MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Seven Baptisms
Written by: Max Klein
Baptism means identification or association:
Introduction:
1. This meaning began in Homer's time. Homer wrote of the one-eyed giant, Cyclops who had trapped Ulysses and his men in a cave and was eating them one at a time. The ingenious Ulysses devised a plan. He had his men sharpen a large log and together they rammed this log into the eye of the one-eyed Cyclops rendering him blind. They identified (baptized) the sharpened log with Cyclops’ eye which changed Cyclops from a seeing giant to a blind giant. Having blinded the Cyclops, they were able to maneuver their way out of the cave. Another example by Homer: Homer's Odyssey, book 9, used baptism for hot metal identified (baptized) with water when a smith dipped a piece of hot iron into water. This is how a blacksmith would temper swords in the ancient world. After this identification, the sword was made stronger and so less likely to bend.
2. Xenophon said that the Spartan military recruits after finishing infantry training would identify (baptize) their spears with pig’s blood. They would run by a barrel of pig’s blood and thrust their spears into this blood. This ritual, identified their spears with killing and the soldier’s readiness for combat with the enemy.
3. Euripides used the word for a ship identified with the bottom of the sea when it sank. Before sinking, the ship was valuable; after sinking it had no value at all.
4. So "baptize" in the classical Greek meant to identify one thing with another so that the characteristics of the original thing were altered. Therefore, the interpretation of the word "baptism" is identification with something that brings about a change.
5. There are a number of cognates related to this Greek word such as bapto, baptizo, baptisma, baptismos, baptistes, and embapto. A few examples follow:
6. John 13:26, “Jesus then answered, ‘That is the one for whom, I shall dip [the future of the Greek word bapto] the morsel and give it to him. So, when he had dipped [the aorist participle of bapto; the sop now takes on a new meaning that of honor] the sop [the morsel], He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.”
To give someone a sop [a special bit of food usually a piece of bread or meat with a tasty sauce] was the highest honor of a banquet. At a banquet a special piece of bread or meat was prepared along with a special sauce for the guest of honor who would then honor someone by giving it to that person. Jesus as the guest of honor took this sop and dipped it into a special sauce and gave it to Judas. In this way, the Lord Jesus Christ honored Judas as a member of the family of God, and for his ministry as an apostle to the Lost Sheep of Israel. This honor should have given Judas second thoughts regarding his plan to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin.
7. Matthew 3:7, “but when he [John the Baptizer] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism [identification: the Greek word baptisma], he said to them, “You brood of vipers [poisonous snakes], who warned you to flee from the wrath to come [Baptism of Fire: identification with the fire of Torments and then the Lake of Fire]?”
8. Hebrews 6:1-2, “Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teaching about Christ, let us advance to maturity, not laying again the foundation [of the basics such as]: a change of thinking about dead works [just as an unbeliever must have a change of mind about Christ to obtain salvation, so the believer must have a change of mind about legalism (dead works) in order to obtain the spiritual life], and of faith toward God [Faith-Rest Drill], (2) doctrine of baptisms [the Greek word baptismos; a reference to the seven types of baptism as found in Scripture] as well as the laying on of hands [ritual rebound in the age of Israel], and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment [the Great White Throne Judgment].
9. Matthew 3:1, “In those days John the Baptizer [the Greek word baptistes; when John baptized someone into the Jordan River, the converts were identified with the plan of God and his kingdom.] came proclaiming [as a herald] in the desert of Judea.”
There are two categories of identification in Scripture namely an actual identification or a real baptism and a representative identification or a ritual baptism which uses water.
The four real or actual identifications with something that has significance.
1. The Baptism of Moses: 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 presents the baptism of Moses, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were baptized [the Greek word baptizo] into Moses in the cloud [the Lord] and in the sea." This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the Lord and the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses. By the way, none of the Jews got wet, only Egyptian unbelievers who were immersed in the water as a means of death.
2. The Baptism of the Cross is found in Matthew 20:22, “But Jesus answered [Salome by addressing her sons] and said, “You [plural: a reference to James and John] do not know what you [James and John] ask. Are you [James and John] able to drink of the cup [bear the punishment of all the sins of the world] that I am about to drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism [the sins of the world identified with Christ followed by the Father judging them] that I am baptized with [identified with]?” They [James and John] said to Him, “We are able. [the dumbest statement that James and John ever made]” [I selected the longer text as did Jerome.]
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Retroactive Positional Truth and Current Positional Truth) occurs at salvation for Church Age believers only.
Colossians 2:12. Having been buried [aorist participle] with Him [Jesus Christ] by means of the baptism [God the Holy Spirit identified us with the burial of Jesus Christ as part of our salvation] by means of which [Baptism] you have been raised up [main verb] with Him [in union with Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father] through faith [at the point of salvation] in the operational power from the source of God who has raised Him [the humanity of Christ was given a resurrection body] out from the dead [physical death].
Romans 6:3-9:
Romans 6:3: Or do you not know that all of us who [a correlative] have been baptized into [identified with] Christ Jesus [Current Positional Sanctification: we are in union with Christ in his life in heaven], have been baptized into His death [Retroactive Positional Truth and so identified with his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross]?
Positionally, (in union with Christ) we share His righteousness, heirship, priesthood, destiny, election, eternal life, royalty, sonship etc. All these making us a new spiritual species in Christ Jesus. The plural correlative hosoi (ὅσοι) means that if we were identified with Christ in heaven and we were, then also we have been identified with Christ in his substitutionary spiritual death in which he removed the power of sin nature. Thus, the sin nature should not have power over our lives.
A few more points will be noted:
1. Note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation enters the believer into union with Christ at the right hand of God the Father which union is called current positional truth.
2. This verse also mentions identification with Christ in His spiritual death on the cross which identification theologians call retroactive positional truth. Retroactive positional truth also includes identification with Christ in His physical death and burial as well.
3. Identification with Christ in His death, then, has a two-fold connotation namely all personal sins were judged at the cross and since that is the case, God the Father is free to provide in grace, the Recovery Procedure. The second connotation is that good and evil were rejected by Jesus on the cross since good and evil are a part of Satan’s policy and plan. On the cross, Jesus relied on the proto-type spiritual life which operated under the two power options namely God’s power system.
4. So, the old sin nature’s ruling power over the Christian has been broken since all sins were judged on the cross and the Recovery Procedure has been provided. So, Retroactive Positional Truth has destroyed the sovereignty of the old sin nature over the life of the Christian.
5. Also, since Jesus rejected the good and evil policy of Satan so should the believer reject Satan’s policy of good and evil as the believer applies Retroactive Positional Truth.
Romans 6:4: Therefore, we have been buried together with Him through the identification [Baptism of the Spirit] into His death [physical], in order that just as Christ has been raised up from the dead [on Resurrection Sunday], through the glory of the Father [through the Father’s power], [So also we, the dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and those alive at the Rapture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.] in this manner we also might walk in newness of life [Experiential sanctification should reflect our future ultimate sanctification.].
Christ had to die physically “and Jesus having shouted clearly with a loud voice said, Father, into your hands I deposit my [human] spirit, and having said this, he exhaled” (Luke 23:46). This last exhale caused His soul and spirit to depart from his mortal body resulting in physical death. Just as Christ had to die physically in order to obtain his resurrection body, so we must depart from our body of corruption, or mortality in order to receive our eternal body called our resurrection body.
The Newness of Life:
1. The newness of life provided through the baptism of the Spirit includes positional freedom from producing good and evil. Not only are we free from the tyranny of good and evil but we are also free from having to produce good and evil.
2. The believer has no obligation to improve the devil’s world through social action, socialism, welfare state, communism, environmentalism, or any social gospel, social action, getting involved, etc.
3. The human race is protected from Satan’s policy of good and evil through the laws of divine establishment which promote freedom instead of improvement at the cost of freedom.
4. In addition to the Laws of Divine Establishment the believer is insulated from good and evil positionally through the baptism of the Spirit.
5. Divorced from the Old Sin Nature positionally and its useless activity of human good and the function of evil, the life of the believer can be devoted to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ through maximum knowledge and application of Bible doctrine.
Romans 6:5: For if we have become united with Him [Christ, the new husband] in the likeness of His death [the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross], and we have, and not only this, but also, we shall be [united in the likeness] of His resurrection [Current Positional Truth: in union with the resurrected Christ].
Romans 6:6: Be knowing this [through Retroactive Positional Truth], that our old man [our former husband, the sin nature dates back to the Garden] has been crucified together [with Him], in order that the [human] body, with reference to its sin nature, [the sin nature located in the body] might be rendered powerless [when we use Recovery Procedure and the two power options], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.
“Our old man has been crucified with Him” meaning that the power of the sin nature has been broken on the cross. Since the power of the sin nature was broken by the work of the cross, we as believers have no excuse for not executing the spiritual life. We will not be able to say to Christ at our evaluation that our sin nature was too powerful for us to execute the spiritual life.
A few points for further clarification:
1. Retroactive positional truth is that phase of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation which identifies the believer with Christ in His spiritual death, physical death and his burial.
2. In the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross all the personal sins in human history were imputed to Christ, but at the same time the other two trends of the old sin nature were not imputed for judgment.
3. Good and evil is the policy of Satan as the ruler of this world and the function of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life. In fact, the sin nature functions as the agent of Satan.
4. Good and evil were not imputed for judgment on the cross. Hence, in the spiritual death of Christ on the cross they were rejected to remain an issue in the angelic conflict, rejected to be perpetuated in human history as an issue every believer must face, and either overcome through the intake of doctrine or be entrapped by ignorance of doctrine and therefore lose out in glorifying God in time.
5. We are identified with Christ in His spiritual death, which means that we must understand that our sins have been judged and that good and evil has been rejected.
6. It all adds up to the fact that the sovereignty of the old sin nature over human life has been made powerless through retroactive positional truth.
7. The imputation of all personal sins of the human race to Christ on the cross means that the believer through the rebound technique is instantly forgiven sins, cleansed from all wrong doing which includes Satanic good and evil, restored to fellowship and filled with the Spirit.
Romans 6:7: For we who have died [the Christian is identified with the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ: theologically called Retroactive Positional Truth] have been acquitted [positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature.
A few points for further clarification:
1. A dead person is discharged from the obligations of his former sphere of life. This is why the word “death” is used in this context. It is not a literal, physical death we are discussing but identification with Christ in His death.
2. As unbelievers we were under the authority of Satan as the ruler of this world, and under the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
3. Both the power of Satan and the old sin nature have been abrogated through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation.
4. This passage, then, emphasizes the annulling of the power and the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
5. Positionally, the power of the sin nature has been broken. Experientially, the old sin nature controls to the extent that we fail to understand and utilize the provision and support of logistical grace.
Romans 6:8: Now if we have died with Christ, and we have [retroactive positional truth], we also believe that we shall live in association with Him [the instrumental of association; a reference to Current Positional Truth].
In this verse, the 1st Class conditional sentence shows the relationship between Retroactive Positional Truth with Current Positional Truth. The protasis, the ‘if’ clause states the reality of Retroactive Positional Truth and the apodosis, the concluding clause states the doctrinal inference and the reality of Current Positional Truth. While Retroactive Positional Truth presents positional rejection and separation from good and evil as the policy of Satan and the function of the old sin nature, Current Positional Truth relates the believer to the function of the royal family of God. In other words, they have separate functions.
Romans 6:9: Knowing that because Christ has been raised from the dead [He received a resurrection body], no longer can He die; [physical] death is no longer a master over Him.
Analysis:
1. Retroactive positional truth destroys the sovereign authority of the old sin nature over human life. Current positional truth, on the other hand, destroys the limited authority of physical death in human life.
2. Instead of being ruled by the old sin nature located in the cells of the human body and influencing our souls toward sin, good and evil, we now have a new sovereign, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are identified with Him in His deaths, in His burial, resurrection, ascension and session.
3. Before salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit our lives were under the absolute rule of Satan who is the ruler of this world and under the rule of the old sin nature which is the ruler of life, and under the limited rule of physical death. All of that, of course, has been changed since salvation.
4. Now both retroactive and current positional truth have abrogated the authority and power of these former rulers. The power of Satan over our lives has been broken through identification with the rejection of good and evil namely Satan’s policy and plan and through our position in union with Christ. The power of the old sin nature is broken through retroactive positional truth and the power of physical death is broken through current positional truth.
5. Therefore, having studied these things by principle and by implication we are now ready for application, verses 12 & 13 specifically.
6. Having been positionally liberated from the sovereignty of the old sin nature as an absolute ruler, and the authority of physical death, we must recognise and apply doctrine for the experiential victory commanded in verses 11-13.
Galatians 3:25-28, “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the authority of [have need of] a school bus. (26) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ [identified with Christ through union with Him] have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek [no racial distinction], there is neither slave nor free man [no social or economic distinction], there is neither male nor female [no gender distinction]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [All Christians have the same privileges and opportunities to execute the spiritual life.]”
Current Positional Truth, Elaborated:
In the Church Age, Current Positional Truth establishes our relationship with Christ as opposed to religion. It refers to the Church Age believer in union with Christ and is the key to understanding the Church Age and how the royal family came into being. Therefore, it is the basis for distinguishing between Christianity and religion. Christianity is a relationship with God without merit whereas religion is a system of works to gain the approbation of God. Never shall the twain meet!
The mechanics of Current Positional Truth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby the Spirit enters us into union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For also by agency of the one Spirit we are all baptized [identification resulting in becoming a new spiritual species] into one body [in union with Christ], whether Jews or Greeks [racial distinctions are removed], whether slave or free [class and economic distinctions are removed], even all were made to drink [the aorist passive, the voice of grace] the one Spirit [The Holy Spirit did not ask us whether we wanted to be put into union with Christ or not.].” Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord [becomes our Lord positionally at Salvation]), one faith [faith alone in Christ alone; Acts 16:31], one baptism [Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at salvation].”
Current Positional truth guarantees that there will be no judgment for believers in eternity, Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Thus, the condemnation which occurred at the first birth was removed at the 2nd birth. As a result of being born with the sin nature and the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin, we were condemned to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, but now that has been removed. Romans 5:12, “For this reason just as through one man [Adam] the sin [nature] entered into the world [procreation], and so spiritual death through the sin [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin to the sin nature], and so spiritual death spread to all mankind, because all sinned when Adam sinned [since we were all genetically in Adam when he sinned, we will receive Adam’s Original Sin].” However, at our spiritual birth, the 2nd birth, our pre-salvation sins were all forgiven including Adam’s Original Sin. After which, the Spirit entered us into union with Christ where there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Current Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever. To live with God forever, the believer must have eternal life and God’s perfect righteousness, 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life, and this life is in his son [Since we are in union with Christ, we share this life.]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].” 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin [perfection] to be a sin offering [imputation of sins on the cross] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [current positional truth].” To live with God forever means you must have His life, and you must be as righteous as He is.
Positional truth guarantees the believer’s eternal security, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death [nothing in death] nor life [nothing in life] nor angels nor principalities [ruling angels] nor powers [human organizations] nor things present nor things to come (39) nor height [nothing in heaven] nor depth [nothing in Hades] nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life in Christ is for all eternity!
Positional truth belongs to all categories of believers whether they be apostate, mature, immature, spiritually adult, or carnal. Since Current Positional Truth occurs at the point of salvation before experience in the Christian life begins, it doesn’t depend on that experience. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus [at salvation], called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.” So, even though you may be carnal or in reversionism, you still have positional truth. Being in union with Christ has nothing to do with what you do [experiential righteousness], or don’t do [failure to execute God’s plan]. Current Positional sanctification is completely the work of God the Holy Spirit and so is not based upon our volition, but on the sovereign decision of God. We make the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we don’t make the decision to enter into union with Christ “all were made to drink the one Spirit” as per 1 Corinthians 12:13. God the Holy Spirit graciously did that for us and so it cannot be undone.
Current Positional truth creates a new spiritual species in Christ as per 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come to pass.” You become a new spiritual species at salvation by being put into union with Christ. It is what God does for you, and therefore it is grace. It is not what you do after salvation, such as the self-righteous works of legalism. The “old things” have to do with spiritual death and those things related to that death; the “new things” refer to things you receive at salvation such as the 40 assets and the unique spiritual life.
Positional truth should motivate the production of divine good and a pattern of life compatible with royalty as per Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his creation, having been created in Christ Jesus [a new spiritual species with many assets] for the purpose of divine good production [via experiential sanctification] which the God [the Father] has prepared in advance [in eternity past, God the Father provided election and predestination as part of our Portfolio of Invisible Assets], that we in the sphere of them [election and predestination] may pattern our lives.”
Even though a Christian may die the Sin on to Death, he will not lose his position in union with Christ (1 John 5:18-20), and so cannot lose his salvation. In order for a believer to lose his position in Christ, he would have to sin in that status, but since the believer cannot sin in union with Christ, he cannot lose his position in Christ and so cannot lose his salvation. Thus, it is comforting and reassuring to a believer to know that even though a loved one may have died the ‘sin on to death’, he has not lost his salvation.
Because we are in union with Christ, we share His:
1. Eternal life, 1 John 5:11, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life [At salvation, God the Father imputes this life to the human spirit], and this life is in his son [The Christian also shares the life of Christ through union with Him]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
2. Perfect righteousness, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he (God the Father) made him [Jesus] who knew no sin (perfection) to be a sin offering as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth]. Sharing the righteousness of Christ, we become the objects of God the Father’s love as per Romans 8:39.
3. Election, Ephesians 1:4, “just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world [in eternity past], that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father].”
4. Destiny, Ephesians 1:5, “By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord according to the grace purpose of His will.”
5. Sonship, Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
6. Heirship, Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies together [bears witness] with our [human] spirit, that we are the children of God. (17) Now, if we are children and we are, also heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed [if it is true that], we suffer with Him [pass all three stages of undeserved suffering], that also we might be glorified with Christ.”
7. Sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.”
8. Priesthood, Hebrews 7:12-19, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change in the Law also. (13) For the One [the Lord Jesus Christ] concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe [the tribe of Judah] from which no one has officiated at the altar. (14) For it is evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests, (15) and this is clearer still, if another priest arises similar to Melchizedek, and there has, (16) who has become a priest not on the basis of physical requirement [a reference to the Levitical Priesthood] but on the basis of indestructible life [the Lord’s priesthood is forever]. (17) For this reason, it is witnessed, ‘You are a priest forever similar to the order of Melchizedek.’” [We are in union with Christ. Therefore, we are royalty and priests forever. We represent ourselves before God as royal priests.] (18) For, on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former commandment [the Mosaic Law that authorized the Levitical priesthood] because of its weakness and uselessness (19) (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope [the second door of hope for the Church Age believer—a personal sense of destiny—by which we enter the adult spiritual life] through which we draw near to God.”
Hebrews 7:26-28, “For it is fitting that we should have such a high priest, impeccable integrity, the One who cannot do evil, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; (27) Who does not need daily, like those Levitical priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He [Jesus] offered up Himself. (28) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of His [God the Father’s] oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has become perfect forever [Jesus Christ is a perfect high priest].”
9. Royalty, 1 Peter 2:9, “ But you and only you are an elect [elect by God the Father] race [as a new spiritual species], a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [God’s entity: a nation of priests: every Christian is a priest], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called [in eternity past] you out of darkness [spiritual death and the Cosmic Systems] into His amazing light [his plan];”
10. New Spiritual Species, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power [Old Covenant]; behold, new things have come to pass [This would include the New Covenant to the Church.].”
Current Positional Truth changes our relationship with Angels.
1. Through current positional truth the believer is higher than angels positionally.
2. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and so superior to all angels. By virtue of being in union with Christ, every believer is now positionally superior to angels.
3. Positional truth has fulfilled the believer’s triumph with Christ in the angelic conflict. We are victorious with Him already.
4. Furthermore, positional truth demands compatibility with experiential righteousness. Therefore, the believer’s walk on this earth must be compatible with positional truth since we have perfect security in Christ, we have the freedom to choose for Jesus Christ, to love Jesus Christ, to respond to His love, and to fulfill our purpose on this earth.
What positional truth is not?
1. It is not an experience, emotions or ecstasies.
2. It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity.
3. It is not related to human merit or ability.
4. It cannot be changed by God, man or angels. It is eternal in nature.
5. It is not obtained gradually as you grow in grace, but in toto at salvation.
6. It is not known apart from the metabolization of doctrine.
7. From understanding the doctrine of positional truth, we progress in our spiritual life, but we cannot improve it since it is perfect at salvation.
8. We are not in Christ because of what we do (execution of the spiritual life) or fail to do (fail to execute the spiritual life), but because of what God has done.
A few points of explanation:
1. The conclusion from positional truth, whether retroactive or current, is that the Christian must apply these doctrines to his spiritual life.
2. In Romans 7:1-4 where we have an illustration of a woman whose first husband has died freeing her to marry another. This is what actually happens to us as believers at salvation. The old sin nature is the husband up to the point of salvation, but at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ positionally the sin nature is dead, as it were, the first husband has died and we have a new husband through union with Christ. Retroactive Positional Truth removes our first husband, the sin nature whereas Current Positional Truth enters us into union with Christ, our new husband.
3. The old sin nature-husband is still around, still seeking to regain his control over his former wife, the believer. But union with the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, has broken the first husband’s authority over the former wife.
4. The Baptism of Fire:
Matthew 3:11, “On the one hand I [John the Baptizer] baptize you [believers] by means of water because of a change of thinking [about Christ], but the one coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to lace [loosen, remove]. He himself will baptize by means of the Holy Spirit [a reference to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age] and by means of fire [a reference to the Baptism of Fire at the 2nd Advent].”
Baptism of Fire: The baptism of fire (identification with fire) is defined as the judgment of unbelievers both Jew and gentile at the Second Advent. They will be removed from the earth and placed in fire for 1000 years until the Last Judgment, Luke 3:16-17; Mathew 25:31, 33. The analogy to the Baptism of Fire is found in Matthew 24:36-41. The one left in the field is the mature believer; the one taken is the unbeliever.
Parables of the Baptism of Fire:
1. The wheat and the tares (the unbelievers), Matthew 13:24-30, 36-40.
2. The good and bad fish (unbelievers), Matthew 13:47-50.
3. The ten virgins: five wise, five foolish (the unbelievers), Matthew 25:1-13.
4. The sheep and the goats (the unbelievers), Mathew 25:31-46.
5. The talent test, Matthew 25:14-30. The one talent man represents the unbeliever.
If Jesus Christ had not been rejected by the Jewish people, then the age of Israel would have continued until its completion (the Tribulation completes the age of Israel). (However, they did reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah and so the client nation was destroyed, and the Church age was intercalated that is inserted before the age of Israel was complete.) After the completion of the age of Israel at the end of the Tribulation, comes the wrath of God namely the Baptism of Fire when the Lord removes both Jewish and gentile unbelievers from the earth and identifies them with fire forever. After which, the Millennial reign begins.
The Three Ritual Baptisms. None are extant at the present time. They are representative identifications in which water is used as a training aid to represent some principle of doctrine.
1. The Baptism of John is found in Matthew 3:2-6, “Saying, ‘Change your thinking [regarding Christ] for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ [The future king was already on the earth] (3) For this is what was communicated through Isaiah, the prophet saying, ‘The voice of one [John the Baptizer] proclaiming loudly in the desert [of Judea]. Prepare [the aorist tense is a one time-decision] the way of the Lord [an idiomatic expression for salvation]. Keep on making upright [the use of the Recovery Procedure followed by the development of experiential righteousness] His paths!’ (Isaiah 40:3) (4) Now, John himself kept on having a garment of camel’s hair [very uncomfortable] and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then [after John went where God wanted him to be] Jerusalem kept on going out to him [face to face] and all Judea and all the districts around the Jordan. (6) and they were being baptized [identified with the kingdom] by him [under John’s authority] in the Jordan River [where Israel crossed when they entered the land], and they kept on confessing their sins [post-salvation confession of sins].”
MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
First Corinthians Chapter Thirteen
A verse-by-verse commentary by Max Klein
Outline:
Verses 1-7: The Virtue Love of the Christian:
Verses 8: Virtue love continues into the post-canon period; temporary spiritual gifts do not:
Verses 9-11: Pre-Canon compared with the Post-Canon:
Verse 12: Church Age spiritual life compared with the spiritual life in the Eternal State:
Verses 13: Virtue love represents the greatest advance in the spiritual life.
This passage is discussing virtue-love, a combination of personal love for God the Father and unconditional love (impersonal love) directed toward all mankind. (Impersonal love has two sides: on one side there is kindness, thoughtfulness and compassion directed toward believer and unbeliever alike, on the other side there is a relaxed mental attitude that is no mental sins directed toward these members of the human race.). Actually, these two loves form a tandem for when the Christian has obtained personal love for God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, he possesses the necessary virtue, values, humility and grace orientation to possess the correct attitude and thinking toward mankind.
1 Corinthians 13:1
If (let’s assume that) I communicate in foreign languages of men [not learned but acquired through the gift of language] and of angels, but I do not have virtue-love [personal love for God the Father, God the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ and impersonal love for humanity], I have become a sounding (noisy) brass or a clanging cymbal [a lot of noise and activity, but no knowledge, grace, virtue etc.].
Ἐὰν ταῖς γλώσσαις τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαλῶ καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἀγάπην δὲ µὴ ἔχω, γέγονα χαλκὸς ἠχῶν ἢ κύµβαλον ἀλαλάζον.
The Greek word “agape” (ἀγάπη) in verses 1-7 deals with the subject of virtue-love which the advanced believer possesses. Verses 1-3 explain the necessity of personal love for God the Father, and occupation with the Lord Jesus Christ which love provides the only true motivation of the Christian. As a result of this motivation, we have the function of unconditional (impersonal) love directed toward all members of the human race (verses 4-7).
(Some Christians mistakenly think that this passage deals with personal love between people. Some even use it as a reason for getting married. Can you imagine how absurd this is? If verses 4-7 applied to romance and marriage we would have no quarrels and divorces.)
In verses one through three, Paul introduces three hypothetical situations. The Greek particle ἐὰν: ean meaning “if” plus the verb in the subjunctive mood can be used to introduce a hypothetical situation. Since angelic languages are unknown to humans and since no one has ever moved a mountain by faith or ever will, these are a series of hypothetical situations with hyperbole added for dramatic effect.
Many Corinthian believers were given the gift of foreign languages (tongues) by the Holy Spirit in order to evangelize the Jewish and gentile traders and merchants coming into the ports of Corinth. The sensational gift of foreign languages reminded the Corinthians of their cultural background with its cultic worship. In their cults of Sybille and Dionysus (the Roman Bacchus), there was a lot of ecstatic, meaningless utterances, and other emotional activity such as the clanging of cymbals. The Corinthians associated the biblical gift of languages (tongues) with their past experiences. For this reason, they assumed that the gift of languages made them great, and many even developed a pseudo gift of speaking in languages (tongues) as per chapter 14. However, Paul not only rejected their pseudo spiritual gift of tongues, but also made it very clear that the gift of foreign languages is meaningless unless one has advanced in the spiritual life. In effect, he is saying that unless a believer possesses virtue love (with emphasis on personal love for God the Father and occupation with Christ) his spiritual gift is meaningless whatever it may be.
Although no human being has ever spoken an angelic language, Paul knew that angels do possess languages. Apparently, the angelic languages are much more complicated than human languages. So, if any human could speak an angelic language it would indicate his mental superiority over others, and many would assume even spiritual superiority. However, spiritual gifts and mentality do not make a Christian great; rather virtue-love makes the Christian a great believer.
Peddlers of the past and Christians without virtue have something in common. In ancient Greece and Rome there were no supermarkets, so peddlers with carts would move about the streets selling their produce and wares. As most of the homes had an outer wall around them, the peddler had to have some system of alerting the housewives regarding their presence. One method of doing this was to rub or bang two pieces of brass together making a terribly dissonant and irritating sound. This act of drawing attention to oneself is analogous to the self-centered believer who is functioning in a spiritual gift, but does not possess virtue love. Without virtue love the believer’s motivation will be related to some form of arrogance, and in that state, he will always be trying to draw attention to himself, to glorify himself.
We must relate this principle to our own spiritual life by maintaining personal love for God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ as our motivation in all that we do. In every aspect of life, whether it is related to family, work, education, leisure, Christian service, our thoughts and actions must be motivated properly.
Virtue love (‘agape’ in Greek) includes both personal love toward God and unconditional love toward all people. Personal love toward God is thought, not emotion. “If you love me [the Lord Jesus Christ), you will obey my commands.” (John 14:15). Before we can love God we must therefore learn the mandates and obey them. Learning and obeying are both related to thought, not emotion.
1 Corinthians 13:2
And, if [hypothetical situation with hyperbole] I have the gift of prophecy and I know all the mysteries (τὰ µυστήρια) and all the knowledge, and if I had all the faith so that I could move mountains from one place to another, but I do not have virtue-love, I am nothing (outhen: the high form for “nothing” to relate the believer to the Greek Tragedies).
καὶ ἐὰν ἔχω προφητείαν καὶ εἰδῶ τὰ µυστήρια πάντα καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γνῶσιν, κἂν ἔχω πᾶσαν τὴν πίστιν ὥστε ὄρη µεθιστάναι, ἀγάπην δὲ µὴ ἔχω, οὐθέν εἰµι.
Some of these things were true of Paul, others were not. However, that is not the point. Paul was using himself as an illustration in a hypothetical conditional sentence. For instance, Paul did have the gift of prophecy as did Peter and John (Paul prophesized regarding the rapture of the church (1 Corinthians 15:51-54, 1Thessalonians 4:15-17). He also had the gift of knowledge and knew the mystery doctrines that would be a part of the spiritual life of the Church Age believer, and all other information which would be in the New Testament.
The Greek word τὸ µυστήριον (musterion) was the name given to the secret teachings of the Greek fraternities and sororities. These doctrines or mysteries were known only by the members of those organizations. In the Church Age there is a new spiritual fraternity, the royal family of God with its own secret teachings revealed only in the New Testament Epistles. Because these teachings are unique to the Church Age, Paul used the word mystery (musterion) to describe them. The royal family of our Lord is an exclusive club with unique doctrines.
Regarding the mystery doctrines, the Filling of the Spirit was never a part of the spiritual life of Old Testament believers. The humanity of Jesus Christ was the first one to have the filling of the Spirit (Isaiah 11:1-2) which power he gave to all Church age believers (Acts 1:8). Now that Jesus is no longer on the earth, he has appointed us as His ambassadors to personally represent Him (2 Corinthians 5:20). This is a first and never will occur again. Through the Baptism of the Spirit we become a new spiritual species (2 Corinthians 5:17), and are positioned in Christ to share the following: His royalty, priesthood, heirship, destiny, election, righteousness, eternal life and sonship. These are the highest possible privileges with the highest possible status that God can give to a believer. Not even the great Old Testament believers such as Moses, Abraham and David were presented with such a high status. Our bodies are temples indwelt by God the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:27; John 14:20) and God the Father (Ephesians 4:6). Even Christian marriage (marriage between two Christians) has been raised to the highest possible standards in the Church Age and as such is included in the mystery doctrines. (Ephesians 5:32, “This mystery [Christian marriage] is great; I am speaking with reference to Christ [Christian marriage as related to one’s relationship with Christ: Ephesians 5:22, 24, 25] and with reference to the Church [Christian marriage as part of the mystery doctrines of the Church Age].” These mystery doctrines known by Church Age believers through the New Testament epistles were not known before the Church Age and function only in the Church Age.
Certain believers in the pre-canon period of the Church Age through the gift of knowledge were given knowledge of all which would be in the New Testament. You must remember that in the early church there was no Bible. Without a Bible, how were Christians living in that period of history going to learn all of the doctrines and principles found in the New Testament? This gift of knowledge (other gifts as well) was used to provide these pre-canon-Christians with the spiritual life that we now learn from the completed New Testament.
Even though the gift of faith was used in the early church, no one ever possessed a faith for the purpose of moving mountains from one location to another. There would be no spiritual reason for doing that. Remember that this entire passage is dealing with hypothetical conditional sentences in order that Paul might be able to make his point. Paul is going to demonstrate that greatness in the spiritual life is related to loving God, not what spiritual gift one possesses or what the Christian is doing. Since all the temporary spiritual gifts in the early church were spectacular, Paul is making the gift of faith even more spectacular through hyperbole. In this way, Paul’s concluding statement is even more dramatic. If you have all of these sensational spiritual gifts and even if you could move mountains, but you do not have virtue-love (the advanced spiritual life), you are nothing.
When Paul writes “I am nothing” in verse 2 he uses the classical Greek expression ‘outhen eimi’ (the high form of “nothing” that we might focus our attention on the Greek heroes of the Greek Tragedies so that we might make a comparison between the failure of the Greek heroes and the failure of believers). In the Greek tragedies, when the hero failed, he was said to be “outhen;” when the Christian fails to execute the spiritual life, he is called “ouden” (the low form of “nothing” as found in verse 3). In other words, when a great hero failed he was still granted the dignity of “outhen.” On the other hand when the believer fails to execute the greatest spiritual life ever given, he is said to be a worthless scummy nothing (ouden).
One of the Greek tragedies was about an ambitious and self-seeking king named Agamemnon. He had a lovely wife named Clytemnestra, a beautiful daughter, Iphigenia and a young son. Despite many blessings in his life, he wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to be a great hero, for this was the age of heroes. When war broke out between the Mycenaean Greeks and the Trojans, Agamemnon was given command of the Mycenaean Navy and Army – and the perfect opportunity to become a hero at last. However, as preparation for war was being made a disaster occurred which easily could have caused Agamemnon to lose his position as commander and thus his chance for greatness! The Mycenaean Greeks had assembled a huge naval fleet in the harbor of Aulis, though as the winds were unfavorable at that time the ships could not depart Aulis to sail toward Troy.
The Greek religion of that period was related to human sacrifice and demonism, the activities of which were governed by the temple priests. After the ships had sat idly in the port for many days, the priests approached Agamemnon to explain that the reason for the lack of wind was that one of the animals sacred to the goddess Artemis had been killed by the soldiers, and that in her anger she had calmed the winds. In order to appease the goddess’s wrath, Agamemnon would have to make a great sacrifice - that of his daughter’s life. (Iphigenia loved her father and so had requested, and been given permission, to accompany her father on his ship.)
Agamemnon could have demonstrated true greatness and refused to murder his daughter for the sake of this evil religion, but he didn’t. If he had, he probably would have been removed as overall commander of the fleet and army and his dream to become a great hero would have never come to pass. Since Agamemnon’s lust to become a great hero was greater than his love for his daughter, he permitted the priest to cut the throat of his daughter and to burn her as an offering to Artemis.
The soldiers thought that he was great for making this great sacrifice, though his wife Clytemnestra thought otherwise, and became very bitter when she heard the news of her daughter’s cruel murder. After the war, Agamemnon returned victorious to a hero’s welcome in Mycenae. Waiting also for him was his lovely wife. She pretended to still love him, but in her heart was bitter revenge. On Agamemnon’s return to his residence, Clytemnestra prepared a nice warm bath for her husband. Just as Agamemnon eased down into the warm tub, she with the help of her lover, Aegisthus threw a net over his body and chopped him into little pieces. In his arrogant lust for fame, he became ‘outhen’- nothing (the high form).
God has loved the Christian for billions and billions of years. He has designed a spiritual life for the Christian so that he might also love him that is to reciprocate his love. However, what are most Christians doing? They are being distracted by many things which prevent them from ever developing a love for God. These distractions are the tragic flaws of the Christians today - instead of becoming great heroes and heroines, they are failures.
If the believer learns the Word consistently (under the authority of a prepared pastor) someday he will develop a love for God. He may not become famous or be recognized as great by others, but in God’s plan he will become a great and noble believer who had the good manners to reciprocate God’s love. However, most believers are like Agamemnon. They want to be great. They want wealth, promotion, recognition, success, and romance more than anything else (false values and priorities). So, they do not spend the time under the authority of a pastor to learn about God and his plan. At the end of their lives, they may have achieved many things including all the desires of their selfish nature, but if they have not achieved personal love for God, they are lower than Agamemnon in virtue; they are “ouden” (the low form of “nothing”).
If you had all the sensational temporary gifts of the early church, but you do not have virtue-love, you are nothing, a total failure in God’s plan. People who are nothing are always unhappy people. Therefore, Church Age believers who fail to develop a love for God the Father and occupation with Lord Jesus Christ become unhappy nothings. You may be extremely moral; you may be a famous pastor or missionary; you may give 30 percent of your money to Christian charities; you may pray from morning to evening, but if you do not love God, you accomplish nothing and so are nothing, but a superficial Christian.
1 Corinthians 13:3
And if I give all of my possessions to those in need of help [literal translation from the Greek word ‘psomizo’] and if I deliver over my body [for martyrdom] that I may boast [καυχήσωµαι: kauchesomai], but I do not have virtue-love (with emphasis on personal love for God), I gain nothing (ouden).
κἂν ψωµίσω πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντά µου, καὶ ἐὰν παραδῶ τὸ σῶµά µου ἵνα καυχήσωµαι, ἀγάπην δὲ µὴ ἔχω, οὐδὲν ὠφελοῦµαι.
In 1 Corinthians 13:1-2, Paul stated that even though one might have several sensational spiritual gifts, if he does not possess virtue-love, he is nothing. In this verse Paul states that even if one performs a spectacular Christian deed or sacrifice, but he is not motivated by his appreciation, respect, and admiration for God, he gains nothing.
To give all your possessions away is spectacular giving. In this illustration, the Christian gives away all his wealth so that he becomes impoverished. This is exactly what Barnabas did (Acts 4:36, 37). Barnabas, who intended to accompany Paul on missionary journeys, was a wealthy landowner with a great spiritual life and complete trust in God’s provision. So, he sold all his property and gave the proceeds to the many impoverished Christians in the Jerusalem area at that time. However, Ananias and his wife Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10) were jealous of the approbation which Barnabas received after he had given all his money away. (Barnabas himself didn’t care about the approbation. He just wanted to please God.) In their lust for approbation they lied about their giving, telling Peter that they were giving all the proceeds from the sale of their property for the purpose of helping the needy. Now, keep in mind that no one asked them to sell their property or give money to the poor. That was their idea. Because Barnabas had sold all his property and had given all of the proceeds from the sale to the poor, they had decided to do likewise so that they would receive approbation as Barnabas had. However, they were unwilling to donate all of their money as Barnabas had done. In other words, they lied about their giving in order to obtain maximum approbation.
Ananias and Sapphira were not great Christians who suddenly became bad through greed and lying about their offering to the poor. They had lived their entire spiritual lives out of fellowship, remaining under the influence of Satan’s thinking. “Then Peter said, Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart” (Acts 5:3a). It takes a long time for Satan to completely fill the stream of consciousness of a believer with his thinking and values. The spiritual life is a system of thinking, but Satan also has a counterfeit spiritual life related to thought. If the Christian is constantly out of fellowship, he will learn this system. This is exactly what happened to Ananias and Sapphira. This lie was not an isolated act, but the result of a lifetime of functioning out of fellowship.
Many Christians are like Ananias and Sapphira. They are falsely motivated because they do not understand the spiritual life, and do not love the Lord. They appear to be accomplishing many things for the Lord, but in reality they are producing only dead works, wrong doing (the Greek word “adikia” as found in 1 John 1:9b) produced while grieving (Ephesians 4:30) and quenching (1 Thessalonians 5:19) the Holy Spirit. Some day they too will die an inglorious death (the sin unto death: 1 John 5:16).
Some translations differ regarding this verse depending upon what manuscripts were used. Some manuscripts use the Greek word “kauthesomai” while the three most reliable uncial manuscripts (written on parchment), the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus scribed in the 4th century, and Alexandrinus scribed in the 5th century all use the word “kauchesomai” (to boast, to glory). Also, among the most important papyri “p36" a Chester Beatty Papyri written in the 3rd century uses the word “kauchesomai” (to boast, to glory). Neither the greatest uncial manuscripts nor the most reliable papyri contain the word “kauthesomai” (to be burned).
Furthermore, “kauthesomai” (to be burned) is future subjunctive in form which did not even exist in the Classical Period nor in the Biblical Period, but only came into existence in the Byzantine period (4th to 15th century). Thus, in Bruce M. Metzger’s book, A Textual Commentary On The Greek New Testament, the author writes: “The reading kauthesomai (= future subjunctive!), while appearing occasionally in Byzantine times, is a grammatical monstrosity that cannot be attributed to Paul (Blass-Debrunner-Funk, para. 28; Moulton-Howard, p. 219).”
A scribe living in the Byzantine period deliberately changed this word. Actually, all he had to do was to change one letter. By changing the Greek letter χ: chi to a θ: theta, he was able to change the whole meaning of the word. Now the question remains: why did he do this? The most likely explanation is that this scribe was very impressed with Christian martyrdom and did not agree with Paul’s negative statement regarding martyrdom.
Under certain conditions, God permits certain great believers to be martyred that he may be glorified. When mature believers are being martyred, they are motivated by both unconditional love for their fellow humans (including those who are martyring them), and personal love toward God. In this passage Paul is saying that the motivation for martyrdom in many cases is for self-glory. Paul was distrustful of many of the believers’ motivation for martyrdom in the early church warning the Corinthians that if one gives his body over to be martyred, but does not have love for God, he accomplishes nothing. Paul made an issue out of this since some Corinthian believers apparently had deliberately martyred themselves.
This Greek word “kauchesomai” has two basic meanings: to boast in oneself or to glory in God. In this context, Paul is making reference to Christians boasting in their martyrdom. These were Christians who had failed completely in their spiritual lives. After a life of total spiritual failure, they thought that martyrdom would automatically make them great believers with great rewards in eternity - therefore implying that there is merit in martyrdom itself. If there is merit in martyrdom itself, then the person being martyred has a right to boast. Furthermore, if there is merit in martyrdom itself, then martyrdom would glorify God. However, this is not true. The merit is in the application of doctrine that occurs while a great believer is being martyred, not in the function of being martyred.
The most sophisticated form of Greek language was Classical Greek of the 5th and 4th centuries B. C. and spoken by the Athenian Greeks and by such great men as Socrates and Plato. However, when the Bible was being written, Koine Greek (common Greek), a less sophisticated grammatical form of Greek was the language of the people. Thus, some writers of Scripture used only Classical Greek (i.e. Luke and the writer of Hebrews) and other writers used a mixture of Koine with Classical Greek. Paul especially was an expert in mixing these two languages.
Thus, it should not be surprising that Paul uses these two Greek languages in this passage. The Classical Greek word for nothing is “outhen,” whereas Koine Greek word for nothing is “ouden.” Even though they have exactly the same meaning, they can be used to communicate subtle differences. Paul in this passage first uses the Classical form then switches to the Koine form. In this way, he is able to communicate a fascinating story with just two words.
In verse two of this chapter, Paul identifies the Christian with the Classical period by using the word “outhen.” This is necessary to introduce the believer as either a potential hero or a tragic failure in the spiritual life. Agamemnon was nothing because of his arrogant lust for fame; he gained nothing (the high form: outhen), he died a humiliating death. The Christian who fails to execute the spiritual life is nothing, and he gains nothing (the low form: ouden), he dies under maximum punishment (Philippians 3:19, 1 John 5:16). By switching to “ouden”, we understand that the failure of the Christian to glorify God is infinitely greater than the tragic failure of Agamemnon.
1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is not swayed by emotion [is forbearing], virtue love is kind [merciful], virtue love is not jealous, it does not brag [is not shamelessly disrespectful in thought, speech and behavior, insulting, presumptuous], is not inflated with arrogance [the advance stages of arrogance].
Ἡ ἀγάπη µακροθυµεῖ, χρηστεύεται ἡ ἀγάπη, οὐ ζηλοῖ, οὐ περπερεύεται, οὐ φυσιοῦται,
The Greek word, “Makrothumeo” most basic meaning is “not to be swayed by emotion” (not caused to swing from one side to another; not influenced by emotion). It also means to be free from the emotional reaction of annoyance; free from the irrationality that occurs when one is under pressure. It is composure under pressure and adversity. Since it is not affected by emotion, it has a steadfast patience. In the Ionic Greek which is older than the Attic Greek, it meant long-suffering toward someone (to bear injuries, insults, trouble without complaint or emotional reaction).
Explaining the above words further: Love does not make decisions based on emotion; rather it makes decisions based on the components of knowledge, truth, righteousness and justice. Love is merciful toward people, an expression of the believer’s capacity for graciousness based on his thorough understanding and appreciation of grace, a component of his love. The advanced believer with capacity for love knows that his happiness and blessings come from God so that he is not easily tempted into jealousy etc. by the Sin Nature. The advanced or mature believer with integrity in his soul only boasts in God’s plan and grace. Instead of being inflated with arrogance, he is filled with respect and love for God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 13:5
Does not behave dishonorably [indecently, or unmannerly], is not self-seeking [self-promoting; preoccupied with self, self-indulgent, irrationally ambitious] it is not provoked [does not become irritated, bitter, angry, petty, hypersensitive], does not react to evil [is not mindful of wrongs, does not react to the injustices or wrongs that comes into his life, does not think in terms of retaliation, does not react to hatred or antagonisms],
οὐκ ἀσχηµονεῖ, οὐ ζητεῖ τὰ ἑαυτῆς, οὐ παροξύνεται, οὐ λογίζεται τὸ κακόν,
Explaining the words above: Love does not behave dishonorably since true love has virtue and integrity. The believer with true love has knowledge of God’s plan and so waits on God’s promotion etc. Again the advanced believer is not self-centered so he is not easily provoked and since he understands the justice and power of the Lord, he does not react to evil.
1 Corinthians 13:6
Does not rejoice over injustices [violation of truth], but joyfully sides with the truth [rejoices in the truth]
οὐ χαίρει ἐπὶ τῇ ἀδικίᾳ, συγχαίρει δὲ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ·
These verses can only be understood when the believer understands that love has many characteristics. Two characteristics in view here would be justice and truth.
1 Corinthians 13:7
It covers all things [keeps all things confidential: true love respects the privacy of another; it literally means to throws a cloak of silence over all things: avoids gossip, maligning, judging, vilification], always believes [advance function of the faith-rest drill] always has confident expectation [regarding one’s personal destiny both in time and in eternity], always perseveres [always maintains his relationship with God in a state of happiness under the testing of the three stages of the adult spiritual life],
πάντα στέγει, πάντα πιστεύει, πάντα ἐλπίζει, πάντα ὑποµένει.
1 Corinthians 13:8
Virtue-love is never phased out [falls down, done away with, comes to an end], but if prophecies, they will be discontinued. If tongues [foreign languages], they shall be terminated [abruptly]. If knowledge [knowing what would be written in the New Testament] it will be discontinued.
Ἡ ἀγάπη οὐδέποτε πίπτει. εἴτε δὲ προφητεῖαι, καταργηθήσονται· εἴτε γλῶσσαι, παύσονται· εἴτε γνῶσις, καταργηθήσεται.
Virtue-love remains part of God’s plan in both the pre-canon and post-canon period of the Church Age. In contrast to this there are the temporary spiritual gifts such as prophecy and knowledge which were discontinued sometime after 96 A.D. (the New Testament had to be assembled and distributed), Tongues was terminated in August of 70 A. D. when the Roman Legions broke through the Jerusalem walls.
The gift of foreign languages was designed to warn the Jews regarding the historical trend of their nation. (See “Tongues” by R. B. Thieme Jr.) The majority of the unbelieving Jews at that time had rejected the gospel message, and the majority of the Jewish Christians had rejected the spiritual life. (The Lord blesses a client nation if there is enough mature believers.) For forty years, from 30-70 A.D., the Jewish unbelievers would hear the gospel message which message the majority would reject and the few that did respond were influenced by Judaism and thus became legalistic. Since only a few responded to the gospel and advance to spiritual maturity, the nation was destroyed by the Romans in August of 70 A. D. (The Lord Jesus Christ controls history.)
In the Law [the Old Testament] it is written, “By men of strange tongues [languages] and by lips of strangers [Gentiles] I will speak to this people [Jews], and even so they will not listen [negative volition] to Me [quote from Isa. 28:11],” says the Lord. So then tongues are for a sign [a warning to Jewish unbelievers of the proximity of divine judgment and dispersion], not to those who believe, but to unbelievers. (1 Corinthians 14:21-22a)
What was the situation in 30 A. D., the first day of the Church Age? At that time, Jews were scattered all over the Roman Empire. Even so, God made it possible for tens of thousands of those Jews to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. They arrived during the Passover and remained until after the Day of Pentecost. (God wanted those Jews who were interested in the gospel to be in Jerusalem at that time.) On Pentecost, the gift of foreign languages (tongues) was given to most of Christ’s disciples since there were so many Jews in Jerusalem who needed to hear the gospel in their own gentile language.
These Jews who were living in different parts of the Roman Empire no longer spoke Aramaic and many of them had no understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures. Thus, when they first arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover on April 14th, they had a difficult time understanding the ritual as presented by the Levitical Priests. However, on the Day of Pentecost which occurred in the first week of June, these pilgrims heard the gospel in their own gentile languages through the gift of foreign languages.
1 Corinthians 13:9
For we know [from the gift of knowledge] in part, and we prophesy [from the gift of prophecy] in part.
ἐκ µέρους γὰρ γινώσκοµεν καὶ ἐκ µέρους προφητεύοµεν·
Paul knew a part of the knowledge which would make up the Bible, also Peter and John as well as other writers of Scripture. None of them had all of the knowledge. They all contributed to the formation of Scripture. The same was true regarding the temporary gift of prophecy. No one person wrote all the prophecy in Scripture. Paul, Peter, John as well as others did some prophesying. They each contributed a part. When all of these parts were finally collected and put together into one book, the Canon of Scripture was completed.
1 Corinthians 13:10
But, when the perfect [the completed cannon] has come [canon completed and distributed], the partial [the temporary spiritual gifts of the pre-canon period] will be discontinued [cancelled].
ὅταν δὲ ἔλθῃ τὸ τέλειον, τὸ ἐκ µέρους καταργηθήσεται.
All the surviving (the Gift of Tongues was terminated in 70 AD) temporary spiritual gifts which were necessary in the early church were discontinued sometime shortly after 96 A. D.
1 Corinthians 13:11
When I was a child, I used to speak as a child [limited vocabulary], think like a child [emphasizing sensational matters], and reason like a child [simplistic]. When I became a man, I did away with childish things.
ὅτε ἤµην νήπιος, ἐλάλουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐφρόνουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐλογιζόµην ὡς νήπιος· ὅτε γέγονα ἀνήρ, κατήργηκα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου.
Since a child has a limited vocabulary and understanding, he has a limited ability to speak, think and reason. (For you see, one cannot think beyond the size of his vocabulary and understanding). Since a mature adult should have a large vocabulary etc., he with that vocabulary can think, speak and reason as an adult. Illustration: Two people are watching a soccer game. One person knows well the game. He knows all the rules, the function of each player, the defensive and offensive movements, the technical vocabulary, and everything about good tactics and strategy etc. The other person watches the game in a state of total ignorance. Which person do you think will be more mentally involved and which one do you think will be more emotionally involved?
In the early church there was no canon of Scripture. This is analogous to a child with a limited vocabulary and understanding. In the early church there were many sensational spiritual gifts like the gifts of healing, miracles and tongues etc. A child would like these for they would be appealing to his emotions and his lack of values. However, the post-canon period of the Church age has a completed Bible which is analogous to an adult vocabulary and understanding. You would think that Christians would want to learn and master the content of the New Testament and in so doing learn to think like a Christian adult. Yet, many childish Christians want to return to the pre-canon period of the Church Age in their desire for the gifts of miracles, healing, tongues etc.
Also, children usually begin doing without knowledge. Today, many Christians emphasize doing without knowledge of God’s plan and so are involved in pseudo Christian service. It is pseudo since it is being executed with human power, not divine power.
1 Corinthians 13:12
For now [in time], we [Church Age believers] see by means of a mirror [the New Testament canon metabolized in the soul: James 1:19-25] an opaque reflection [reflected as on a picture not as real as face to face], but then [in the eternal state, we will see] face to face. Now [in time], I know in part, but then [in resurrection body after the destruction of the universe and the creation of the New Heavens and the New Earth] I will fully understand [We will have more capacity to understand God and his Word in the eternal state.] even as I have been fully understood [the omniscience of God has always understood Paul].
βλέποµεν γὰρ ἄρτι δι’ ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγµατι, τότε δὲ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον· ἄρτι γινώσκω ἐκ µέρους, τότε δὲ ἐπιγνώσοµαι καθὼς καὶ ἐπεγνώσθην.
Seeing by means of a mirror does not imply that the canon of Scripture is inferior to information provided in the eternal state. What it does mean is that cognition in time cannot be compared to cognition in the eternal state. The contrast is between seeing someone in a mirror (less clearly) as against seeing him face to face (more clearly).
In the Church Age, we are able to develop seven compartments in our stream of consciousness which forms a mirror in our soul by which we can evaluate our situation. (Also, from our stream of consciousness, we are able to extrapolate the Ten Problem Solving Devices by which we can make applications to solve any and every problem we might face while living in the devil’s world.)
1 Corinthians 13:13
Now, there remains [in the Church Age] faith, confidence and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.
νυνὶ δὲ µένει πίστις, ἐλπίς, ἀγάπη, τὰ τρία ταῦτα· µείζων δὲ τούτων ἡ ἀγάπη.
Faith represents spiritual childhood and includes the use of the Faith-rest drill, grace and doctrinal orientation. Confidence represents spiritual self-esteem and is the entrance-way into the advance stage of the spiritual life. Love represents the adult believer and includes love for the God the Father, unconditional love for the human race, sharing the happiness of God and occupation with the Lord. “The Greatest of these is Love” is not only true in the Church Age, but also in the Eternal State.