From the Pen of Paul

The "more excellent way"—The Characteristics of Love
(Part 8)

(Note: We are continuing to look at I Corinthians 13 and the transitory nature of miraculous spiritual gifts in the early church.)

Today we have the complete revelation of God's truth (II Peter 1:3; II Timothy 3:16). We are forbidden to alter it in any way (Gal. 1:6-10; I Peter 4:11; I Cor. 4:6; Rev. 22:18-19). We will be judged by what is written (John 12:48). Paul has shown that these miraculous spiritual gifts were only intended to last and be used until "that which is perfect is come." And, he has placed their use ONLY during this childhood stage of the church. Therefore, it would be just as appropriate for grown men to come to worship dressed and acting and thinking like children as it would be to advocate, claim, or teach that they can speak in tongues, prophesy or know the Scriptures without study.

"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" (v. 12). "Now" refers to the transitory, childhood-stage period when spiritual gifts were needed/used, when they knew "in part." By "then," Paul means the time when "that which is perfect is come." By "now" Paul points out the situation that existed at Corinth at the time of Paul's letter. They had the gift of tongues and other spiritual gifts; but it was like seeing an imperfect reflection in a mirror in contrast to the perfect view which would be possible through the completed revelation—the Bible.

"But then face to face" is not a reference to the coming of Christ when we shall "see him as he is" (I John 3:2). By "then" Paul is talking about the time when the Corinthians would have the completed revelation and that revelation would be available for all.

"Now I know in part" This was true of the time when Paul was writing to the church at Corinth; it was a time when spiritual gifts were being utilized to provide the church with knowledge of God's will in the absence of the written word; they were used for the "edification and exhortation, and comfort" (I Cor. 14:3) of the church; this was done "in part"—little by little, bit by bit, as opposed to the full and complete "perfect" knowledge that would be possible through the completed revelation of God in the Bible. This is not a reference to the partial knowledge of this earthly life as contrasted with the knowledge we will have in eternity. The context does not permit the application to heaven.

"But then shall I know even as I am known" Just as God—from eternity—has known the needs of all His creation, so He has given complete instruction in His word for life and godliness (II Peter 1:3).

Following is a summary of verse 12 written by the late David Lipscomb:

"While in the state of childhood, with only partial knowledge made known through the spiritually gifted, they saw as in a mirror darkly; but when the perfect revelation should be made known, they would know the things revealed through all. So the knowledge we possess through the completed will of God is greatly more than any one of the gifted or inspired ones possessed, since the revelations made to and through all are given in the Scriptures."

So Paul has given three arguments to show the transitory nature of these gifts. (1) The period of gifts gave knowledge only in part; the "perfect" would provide complete knowledge of God's will; (2) The gifts were only for the childhood stage of the church; the "perfect" was for manhood or maturity; (3) The gifts were like seeing a darkened image in a glass; but the completed revealed will of God would make God's will clear as speaking face to face. The miraculous spiritual gifts of the early church DO NOT EXIST today. Those who claim these gifts are misleading and untruthful men. We have God's completed revelation (Jude 3) and, it is sufficient to inform us of all things needed to get from earth to heaven.
—Paul Wilmoth

From the Preacher's Viewpoint. . .

We appreciate all the messages of encouragement from whatever source. The past few months have been very rewarding along this line. For years we have been on the firing line for the cause of Jesus Christ. We are convinced that most members of the church did not understand where we were and what we were about at times in days gone by. Now the picture is clearer to the people of God. They now see a sizable portion of the church of Christ has split off and gone the way of denominationalism. There are all kinds of innovations that have entered the body of Christ and we predict more to come.

The church has always gone through pearls and problems and it will ever be so. The church is made up of fallible mankind and this is where the trouble sets in. God has a big master plan and He is continually working with that plan which will come to pass. We have tried to work ourselves in that plan and the way this is brought about is by reading and following the Bible. If you want to be a part of God's overall plan, the read and follow the Bible.

God prophesied about the coming kingdom in the Old Testament. John the baptist preached about the coming kingdom and Jesus taught it was at hand during His personal ministry. The apostles and prophets of the New Testament gave us much insight about the church of Christ. God did not intend for the church to be some big conglomerate with an earthly headquarters calling the shots. The divine plan for the church of Christ was local autonomy with congregations differing in size, some large, some in-between, and some small. Even though this is seen very clearly in the Bible, men have paid little attention to God's plan for church government. Some have huge earthly headquarters and sizable displays of the vainglory of man. Man has corrupted the simple church of Christ into the glory and power of men.

The church of the New Testament sometimes fails to see God's plan for his divine institution. Brethren sometimes want to get larger and larger and bigger and bigger. They sometimes launch forth into some huge organizational structure. No, it is not unscriptural in work and organization but it has human tendencies to reach out and control the Lord's people. We have invited people to be on our lectures at Tennessee Bible College who turned us down because of pressure placed on them by some radio network or TV cooperative work. This is the very thing that God does not want. This is not guess work because we have proof that such has taken place. The organization may be scriptural but what they venture out into has become unscriptural. This very thing is happening today. It is unscriptural to put pressure on churches and individuals to do certain things. There are two kinds of power in the world today. They are force and persuasion. God does not use nor does He authorize force. The Bible is opposed to taking a gun and holding it at someone's head to make them be baptized or go to church. God's divine plan is to persuade men (II Cor. 5:11).

God does not approve of brethren using their power even though it is the force of some big cooperative work to cut down and destroy Scriptural things. When will brethren learn that there should be no competition between light houses?

We believe some brethren need to dig a little deeper in the Bible and respect its contents more.
—Malcolm L. Hill