Wed, 7 Jun 2000 10:28

"Jeremy Clark" <jaclark@fwi.com>

Question: In 1 Co 13:13, even though prophecy, knowledge, and tongues remained at the time,
it seems to indicate that faith, hope, and love remain while the others do not.
Bob,
1 Corinthians 13:13 indicates that faith, hope, and love now abide. However, it does not
mention prophecy, knowledge, and tongues even though these things remained too at the time
Paul wrote this letter. Verse 13 seems to indicate that faith, hope, and love remain while the
others do not. What is the significance of verse 13?
Jeremy

Answer:
Jeremy,
First, I want to give the context: 1 Co 13:8-13 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. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when
that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a
child, I spoke 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 in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I
know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love,
these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Whether you realize it, your question leads to the theology of the sign gifts–healing the sick,
raising the dead, tongues, and miracles. Since tongues is a sign gift, if we deal with it, it will
show why the other sign gifts passed away too. So, answering your question will answer a few
others as well. Prophecy and knowledge are a different situation, as we will see.
Many in my congregation have shared that when they were in previous churches they felt
they were not saved because they had not spoken in tongues. Many have told me there was
more pressure to speak in tongues than anything else, even loving God or living for Him.
When Christians do not rightly divide the word of truth they believe the gospel to Israel,
along with its signs, is for us today. They believe the health & wealth, name it & claim it
theology. Why? Because the Bible teaches sign gifts.
In Mk 16:17,18, it says “And these signs”. [These signs include tongues. They were to
accompany the presentation of the kingdom promised to David.] “will follow those who
believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will
take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay
hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Why does it say that in Mk 16:17,18, if it doesn’t
come true today? It’s because this was the kingdom gospel.
Let me show you the promise, proclamation, offer, and setting aside of the kingdom gospel,
and the change to a different gospel with its consequences. To begin with, God promised King
David an everlasting kingdom in 2 Sa 7:12. Later, in Isa 35:4-6,10, He said, “Say to those who
are fearful-hearted, Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with
the recompense of God; He will come and save you. 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be
opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer.
And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams
in the desert. . . . 10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with
singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and
sighing shall flee away.”
When Christ came He showed His credentials. Mat 9:35 “Then Jesus went about all the
cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and
healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” He was showing that He was the
Messiah. Christ said in Jo 5:36 “But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which
the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the
Father has sent Me.” The kingdom promised to David was being proclaimed. But Israel rejected
their Messiah.
The sign gifts of tongues, healing, cleansing lepers, raising the dead, and casting out demons
were signs that the kingdom was going to be established shortly. That’s what the incident in Lk
7:18-22 was all about. “Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things.
19 And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, Are You the
Coming One, or do we look for another? 20 When the men had come to Him, they said, John
the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another? 21
And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind
He gave sight. 22 Jesus answered and said to them, Go and tell John the things you have seen
and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are
raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Christ quoted the Isaiah 35 passage and told them to “Go and tell John the things you have
seen and heard”. That’s also why Christ sent His apostles out in Mat 10:5-9: These twelve Jesus
sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not
enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as
you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,
raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
They were sent to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” That’s what Jeremiah called them
in Jer 50:6, My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray. Christ was
not sent to us Gentiles. That’s why He said this to the Gentile woman in Mat 15:24: But He
answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Later, Christ died for the sins of the world, rose, and ascended into heaven. Then, the
kingdom was offered to Israel in Acts 2:30-39 & 3:12-25. But when Israel did not respond as
they should have, God set Israel and their promised kingdom aside when Stephen was stoned in
Acts 7:51-56. Then God saved Paul. Act 9:1-19; 26:12-18.
Things changed in the dispensation of Grace. The kingdom sign gifts began passing away.
The passage you cited shows that in its extended context. 1 Co 13:8-10 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. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But
when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
Prophecy and knowledge not sign gifts, they were revelatory gifts God used to reveal truth to
the church. They were different from the sign gifts. At this time a new gospel, te gospel of grace
is given to Paul. Read Gal 1:11-2:9.
Evangelizing with the kingdom gospel passed away. That was the one associated with
healing. And finally, the dispensation of grace came into full force after the judicial decree of
Acts 28:28: Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the
Gentiles, and they will hear it!
Israel was shown that they were set aside. So there are no more sign gifts. Here are some
examples. Epaphroditus had been sick. Phi 2:25-30 Yet I considered it necessary to send to you
Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one
who ministered to my need; 26 since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you
had heard that he was sick. 27 For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on
him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I
sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less
sorrowful. 29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem;
30 because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what
was lacking in your service toward me.
Paul gave Timothy some medical advice. 1 Ti 5:23 No longer drink only water, but use a
little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities. He had to leave Trophimus,
sick. 2 Ti 4:20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick.
Paul showed God’s principle for healing in this dispensation in 2 Co 12:7-10 And lest I
should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was
given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning
this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most
gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses,
for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
There are no tongues, healings, signs, or miracles in Paul’s epistles written after the judicial
decree of Acts 28:28. Those are: Eph, Phi, Col, 1&2 Ti, Tit, and Philemon. But many churches
maintain that they are still in effect for today. I might ask why it is that no one is willing to
drink deadly caustic acids if they can drink anything deadly? We know why. It’s because these
sign gifts passed away. 1 Co 13:8 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.
God’s reason for tongues is found in two prophecies. The fulfillment of one prophecy
announced the establishment of the long promised kingdom. It is found in Joel 2. The
fulfillment of the second showed God’s judgment on the unbelieving nation of Israel for the
rejection of their Messiah. This is found in Isaiah 28.
Let’s look at the first prophecy. The sign gift of tongues was to show the great and awesome
day of the LORD was coming. Joel 2:1-2 sets up the recipients of this fulfilled prophecy: “Blow
the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the
land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, for it is at hand: 2 A day of darkness and
gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, like the morning clouds spread over the
mountains. A people come, great and strong, the like of whom has never been; Nor will there
ever be any such after them, even for many successive generations.” Here’s the prophecy. Joel
2:28-31 And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your
sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men
shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My
Spirit in those days. 30 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire
and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood before
the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
Next we need to see the sign gift of tongues was to show the judgment of God. Isa 28 shows
the example of Ephraim in the north, about 725 BC. Verse 1: “Woe to the crown of pride
[Samaria], to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower.” Samaria is
compared to flowers, the garland of flowers revelers wore on their heads when feasting. “which
is at the head of the verdant valleys,” Samaria was at the head of several verdant valleys. “To
those who are overcome with wine! 2 Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one,” Probably
Sennacherib, king of Assyria. “Like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, like a flood of
mighty waters overflowing, Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand. 3 The crown
of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, [The crown of flowers] will be trampled underfoot; 4 And
the glorious beauty is a fading flower which is at the head of the verdant valley, like the first
fruit before the summer, which an observer sees; he eats it up while it is still in his hand.”
Then Isaiah switches to Judah. Verse 7: “But they also have erred through wine, and through
intoxicating drink are out of the way. The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating
drink. They are swallowed up by wine. They are out of the way through intoxicating drink.
They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. 8 For all tables are full of vomit and filth. No
place is clean.
Then in 9&10 we have the mocking reply of these drunken men to Isaiah. 9 “Whom will he
teach knowledge?” They’re saying, “Who does he think he is? 9 And whom will he make to
understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? 10
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a
little, there a little.”
Harper’s Bible Dictionary says, “The OT reveals almost nothing about the content of
instruction in school. Isaiah 28:10 and 13 have a pattern that may match the memorization that
went on in school (‘precept upon precept…line upon line…here a little…’” The New Bible
Dictionary says, “The alphabet was learned by repetition (Is. 28:10, ‘precept upon precept . . .’
being literally  after  after .’) Here’s what it sounded like in Hebrew.

kiy tsaw la tsaw, tsaw la tsaw, kaw la kaw, kaw la kaw.
The speakers in verse 9 are probably the priests and prophets mentioned in verses 7,8. They
were angry that Isaiah was treating them as if they were young children. They believed they
could think for themselves. They thought they had no need for someone to tell them what to do
or think. So they mimicked Isaiah as if he were speaking “baby talk” to them (v. 10). Mocking
Isaiah’s messages, the leaders were acting as if he were an adult “lecturing” little children,
inculcating a little at a time. In other words they were refusing to take Isaiah’s words seriously.
They wanted nothing to do with his message or his ministry. And they didn’t get Isaiah’s whole
picture because they were too drunk to understand.
Responding to the mimicking of the leaders, Isaiah said that if they did not want to listen to
his lecturing, then they would be lectured by another people who had an unintelligible
language. Foreign lips would deliver the message of judgment on them. So Isaiah takes their
mocking words and turns on them. You call me a stammerer, well God will speak to you in
judgment. 11 “For with stammering lips and another tongue” He predicts that God, through the
Assyrians, would speak to them in judgment by men whose language would sound like
jabbering. 11 “He will speak to this people [Israel], 12 Yet they would not hear. 13 But the word
of the LORD was to them, Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line
upon line, Here a little, there a little.” They have scorned his instructions as monosyllables fit
for children. So God will speak to them with simple brutal penalties: harsh invasion and
destruction. 13 “That they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught. 14
Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, who rule this people who are in
Jerusalem.” This judgment is for whom? Israel!
Therefore, I hope you can see that the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32 was for spiritual
enlightenment as they would go through the tribulation. Again, enlightenment for whom?
Israel! And Isa 28:1-14 was a prophecy of judgment against whom? Israel!
Now let’s look at both of these prophecies in the N.T. Remember, Jeremy, Joel 2 was
prophecy announcing the day of the Lord and the approaching kingdom. When the day of
Pentecost came and the gift of tongues was poured out on them, it was in fulfillment of Joel’s
prophecy, just as Peter said. Acts 2:14-21 “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his
voice and said to them, men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you,
and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of
the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 And it shall come to pass in the
last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on
My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall
prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and
fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood
before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. 21 And it shall come to pass that
whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
Now we must always remember, according to 1 Co 1:22, Jews required signs. 1 Co 1:22
“For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom.” Yet, in spite of all these signs, Israel
rejected God and was set aside. I believe this happened when Christ stood at the right hand of
the Father when Stephen was stoned in Acts 7:51-56.
Paul was inspired by God to write about this in Rom 11:11,15,25 I say then, have they
stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to
jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of
the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 25 For I do not desire, brethren,
that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that
blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
Because of Israel’s fall, Paul became the apostle of the Gentiles with a new gospel. When
Paul was standing before King Agrippa defending himself he related his confrontation with the
Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, in Acts 26:16-18 “But rise and stand on your feet;
for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the
things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will deliver
you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open
their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by
faith in Me.” Then later, at the council of Jerusalem, he told the whole council about his new
gospel that he preached among the Gentiles. This is recorded in his epistle to the Galatians in
Gal 2:2,7 And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach
among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might
run, or had run, in vain. 7 But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel of the
uncircumcision had been committed to me, as the gospel of the circumcision was to Peter.
When Israel rejected God, He judged the nation of Israel. That’s when the Isaiah 28
prophecy of judgment was fulfilled according to Paul. Because the leaders of Israel were, again,
like children in understanding, Paul wrote 1 Co 14:20-22 Brethren, do not be children in
understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature. 21 In the law it is
written: “With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet, for all
that, they will not hear Me,” says the Lord. 22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those
who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who
believe.
Remember, this Isaiah passage that Paul quoted was a warning of judgment against God’s
people. According to verse 22, these tongues were for a sign. Again, to whom? Let’s read 1 Co
14:22 again. 22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers;
but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. And again, what was the
purpose? Judgment! Then, when God set Israel aside, He made a final official decree in Acts
28:28. Then we see that tongues have ceased. He said in 1 Co 13:8, 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. That’s why Paul could say that faith, hope, and love
remain while the others do not.
I hope this hasn’t overwhelmed you.
In Christ,
Bob