1 Corinthians 13:8-13.
What is “The Perfect” (Teleios)?
Dr.
Andy Woods.
Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:8-13
Endurance of Love Emphasis:
A) Unlike Love, the Revelatory Gifts will cease. (8-10)
B) 2 Illustrations (11-12)
Transition
from Immaturity to
Maturity (11)
Transition
from Limited sight to
full sight (12)
C) Unlike Love, Faith (2 Cor. 5:7) and Hope (Rom 8:24) will cease (13)
Because the day in history will come when Faith won't be necessary because we will see Jesus as He is and the day in history will come when hope will be unnecessary because we will see Jesus as He is
so of those three, there's only one that's going to continue on and that's Love itself.
Apostle Paul brings all of this up
because of his concern about disunity in the body of christ concerning the
practice of these revelatory gifts and how the Corinthians were misusing these.
So the big question is: okay, if prophecy tongues and knowledge are going to
cease when the perfect comes, the big question of course is what is meant by
the word perfect?
What is “The
Perfect” (Teleios)? In 1 Cor. 13:10.
There are 3 different views: He has probably held all three of these views at different times in his christian life:
1. Eschaton or End.
The perfect is talking about something in the eschaton, yet future. Some eschatological event, like the second coming, the millennial kingdom, the rapture; and so these revelatory gifts continue until that eschatological event takes place.
2. Maturity of The Church.
The perfect is when the church reaches a state of maturity and once the church reaches that state of maturity then the revelatory gift cease.
3. Completion of The New Testament Canon.
This is speaking of the completed
new testament canon. Once the canon of the new testament is completed, once John
finished the very last verse in Revelation chapter 22, we had a completed canon
and the revelatory gifts at that point, about AD 95, stopped.
Dr. Andy Woods believes this is the Correct View, which has sadly fallen on hard
times and has no
exegetical defense for it at all.
Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones commenting on view number three and he said indeed there's only one word to describe such a view it is nonsense!
Dr. Andy Woods believes His view is the product of a paper that He wrote for the Chafer Theological Journal back in 2004. Third view is the only one that makes sense.
Excerpts from:
Andy Woods - The Meaning of “The Perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13:8–13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duMwoylpCyg
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