1 Corinthians 13:8–13 and the Cessation of Miraculous Gifts

108 Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal1 Corinthians 13:8Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be doneaway; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will bedone away.Paul develops his argument in 13:8–13 along two lines. His firstline of argument establishes the permanence and preeminence of love.He does this by developing a second line of argument which shows thetemporary nature of miraculous gifts. Of the two lines, Paul spendsmost of his time proving the temporary nature of these gifts; he mentionsthe permanence of love only at the outset and at the end of thepassage. Yet his emphasis on the temporary nature of the miraculousgifts is intended to reinforce the permanence and value of love. Thus,the primacy of love is demonstrated in that love is permanent, and themiraculous gifts are not. 27At the same time, there is an underlying polemical tone to Paul’sargument in this section. Paul’s emphasis on the temporary nature ofmiraculous gifts suggests that the Corinthian believers were elevatingthe miraculous gifts and especially tongues to enhance their own statureand to demonstrate their spiritual maturity. Paul counters this misunderstandingby pointing out the temporary nature of these gifts in contrastto the permanence of love. The implication from all of this appearsevident. Because it is both permanent and primary, love is the truegauge of spiritual maturity and directs how the temporary should beexercised. 28The Nature of the GiftsTwo issues need to be addressed in this verse in light of the currentdebate. The first is to identify the nature of the gifts mentioned. Althoughsome argue to the contrary, the evidence from the immediateand larger contexts argues for taking prophecy, tongues, and knowledgeCorinthians, Harper’s NT Commentaries (New York: Harper & Row, 1968), p. 299;Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, pp. 627–28. Some include 12:31b in the firstsection of the chapter and separate 13:13 from the preceding verses to form a separatesection. See W. Harold Mare, 1 Corinthians, in vol. 10 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary,ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), p. 267. For recentdiscussion on the specific genre and structure of chapter thirteen, see Collins, First Corinthians,pp. 471–73, 483–85; Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, pp.1027–32 (including bibliography); David E. Garland, 1 Corinthians, Baker ExegeticalCommentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003), pp. 606–8.27 Similarly Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, pp. 641–42.28 Similarly F. F. Bruce, 1 and 2 Corinthians, New Century Bible (Grand Rapids:Eerdmans, 1971), p. 117; Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, pp. 641–42.