Before I go any further, let me say this, "Verses 1-7 are connected to verse 8 and 10. The entire chapter of 1 Corinthians is connected."
Many teach that verse stands alone, and they twist it to bash God Himself.
but when what is perfect comes, then what is partial will disappear.
1 Corinthians 13:10
The word perfect is WRONGLY twisted to be believed as the Bible. What is perfect in this verse is the Kingdom of Heaven and eternity. Verse 12 validates this.
What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete—as complete as God's knowledge of me.
1 Corinthians 13:12
Jesus has a face NOT the Bible. When we see Jesus face to face, these things will pass away. While the first 7 verses are good to practice in marriage and in relation to all people, Paul wrote this to the church in Corinth because they were NOT applying the gifts of God in love.
The Kingdom of God is here on earth. The Kingdom of Heaven is in...well, Heaven. They often get confused. While that happens, there should NOT be a visual difference.
Let me explain. In the disciple's prayer, the one Jesus taught His disciples, He instructed us to pray for His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
The Kingdom of God was given to Adam. He gave it away to the devil. Jesus took it back at Calvary. He gave it then to His bride. The Kingdom here on earth is to just like the Kingdom in Heaven. We are His Ambassadors. We are to bring Heaven to earth, just like Jesus did.
Jesus was His name here on earth. Christ is His position. His name is still Jesus in Heaven. His position is still Christ. Jesus means Savor. Christ means one anointed by God.
Christ Jesus is the proper way to give His name glory. Let's break that down. Christ Jesus literally means, The one anointed by God to save the world. However you say it, Jesus, Christ, Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus, He is pleased when you call upon Him.
When Jesus read from Isaiah, the religious leaders were appalled, because He claimed to be the ANOINTED ONE.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people.”
Luke 4:18-19
To be a Christian means to be EXACTLY like Christ. So we can personally say that verse about ourselves. Without the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we can't do any of these things.
This is where the spiritual gifts are needed. I chose Helps as the first gift to talk about because it the most unseen gift. Notice that I didn't say hidden gift. None of our talents, skills or gifts should be hidden. God gave them to us so that He can BLESS OTHERS through us.
The person with the spiritual gift of helps is someone who tends to work behind the scenes to get things done. The individual with this gift will often do his/her job joyfully and take the responsibilities off of others shoulders. They have a personality that is humble and have no problems sacrificing time and energy to do God's work. They even have an ability to see what others need often before they even know they need it. People with this spiritual gift have a great attention to detail and tend to be very loyal, and they tend to go above and beyond in everything. They are often described as having a servant's heart.
The danger inherent in this spiritual gift is that the person could end up having more of a Martha attitude versus a Mary heart, meaning that they can become bitter about doing all the work while others have time to worship or have fun. It is also a gift that can be taken advantage of by others who will exploit a person with a servant's heart to get out of their own responsibilities. The spiritual gift of helps is often an unnoticed gift. Yet this gift is often an essential part of keeping things running and making sure everyone is cared for inside and out of the church.
Have you ever read or even heard of the book of Barnabas? Without Luke writing about him you wouldn't even know the name. Without the spiritual gifts of helps working in the life of Barnabas, Luke himself would NOT have been encouraged to write the book of Acts and the book of Luke.
He also encouraged John Mark and brought the reconciliation of John Mark and Paul when they had a disagreement. He then encouraged Paul.
Imagine only the Gospels of Matthew and John. Imagine after these two Gospels only having James through Revelation. Thank God for the gift of helps.
Lesson three: The gift of leadership
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