20111030
1 Corinthians 13 is the famous “Love” passage which is used at weddings, dedications, and hung on Church walls. Truthfully, 90% of the time it is used, it is taken out of context. The Apostle Paul was warning the Corinthian Church of a problem they had. He highlights the problem and presents the solution – a visionary solution coming in the future.
The problem: From verses 1-3, Paul highlights the many gifts the Corinthians had, including tongues, prophecy and wisdom to understand Christian mysteries. They were a committed Church, gave to the poor and were even willing to die for the cause. Yet he warned that, if they possessed all these without love, they are nothing and gain nothing. Then he goes on to elaborate in verses 4-6 what the Corinthian Church does NOT have. Every single trait has been elaborated on in his letter to them as a problem with the Church. The Corinthians are NOT kind, they are NOT patient, they ARE proud and DO boast. What he warns here is that you can do good deeds and serve the church but the real reason was not for God or other people but for yourself. You can serve because of a morally constrained heart but not because you are transformed by grace and love.
The solution: From verses 10-12, Paul mentions that in the future, perfection will come. He will see it face to face and he will know fully even as he has already been fully known. What he means is that for him, in order to become perfect, he has to wait for Jesus to come when he will see his Creator God face to face. Paul uses the Greek word “to-teleion” which means to be in his utmost element, to have fulfilled the ultimate purpose he was made for. To be in the Shekinah glory of God is what will make Paul perfect. He is certain in this because Jesus died on the Cross so that he could be fully known and loved by God. We also have this wonderful certainty as Christians. In the meantime, are we just to wait? No, we are to start living as active Christians by this act of sheer grace and love from God in Jesus Christ. To the extent we believe this and desire to be in the presence of God, to see his face, to be in our “to-teleion”, this will transform our hearts and make us new creations.
