"Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail, whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away." (1 Corinthians 13:8-10 NKJV)
What is the perfect that was mentioned in this passage? There is a lot of disagreement on the matter, and more than a few various viewpoints on the perfect in this passage. In order to understand what the perfect is however, we have to know what it is that is in part. If we know what it is that was in part, then we can logically conclude what it is that is replacing it, that being the perfect.
Many skip over that which is in part, and start guessing at the perfect and come to the wrong conclusion. Some say that the perfect is Christ, and while Christ is in deed perfect, He is not the perfect mentioned in this passage, as logic denies it. If Christ is the perfect, than what is that which is in part? What is it that He is replacing? Paul talks about the perfect as if it has yet to come, and yet to replace that which is in part. If this is the case, we cannot say that the perfect is Christ, unless we say that Paul believed that He has yet to come. Paul died for his beliefs in the resurrected Christ, and nobody would die for something they knew was not true. Therefore, the perfect could not be Christ
Still others declare that the perfect is the church, stating that one day the church will be perfect. This is a noble thought, and a great goal to strive towards but is not what Paul was referring to either. If the church were to ever become perfect, what would it be replacing at that point? It could not be replac...
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... century. Not all had the powers of miracles in the first century, and they were only temporary, inasmuch as they could not be passed on to others except through the Twelve, and when they had passed on, they could no longer be passed to others, and miracles died out in the world. Not all had the gift of miracles, but now all men have access to the written word of God.
Works Cited
"What is the 'Perfect' in 1 Corinthians 13:10?" Last modified: Unknown. www.churchofchristlexne.ord/page23.php
"What does that which is perfect mean in 1 Corinthians 13:10?" Last modified: Unknown. www.housetohouse.com/BibleQuestions.aspx?Letter=all&Question=4195
Jackson, Bill, "A Commentary on First Corinthians" Abilene, TX, 1990 134-135
Coffman, James Burton "Commentary on 1 Corinthians 13:1" "Coffman Commentaries on the Old and New Testament" Abilene, TX 1983-1999
Carson, D. A. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
Ruden, Sarah. Paul among the People: The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in His Own Time. New York: Pantheon, 2010. Print.
In this passage of the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses several concerns. He is addressing the situation of a man who has sinned not only against himself, but against the Corinthian Church as well. He explains why he wrote a letter rather than bringing sorrow upon them. Paul is sensitive to the Lord’s leading, and in love, writes to the church encouraging them to discipline this man in love for the purpose of restoring him. He urges the Corinthians to be obedient and love the man through forgiving and encouraging him. Paul shares with them his trust in the Lord for the outcome of this matter and how burdened he was for restoration to take place. He warns them of the need to not allow Satan a foothold through this matter. Finally, Paul puts the focus on Christ; for it is in Him that we are adequate thereby becoming His fragrance to others.
Paul, also known as Saul, was an apostle of God who wrote the book of Ephesians and was sent to set up churches for Him. He changed his name from Saul to Paul because he wanted to start his life over, follow God, and live for Him. He wanted to start over because he was known as a man who persecuted Christians. Saul did not even notice he was doing wrong until he started to reach Damascus and a voice yelled from the Heavens saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul answered back, “Who are you, Lord?” then the Lord answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But, rise and enter the city, and you will be told what to do.” For three days Saul was made blind by Jesus and did not eat or drink. Then, Ananias walked into where Saul was staying and restored his sight, something like scales fell off his eyes and he could see. After being in Damascus with the disciples he proclaimed that Jesus is the one true God. Then, he fled to Jerusalem where he joined the disciples with the help of Barnabas, changed his name to Paul and became a missionary to Christ. He set out on three missionary journeys where on his third, he was put under house arrest in Rome for two years where he wrote the book of Ephesians. After his release, he left, went to Spain, and was eventually persecuted and martyred by Nero.
"Bible Gateway Passage: Ephesians 1:15-23 - New International Version." Bible Gateway. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
...tle. Which is, “THAT YE SIN NOT”? What the Scripture is saying here in verse 1 is that if by any reason you should fall into sin, because of the lack of consecration and watchfulness you do not have to remain in the state of sin. God will grant unto you by His mercy another opportunity to be redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ, for the removing of your sins. Jesus is the advocate for those who fall in the temptation of their flesh and sin. The word advocate in the Greek parakletos, pronounced par-ak’-lay-tos, meaning an intercessor, counselor: comforter. Jesus Christ is represented as the mediator that counsels you unto strength, showing you the way back unto God. Once you have returned unto the Father, He will comfort you and keep you, only if you allow Him. The Lord will never console you in the state of your sins, for He finds no pleasure in you sinning.
Chapter four addresses the divisions within the Corinthian church, such as jealousy, quarrelling and their defective view of the church. The apostle Paul links their view of the church to church leadership stating “If they had a true view of the church, they would have a true view of the leaders of the church” (p79). The situation was that their view was lower for the church and higher for the leaders thus they were boasting about the leaders. Paul’s view was that the Corinthian church was spoon feed Christians not maturing as they should. Paul’s reference to addressing the church as worldly did not mean they were unregenerate because they did possess the Spirit but they were not being spiritual, not being controlled by the Holy Spirit. He goes on to say “They have experienced new birth by the Spirit but have remained babies in Christ; they have not yet become mature in Christ” (p80) The Apostle most likely would express the same opinion about many Church congregations today. Many churches are elated with their church growth, but it is often superficial. If the church does not offer a real growth opportunity the journey is short lived. The church fills up with Christians not participating in the sanctification process. As with many churches today the Corinthians had a self-serving attitude about themselves and their church. The Corinthians would have never behaved the way they did if they had a higher view of the church and what it stood for and a lesser view of the leaders. Paul outlines three visions of the church “each of which has important implications” (p82). The first metaphor is agricultural: God’s field (v9) 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God...
...ip with God we are still built with infirmities that are temptations for sin, and with that we are no longer perfect.
In 1 Corinthians 7 there are many things that are significant in every country at any time. In this assignment I will be talking about who this letter was written to, how it is relevant today and how this is relevant to me. 1 Corinthians 7 is all about marriage and I believe Paul was trying to say in this letter not to marry but if you have sexual desires you should marry so you don’t commit fornication.
I Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul to help young and weak believers to grow in righteousness. This letter was written between 53 - 55 A.D. This was during Paul’s third missionary journey, towards the end of his three years ministry In Ephesus. A few years later, he was receiving questioning letters and reports of problems that were plaguing the church. Paul was outright in his letter to the Corinthians, answering their questions and instructing them in several areas. I Corinthians provide us with a glimpse inside “one struggling local church” in the first century. The Spirit of the world seemed to have had more influence in the church than the Spirit of God. He warns them not to follow the pattern of this world, but rather, to live as godly examples, reflecting godliness in the midst of an immoral world. He sought to bring understanding to the issues of divisions, marriage and divorce, liberty and responsibility, the exercising of spiritual gifts in the church, and the doctrine of resurrection.
The book of Colossians is a letter to the church of Colossae, encouraging them to continue their walk in the faith, of which Paul has ascribed to, and resist the philosophy and empty deceit of human tradition. This passage specifically, Colossians 1:15-23, is meant to establish the supremacy Christ and the sufficiency of his sacrifice on the cross. From this passage, a rather simple truth is found: do not attempt to add on to what is already complete and sufficient. Christ came to this earth fully God and fully man – he was perfect. Through his perfection, he was able to make the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Christ was then able to present man “holy and blameless and irreproachable” before God. Man does not need to do anything else to gain that gift of salvation except to continue in the faith and hold steadfast to the hope of the gospel.
The New Interpreter's Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. Nashville: Abingdon Press, ©2003.
Wenham, G.J., Moyter, J.A., Carson, D.A. and France, R.T., eds. New Bible Commentary. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1998.
The human race relies heavily on interpersonal connections for understanding the world around them. In the thousands of years of human existence, this fact has not changed. Humans are incredibly social creatures. This fact, however, does not negate the presence of divisions between groups of people, who often reside in a close community. These divisions keep humans from uniting under a single cause because of the constructs that we have formed to maintain divisions based in power, identity, and education, among others. Yet, in the time in which Paul was writing, he called for unity under a common purpose, through Christ Jesus. Paul’s urging for unity and abandonment of the power of earthly wisdom, in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, appeals to the faults
When we read the Pastorals, we can see that the concerns the author writes about are vastly different than the concerns written about in 1 and 2 Corinthians. For instance, in the Pastorals there appears to be a vested interest in establishing conv...