Charity Never Fails 1 Corinthians 13:8

Paul the apostle told the church members in Corinth in addition to “love” “rejoicing not in iniquity, but rejoicing in the truth”, “love” “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”, and in chapter thirteen and verse eight of First Corinthians, Paul shared with the Corinthian church how, “charity never fails”, where we read:

Charity never fails: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

The verse begins, “Charity never fails: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail;”. Paul began with the word, “Charity” which is the Greek word “agapē” which means “affection, good will, benevolence and unmerited brotherly love” “never fails” or “neither at any time and not at all falls out, down or off and is never lost”: “but” which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be written takes precedence over what was just stated “whether” or “if and in case” “there be prophecies” or “discourses emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, comforting the afflicted or revealing things hidden”, “they shall fail” which means “the prophesies shall be rendered idle, unemployed, inactive and inoperative”. God's “love” shall “not in any way or at any time” “fall out or be lost”, however, the “spiritual gift” of “prophecy” shall.

The verse continues, “... whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” Paul added the word, “whether” which means “if and in case” “there be tongues” or “languages or dialects used by a particular people distinct from that of other nations”, “they shall cease” which means “those tongues will desist and have release”; “whether” or “if and in case” “there be knowledge” which means “general intelligence, understanding and the deeper more perfect and enlarged knowledge which belongs to the more advanced”, “it shall vanish away” which means “be rendered idle, unemployed, inactive and inoperative”. God's “love”, according to Paul, “shall never fail”, however “tongues” will “desist” and “knowledge” of deeper things shall.

When we meditate upon these words from Paul, we see how “love” shall never “fall out or be lost”, and although the “spiritual gifts of prophesies, tongues and knowledge” shall end, “love” never will. Jesus Christ builds His church on the idea of “love”, and even as the “spiritual gifts” shall end in their purpose, God's love will be always and forever. We should be inspired to “love” as God loves, and as His Holy Spirit works in us, perhaps we shall reflect His “love” to others who do not know Him as their “Savior and Lord”.

Next time Paul shares with the church members how, “we know in part, and we prophesy in part”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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