Theme Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13

"1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
²And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
⁴ Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
⁵ Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
⁶ Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
⁷ Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
⁸ Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
⁹ For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
¹⁰ But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
¹¹ When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
¹² For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
¹³ And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
Verse 1: One may be able to speak in tongues. However, if one doesn't do it out of love, they are just making a bunch of noise. Now, some may not know what speaking in tongues is. Simply, it is when the Holy Ghost takes over the believer and they begin to pray in a language that they have not learned. The believer doesn't understand what they are praying, but the Holy Ghost is praying through them and they are talking to God. One can say it is a pure form of prayer, directed by the Holy Ghost. We will go in depth in a later lesson.

Verse 2: You may be spiritually gifted and may know a lot about the Word of God. You may have mountain- moving faith. However, if those things aren't operated in love, it means nothing.

Verse 3: You may go on missions and help the needy and the poor and might sacrifice yourself for others. You might even willingly become a martyr. However, if love isn't present, it doesn't do you any good.

Verse 4: One can suffer for a very long time because of love. Love puts up with a lot of things. Love is kind. It doesn't seek to get even with people. Love isn't prideful. Love is humble. It doesn't wish harm on others.

Verse 5: Love doesn't act wildly and without self- control. Love is not easily offended. Love loves everybody, not just her own family. Love thinks positively. It doesn't think evil.

Verse 6: Love doesn't praise sin. Love hates sin and iniquity. Love rejoices in truth. Truth sets one free (John 8:32). Therefore, Love wants all to be free. It loves freedom.

Verse 7: Love protects people, it believes all things (innocent until proven guilty), it always wishes the best for anyone no matter what. Love is able to go through hell and high water. It can go through any and every thing.

Verse 8: Love never fails. It is always a winner. Love never loses! Love never stops. It is everlasting. Prophecies will come and go. Tongues are momentary (one does not only speak in tongues non stop. They speak, then stop. They speak when prompted by the Spirit). Knowledge will not last forever. One will forget what they have learned sooner or later.

Verse 9-10: Because we don't know everything, we do things on the basis of what we know. Everything we do is not complete, because we are not complete and our knowledge is not complete. However, when Jesus comes, and our salvation is completed, everything that has been done half-way will disappear. Everything that is not complete will be done away. God loves completeness.

Verse 11: When we are a child, we do what we know what to do. We are not serious. We do things based on our childish knowledge. However, when one reaches adulthood and knowledge/ wisdom has expanded, our childish knowledge and our childish ways are thrown out. We no longer use them. To simply put it, we grow up!

Verse 12: The Bible is the reflection of Jesus Christ. The Bible is the mirror or the glass. We have never seen Jesus, but we learn about him in his Word. However, soon, we shall Jesus face to face. When we all see Jesus, we will sing and shout victory. On this earth, we don't know everything. However, when Jesus comes, we shall know fully (that doesn't mean we know everything, because we still learn in Heaven. However, our capacity to learn will reach its full potential. We don't use all of our brains, only a small percentage. However, in our glorified bodies, we will use 100% of our brain. )

Verse 13: There are three essential elements: Faith, Hope, and Love. However, one is required for the others to be present: Love. Therefore, the greatest of those three elements is Love!