In Your Opinion - Which commentary set/volume should a Baptist seminarian invest in and use often wh

If you're a Southern Baptist and/or you want to play it safe - NAC

If you have the money and you want to go futher, NICOT and NICNT

If you are short of cash but are prepared to be more adventurous, but sometimes confused - WBC

If you want to be challenged at every turn - AB, Hermeneia

I've been impressed by NAC and use it a lot. If you are a seminarian though I suggest you make use of the academic discount and get a variety from different perspectives. Consider something you are likely to disagree with too - it helps you to have something to preach about if you have something to stretch/challenge you. Perhaps a catholic commentary or hermania/continental?

JoshInRI said:

Hello Graham (Rev.) and others.

Thanks for your guidance, replies and posts.

Nothing behind my question and no hidden agenda....just a desire to use my budget/dollars wisely within Logos.

Happy New Year everyone.

A hopeful assistant pastor (redeemed servant) wannabee (God willing) in Rhode Island

Josh - it's worth checking out base packages because you'll very often get commentary sets much cheaper this way. Baptist Silver and above have the NC series, which (as a non-Baptist) I find one of the more consistent series - most commentary sets have very good and some less helpful volumes. Baptist Gold and above also has the IVP series, as well as some other useful commentaries. WBC and NICNT/OT volumes can be bought individually and I started out with WBC by just buying the volume that was relevant to my Exegesis class. Individual titles bought count towards Dynamic pricing if you later want to complete the set. 

Sam Henderson said:

If you're a Southern Baptist and/or you want to play it safe - NAC

If you have the money and you want to go futher, NICOT and NICNT

I'd agree with that. But I'd add Pillar and Baker Exegetical as alternatives to NICNT, and Tyndale/Bible Speaks Today as great value intermediate commentaries.

I did avoid this not being a baptist.... but I noticed a resource missing that I think should be mentioned.... I do actually own Holman New Testament Commentary (12 vols.) in Accordance along with the old testament set. Here is a sample:

1 CORINTHIANS 12:31–13:13

The Most Excellent Way

[Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 226]

Quote

“If we love Christ as we think we do, as we pretend we do, we shall love his church and people.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

   

IN A NUTSHELL  

  Paul pointed out that Christian love is the most important of all gifts from the Spirit of God. He called the Corinthians to pursue love, without which all other spectacular gifts amounted to nothing.  

 

[Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 227]

I. INTRODUCTION

It’s the Best Way There  

 

When you plan your family vacation, how do you decide which roads to take? Do you sit with the map and search for the most convoluted, indirect way to go? Do you choose roads that are small and treacherous? Or do you look for the most pleasant way? Perhaps the fastest way? Or the most scenic way?

Whatever choice you make, unless you are very unusual, you choose what you think is the best way. To be sure, there are usually many different routes to follow as you travel from one place to another. The options are there before us on the map. But we take the time to map out our route, and we depart with the conviction that we have chosen the best way there.

The apostle Paul continued to speak of spiritual gifts in this chapter. As he did, he invited the Corinthians to look at a map. They had been traveling this way and that with little concern for direction. Paul called them to examine their situation and to find the best way to exercise their spiritual gifts.

II. COMMENTARY

The Most Excellent Way  

 

  MAIN IDEA: This chapter focuses on love, a theme found throughout Paul’s discussion of worship, and emphasizes the importance of the edification of others.

 

A. Introduction (12:31)

  SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul introduced the idea that love is the greatest of all gifts.

 

12:31. The apostle closed the last chapter and opened this one with a statement that would carry through chapter 13. He told the Corinthians they should eagerly desire the greater gifts. The original language is ambiguous at this point. Some interpreters have suggested that Paul stated a fact (“but you are eagerly desiring the greater gifts”), and then rebuked the Corinthians for this fact in chapter 13. This interpretation seems unlikely because in this same context he encouraged the Corinthians to desire spiritual gifts and prophecy. Moreover, 13:13 indicates that love is “the greatest” of all things to be desired. This verse introduces the positive pursuit of greater gifts. Paul was about to show the Corinthians the most excellent way to live as a member of the body of Christ.

[Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 228]

It would be difficult to overemphasize Paul’s commitment to love among Christians. The principle of love for others guided his discussion of worship. He urged believers to restrict their freedoms for the sake of others. He argued that concern for their husband’s honor should guide wives’ behavior, and he told rich believers to make sure the poor received the Lord’s Supper.

B. Priority of Love (13:1–3)

  SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul expressed his commitment to the priority of love over other aspects of life in the Spirit.

 

13:1. First, Paul touched on speaking in tongues. This issue topped his list because of the overemphasis some Corinthians had placed on this gift of the Spirit. He described the gift here as tongues of men and of angels. The grammatical construction of the original language does not indicate that Paul was claiming to have done this. He spoke entirely hypothetically, without reference to whether he had done any of these things. Obviously he had not surrendered his “body to the flames” (13:3) as he said later. Further, neither he nor anyone else but the omniscient God ever had, could, or would “fathom all mysteries and all knowledge” (13:2). On the other hand, he did have the “gift of prophecy” (13:2), and he did “speak in tongues” (14:18). Grammatically, no evidence exists that Paul believed it was possible to speak in the tongues … of angels. Nowhere else does the Bible provide evidence of such a possibility.

Even so, such an extraordinary gift would profit nothing without love. Paul put the matter in striking terms, confessing that without love accompanying such an extraordinary gift, he would amount to nothing but a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. His special gift, devoid of love, would amount to meaningless clamor. This must have shocked the Corinthian readers. Those who exalted themselves because of their gift of tongues must have looked like fools.

13:2. Second, Paul spoke of prophecy. Paul held this gift in high esteem. But he imagined the gift in a greater form than it had ever appeared in human history. Suppose he were to have the gift of prophecy to such a degree that he could fathom all mysteries and all knowledge. Prophets know things that are hidden from others because they receive revelation from God, but no prophet has ever had such omniscience. Yet, without love he would be nothing, even if he knew every divine secret.

Third, Paul raised the gift of faith. In this case, he did not have in mind saving faith that every believer exercises. Instead, he spoke of a special ability to trust and believe God to do great miracles. Paul described this faith as the ability to move mountains. The allusion to Jesus’ words is evident (Mark 11:23). It would be astonishing for Paul to have had the ability to move mountains through his faith. Nevertheless, even this dramatic ability would amount to nothing without love for others.

[Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 229]

13:3. Fourth, Paul imagined himself giving all he possessed to the poor. This may allude to Jesus’ words to the rich young ruler (Mark 10:21), or it may refer to the early church’s practice of selling their possessions to feed the church (Acts 2:44–45). Paul, however, was not wealthy. He had also demonstrated his willingness to go hungry and homeless. In all likelihood, Paul focused more on the benefit to others that such an act would produce, not on the sacrifice. Even such a beneficial act would profit him nothing if he did not do it out of love.

Fifth, Paul imagined that he might surrender his body to the flames. Some textual evidence supports an alternative reading followed by the NRSV: “hand over my body so that I may boast.” It seems most likely that he imagined a situation of religious persecution in which he would be called upon to die. Or, Paul may have thought of his own trials and persecutions short of death. The words, I gain nothing, may apply to one situation as well as to the other.

Throughout this portion of the chapter, Paul addressed several hypothetical situations in which he might do the most remarkable things imaginable. It seems commonsensical that these experiences should have value in themselves. But Paul responded that without Christian love these experiences amount to nothing, just like the person who performs them.

Paul followed Jesus, who placed “love your neighbor as yourself” second only to “love the Lord your God” (Matt. 22:37–40). The command to love one another is the second most important law of Scripture. It is no wonder Paul argued that without love for others all spiritual gifts are worthless.

C. The Characteristics of Love (13:4–7)

  SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul focused on love between brothers and sisters in Christ. These fourteen characteristics of love also apply to many other human relations.

 

13:4. Paul’s deep concern for the unity of the church at Corinth caused him to address several aspects of Christian love. The first quality Paul listed was love is patient. Patience is a quality of love that the New Testament frequently mentions by this or closely related terminology. It signifies forbearance, slowness to repay for offenses. God is patient because he does not immediately punish those who offend him. God’s patience slows down the judgment process and opens the way for reprieve from punishment altogether. Believers should behave similarly because of their love for one another.

One must be careful to distinguish patience from indifference. Patience bears with an offense, but indifference ignores it altogether. When an offense takes place that is harmful or destructive to oneself or to others, it must not be entirely overlooked. Paul, for instance, loved the Corinthians. He patiently bore with them and worked with them slowly and carefully to edify them and honor Christ.

[Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 230]

Love … is kind. The term kindness (chrestotes) appears many times in Paul’s epistles. It is connected with patience again in Galatians 5:22, apparently because these concepts are similar. Paul’s distinction between patience and kindness was probably similar to that of English speakers. Patience has a more temporal focus, while kindness refers to the manner in which a person treats others.

Kindness takes many forms. In general, it is soft and gentle. Occasionally, however, kindness must take the form of a careful rebuke designed to bring about a good result. Paul demonstrated this as he dealt kindly, but firmly, with the Corinthians. Jesus’ own life demonstrated such kindness (Luke 13:15–17).

Love … does not envy. One may admire another for something that person is or has, and he may desire many of the same good things for himself. Jealousy and envy begin when admiration and desire turn to resentment of others for what they have. They are the attitudinal roots of many terrible actions in the world. The Bible illustrates this time and again. To envy is not to display the love of Christ, who gave up all for the sake of others (Phil. 2:3–8).

Love … does not boast. Paul’s word for “boast” (perpereuomai) appears only here in the New Testament, and infrequently in the rest of hellenistic literature. The meaning seems to be “bragging without foundation,” and may also encompass sinful acts that Paul elsewhere called kauchaomai. The NIV also translates kauchaomai as “boast,” but kauchaomai does not always carry a negative connotation.

At the same time, loving other people does not mean failing to acknowledge the good God has done in oneself and in others. Paul was not beyond complimenting the Corinthians. He even asserted his own standing on occasion. Love does not mean lying about human accomplishments. Rather, it means not exalting ourselves over others as if our accomplishments were based on our own merit and ability.

Love … is not proud. To be proud is to be overly self-confident or insubordinate to God and others. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments condemn pride as the source of much destruction and pain in the world. When one cares about other people, he does not find himself full of self-importance or arrogance toward others.

Unfortunately, many Christians avoid pride so studiously that they deprecate themselves. Whether in ourselves or others, the image of God must be held in high regard. Pride reproaches other images of God. Self-hatred reproaches oneself as the image of God.

13:5. Love … is not rude. Paul at least expressed the need to follow customary decorum. The definitions of “rude” vary from culture to culture. At the heart of rudeness is a disregard for the social customs that others have adopted. When one does not concern himself with the likes and dislikes of others, he  [Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 231]  shows a disrespect for them. Proper regard, on the other hand, indicates love for other people.

Nevertheless, love does not always require a person to go along with the crowd. When the customs of a culture contradict the higher ideals of the Christian faith, it is not unloving to break these social mores. In fact, it may actually show Christlike love to break with such cultural norms. For instance, every loving Christian bears the responsibility to break the customs that perpetuate racial discrimination.

Love … is not self-seeking. Paul probably had in mind here the practice of always putting oneself in first place without due consideration of others. Many situations in life call upon Christians to choose between benefit to themselves and to others. The loving person puts the benefit of others over his or her own good. Paul exemplified this practice when he refused to receive money for his work as an apostle (9:6–15). Jesus’ humiliation was the greatest expression of putting others’ benefit above one’s own (Phil. 2:4–8).

It is also important to realize that this practice does not mean ignoring one’s own legitimate needs. Jesus himself withdrew from the crowds for his own benefit, sometimes just to get away and other times to pray (Luke 5:16; 22:41).

Love … is not easily angered. The NIV probably catches the sense of Paul’s expression even though the text says nothing explicit about the ease with which one becomes angry. Those who love others do not normally become irritated and angry whenever others do wrong, but rather are slow to anger. They are patient.

Still, there are times when anger is appropriate. Paul himself became angry when he saw the idols of Athens (Acts 17:16). Luke described him with the same word Paul used here (paroxunomai). Even Jesus became angry when he saw people’s hardness of heart (Mark 3:5) and the money changers in the temple (John 2:14–17). We must never allow an avoidance of anger to become indifference to the suffering of others or to the honor of God.

Love … keeps no record of wrongs. People who love others do not keep meticulous records of offenses. They offer forgiveness time and again. Both Jesus (Luke 23:34) and Stephen (Acts 7:60) demonstrated this type of love by forgiving the people who put them to death.

But Paul did not speak absolutely here. With no record of offenses, one cannot help others with many of their problems. Paul received reports on the wrongdoings in the Corinthian church. Someone had to keep a record in order to give him these reports. Yet, the purpose of the records was restorative, not vengeful or begrudging.

13:6. Love … does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Paul juxtaposed evil and truth in this description of love. This contrast suggests that the term truth means something like “living according to the truth.” In other words, those who truly love do not enjoy seeing their loved ones stumble into  [Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 232]  evil. They rejoice when their loved ones try to live according to the truth of the gospel. Sin destroys people’s lives, so to rejoice in their sin is to rejoice in their destruction.

13:7. Love … always protects. Major English Bible versions translate the term protects (stego) very differently from one another. The word can mean “to endure” or “to cover, protect.” If Paul had in mind the concept of endurance, he meant that love bears with many offenses and does not stop loving even under the strain of difficulties imposed by others, even going so far as to love enemies (Luke 6:27). If he had in mind the concept of covering, then he may have meant that love will not seek to expose the sins of others. Love handles the sins of others in ways that will not bring exposure or shame.

It is evident that Paul limited such endurance or protection. For example, he instructed Timothy that “those who sin are to be rebuked publicly” (1 Tim. 5:20). Likewise, he called public attention to the strife between Euodia and Syntyche (Phil. 4:2). He commanded the Corinthians to stop tolerating the man who had his father’s wife (1 Cor. 5:1–13). Wisdom is required to know when and how to protect or to expose, and love always tends to protect.

Love … always trusts. Perhaps this characteristic of love is best expressed in contemporary English idiom as: “Love gives the benefit of the doubt.” Suspicion and doubt toward others do not indicate affection or love. On the contrary, when someone loves with Christlike love, he entrusts himself to the person he loves time and again. Still, love does not demand that a person trust even when the basis for trust has been destroyed. Love does not give the “benefit” when there is no “doubt.” In these circumstances trust is folly. Yet, the general practice of those who love is to trust the good intentions of others as much as possible.

Love … always hopes. Loving someone requires maintaining a measure of optimism on that person’s behalf. Hope is an attitude that good will eventually come to those who may now be failing. Failure invades every Christian’s life, and it often causes others to give up on the one who fails. Yet, Christians who love continue to hope for the best. This optimism encourages others to keep moving forward. This hope is based not on the Christian, but on Christ. The hope of each Christian is that Christ will preserve him to glory. When a brother falls, it is Christ who picks him up and makes him stand (Rom. 14:4). Christ is the one who promised to finish the work he began. Optimism can also become foolishness and wishful thinking. For example, Paul did not believe that the incestuous man at Corinth would repent without undergoing church discipline.

Love … always perseveres. Loving someone is easy when the other person does not challenge one’s affections by offending or failing. Love’s quality becomes evident when it must endure trials. The New Testament encourages Christians to persevere in their Christian walks (1 John 5:2–5). Here Paul had in  [Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 233]  mind particularly the need to persevere in love for others. Christians should look to the length and perseverance of Christ’s love as the standard for their own.

D. The Superiority of Love (13:8–13)

  SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul compared love to the spiritual gifts the Corinthians valued so highly.

 

13:8a. Paul contrasted Christian love on the one hand, and prophecy, tongues, and knowledge on the other. These were the same topics with which he began this chapter. In this verse, he asserted that love never fails. By this expression Paul indicated that those who devote themselves to Christian love involve themselves in something beyond the ordinary. They participate in the grace of God. The apostle John wrote that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). As followers of Christ, believers receive the grace of God to express this divine love in human form.

In fact, the love Christians express in this life will extend to eternity. Even after Christ’s return in glory, Christians will continue to share in the love God has for his own. For this reason, Paul exalted love to a special place. The experience of Christian love as Paul defined it is one of the few ways that Christians taste in part the perfection that awaits in full in the new heavens and new earth.

13:8b–9. In contrast to love, Paul described three other Christian graces as temporary. Prophecies, tongues, and knowledge will not carry over to eternity in the same way that love will. Prophecies … will cease; tongues … will be stilled; knowledge … will pass away. These gifts are as temporary as they are partial. Spiritual gifts do not divulge full knowledge or prophecy, so believers only know in part and prophesy in part. Paul did not justify his assertion that tongues … will be stilled. Rather, he implied that tongues was another partial gift by grouping it with the related gifts of prophecy and knowledge. Prophecy, tongues, and knowledge were from the Holy Spirit and therefore were valuable in the church, but the nature of the gifts made their value only temporary. Not being of eternal value, they would eventually stop.

13:10. The imperfect understandings Christians gain through gifts of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge will disappear at the coming of perfection. Even though Paul alluded to the gifts of prophecy and message of knowledge in the previous verse, he avoided speaking directly of them. Instead, he spoke of the benefit Christians derive from them. The gifts do not disappear; imperfect understanding disappears. Christians will put the gifts behind them when their need for the gifts is gone.

Paul said that when perfection came he would see “face to face” (13:12), implying that “perfection” included his meeting a person. Moreover, he indicated that he would meet a person when “perfection” came by saying that he would know in the same way that he was known. When perfection came, Paul  [Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 234]  would gain a greater personal knowledge of someone who already had such knowledge of him—someone of whom he was already learning through prophecy, tongues, and messages of knowledge. That person was Christ. The coming of perfection coincides with meeting Christ in person; therefore, for the church as a whole, it must take place at Christ’s second coming—at the consummation of all things in him (Eph. 1:10).

When Christ returns, there will be no need for prophecy, tongues, or the limited knowledge the church gains in this world. All these gifts only provide glimpses and foreshadows of the perfection that will come. Just as the shadows of the Old Testament sacrificial system no longer continue—now that Christ to whom they pointed has come (Heb. 10:1–14)—the shadowy, imperfect gifts of the Spirit will disappear when perfection comes.

13:11. Paul supported his view with two analogies. First, he appealed to a parallel with the human experience of maturation, explaining that as a child he talked, thought, and reasoned like a child. But when he became a man, he got rid of childish ways. The gifts of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge are so limited by the constraints of this life and their partial nature that they may be compared to childish things. Just as it is unimaginable that a mature adult would resort to childlike immaturity, so it is unimaginable that these gifts will endure beyond their usefulness into eternity.

13:12. The second analogy involves the experience of looking at a poor reflection as in a mirror. In Paul’s day Corinth was well-known for its mirrors. Because their mirrors were made of polished brass, some interpreters have argued that Paul referred to the fact that metal mirrors reflect one’s image only imperfectly. Corinth, however, made high-quality mirrors that probably provided good reflections. More likely, Paul meant that a reflection is no substitute for a real person. A modern parallel would be the photograph. Modern believers enjoy clear photographs of loved ones, but those pictures barely begin to portray the wonderful people they depict.

For Paul the gifts of the Spirit are the photographs the church has access to now. When Christ returns, however, then everyone will see face to face. Everything of which the gifts now speak in part will then be revealed in full. Just as a reflected image outlives its usefulness when the thing it portrays can be seen face to face, the gifts will have outlived their usefulness “when perfection comes” (13:10) at Christ’s return.

Repeating the contrast between now and then, between the present age and the time after Christ’s return, Paul said that he knew in part, but in the end he would know fully … even as he was fully known. By this he meant that he and other believers would know God intimately and personally in heaven, just as God already knows all believers. Human knowledge is imperfect in at least two ways: it is finite and corrupted by sin. In the world to come, believers will be fully redeemed from sin and its effects (Rom. 8:29–30), but they will still be  [Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 235]  finite. Paul did not mean that believers will fully comprehend God in eternity. That would be impossible. Instead, he focused on the personal and direct nature of believers’ future knowledge of God.

13:13. Paul closed his discussion of “the most excellent way” (12:31b) with a summary statement that must have been familiar to the Corinthians. Paul spent much of his ministry emphasizing the importance of faith and hope. He presented faith primarily as the means by which believers are joined to Christ and thereby receive the blessings of salvation (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:9). Hope, in turn, Paul described mainly in terms of the glories of salvation that believers receive in heaven, including things like bodily resurrection. For Paul, faith and hope represented the means of obtaining the blessings of the gospel (faith), and the ultimate blessings themselves (hope). In this context, he placed even more value on love.

Paul also said that faith, hope, and love remained now. Although some commentators understand now to introduce only a logical conclusion, it is difficult to disregard it completely as a temporal marker because of the present tense verb remain. Thus, Paul meant that faith and hope existed at the time he wrote, not that they would always continue to exist. Hope does not continue when its object has been realized (Rom. 8:24). Faith similarly relates to that which is yet unseen (Heb. 11:1).

To show the importance of Christian love, Paul included it alongside faith and hope. The centrality of love would have been evident if Paul had stopped at that point, but instead he raised love to an even higher level. While faith, hope, and love stand above all spiritual gifts (displacing the Corinthians’ favorites: prophecy, tongues, and knowledge), the greatest of these is love. In this statement Paul raised a crucial question for the Corinthians. As their church struggled in its worship, especially in the practice of prophecy and tongues, what was its highest priority? Paul’s position was plain. The highest virtue for them to pursue was love for one another.

  MAIN IDEA REVIEW: This chapter focuses on love, a theme found throughout Paul’s discussion of worship, and emphasizes the importance of the edification of others.

 

III. CONCLUSION

Gifts Without Value  

 

In this passage Paul affirmed that Christians receive many wonderful gifts from the Spirit of God. Yet, he also insisted in the strongest terms that these gifts are without value unless they are coupled with the greatest gift—love. Love is the most excellent way in which the other gifts must be manifested.

[Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 236]

PRINCIPLES  

 

• Unless motivated by love, spiritual service and gifts do not benefit the believer.

• Love is eternal.

• Spiritual gifts are temporary devices for ministering to the church until Christ returns.

APPLICATIONS  

 

• We must refocus our priorities, setting love of others as a higher standard than effective service, and as a higher standard than spiritual gifts.

• Our love for others must be demonstrated in the way we treat them.

• Our spiritual gifts should remind us that we await the perfect realization of the blessings of the gospel.

IV. LIFE APPLICATION

“Not My Daughter!”  

 

A friend of mine once told me about one of the first sermons he preached. He was very young at the time, and was substituting for the pastor of his home church in the South. Being unsure of himself, he picked a text that he could not possibly get wrong: 1 Corinthians 13. He spoke carefully, avoiding controversial subjects, and made only the broadest applications. After the sermon, a delegation approached him in anger. “Do you mean that we have to let our white daughters date black men?” they demanded. My friend was taken aback. Although he agreed with this application, he had said nothing of the sort in his sermon. Still, without him explicitly making this application, the Holy Spirit had pricked the consciences of the people who heard him speak. When he reminded them of the nature of love, they saw in their hearts some specific ways they failed to love their Christian brothers.

Like the people who heard my friend speak, most of us cling to actions and attitudes that are unloving. Rather than repent, we try to justify ourselves by redefining either “sin” or “love.” One way that we typically redefine “love” is by describing it in terms of what we “do.” We say that to love we must express patience, act kindly, and desist our envy and boastful language. But Paul was not interested solely in the way we act toward one another. He was also concerned with the way we feel toward one another. He wanted the Corinthians to begin to care for one another, and he wanted their actions to flow from a true feeling of love. Hypocrisy was not an option.

[Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 237]

Perhaps some of us can say that we treat other Christians well, and that we conduct ourselves properly in church. Some of us may even have learned to let love guide our use of spiritual gifts. But precious few of us use our gifts primarily because we love the church. We tend to exercise our gifts because service gives us a sense of personal fulfillment. And what of the rest of us? According to Paul, the good that we do profits us nothing if we do not do it out of love. This means that the good that most of us do might as well be so much rubbish. This does not mean that we have not done some good things, or that people have not benefited from our ministry. But we can forget about receiving any eternal reward for our efforts. If we serve for the wrong reasons, we lay up our treasures on earth, not in heaven.

V. PRAYER  

 

Lord Jesus, was there ever one who loved so deeply as you? Give us eyes to see that your life of love is to be our goal, our destiny, our ideal. Help us to see that of all things we have in this life, the greatest of these is love. Amen.

VI. DEEPER DISCOVERIES  

 

A. Love (13:1–4, 8, 13)

No word for “love” other than agape/agapao appears frequently in the New Testament. Whereas philia/phileo was the dominant word group used to describe all sorts of love in the classical period, agape/agapao dominated in the New Testament. Agape describes many types of love, having a range of meaning similar to that of the English word “love,” so one should not place exegetical weight on an author’s use of agape/agapao as opposed to other words available to him—it was simply the general, all-encompassing word for love. Agape may be anything from the hypocritical Pharisees’ love of the best seats in the synagogue (Luke 11:43), to the love between husbands and wives (Eph. 5:25–33), to God’s loving act of sending Christ to die for sin (John 3:16).

B. Perfection (13:10)

The Greek word translated “perfection” (teleios) appears in the neuter gender, so it should not be translated “perfect one,” even though its coming coincides with personal, intimate knowing. Matthew used the word twice, first meaning something closer to “flawless” (Matt. 5:48), but then more closely meaning “whole” (Matt. 19:21). James also used it both of these ways (“flawless,” Jas. 1:17; 3:2; “whole,” 1:4), and also in an ambiguous way (Jas. 1:25). John used it in a similarly ambiguous fashion (1 John 4:18), as did the author of Hebrews (Heb. 9:11).

[Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 238]

For Paul, teleios most commonly means “mature” (Col. 1:28), though occasionally it appears to be closer to “flawless” (Rom. 12:2). Judging from the metaphor of maturity in 1 Corinthians 13:11 and Paul’s dominant usage, teleios almost certainly means “mature” in 13:10. Of course, with the article to, the adjective teleios functions as a noun (“maturity”).

C. Mirror (13:12)

Though mirrors (esoptron) in the ancient world were made of metal, they were not considered to render poor images. In fact, they rendered good images by most ancient accounts. Paul’s metaphor relies on the ancient opinion of the reflective qualities of mirrors, so his metaphor probably did not assume that the famous Corinthian metal mirrors provided blurry or unclear reflections.

VII. TEACHING OUTLINE  

 

A. INTRODUCTION

1. Lead Story: It’s the Best Way There

2. Context: Paul was in the middle of teaching the Corinthians about the proper use of spiritual gifts. He knew they needed more than new information regarding the gifts; they needed a new framework in which to think about gifts. Before he wrote to them, they were interested in their personal fulfillment and prestige, not in building up the church. In this chapter, Paul gave them a new orientation toward life that focused on putting other people first. He taught them to love, knowing that if they loved rightly, they would also use their gifts appropriately.

3. Transition: If there is any similarity between the modern church and the ancient church, it lies in our failure to love. In fact, by most accounts, we are often worse than the Corinthians. At least the Corinthians had managed to remain united as a single church. They had not split their fellowship, even though they had abused it. Most Christians today tend to be self-centered. They do not place others first, and they certainly do not commit themselves to living the love of which Paul spoke.

B. COMMENTARY

1. Introduction (12:31)

2. Priority of Love (13:1–3)

a. Without love, a believer is nothing (13:1–2)

b. Without love, a believer gains nothing (13:3)

3. The Characteristics of Love (13:4–7)

a. Patient (13:4)

b. Kind (13:4)

[Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 239]

c. Not envious (13:4)

d. Not boastful (13:4)

e. Not proud (13:4)

f. Not rude (13:5)

g. Not self-seeking (13:5)

h. Not easily angered (13:5)

i. Keeps no record of wrongs (13:5)

j. Does not delight in evil (13:6)

k. Protects (13:7)

l. Trusts (13:7)

m. Hopes (13:7)

n. Perseveres (13:7)

4. The Superiority of Love (13:8–13)

a. Prophecy, tongues, and word of knowledge are temporary (13:8–12)

b. Faith, hope, and love (13:13)

c. Permanent and superior value of love (13:8, 13)

C. CONCLUSION: “NOT MY DAUGHTER!”

[Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 240]

VIII. ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION  

 

1. What intrinsic value do gifts of the Spirit have? Can a gift benefit the church even if it does not benefit the person who demonstrates it? How does love relate to the value of spiritual gifts?

2. How would you describe love? Does your definition look anything like Paul’s? Was Paul’s definition meant to be exhaustive?

3. Does Paul’s definition of love look more like something you feel or something you do? If you did the things in his definition, would that qualify as love? Why or why not?

4. Why are gifts like prophecy, tongues, and knowledge only “partial”? What does your church teach about the continuation, cessation, or modification of spiritual gifts?

[Vol 7: 1,2 Cor, p. 241]

Veli Voipio said:

Mark Barnes said:

But I'd add Pillar and Baker Exegetical as alternatives to NICNT

That sounds good but how about NICOT - any alternative(s)?

There are good OT commentaries from WBC, NIVAC, NAC, and Tyndale (as well as NICOT).  It's possible that picking and choosing volumes from the various commentary series (by using commentary reviews) can get you a higher quality library for a lower cost.   NAC has some excellent OT commentaries.  Since most people have that in their base package, it's a good place to start, and then one can fill in the gaps with recommended volumes from other sets. 

What John Goodman said. The thing with a Baptist going to a Baptist seminary choosing a Baptist commentary is that it's an exercise in confirmation bias. I'm speaking as an ex-Southern Baptist-now-Catholic-convert who used to insulate himself from contrary or alternative positions. 

Gordon Fee is Pentecostal, as well as being probably one of the best textual critics of my lifetime. He did not just write the 1 Corinthians (and Philippians) volumes in the NICNT series, but was also the editor of the series up until a year or two ago and a member of the Committee for Bible Translation. He did retire several years ago from his New Testament Professorship at Regent College in Vancouver, and has had health issues. Like all of us, his views impact his scholarship, but he is an excellent scholar, and anything by him is worth reading. He is also very clear in acknowledging where his view is not the majority, or accepted view, which is rather more than many scholars do.

I would recommend just about anything by Gordon Fee. I've learnt from him, been encouraged by his writing, and fed by his preaching.  

I'd like to mention two new sources (new for me at least) I found from my last comment.  The first two links comes from a Logos customized package that Dallas Theological Seminary, in partnership with the Logos Bible company, put together for all of its students:

1) Main page of resources: http://www.dts.edu/logos/?adsource=HomeRotator_Logos and the complete list: http://www.dts.edu/download/student/DTS-Logos-Student-Resources.pdf.  Many of these commentaries are classical and a few commercial.  I think it's also a good idea to consider reading the other materials included here and not only Bible commentaries.

2) The second list is for those who would also like to consider recommendations for each specific book in the Bible.  I also found it from reading BestCommentaries.com's reviews in several Bible books.  Here it's where I mentioned that Mr. Fee's book comes as the number one on 1st Corinthians, and please read my comments above about the top recommended commentary Bible book in this website, which is not necessarily a personal endorsement for this website or book (as I mentioned above in my both previous comments in this forum thread), but one place that can be useful to go if you'd like to see what's popular right now as judged by the number of votes from Christians in different and differing denominations.  While reading this particular website, I read about Keith Mathison's Ligonier Ministries recommended book. He recommends the top 5 commentaries on each book, and you can find a link to this resource here: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/top-commentaries-on-every-book-of-the-bible/.

Please notice that although neither of these resources are Baptist, they are doctrinally associated with mainstream Baptists pastors and authors.  This is simply my opinion (especially on the second resource I mentioned above), but anybody is welcome to disagree with me.

At the end JoshInRi (and to any other who may be reading my own comments in this forum), however, please remember that the best thing to do when choosing a book to read, within any Christian publication or author, is to look for the direction of the Holy Spirit when praying and reading the Bible.  I know this is pretty basic, and I hope nobody gets offended (I am not trying to lecture the many experienced pastors and ministers here in this forum), but one thing that one should never, ever replace is reading the Bible daily for any other book, even any Christian book or commentary (and here the double negation means an emphasis not do do something and not a positive statement).  It's my opinion that in any given day, we should either read the Bible alone (especially when we are pressed on time); or read the Bible and (not or) any other Christian publication; but never read on any day other Christian publication without the Bible (I know most Bible commentaries also include portions of the Bible, but still I think we should dedicate some time to Bible reading without external influences, but with meditation and prayer).  The Bible is the only source source we can be 100% sure it is 100% inspired by the Spirit of God.

CMC

I didn’t mean to undermine Pastor Funkhouser’s recommendation on BestComentaries.com, and as I think I’ve mentioned before I have visited that website, and in one of the last times, it was there where I found another set of recommendations, which I considered even more useful from a doctrinal perspective, that is, those recommendation in the website of Ligonier Ministries.  I guess I just wanted to mention that at least I wouldn’t just go there (to this website) and choose just book from their top recommendations lists blindly.  In my case, I would read several of this website’s comments from other readers on several Bible book commentaries, and I’d make my mind about what to read next.  That’s just the way I’d do it, and I am not saying everybody should do it in the same way, but I did have in mind the original question in this forum’s particular thread.

Now I hope I also mentioned before that I am not a Baptist, and in fact I do have some disagreements about some peripheral issues, even with pastors/authors who I respect very much such as R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur and John Piper (and yes this last author believes in the continuation of spiritual gifts although he himself doesn’t speak in tongues as far as I heard in one of his interviews); but with all these minor disagreements I have, I still read mostly these authors’ articles and watch some of their sermons in YouTube.com.  I guess that considering my own doctrinal background, perspectives and spiritual needs; and especially in consideration to what I thought I understood from the original asker in this forum’s thread, I thought that what the type of recommendation sought was more like a set of Biblical commentaries which would be used as a “primary source” of information (besides the Bible, of course, which should be the main source of inspiration together with praying for guidance from the Holy Spirit) for sermon preparation and (I imagine) for our own spiritual growth.

However, as this last contributor has mentioned (thank you Bondservant for your comments), from a typical Logos user perspective (with many resources), users are more inclined to read from different sources, and I guess that’s the premise on which some replied on.  Another assumption I thought I saw was probably better explained with a variant of the common maxim that “you can’t judge a book by its cover”, that is, “you can’t discern a book by its author”, but I think I have already said enough from it before.  However, one think I’d like to add last is that I also saw that comment from somebody who was supposed to be a Baptist, and (according to this claim) who wouldn’t read anything else until one day it came that aha moment, and he began reading something else and became something else.  I’ve also read long time ago about the case of a Methodist missionary who after a mission trip to India, he became a Buddhist.  Now, it’d be very easy to dismiss this last missionary at least as somebody who was not appointed by God from the beginning of the creation, but I think that one should be careful in what we read (there are spiritual forces up there working through books and anything else they can use to lead us to, let’s be careful here so nobody gets offended, to “non-Christian” doctrines), and what we choose to read shouldn’t always be based on the quantity of our library, whatever form this could be, but on how strong are our own convictions, among other things (like free time). 

Now going back to the first pro-noun again, I also have a decent library too (very recently and thanks to Logos), but I am more interested right now in reading more from Old Testament again (this time slower) and in some days I’d like to spend some time reading some commentaries from sources I personally trust.  I guess that was part of my own “bias” on assuming others follow a similar set of priorities; thus, I thought I didn’t want to emphasize the “other” books and to read the basics first, for my own spiritual growth, from sources I personally trust (and with the "other" word, I don't mean to offend others but I guess we all wear some form of doctrinal glasses, one way or another, and I hope this last statement is taken the way I meant).  I know I will have more time to read about other things later on, and I am already much familiarized with different doctrines (in fact, for instance, I had regularly attended two different Pentecostal churches for years before), but after much of a internal debate, I decided to read the Bible alone for a while again, make up my mind about what I felt God really intended to teach us, from a doctrinal or theological point of view, and then when opportunity was sent (from above I believe), to teach the basics of the Christian faith to inmates who typically have little general education, and also little or no Biblical knowledge.  I think I am in the safe side with these “premises” about my intended target audience, and so far I think I’ve been blessed the most.  I think many people too worry about spiritual growth more than satisfying their own intellectual needs by reading (among other things) good scholarship.

I didn't intend to talk about me, at first at least, but it was my impression that I was or I could be missunderstood, or perhaps it's my own culture or tendency to disagree, when appropriated, especially in issues I consider worthy.  Anyway, I’ll visit that last source Bondservant mentioned last too.  Thank you again.  

Carlos Manuel Chapa said:

However, as this last contributor has mentioned (thank you Bondservant for your comments), from a typical Logos user perspective (with many resources), users are more inclined to read from different sources, and I guess that’s the premise on which some replied on.  Another assumption I thought I saw was probably better explained with a variant of the common maxim that “you can’t judge a book by its cover”, that is, “you can’t discern a book by its author”, but I think I have already said enough from it before.  However, one think I’d like to add last is that I also saw that comment from somebody who was supposed to be a Baptist, and (according to this claim) who wouldn’t read anything else until one day it came that aha moment, and he began reading something else and became something else.  I’ve also read long time ago about the case of a Methodist missionary who after a mission trip to India, he became a Buddhist.  Now, it’d be very easy to dismiss this last missionary at least as somebody who was not appointed by God from the beginning of the creation, but I think that one should be careful in what we read (there are spiritual forces up there working through books and anything else they can use to lead us to, let’s be careful here so nobody gets offended, to “non-Christian” doctrines), and what we choose to read shouldn’t always be based on the quantity of our library, whatever form this could be, but on how strong are our own convictions, among other things (like free time). 

I didn't intend to talk about me, at first at least, but it was my impression that I was or I could be missunderstood, or perhaps it's my own culture or tendency to disagree, when appropriated, especially in issues I consider worthy.  Anyway, I’ll visit that last source Bondservant mentioned last too.  Thank you again.  

Hope it helps you!

I agree that one ought to be careful the manner in which one reads. I had a very disappointing experience with a Methodist church this past weekend. I loved reading about the methodists and their fervor... But what I saw (at this one particular tiny country church, can't speak of the whole denomination) was a lifeless social club more consumed with local politics than the Christ. It would have been hard for a non-believer to find their way to heaven. This was at a funeral even.

As a Baptist, I am sure that is an accusation that can be leveled at certain churches within my own denomination. I pray regularly that the opposite is true of my church; that it would be hard for a non-believer to attend, and leave unchanged by God.

Never the less in regards to your exemplar missionary turned Buddhist, I have to wonder if he was ever truly saved to begin with... As the old adage goes: If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything. I think this is true in theology as well. If you don't know where you stand, and why, then perhaps one should still be reading titles with orthodox (by that I'm not naming the tradition, I mean to say titles that hold to the positions of scripture) positions in them.

So many of us here on this forum have degrees, and/or advanced degrees (or doctoral level), and its easy to assume that the person on the other side of the display has had the benefit of the same level of training; as faithlife grows, I think this is a trend that will change. At least I hope that this is a trend that will change. I would love to see hundreds of million church members (in addition to leaders) buying quality books RE the scripture, and our Lord.