The Supremacy of Love

I Corinthians 13:8–13
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Understanding

Unlike many of the spiritual gifts, love will never be outmoded, unnecessary, or eliminated (v. 8). Someday, every prophecy recorded in the Bible will be fulfilled, but love will remain relevant. Someday, the gift of tongues will no longer be necessary (perhaps because we will all once again speak the same language or maybe we will all understand and speak all the languages), but love will always be necessary. Someday, every mystery will be revealed, but God will spend all eternity revealing to us in new ways his love for us. In every age there has been a limit to what was known and understood. There are always things missing from human knowledge. Even the prophets could not see or understand everything (v. 9). But when the perfect (Jesus) comes, the partial (our limited human understanding) will pass away (v. 10).

When the Man, Christ Jesus, appears, those who have put their trust in Him will be raised to new life with Him. We will put off our childish thoughts and our childish flesh and become fully alive adults in Him (v. 11). Mirrors in Paul’s day were quite different from the modern convinces we all keep in our homes. Mirrors were made of metal and could only give a distorted reflection. We cannot fully understand everything there is to know about God until we are in His presence. In the meantime, it’s comforting to know that we are fully known by Him (v. 12). Faith, hope, and love will always remain, but love is the greatest of these three (v. 13). Throughout eternity we will continue to place our faith in God, and we will always hope in Him, but our capacity to know and love Him will be a forever growing and deepening relationship.

Application

The more I become like Christ, the more love I will show to others.

I Corinthians 13:8-13 (English Standard Version)

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