After declaring the necessity of love and then defining it, Paul highlights the comparison between what is temporary and what is eternal. Today we will focus on just one verse:
“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away” (1 Corinthians 13:8 NIV).
The Corinthians were boasting in their gifts, almost as if they had merited these gifts or somehow gotten them through their own efforts. They were bragging about how spiritual they were because they were speaking in tongues, about how knowledgeable they were, etc.
Paul writes to correct these errors; one way he does this is to compare the gifts of the Spirit with the fruit of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit were what the Corinthians were boasting about - tongues, knowledge, prophecy, etc. Let's remind ourselves of the fruit of the Spirit:
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
Question 2. What is the first fruit of the Spirit, according to Galatians 5:22-23?
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The fruit of the Spirit is Christ’s character worked in us, and it comes to us as “fruit.” Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are the results of the Spirit’s work in our lives. Our flesh has “works” that it does (Galatians 5:19-21), but the Spirit produces His “fruit” in us. The works of the flesh are evident and common to everyone. But the fruit of the Spirit is supernatural; we are completely dependent upon Him to produce these fruits in our lives.
The gifts of the Spirit, while extremely helpful, are temporary; they are given to the church for the building up of the body, but they last only as long as this world does. At the culmination of all things, in the new heavens and the new Earth, there will be no need for the gifts of the Spirit, for the world will be filled with God’s righteousness (2 Peter 3:13 NLT).
The fruit of the Spirit is eternal. It is the life of Christ, Himself, lived out in us, His Bride, the Church.
Question 3. From 1 Corinthians 13:8, please list the three words that Paul uses to show the temporary nature of the gifts of the Spirit.
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Living and growing in the gospel means placing importance where God places importance. He has made the fruit of the Spirit permanent and the gifts of the Spirit temporary. The gifts will “cease”, they will “be stilled” and they will “pass away.”
We must remember that the Spirit of God and the cross of Christ are intimately connected (1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Galatians 3:1-5). As we focus on the cross, we receive the Spirit’s powerful work in our hearts and lives. As we eat from the Tree of Life, the cross of Christ, we are made like Christ because the Spirit works Jesus’ character in us, and we bear fruit.
Love never fails; it is permanent, for “God is love,” and the Spirit pours His love deep into our hearts as we meditate on the cross (Romans 5:5). This work of the Spirit is lasting and is the permanent work God wants to produce in His church.