(Re: Could a scientific *experiment prove that today's tongues and interpretations are miraculous?)
Just as God has made it so that there is no way to scientifically prove the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to non-Christians (1 Corinthians 1:18 to 2:16), so it would not be surprising if He has also made it so that there is no way to scientifically prove the present validity of tongues and tongues-interpretations (1 Corinthians 12:10b) to those who reject them, whether they are Christians or non-Christians. For during a test, even if two interpreters of a tongue in separate, soundproof rooms gave the same interpretation of a recorded tongue, it could be claimed that there may have been some prior private communication between them in which they agreed on what they both would say. Or, someone could claim that they gave the same interpretation by the power of Satan instead of by the power of God's Holy Spirit (cf. Mark 3:22,29-30).
Also, even if they gave different interpretations of the tongue, this would not be proof against the present validity of tongues and their interpretation per se. For one or even both of the interpretations could be wrong: One or both of the interpreters could merely claim that he has the gift of the interpretation of tongues when in fact he does not. Or, they could both truly have the gift, but in that one instance, God could have not let it operate in them properly, because He can refuse to perform signs for those demanding signs from Him (Matthew 12:38-39). He can refuse to reward a lack of belief in His powers (Mark 6:5-6). Another case in which different interpretations of the same tongue would not be proof against the present validity of tongues and their interpretation per se would be if the difference was only in the exact words employed in the interpretations, as opposed to the gist of what the tongue was saying; just as, for example, two U.N. interpreters of a language could express their translation of a speech at the U.N. using different words, while still both correctly relating the gist of what was said.
~
(Re: What about demonic tongues?)
There are demonic tongues, which can be identified by those who have received the gift of the discerning of spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10), or by anyone if the tongues when interpreted say that Jesus is cursed (1 Corinthians 12:3), or say that Jesus is not the Christ (1 John 2:22), or say that Christ is not in the flesh (1 John 4:1-3), or say anything else which contradicts the Bible (1 John 4:6; 2 Timothy 3:16 to 4:4; 1 Timothy 4:1).
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*1 Corinthians 12:11b / *1 Cor. 12:11b -
Here the "he" is the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10). The KJV employs a lower-case "he" even when it is referring to God the Holy Spirit (John 16:13, John 14:17, John 15:26), just as it employs a lower-case "he" even when it is referring to God the Son (John 5:19,21, John 3:13) or God the Father (John 5:20,26, John 8:29). For God does not care whether we refer to Him as "he" or "He". Instead, what matters is whether we truly honor Him in our hearts. For it is possible to refer to Him as "He" while not truly honoring Him in our hearts (cf. Mark 7:6), just as it is possible to refer to Him as "he" while truly honoring Him in our hearts. True honoring of God is shown by our doing what He tells us to do (Luke 6:46, Titus 1:16, Matthew 25:26,30).
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*1 Corinthians 12:13 / *1 Cor. 12:13 -
This shows that there is only one body of Christ which consists of both Jewish and Gentile Christians.
It does not refer to Holy Spirit baptism, which occurs sometime subsequent to salvation (see paragraphs 2-3 of Mark 16:16 above), and which involves the Holy Spirit coming on a Christian in an empowering way (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5, Acts 19:6, Acts 10:44-46), but rather refers figuratively to how the Holy Spirit has "immersed" (the meaning of "baptized") every Christian into the one body of Jesus Christ via every Christian having the one faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Ephesians 4:4-5).
(See also the "measures" section of Mark 16:16 above)
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*1 Corinthians 12:14-30 / *1 Cor. 12:14 -
See Mark 13:34 above.
--
*1 Corinthians 12:30 / *1 Cor. 12:30 -
(Tongues)
1 Corinthians 12:30 means that not all Christians who operate in the Spiritual gifts will speak in tongues.
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*1 Corinthians 13 / *1 Cor. 13 -
(Charity / G0026)
See 1 Peter 5:14 below.
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*1 Corinthians 13:4-7 / *1 Cor. 13:4 -
(Re: What kind of a person should I be?)
A loving person as defined by 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
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*1 Corinthians 13:8 / *1 Cor. 13:8 -
This does not mean that any of the prophecies in the book of Revelation will fail to come to pass, for they must all come to pass (Revelation 1:1-3, Revelation 4:1, Revelation 22:6). Instead, 1 Corinthians 13:8 refers to the future cessation of the Spiritual gift of prophecy which is referred to in the context (1 Corinthians 13:2,9, 1 Corinthians 12:10-11,28).
~
See 1 Corinthians 12:8 above.
In 1 Corinthians 13:8, in the original Greek the difference in the "voice" of the verbs relates to the difference in how the Spiritual gifts of prophecy, tongues, and the word of knowledge operate. The cessation of prophetic messages and words of knowledge is in the passive voice because it will be God who will cause prophetic messages and words of knowledge to cease at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (1 Corinthians 13:8-12). For when Christians receive the gift of prophecy or the word of knowledge (1 Corinthians 12:8,10), they still have to wait passively for God to give them prophetic messages or words of knowledge to speak forth (1 Corinthians 14:30-31). The cessation of tongues is in the middle voice because it will be tongues-speakers who will cease speaking in tongues on their own accord at Jesus' Second Coming (1 Corinthians 13:8-12). For when a Christian receives the gift of a tongue, he usually receives a prayer (1 Corinthians 14:2,14) and it is usually a set prayer (like how The Lord's Prayer is a set prayer) which the tongues-speaker can pray or not pray on his own accord (1 Corinthians 14:27-28) whenever he wants.
~
Note that nothing in 1 Corinthians 13:8b, even in the original Greek, requires that the Spiritual gift of tongues (1 Corinthians 14:18) is no longer operating in the Church today.
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*1 Corinthians 13:9 / *1 Cor. 13:9 -
This does not have to expressly refer to tongues as being "in part" for it to apply to tongues as well, for the principle of 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 applies to the Spiritual gifts just referred to in 1 Corinthians 13:8, which include tongues.
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*1 Corinthians 13:10 / *1 Cor. 13:10 -
This is not referring to the perfect Bible (2 Timothy 3:16), but to the perfect man (2 Timothy 3:17) which the whole obedient Church will become in our future (Ephesians 4:13) when it sees Jesus Christ face to face at His Second Coming (1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John 3:2). All obedient Christians will be resurrected (if dead) or changed (if alive) into immortal, sinless, physical bodies like Jesus' physical, resurrection body (Luke 24:39,46; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). And this will occur at His Second Coming (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:21-23,51-53, Romans 8:23-25, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6).
When the apostle Paul speaks of perfect maturity having come in 1 Corinthians 13:10-11, he has Christians as the context, for the context is the "we" who currently know and prophesy only in part (1 Corinthians 13:9) and who currently see Jesus Christ only as in a darkened mirror (1 Corinthians 13:12; 2 Corinthians 3:18), but who will see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12) at His future, Second Coming (1 John 3:2).
If the original Greek of 1 Corinthians 13:10 means that the apostle Paul did not know when (in the sense of the year, month, and day) that all obedient Christians will become perfect, that would be because he did not know when the Second Coming will occur.
(See also Matthew 24:36 above)
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*1 Corinthians 13:11b / *1 Cor. 13:11b -
In 1 Corinthians 13:11 the second half of the analogy makes no reference to "over time", for that is not the point of the analogy, which is only given to show that once someone has attained perfect maturity, he no longer needs what he needed before (1 Corinthians 13:8-12; 1 John 3:2).
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*1 Corinthians 13:12 / *1 Cor. 13:12 -
This refers to Christians literally seeing Jesus Christ face to face at His future, Second Coming (1 John 3:2), instead of figuratively seeing Him only as in a darkened mirror like they do today (2 Corinthians 3:18). Both 2 Corinthians 3 and 1 Corinthians 13 refer to the present ministration of God's Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:8,18). 2 Corinthians 3 contrasts this with the past ministration of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (2 Corinthians 3:6-18). And 1 Corinthians 13 contrasts the present ministration of the Holy Spirit through His gifts (1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 14) with the future cessation of the usage of some of these gifts (1 Corinthians 13:8) when obedient Christians will become perfect like Jesus when they see Him face to face at His Second Coming (1 Corinthians 13:10,12; 1 John 3:2).
2 Corinthians 3:18 refers to the present, gradual changing of Christians (Ephesians 4:12,15-16) while they figuratively see Jesus Christ as in a darkened mirror. And 1 Corinthians 13:10,12 refers to the future, instantaneous changing of all obedient Christians into perfection (Ephesians 4:13; 1 Corinthians 15:52-53) when they will literally see Jesus at His Second Coming (1 John 3:2).
The removal of the veil from the face of Christians (2 Corinthians 3:16) so that they now have an "open face" (2 Corinthians 3:18) does not mean that they can already see Jesus Christ face to face, but that they figuratively can now see Him as in a darkened mirror (2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 13:12a) while non-Christians cannot (2 Corinthians 3:14-15).
The apostle Paul did not have to explicitly mention "darkly" in connection with "as in a glass" in 2 Corinthians 3:18 (like he does in 1 Corinthians 13:12a) for "as in a glass" in 2 Corinthians 3:18 to mean seeing something less than clearly in a mirror. For in the time of Paul in the first century AD, a "glass" (a mirror) did not reflect images clearly like a mirror does today, but was usually only polished metal like bronze which reflected only a "darkly" image, especially if the bronze had begun to oxidize.
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*1 Corinthians 13:13 / *1 Cor. 13:13 -
Faith, hope, and love will always remain (1 Corinthians 13:13) because love must continue forever because God is love (1 John 4:8). And the faith and hope which the apostle Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 13:13 is not faith in any one specific thing or hope regarding any one thing, but believing in "all things" true and hoping for "all things" good, which Paul says is an integral aspect of love (1 Corinthians 13:7). It is only a Christian's Biblical faith and hope which includes belief in all things true and hope for all things good (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Corinthians 2:9-16).
~
(Re: Is *love predestinated?)
God's predestination of elect people (the chosen) to initial salvation (to becoming Christians) at some point during their lifetime (Ephesians 1:4-12; 2 Thessalonians 2:13) does not predestinate their love of God, which is obedient actions (1 John 5:3, John 14:21-24). Instead, it predestinates an initially-saving, initial faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 13:48b, Ephesians 2:8-9), which can be distinguished from love/obedient actions (1 Corinthians 13:13, Luke 6:46, Matthew 7:21).
(See also Philippians 2:13 below)
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*1 Corinthians 14 / *1 Cor. 14 -
This chapter describes the operation of the Spiritual gifts which are miraculously given to some Christians by God's Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10).
(See 1 Corinthians 12:8 above)
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*1 Corinthians 14:2 / *1 Cor. 14:2 -
In verses like 1 Corinthians 14:2 the addition of "unknown" before "tongue" takes away any confusion over which type of tongue the apostle Paul is referring to. For if verses like 1 Corinthians 14:2 were mistakenly read as referring to known tongues such as in Acts 2:4,8, which humans do understand, then it would not make sense to say that no human can understand such tongues.
--
*1 Corinthians 14:6 / *1 Cor. 14:6 -
The apostle Paul does not say that the Corinthian Christians were wasting their time and energy with tongues. Instead, he says: "I would that ye all spake with tongues" (1 Corinthians 14:5). And he says that both interpreted tongues and prophesying should occur in church meetings (1 Corinthians 14:26-29), not just to help save any non-Christians who may be visiting (1 Corinthians 14:24-25), but also to edify the church itself (1 Corinthians 14:4-5).
Also, the prophesying which the apostle Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 14:29-32 is not merely a mental "forth telling" of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, such as in a sermon written by a pastor, but is speaking words directly from God by the Spiritual gift of prophecy which the Holy Spirit miraculously gives to some Christians (1 Corinthians 12:8-10).
(See 1 Corinthians 14:29 below)
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*1 Corinthians 14:10-11 / *1 Cor. 14:10 -
This is not referring to the Spiritual gift of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10), but to naturally-learned languages. That is why in the original Greek of 1 Corinthians 14:10-11 the apostle Paul uses the Greek word "phone" (voices: G5456), instead of the Greek word "glossa" (tongues: G1100). A good translation will reflect this distinction.
--
*1 Corinthians 14:14-15 / *1 Cor. 14:14 -
If a Christian has received an unknown tongue (1 Corinthians 14:2,4), it is okay for him to pray and sing to God both in his natural language with mental understanding and in an unknown tongue by his spirit without mental understanding (1 Corinthians 14:14-15). For it is okay for a Christian to build up both his spirit (1 Corinthians 14:4,14) and his mind (Romans 12:2) and not just one or the other. A Christian's spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23) can know things which his mind does not yet consciously know (1 Corinthians 14:14).
--
*1 Corinthians 14:18-19 / *1 Cor. 14:18 -
This means that whereas the apostle Paul spoke to God privately in unknown tongues more than anyone, in church meetings he would rather speak out loud only a little bit in a natural language which everyone can understand, than speak out loud for a long time in an unknown tongue which no one can understand (1 Corinthians 14:2,28).
--
*1 Corinthians 14:21-23 / *1 Cor. 14:21 / *1 Cor. 14:22 -
Uninterpreted tongues can serve as a sign to non-Christians (1 Corinthians 14:22-23) of their inability to understand the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14), just as Jesus Christ's uninterpreted parables spoken to those who were not His disciples served the same purpose (Matthew 13:13-15). But this is not the only purpose for uninterpreted tongues, for they also serve to edify the spirits of those Christians who speak them privately to God (1 Corinthians 14:2,4,14), just as interpreted tongues serve to edify a whole congregation (1 Corinthians 14:5,12-13,26).
--
*1 Corinthians 14:23-24 / *1 Cor. 14:23 -
Both non-Christians and Spiritually-"unlearned" Christians see uninterpreted tongues as "mad" (1 Corinthians 14:23) in the sense of crazy, while they do not see prophesying as crazy (1 Corinthians 14:24). For they cannot understand uninterpreted tongues (1 Corinthians 14:2), but they can understand prophesying (1 Corinthians 14:25).
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*1 Corinthians 14:29-33 / *1 Cor. 14:29 -
Christians who have been given the Spiritual gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:8-10) are the prophets of the Church (1 Corinthians 14:29-33; 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11). When they prophesy, they speak words directly from God, just as when the true prophets of Old Testament Israel prophesied, they spoke words directly from God (e.g. Jeremiah 26:12-13).
~
(Re: Does 1 Corinthians 14:29b mean that someone with the gift of prophecy can prophesy something wrong?)
Yes, for the gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:8-10) does not take away free will. Christians with the gift of prophecy can still wrongly use their free will to sometimes speak something forth as a "prophecy" which is just their own idea, or an idea which they like a lot and are sure must be from God.
Also, prophecies given forth in a church meeting can be "judged" (1 Corinthians 14:29b) in the same way that we might judge a "tradition" which has been passed down in the Church.
(See the "Tradition" section of 1 Timothy 3:15 below)
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*1 Corinthians 14:34-35 / *1 Cor. 14:34 -
(*Women)
In 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 the restrictions on women are the commandments of the Lord (1 Corinthians 14:36-37), and they are applicable in all congregations (1 Timothy 2:11-12). For they are based on the general principles of Eve being formed after Adam (1 Timothy 2:13), and Eve being deceived and Adam not being deceived (1 Timothy 2:14).
While the Lord forbids women to speak anything from their own minds in church meetings, such as asking questions (1 Corinthians 14:34-37) or teaching (1 Timothy 2:11-14), nothing requires that He forbids them to operate in the Spiritual gifts which involve speaking by the miraculous inspiration of God's Holy Spirit, such as prophesying or speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:8-11). So women, like men, should be allowed to speak out loud in tongues in church meetings, one at a time, when a tongues-interpreter is present (1 Corinthians 14:27-28). And those women who are prophetesses (Acts 21:9; cf. Luke 2:36, Judges 4:4) should be allowed like male prophets to prophesy in church meetings (1 Corinthians 14:29).
Paul's writings are scriptures (2 Peter 3:16) and so they are infallible (2 Timothy 3:16). That some Christians might choose to ignore parts of them does not change this fact, just as some Christians choosing to ignore parts of what Jesus Christ taught in the Gospels (e.g. Matthew 5:39, Mark 10:11-12) does not change the fact that His teachings are infallible (2 Timothy 3:16).
(See also 1 Corinthians 9:1 above)
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*1 Corinthians 14:37 / *1 Cor. 14:37 -
This means the same as 1 John 4:6: We must accept the Lord's teachings through His apostles (1 John 1:1-4; 2 Peter 1:16, Hebrews 2:3, Luke 1:1-2; 1 Corinthians 9:1) or we are in error.
(See also section 8 of Matthew 4:4 above)
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*1 Corinthians 15:1-4 / *1 Cor. 15:1 -
(*Gospel / *Salvation)
The Gospel of our salvation (Ephesians 1:13) is that we can be initially saved from hell by believing that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ and the human/divine Son of God (John 20:31, John 3:36; 1 John 2:23) and that He suffered and died on the Cross for our sins and rose physically from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Luke 24:39,46-47, Matthew 20:19, Matthew 26:28).
And the Gospel is that we can be ultimately saved from hell if we continue to believe this to the end (Hebrews 3:6,12,14, Colossians 1:23), and continue to perform good works of faith to the end (Romans 2:6-8; 1 Thessalonians 1:3), and repent from every sin that we commit (Hebrews 10:26-29), and get water-immersion (burial) baptized into Jesus Christ (Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-11), and partake of Jesus' divine flesh and blood in the bread and wine of Communion (John 6:53; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30), and forgive everyone for everything (Matthew 6:14-15), and do all that we can (Romans 12:18) to make reparations to and peace with everyone whom we have ever wronged (Matthew 5:23-26), and help Christians in need (Matthew 25:34-46), and provide for our families (1 Timothy 5:8), and do not blaspheme God's Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29), and do not remove words from the book of Revelation (Revelation 22:19), and do not worship the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") or worship his image or willingly receive his mark (Revelation 14:9-12), but continue in God's goodness to the end (Romans 11:22) and overcome to the end (Revelation 3:5, Revelation 2:26).
~
(Re: How should we view the *Cross, acknowledging its broader implications?)
The Cross's broader implications include the fact that it was not only literal, but also serves as a symbol of the whole, core Gospel of Jesus Christ. For the horizontal line of a cross represents Jesus' horrible suffering and death for our sins on the Cross of Calvary and His then being laid dead in a tomb. And the vertical line of a cross represents how Jesus as the human/divine Son of God overcame death by His physical resurrection from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-8, Matthew 20:19, Romans 1:4, John 3:36). Also, the vertical line of a cross represents how belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ reconciles God up in heaven with Christians down on the earth (Romans 3:25-26). And the horizontal line of a cross represents how God eventually saves sometime during their lifetime all elect people on the earth (cf. Acts 13:48b), no matter what their nationality (Revelation 5:9b).
~
(Re: I feel more lost than before I came to Jesus)
Christians can sometimes feel that way if Jesus Christ is digging out some major problems deep within their souls which they ignored or suppressed before they came to Him.
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Next entry / Prior / Table of Contents
Dec 15, 2018
Just as God has made it so that there is no way to scientifically prove the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to non-Christians (1 Corinthians 1:18 to 2:16), so it would not be surprising if He has also made it so that there is no way to scientifically prove the present validity of tongues and tongues-interpretations (1 Corinthians 12:10b) to those who reject them, whether they are Christians or non-Christians. For during a test, even if two interpreters of a tongue in separate, soundproof rooms gave the same interpretation of a recorded tongue, it could be claimed that there may have been some prior private communication between them in which they agreed on what they both would say. Or, someone could claim that they gave the same interpretation by the power of Satan instead of by the power of God's Holy Spirit (cf. Mark 3:22,29-30).
Also, even if they gave different interpretations of the tongue, this would not be proof against the present validity of tongues and their interpretation per se. For one or even both of the interpretations could be wrong: One or both of the interpreters could merely claim that he has the gift of the interpretation of tongues when in fact he does not. Or, they could both truly have the gift, but in that one instance, God could have not let it operate in them properly, because He can refuse to perform signs for those demanding signs from Him (Matthew 12:38-39). He can refuse to reward a lack of belief in His powers (Mark 6:5-6). Another case in which different interpretations of the same tongue would not be proof against the present validity of tongues and their interpretation per se would be if the difference was only in the exact words employed in the interpretations, as opposed to the gist of what the tongue was saying; just as, for example, two U.N. interpreters of a language could express their translation of a speech at the U.N. using different words, while still both correctly relating the gist of what was said.
~
(Re: What about demonic tongues?)
There are demonic tongues, which can be identified by those who have received the gift of the discerning of spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10), or by anyone if the tongues when interpreted say that Jesus is cursed (1 Corinthians 12:3), or say that Jesus is not the Christ (1 John 2:22), or say that Christ is not in the flesh (1 John 4:1-3), or say anything else which contradicts the Bible (1 John 4:6; 2 Timothy 3:16 to 4:4; 1 Timothy 4:1).
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*1 Corinthians 12:11b / *1 Cor. 12:11b -
Here the "he" is the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10). The KJV employs a lower-case "he" even when it is referring to God the Holy Spirit (John 16:13, John 14:17, John 15:26), just as it employs a lower-case "he" even when it is referring to God the Son (John 5:19,21, John 3:13) or God the Father (John 5:20,26, John 8:29). For God does not care whether we refer to Him as "he" or "He". Instead, what matters is whether we truly honor Him in our hearts. For it is possible to refer to Him as "He" while not truly honoring Him in our hearts (cf. Mark 7:6), just as it is possible to refer to Him as "he" while truly honoring Him in our hearts. True honoring of God is shown by our doing what He tells us to do (Luke 6:46, Titus 1:16, Matthew 25:26,30).
--
*1 Corinthians 12:13 / *1 Cor. 12:13 -
This shows that there is only one body of Christ which consists of both Jewish and Gentile Christians.
It does not refer to Holy Spirit baptism, which occurs sometime subsequent to salvation (see paragraphs 2-3 of Mark 16:16 above), and which involves the Holy Spirit coming on a Christian in an empowering way (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5, Acts 19:6, Acts 10:44-46), but rather refers figuratively to how the Holy Spirit has "immersed" (the meaning of "baptized") every Christian into the one body of Jesus Christ via every Christian having the one faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Ephesians 4:4-5).
(See also the "measures" section of Mark 16:16 above)
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*1 Corinthians 12:14-30 / *1 Cor. 12:14 -
See Mark 13:34 above.
--
*1 Corinthians 12:30 / *1 Cor. 12:30 -
(Tongues)
1 Corinthians 12:30 means that not all Christians who operate in the Spiritual gifts will speak in tongues.
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*1 Corinthians 13 / *1 Cor. 13 -
(Charity / G0026)
See 1 Peter 5:14 below.
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*1 Corinthians 13:4-7 / *1 Cor. 13:4 -
(Re: What kind of a person should I be?)
A loving person as defined by 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
--
*1 Corinthians 13:8 / *1 Cor. 13:8 -
This does not mean that any of the prophecies in the book of Revelation will fail to come to pass, for they must all come to pass (Revelation 1:1-3, Revelation 4:1, Revelation 22:6). Instead, 1 Corinthians 13:8 refers to the future cessation of the Spiritual gift of prophecy which is referred to in the context (1 Corinthians 13:2,9, 1 Corinthians 12:10-11,28).
~
See 1 Corinthians 12:8 above.
In 1 Corinthians 13:8, in the original Greek the difference in the "voice" of the verbs relates to the difference in how the Spiritual gifts of prophecy, tongues, and the word of knowledge operate. The cessation of prophetic messages and words of knowledge is in the passive voice because it will be God who will cause prophetic messages and words of knowledge to cease at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (1 Corinthians 13:8-12). For when Christians receive the gift of prophecy or the word of knowledge (1 Corinthians 12:8,10), they still have to wait passively for God to give them prophetic messages or words of knowledge to speak forth (1 Corinthians 14:30-31). The cessation of tongues is in the middle voice because it will be tongues-speakers who will cease speaking in tongues on their own accord at Jesus' Second Coming (1 Corinthians 13:8-12). For when a Christian receives the gift of a tongue, he usually receives a prayer (1 Corinthians 14:2,14) and it is usually a set prayer (like how The Lord's Prayer is a set prayer) which the tongues-speaker can pray or not pray on his own accord (1 Corinthians 14:27-28) whenever he wants.
~
Note that nothing in 1 Corinthians 13:8b, even in the original Greek, requires that the Spiritual gift of tongues (1 Corinthians 14:18) is no longer operating in the Church today.
--
*1 Corinthians 13:9 / *1 Cor. 13:9 -
This does not have to expressly refer to tongues as being "in part" for it to apply to tongues as well, for the principle of 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 applies to the Spiritual gifts just referred to in 1 Corinthians 13:8, which include tongues.
--
*1 Corinthians 13:10 / *1 Cor. 13:10 -
This is not referring to the perfect Bible (2 Timothy 3:16), but to the perfect man (2 Timothy 3:17) which the whole obedient Church will become in our future (Ephesians 4:13) when it sees Jesus Christ face to face at His Second Coming (1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John 3:2). All obedient Christians will be resurrected (if dead) or changed (if alive) into immortal, sinless, physical bodies like Jesus' physical, resurrection body (Luke 24:39,46; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). And this will occur at His Second Coming (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:21-23,51-53, Romans 8:23-25, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6).
When the apostle Paul speaks of perfect maturity having come in 1 Corinthians 13:10-11, he has Christians as the context, for the context is the "we" who currently know and prophesy only in part (1 Corinthians 13:9) and who currently see Jesus Christ only as in a darkened mirror (1 Corinthians 13:12; 2 Corinthians 3:18), but who will see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12) at His future, Second Coming (1 John 3:2).
If the original Greek of 1 Corinthians 13:10 means that the apostle Paul did not know when (in the sense of the year, month, and day) that all obedient Christians will become perfect, that would be because he did not know when the Second Coming will occur.
(See also Matthew 24:36 above)
--
*1 Corinthians 13:11b / *1 Cor. 13:11b -
In 1 Corinthians 13:11 the second half of the analogy makes no reference to "over time", for that is not the point of the analogy, which is only given to show that once someone has attained perfect maturity, he no longer needs what he needed before (1 Corinthians 13:8-12; 1 John 3:2).
--
*1 Corinthians 13:12 / *1 Cor. 13:12 -
This refers to Christians literally seeing Jesus Christ face to face at His future, Second Coming (1 John 3:2), instead of figuratively seeing Him only as in a darkened mirror like they do today (2 Corinthians 3:18). Both 2 Corinthians 3 and 1 Corinthians 13 refer to the present ministration of God's Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:8,18). 2 Corinthians 3 contrasts this with the past ministration of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (2 Corinthians 3:6-18). And 1 Corinthians 13 contrasts the present ministration of the Holy Spirit through His gifts (1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 14) with the future cessation of the usage of some of these gifts (1 Corinthians 13:8) when obedient Christians will become perfect like Jesus when they see Him face to face at His Second Coming (1 Corinthians 13:10,12; 1 John 3:2).
2 Corinthians 3:18 refers to the present, gradual changing of Christians (Ephesians 4:12,15-16) while they figuratively see Jesus Christ as in a darkened mirror. And 1 Corinthians 13:10,12 refers to the future, instantaneous changing of all obedient Christians into perfection (Ephesians 4:13; 1 Corinthians 15:52-53) when they will literally see Jesus at His Second Coming (1 John 3:2).
The removal of the veil from the face of Christians (2 Corinthians 3:16) so that they now have an "open face" (2 Corinthians 3:18) does not mean that they can already see Jesus Christ face to face, but that they figuratively can now see Him as in a darkened mirror (2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 13:12a) while non-Christians cannot (2 Corinthians 3:14-15).
The apostle Paul did not have to explicitly mention "darkly" in connection with "as in a glass" in 2 Corinthians 3:18 (like he does in 1 Corinthians 13:12a) for "as in a glass" in 2 Corinthians 3:18 to mean seeing something less than clearly in a mirror. For in the time of Paul in the first century AD, a "glass" (a mirror) did not reflect images clearly like a mirror does today, but was usually only polished metal like bronze which reflected only a "darkly" image, especially if the bronze had begun to oxidize.
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*1 Corinthians 13:13 / *1 Cor. 13:13 -
Faith, hope, and love will always remain (1 Corinthians 13:13) because love must continue forever because God is love (1 John 4:8). And the faith and hope which the apostle Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 13:13 is not faith in any one specific thing or hope regarding any one thing, but believing in "all things" true and hoping for "all things" good, which Paul says is an integral aspect of love (1 Corinthians 13:7). It is only a Christian's Biblical faith and hope which includes belief in all things true and hope for all things good (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Corinthians 2:9-16).
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(Re: Is *love predestinated?)
God's predestination of elect people (the chosen) to initial salvation (to becoming Christians) at some point during their lifetime (Ephesians 1:4-12; 2 Thessalonians 2:13) does not predestinate their love of God, which is obedient actions (1 John 5:3, John 14:21-24). Instead, it predestinates an initially-saving, initial faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 13:48b, Ephesians 2:8-9), which can be distinguished from love/obedient actions (1 Corinthians 13:13, Luke 6:46, Matthew 7:21).
(See also Philippians 2:13 below)
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*1 Corinthians 14 / *1 Cor. 14 -
This chapter describes the operation of the Spiritual gifts which are miraculously given to some Christians by God's Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10).
(See 1 Corinthians 12:8 above)
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*1 Corinthians 14:2 / *1 Cor. 14:2 -
In verses like 1 Corinthians 14:2 the addition of "unknown" before "tongue" takes away any confusion over which type of tongue the apostle Paul is referring to. For if verses like 1 Corinthians 14:2 were mistakenly read as referring to known tongues such as in Acts 2:4,8, which humans do understand, then it would not make sense to say that no human can understand such tongues.
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*1 Corinthians 14:6 / *1 Cor. 14:6 -
The apostle Paul does not say that the Corinthian Christians were wasting their time and energy with tongues. Instead, he says: "I would that ye all spake with tongues" (1 Corinthians 14:5). And he says that both interpreted tongues and prophesying should occur in church meetings (1 Corinthians 14:26-29), not just to help save any non-Christians who may be visiting (1 Corinthians 14:24-25), but also to edify the church itself (1 Corinthians 14:4-5).
Also, the prophesying which the apostle Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 14:29-32 is not merely a mental "forth telling" of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, such as in a sermon written by a pastor, but is speaking words directly from God by the Spiritual gift of prophecy which the Holy Spirit miraculously gives to some Christians (1 Corinthians 12:8-10).
(See 1 Corinthians 14:29 below)
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*1 Corinthians 14:10-11 / *1 Cor. 14:10 -
This is not referring to the Spiritual gift of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10), but to naturally-learned languages. That is why in the original Greek of 1 Corinthians 14:10-11 the apostle Paul uses the Greek word "phone" (voices: G5456), instead of the Greek word "glossa" (tongues: G1100). A good translation will reflect this distinction.
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*1 Corinthians 14:14-15 / *1 Cor. 14:14 -
If a Christian has received an unknown tongue (1 Corinthians 14:2,4), it is okay for him to pray and sing to God both in his natural language with mental understanding and in an unknown tongue by his spirit without mental understanding (1 Corinthians 14:14-15). For it is okay for a Christian to build up both his spirit (1 Corinthians 14:4,14) and his mind (Romans 12:2) and not just one or the other. A Christian's spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23) can know things which his mind does not yet consciously know (1 Corinthians 14:14).
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*1 Corinthians 14:18-19 / *1 Cor. 14:18 -
This means that whereas the apostle Paul spoke to God privately in unknown tongues more than anyone, in church meetings he would rather speak out loud only a little bit in a natural language which everyone can understand, than speak out loud for a long time in an unknown tongue which no one can understand (1 Corinthians 14:2,28).
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*1 Corinthians 14:21-23 / *1 Cor. 14:21 / *1 Cor. 14:22 -
Uninterpreted tongues can serve as a sign to non-Christians (1 Corinthians 14:22-23) of their inability to understand the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14), just as Jesus Christ's uninterpreted parables spoken to those who were not His disciples served the same purpose (Matthew 13:13-15). But this is not the only purpose for uninterpreted tongues, for they also serve to edify the spirits of those Christians who speak them privately to God (1 Corinthians 14:2,4,14), just as interpreted tongues serve to edify a whole congregation (1 Corinthians 14:5,12-13,26).
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*1 Corinthians 14:23-24 / *1 Cor. 14:23 -
Both non-Christians and Spiritually-"unlearned" Christians see uninterpreted tongues as "mad" (1 Corinthians 14:23) in the sense of crazy, while they do not see prophesying as crazy (1 Corinthians 14:24). For they cannot understand uninterpreted tongues (1 Corinthians 14:2), but they can understand prophesying (1 Corinthians 14:25).
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*1 Corinthians 14:29-33 / *1 Cor. 14:29 -
Christians who have been given the Spiritual gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:8-10) are the prophets of the Church (1 Corinthians 14:29-33; 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11). When they prophesy, they speak words directly from God, just as when the true prophets of Old Testament Israel prophesied, they spoke words directly from God (e.g. Jeremiah 26:12-13).
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(Re: Does 1 Corinthians 14:29b mean that someone with the gift of prophecy can prophesy something wrong?)
Yes, for the gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:8-10) does not take away free will. Christians with the gift of prophecy can still wrongly use their free will to sometimes speak something forth as a "prophecy" which is just their own idea, or an idea which they like a lot and are sure must be from God.
Also, prophecies given forth in a church meeting can be "judged" (1 Corinthians 14:29b) in the same way that we might judge a "tradition" which has been passed down in the Church.
(See the "Tradition" section of 1 Timothy 3:15 below)
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*1 Corinthians 14:34-35 / *1 Cor. 14:34 -
(*Women)
In 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 the restrictions on women are the commandments of the Lord (1 Corinthians 14:36-37), and they are applicable in all congregations (1 Timothy 2:11-12). For they are based on the general principles of Eve being formed after Adam (1 Timothy 2:13), and Eve being deceived and Adam not being deceived (1 Timothy 2:14).
While the Lord forbids women to speak anything from their own minds in church meetings, such as asking questions (1 Corinthians 14:34-37) or teaching (1 Timothy 2:11-14), nothing requires that He forbids them to operate in the Spiritual gifts which involve speaking by the miraculous inspiration of God's Holy Spirit, such as prophesying or speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:8-11). So women, like men, should be allowed to speak out loud in tongues in church meetings, one at a time, when a tongues-interpreter is present (1 Corinthians 14:27-28). And those women who are prophetesses (Acts 21:9; cf. Luke 2:36, Judges 4:4) should be allowed like male prophets to prophesy in church meetings (1 Corinthians 14:29).
Paul's writings are scriptures (2 Peter 3:16) and so they are infallible (2 Timothy 3:16). That some Christians might choose to ignore parts of them does not change this fact, just as some Christians choosing to ignore parts of what Jesus Christ taught in the Gospels (e.g. Matthew 5:39, Mark 10:11-12) does not change the fact that His teachings are infallible (2 Timothy 3:16).
(See also 1 Corinthians 9:1 above)
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*1 Corinthians 14:37 / *1 Cor. 14:37 -
This means the same as 1 John 4:6: We must accept the Lord's teachings through His apostles (1 John 1:1-4; 2 Peter 1:16, Hebrews 2:3, Luke 1:1-2; 1 Corinthians 9:1) or we are in error.
(See also section 8 of Matthew 4:4 above)
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*1 Corinthians 15:1-4 / *1 Cor. 15:1 -
(*Gospel / *Salvation)
The Gospel of our salvation (Ephesians 1:13) is that we can be initially saved from hell by believing that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ and the human/divine Son of God (John 20:31, John 3:36; 1 John 2:23) and that He suffered and died on the Cross for our sins and rose physically from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Luke 24:39,46-47, Matthew 20:19, Matthew 26:28).
And the Gospel is that we can be ultimately saved from hell if we continue to believe this to the end (Hebrews 3:6,12,14, Colossians 1:23), and continue to perform good works of faith to the end (Romans 2:6-8; 1 Thessalonians 1:3), and repent from every sin that we commit (Hebrews 10:26-29), and get water-immersion (burial) baptized into Jesus Christ (Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-11), and partake of Jesus' divine flesh and blood in the bread and wine of Communion (John 6:53; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30), and forgive everyone for everything (Matthew 6:14-15), and do all that we can (Romans 12:18) to make reparations to and peace with everyone whom we have ever wronged (Matthew 5:23-26), and help Christians in need (Matthew 25:34-46), and provide for our families (1 Timothy 5:8), and do not blaspheme God's Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29), and do not remove words from the book of Revelation (Revelation 22:19), and do not worship the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") or worship his image or willingly receive his mark (Revelation 14:9-12), but continue in God's goodness to the end (Romans 11:22) and overcome to the end (Revelation 3:5, Revelation 2:26).
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(Re: How should we view the *Cross, acknowledging its broader implications?)
The Cross's broader implications include the fact that it was not only literal, but also serves as a symbol of the whole, core Gospel of Jesus Christ. For the horizontal line of a cross represents Jesus' horrible suffering and death for our sins on the Cross of Calvary and His then being laid dead in a tomb. And the vertical line of a cross represents how Jesus as the human/divine Son of God overcame death by His physical resurrection from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-8, Matthew 20:19, Romans 1:4, John 3:36). Also, the vertical line of a cross represents how belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ reconciles God up in heaven with Christians down on the earth (Romans 3:25-26). And the horizontal line of a cross represents how God eventually saves sometime during their lifetime all elect people on the earth (cf. Acts 13:48b), no matter what their nationality (Revelation 5:9b).
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(Re: I feel more lost than before I came to Jesus)
Christians can sometimes feel that way if Jesus Christ is digging out some major problems deep within their souls which they ignored or suppressed before they came to Him.
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