers goodness or repentance is
shattered, love still hopes. As long as God’s grace is operating,
human failure is never final. God would not take Israel’s failures as
final, and Paul would not take the Corinthian’s failures as final.
The rope of love’s hope has no end. Fourthly, love “always
perseveres” or endures all things. Every difficulty and hardship is
to be endured in order to support fellow believers. Love holds fast
to those it loves.

During Oliver Cromwell’s reign as Lord Protector of England in the
1600s, a young soldier was sentenced to die for his offences. The
young woman to whom he was engaged pleaded with Cromwell to spare his
life, but he refused. The young man was to be executed when the
curfew bell sounded, but when the servant repeatedly pulled the rope,
the bell made no sound and the execution did not begin. The girl had
climbed into the bell and wrapped herself around the clapper so that
it could not strike the bell. Her body was bashed and bruised, but
she did not let go until the servant gave up. She then managed to
climb down, bruised and bleeding, to meet those awaiting the
execution. When she explained what she had done, Cromwell was greatly
moved by her protection of her fiancé, and pardoned the young man.
Love bears all things and endures all things. Do we express that sort
of love for our brothers and sisters?

The third point that Paul makes in verses 8 to 13, is the permanence
of love. Paul here returns to the contrast between love and spiritual
gifts, which he addressed in verses 1 to 3. But here the contrast is
that love is permanent, while spiritual gifts will end. This is seen
in verse 8. This contrast is then drawn out and illustrated in verses
9 to 12. In verse 8 Paul notes that prophecies, tongues and knowledge
will cease. Prophecies are the setting forth of what God says to
people through a prophet, but when we stand before God, or “when
perfection comes” as verse 10 says, or when we “know fully” as verse
12 says, there will be no need for a prophet. The same reasoning
applies to tongues and knowledge. This movement from the partial to
the complete is illustrated in verse 11 by the contrast between a
child’s limited understanding, which was put aside as an adult.

In verse 13, Paul summarises the overriding value of love based on its
permanence: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the
greatest of these is love.” Paul tells us that these three virtues
all remain - but in some sense faith and hope are fulfilled once
Christ returns, and we see him face to face. Perhaps that is why Paul
insists that love is the greatest of the three. Also, based on what
the NT says elsewhere, we might reasonably hold that the reason why
love is the greatest is that it is an attribute of God. God does not
exercise faith, and He does not hope in the sense of looking forward
to something out of His control. But He does love - indeed, 1 John
4:8 tells us that God is love.

So what is the application of Paul’s argument in the context of
spiritual gifts? Well, Paul is in effect saying, ‘You who think that
you are spiritual because you speak in tongues or have some other
gift, you must understand that you have overlooked what is most
important. By themselves, your spiritual gifts prove nothing
spiritual about you. Neither do they affirm the Spirit’s presence in
your meetings because there is a certain style of worship, because if
your meetings are not governed by serving others in love, you are
spiritually bankrupt. Or you who pride yourself in your giving, you
must learn that giving says nothing about your experience of God,
unless it is done in selfless love. Or you Christians who seek to
prove your spirituality by your knowledge or fathoming of mysteries -
I tell you that such knowledge by itself proves nothing. The use of
any spiritual gifts without love means you remain spiritually
bankrupt, a spiritual nothing.’ Spiritual gifts are passing - they
have a used-by date. But love will continue into eternity, when
partial gifts of knowledge and speaking will have been swallowed up by
seeing and knowing fully. The most excellent way is the way of
Christian love. The use of spiritual gifts has its place - Paul does
not deny it. But he insists that the important thing is demonstrating
love in their use, which is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22ff).

In conclusion, what does love governing our gifts look like? William
Gladstone, a Christian prime minister of England in the nineteenth
century, was working late one night on an important speech he was to
give to the House of Commons the next day. At about 2am a woman
knocked on his door, asking the servant if Mr Gladstone would come and
comfort her young crippled son who lay dying in a house not far away.
Without hesitation the busy man set his speech aside and went. He
spent the rest of the night with the boy, comforting him and leading
him to accept Jesus as Saviour. The boy died about dawn, and
Gladstone returned home. The true greatness of Gladstone was not in
his political position or attainments, but in his great love, a love
that would risk his political future to show the love of Christ to a
young boy in great need. As it turned out, that morning he also made
a great speech - he gained that victory too, but he had been willing
to lose his own interest. Love’s victory was more important.