Mensa Otabil - Love Does Not Fail
- Watch
- Donate
This week we’ve been looking at love. We’ve examined it from the book of First Corinthians, a hymn of love, and we’ve focused on chapter 13. So we look at verse 8: «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.»
Now, you have to get a background of why First Corinthians chapter 13 has been written. In chapter 12, Paul talks about gifts of the Spirit; in chapter 14, he discusses speaking in tongues. The Corinthian Church was a very spiritually minded church, and they enjoyed the drama of spiritual gifts and supernatural things. They went to church, spoke in tongues, prophesied, and participated in all these activities. So Paul is writing to them, giving them instructions and telling them what is more important. He tells them that they must seek the more excellent gifts. Speaking in tongues is great; prophesying is great; having faith is great, but something is greater than them-it’s more excellent, and he calls it love.
You have to understand that this is the basis on which this whole chapter is written: the primacy of love over spiritual gifts. Paul says that love is eternal; love never fails. What he’s saying is that love is God’s nature, and because God is eternal, love never fails. In every situation in this time and in the world to come, love will exist. In the world to come, gifts of the Spirit will not exist, but love will exist because love is the constant; it is the nature of God.
He’s telling them that if they really want to serve God, it is good to seek the gifts of the Spirit. He doesn’t tell them not to speak in tongues, not to prophesy, or not to move in faith. He says to do all these things, but make sure that love is the driving force behind everything that you do. That’s why he’s explaining the nature of love. If you speak in tongues, don’t do it to show off because love does not boast. If you want to prophesy, don’t do it because you want to be the best, because love is kind. You can reveal things about people to demean them; you can’t tell people, «I saw this about you,» if what you saw is not kind, as it brings ridicule to that person and makes them a laughing stock.
He says that if you operate in all these things without love, you’re not really doing the right thing. People must operate in spiritual gifts, but they must also operate in love, and love abides forever. Then it says that when it comes to tongues, they will cease. It’s great to speak in tongues, but it will cease; it’s not eternal; it is only needed for a period in our lifetime here on Earth. In eternity, there will be no speaking in tongues. Paul says that when it comes to prophecy, they will fail, and when it comes to knowledge, it will vanish away. The knowledge he is talking about is supernatural knowledge given by God, and he says that will vanish away. But something is going to stay, and we should pay attention to that.
What it teaches all of us-from pastors to church members and everybody-is to seek the more excellent gift and let everything you do be driven by the ethos, the practice of love. Whether you’re prophesying, speaking in tongues, operating in faith, preaching, or being generous, everything must be driven by true love, the love centered in Christ Jesus. That is what remains after all is gone.
Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, Your love never fails. Help me not to fail in showing love to others. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»