Troublesome Topic: Precepts about Tongues from I Corinthians 13:2,8,10

Lesson 5 of 17

1 Corinthians 13:2

Translation

and if I have prophecy and understand

all mysteries and all experiential knowledge,

and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have sacrificial love, I am nothing.

Paraphrase

and if God gives me the important gift of communicating spiritual truth in a way that relates to everyday life, and the gift of comprehending all the as-of-yet-undisclosed truths of God as well as perceiving all the experiential knowledge possible, and if God gives me the gift of abnormally strong faith sufficient to command mountain-sized problems to move and they move, but if I do not accompany those gifts with sacrificial love I have wasted my efforts by working to make myself into something that has no value.

THE BIBLICAL CONCEPT OF MYSTERIES

We think of a mystery as something hard to figure out, but the Biblical term is different. In the Bible, the idea of a mystery was a truth that God would reveal to mankind at some point, but He has not done so yet. It is not something that we can figure out; it must be revealed by God. And it will be revealed, we just don’t know when.

This is a common and important theme in the Bible. God wants to reveal Himself to us so that we can understand His character and what He requires of us. However, He does not dump all of that revelation on us all at once. He has given it to mankind piece by piece.

This topic of mysteries in the Biblical sense is related to the burning question and the unutterable burden, both of which are later answered or resolved by God’s intervention. This process is closely related to the topic of tongues.

1 Corinthians 13:8

Translation

Sacrificial love will never, ever fall down or be cast down;

however, if prophecies, they will be brought down to motionless condition;

if tongues, they will cease;

if personal, experiential knowledge, it will be brought down to a motionless condition.

Paraphrase

Sacrificial love will never, ever fail; however, if there is the uttering of spiritual admonishment, it will be rendered ineffective; if there is speaking in unknown languages, it will come to an end; if there is the expression of personal, experiential knowledge that provides spiritual insight, it will also be rendered ineffective.

THE TEMPORARY NATURE OF TONGUES AND PROPHECY

The Corinthians were arguing over two things that will not last for eternity (tongues and prophecy); they are tools that God uses in this phase to get us to the next phase (heaven). Paul’s point is that they pale in comparison to love because love is eternal.

1 Corinthians 13:10

Translation

However, whenever completeness has fully come, that which is out of a portion of the whole will be brought down to a motionless condition.

Paraphrase

But, whenever the big picture is revealed and things as we know them are replaced by a greater reality, these individual pieces of the big picture will be rendered useless.

A CONNECTION TO THE URIM AND THUMMIM

Here the word “completeness, fullness” is used which is also the meaning of the Hebrew word Thummim. This is a relatively common Greek word in the New Testament and not every use of it points to the Urim and Thummim which the High Priest carried in his ephod in order to determine God’s will or hear God’s answer to a burning question. However, since the Urim and Thummim figure prominently in the study of speaking in tongues, I don’t think it is coincidence that the word “completeness” is used in this context.

This reference to the Urim and Thummim can be expressed something like this, “In a moment I will go into more detail about tongues and prophecy which are closely related to a process that begins with a burning question which is followed by God’s flame of light which illuminates the issue and gives an answer, which is followed by the full completion of the matter, usually through our obedient action. But true completeness is far beyond the issue of tongues and prophecy because these will not remain operable forever. In the end, true completion of any matter will have nothing to do with tongues and prophecy, but rather it will be fulfilled by love, our love for God and for others around us.”

The next lesson in the Mid Length Series on Tongues is Precepts about Tongues from I Corinthians 14:1

Footnotes

1

This word means “to see, know or perceive.”

2

This type of “knowledge” is the practical knowledge for life that is only acquired through experience in living. It would be impossible to gain “all” of this kind of knowledge because it is impossible to experience what everyone experiences. But the point here is that if I could be miraculously endowed with the gift of knowledge on such a high level but did not have love, I would still be nothing. There would be no value in having such a gift without love.

3

This is the word for “fall, fail, cast down.”

4

The key idea behind this verb is “to make inactive or motionless” in the sense of “to render inoperable, non-functioning.” The part about it being “brought down” is provided by the preposition “down” which is attached to the verb “to make inactive or motionless.”

5

Here the meaning is “to cease or come to an end.”

6

This is the singular form of the same verb used of prophecies earlier in this verse. It means “to make inactive or motionless” in the sense of “to render inoperable, non-functioning.”