In our study of Scripture we need to be perpetually on the watch to distinguish between what is mature ("perfect") and therefore final, and what is partial, immature, and therefore temporary. Although in most of First Corinthians Paul is dealing with partial, immature, temporary conditions, he keeps on breaking out into the mature; and it is for us to take special notice of these features whenever they occur. Bearing this in mind, we can turn to a key passage in this epistle (I Corinthians 12:27-31) which reads literally:
"Now you are Christ’s body and members out of part; (you) whom God indeed placed in the Church -- first apostles; second prophets; third, teachers; thereupon powers; thereupon grace-effects of health, supports, pilotage, breeds of tongues. Not all are apostles, Not all are prophets, Not all are powers, Not all are having grace-effects of health, Not all are talking tongues, Not all are interpreting. Yet be zealous (regarding) the grace-effects - the greater ones. And still (a) way according to transcendence I am showing you." And the Apostle Paul then goes on to his splendid exhortation in praise of love.
The important thing to observe is that for these Corinthian believers to whom this section of the epistle was primarily addressed, the membership of the body was … EK MEROUS, out-of-part, that is to say partial, immature. This by itself shows that the section to which this belongs did not have mature believers in mind. There was no need to address all that to such; for, being mature, they necessarily already have the love which is "the tie of maturity" (Col. 3:14) and which is over all the virtues to be put on, listed in Col. 3:12,13 as "pitiful compassion, kindness, humility of disposition, meekness, patience, bearing with one another and dealing graciously among yourselves." To these there would be no need to show a way suited to transcendence.
So the immature were exhorted to "follow after" the love of which Paul wrote. While they were pursuing the Ideal they were also to be zealous for the spiritual things which were eventually to be discarded when they reached the goal of “the perfect" or mature, of whatsoever in any matter is mature … although the conditions were transcient, the provision for them was necessary.
Furthermore, the majority of believers have been immature ever since, but there is no excuse whatsoever for any to be in that state, let alone remain in it. Paul showed them a path according to transcendence. His words in First Corinthians 13 commending that path are some of the best known in Scripture, yet few read them and become mature.
Nearly as much is said about LOVE in Ephesians and the eight epistles that follow it as in the whole of the Greek Scriptures that precede it, and in that grand and somewhat neglected epistle, First John, the noun occurs no less than eighteen times. The verb to love occurs more frequently in those nine epistles than in the earlier ones, but the occurrences in the writings of John transcend in number everything else. However, anyone who wants to study the connection between LOVE and what is mature or "perfect” has only to study the occurrences of the word in the Prison Epistles. No Scripture neglects the subject. Some modern critics have asserted that the Revelation or Unveiling is a "ferocious book" and perhaps in a way it is, since it describes the eventual triumph by force of the Lord Jesus over His enemies; yet even so, the idea of love is found in Chapters 1.5; 2.14,19; 3.9; 12:11; and 20.9.
The second supremely great prayer in Ephesians (3:19) leads up to the climax "To get to know besides, the knowledge-transcending love of the Christ, that you may be filled up into the entire fullness of God." There is nothing beyond that!
From this we can legitimately regard all the lesser gifts or "spirituals" as being obsolete now. Suppose, for the sake of argument, that prophesying is continuing up to the present moment. Then, according to I Cor. 14.29-33, there must be prophets amongst us now when we assemble. Where are they? Reviewing in my mind the believers I have known, I then have to ask concerning them: "Is even one of them a prophet?" Certainly I would not care to make such a claim for myself, or for anyone else I have ever met. From experience, there is one thing I fully know. I have no means of getting any knowledge from, God, His Christ and His purposes, except through careful and thorough study of His Word, sometimes very arduous study, too; and I do not for one moment believe that at this present time anyone on earth is any better off. There are plenty of people who claim to have such direct knowledge of God; but they all display one thing in common: when they state any such revelation in plain language, it invariably turns out to be contrary to the Scriptures; that is, on the rare occasions when it has any contact with them at all.
Surely the answer is that the prophets of whom Paul wrote functioned only when some special personal need arose, some special message. Apostles and others specially commissioned such as Mark, Luke and James, had the function of writing Scripture itself; we are not told that any of these were prophets as well. The first two certainly wrote their Gospels when directly associated with the Apostles. Once the Scriptures were completed, there was nothing of that sort left to be accomplished.
What could any prophet tell us, which God desires us to know, that is not already available to us in the Scriptures? We do not NEED any prophets now; and nobody would desire the services of any prophets except either as a substitute for the labor of research, or for idle or selfish curiosity. For God has given us in the Scriptures all we need to know and all we ought to wish to know. In them is available that full-knowledge of which Paul wrote in I Corinthians 13:12. It might be a very different matter if we had already sought and won and fully taken in that full-knowledge. Then we might plausibly ask for more - that is a very different matter; John himself, once the beloved disciple, the Apostle of love, and thus of all mortal mankind the closest to perfection, could not endure the full glory of the Lord Jesus in majesty but fell at His feet as dead (Rev. 1:17).
If we could stretch out our hands at will and pluck down such full-knowledge as is beyond our capacity now, it would blast us.
In His mercy He has shielded us; and the mature person would not have it otherwise.
R. B. Withers
