In this enlightening episode, we delve into the timeless theme of understanding God’s perspective beyond the scriptures. As our journey through 1 Corinthians 13 unfolds, we uncover the profound implications of love, hailed as the greatest virtue. Bible teacher David Hocking challenges our preconceived notions of biblical completeness by emphasizing an eventual face-to-face understanding with God that transcends the written word. Through this discussion, listeners are reminded of the pivotal role love plays in fostering effective communication, complete understanding, and selfless giving. Join us as we navigate the nuances of God’s love, learning how it surpasses the limitations of
You know, in a certain sense, it’d be easy to say, oh, the perfect thing is the Bible completed. I have held that view. I was taught that view. But it doesn’t fit. Folks, one day I am going to know and understand things I don’t now, even with this blessed book of knowledge we call the Bible. But my understanding, my ability to see it from God’s point of view is lacking. Why? Because I’m finite and I, I’ll use the vernacular, I am stupid.
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is hope for today. Men love to polish the outside. Religion does it. Church people do it. The world does it. We dress up the image. We talk big and act like spiritual noise is the same thing as spiritual power. God, however, cuts straight through the performance. In 1 Corinthians 13, he exalts what is real, what is costly, and what still stands when the show is over. Love is the greatest. Today, Bible teacher David Hawking returns to the last three verses of 1 Corinthians 13 with day two of a message called Love is the Greatest. Stay tuned. We’re back in 1 Corinthians 13 in just a moment. And also on the website, we have many strong resources to help you grow in the Word of God. Check it out at DavidHawking.org. We’ll turn back to 1 Corinthians chapter 13 now, and here’s David with day two of Love is the Greatest.
SPEAKER 01 :
We mentioned that God’s love is essential, absolutely essential. Why? Because without it, your communication is ineffective. Verse one, you’re just a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal. Two, because without it your understanding is incomplete. Though you have all knowledge and understand all mysteries, without love you’re nothing. And also in verse 3, without it, your giving, no matter how much of a philanthropist you are, and how generous you are, your giving is insufficient without the love of God. It says it profits you nothing. So in the first paragraph, God’s love is essential. Then in verses 4 to 7, in the second paragraph, God’s love is explained. And we learned about that. It’s pretty powerful. Verse 4, the character of God’s love is two things. The love is patient and the love is kind. Two positives. Then secondly, we look at the contrast with God’s love. Eight negatives as to what it is not. Then third, in verse 7, he changes the things or circumstances, the circumstances which God’s love controls. It bears all things, puts a roof over it, covers it. It believes all things and it hopes all things and it will endure all things. Let’s go back to our present burden, limited vision. We see through a mirror darkly, but then face to face. What is he talking about? There are many, many Bible teachers, including some Greek professors that I had in graduate school, who taught that this is referring to the completed Word of God. So it goes something like this. When he was writing 1 Corinthians, that was one of the first books written in the New Testament around 50 or 51 AD. After it was written, the knowledge would be phased out, at least at that point. And there’s a day coming when all knowledge, all prophecy, the revelation of God would be phased out. When that which is perfect, meaning completed, is here. So the idea, it’s the completed canon of the New Testament. God’s word is a final written revelation. That’s a wonderful point. But you know, even though I’ve held that point at times, I’m not really sure that’s the point he’s making. I’ll tell you why. It’s like it takes us on a track away from the context. The context is dealing about the superiority of God’s love over everything. And what difference does it make whether I have one book of the Bible or the whole Bible? First of all, that position assumes that we all have a completed Bible. I want you to understand that it was very rare in all of church history that anybody had their own copy of the Bible. And when they did have a Bible, it was usually chained to the pulpit so nobody would steal it. It’s very interesting. So we didn’t really get a Bible in the English language until the latter centuries of church history that’s gone on now for 2,000 years. We didn’t really get what we have today. Several Bibles, you can buy them in a bookstore. We didn’t have that. So to say it’s a completed Bible and therefore we all have this full complete knowledge, excuse me, there are a lot of us who have a complete revelation from God in written form in our hands and still have a limited perspective. We are still not seeing things clearly. There’s nothing wrong with the view. It’s held by many Bible teachers. And it may in fact be the truth here. But I doubt it seriously. The more I’ve looked at the passage, I don’t think he’s talking about the completed Bible. I think he’s talking about a future state that I’m going to enjoy with my blessed Lord in the future where I will have a much clearer understanding and a fullness of my knowledge that I don’t have but an embryo form now. And there are a lot of reasons why I’ve come to this, and I want to just share them with you, and hopefully it will be helpful. When he talked about our future blessing of having then face-to-face, I thought to myself, well, wait a minute. That’s kind of a common phrase, face-to-face. It appears in the Old Testament and the New Testament. In fact, it’s used 11 times. So I said, you know what? I’ve got to look every one of those up. And as I looked them up, I found two basic things. Now, what I find is that God’s word brings a lot of insight to all my previously held opinions. How about you? It’s like buying all these books in a Christian bookstore. If you just read the Bible, it’ll help you to understand those books. Not the other way around. So I decided I’m going to look at this very, very carefully. And what did I find? I found two things that face-to-face means very clearly in the Bible. One, it means direct and personal communication. The person standing right in front of you and talking to you. That’s how it’s used in a number of passages. And I want you to take your Bible and let’s take a look at it. Exodus chapter 33. Because what is said here about the greatness of love I think is not clearly understood by the body of Christ. It certainly wasn’t by me. In Exodus 33 verse 11. Let’s take a look at this. It says concerning God’s talking to Moses. It says the Lord spake unto Moses face to face as a man speaketh unto his friend. He didn’t send him a fax. He didn’t put it on his webpage and through his email. He spoke directly and personally to Moses. And it was unique. Did God do that to everyone? No. We read in Hebrews 1.1, God at various times and in various ways spoke directly to the fathers by the prophets. He didn’t speak to everybody. I went through the whole Bible and wrote down every time God talked to anybody. You ought to do that. It’s an interesting Bible study. You’ll be surprised at the few people that he talked directly to. I thought there might be hundreds of them. No, there’s not.
SPEAKER 1 :
50?
SPEAKER 01 :
No. It’s just a handful. Now, it doesn’t mean that God couldn’t have talked to somebody else. It’s not recorded. But the only information I have is in the Bible. And when I read that he speaks face to face, he’s talking directly to Moses when he didn’t talk to anybody else. Did you know that even Aaron, who was to speak to Pharaoh, did not get direct communication from God? It came to Moses, and Moses then told Aaron what to say, which must have been extremely embarrassing. Imagine for a moment you’re Moshe, Moses. You’re in front of Pharaoh, and you know God has just given a message, let my people go. Not too difficult. And you know God has told you to say that, but because you made up excuses before God as to why you didn’t want to go to Pharaoh, God gave a judgment on Moses that you will never talk to him directly as I talk to you. So he had to tell Aaron, his brother, who was three years older than he was, Aaron, tell him, let my people go. Can you imagine standing there and you’re Pharaoh? Here this guy is in front of you with his brother. And he turns to him and says, tell him, let my people go. Aaron says, let my people go. And Pharaoh said, what is going on here? And can you imagine Aaron then turning to Moses and say, what he said was, I’m sure knowing Jewish people like I do, Moses said, I got it, I got it, I heard him, I heard him. But you understand, people, that the way he talked to Moses, according to the Bible, was totally different than anybody else. No wonder Moses is the author of the first five books we call the Torah. God spoke directly to Moses. Even told him things that he had not the foggiest idea what it was about. But he was simply to do what God said. Go over to Numbers chapter 14, verse 14. Numbers 14, verse 14. God spoke face to face to Moses. Numbers 14, verse 14. And I read this. Verse 2. Verse 3. Now, God had a direct way of manifesting himself by cloud and fire. And the Bible says that when people heard about this, they realized that this God who dwells the universe localized and manifested himself in what we call the Shekinah, a visible presentation of God’s glory. It isn’t really all because we can never see or understand God. But yet he gave them a visible demonstration and calls it face to face. I did this for my people. I was there in their presence. Direct and personal communication. Go to Deuteronomy chapter 5 and look at verse 4. Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 4. And it’s hard to escape this one. Talking about how God talked to the children of Israel through Moses. It says the Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire. So he manifested his presence in fire. Can you imagine being on that mount? You’re Moses. And on that mount there’s fire coming down. It’s at night time. And there’s a fire. And the fire talks to you. Remind yourself, please, that according to the Bible, this happened to Moses when he was in the desert and he saw a bush that was on fire. And he gets closer to the bush to see why it didn’t consume itself. And all of a sudden, the bush talks to him. The fire talks to Moses. And here again, we learn the Lord talked with him face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire. There are a lot of other examples, but let’s go to the New Testament for a moment. 2 John. There’s 1, 2, and 3 John, Jude, Revelation. Go to 2 John. And here we have a very clear usage of it. Face to face. 2 John, verse 12. John writes to this believing lady and her children who really are being addressed in this little short letter. He said, Isn’t that interesting? I didn’t send a fax. I didn’t send an email. I didn’t send a letter. I didn’t use paper and ink. I’m waiting to come and talk to you directly. Personal and direct communication. That is a wonderful, wonderful, clear teaching. Look at 3 John, verse 14. It says, I trust I shall shortly see thee. He’s writing to a man he really loved a lot named Gaius. I trust I’ll shortly see thee and we shall speak, we shall speak face to face. There it is again. So you say, what does that mean face to face? It is referring to direct and personal communication. But there’s something else. Go to Genesis chapter 32. Genesis chapter 32 and look at verse 30. Yaakov or Jacob has an experience here that’s really incredible. Again, we’re talking about what does it mean when it says face to face? It certainly means direct and personal communication, not through any other means. But in Genesis 32, 30, Jacob called the name of the place. This is very interesting. He’s been wrestling with this personage. He called the name of the place Peniel. Peniel. For I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved. Did he see all that God is? Of course not. God localized himself or it was an angel or it was a Christophany, an appearance of the Lord. The point is Jacob in looking at the situation says, I have seen God face to face. I have wrestled with this person and I know it is the Lord. Either using that or is that because God can do whatever he wants to in terms of manifesting himself. So you see, face-to-face not only refers to direct and personal communication, it refers to a special relationship and knowledge that you are privileged to have that no one else has. One more example. Go to Deuteronomy chapter 34. Deuteronomy 34. And look at verse 10. Here’s a comment about Moses, and it says, There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord, now look at the word, knew. Face to face. Not heard, not seen, but knew. This same word know is the word they use of the sexual intimacy between a man and a woman. Adam knew his wife and she conceived. Interesting, isn’t it, that God would use a word of that intimacy in describing what it means face to face. So let’s back up and take a look at this again. The word face to face used 11 times in the Bible, of which 1 Corinthians 13, 12 is one. It refers to direct and personal communication. It refers also to a very special relationship no one else would have and intimate knowledge. The Lord knew Moses face to face, said of him like no one else. No wonder the Bible says there was no man on earth like Moses. Incredible. Now we not only have a clear picture in the future of the blessing of the Lord that’s coming, then we will see face to face, but we also have a greater perspective. Then shall I know, fully know, right now it’s limited, even, now listen to this, even as also I am known. Now if it’s the completed revelation of the Bible, if that’s what it means, then we have a problem here. Because it wouldn’t apply. Because we’d be saying that the fact of what God knows about me won’t be clearly revealed until the Bible’s completed. Excuse me? That would be a slap in the face of the God who’s the author of the word. The fact of the matter is, I am known by God from eternity past. He knows all about me. He is not limiting his knowledge of me by the Bible being completed. Is everybody listening? This is a little thick. Because the way you come out on this makes a difference as to what you think is your need of God’s love. You know, in a certain sense, it’d be easy to say, oh, the perfect thing is the Bible completed. I have held that view. I was taught that view. But it doesn’t fit. Because God has always known me. Let me prove it. Go to Psalm 139. Psalm 139. Look at verses 1 to 6. Psalm 139, verses 1 to 6. Talk about God’s knowledge of you. He knows everything about you and always has. Before you ever experienced anything, he knew it all about you. Before you ever say anything, he knows what you’re going to say ahead of time. And perhaps you say, I wish he would stop me. Or I wish he would help me. God knows everything. Psalm 139. Just listen to the words. That’s all you need. O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down sitting and mine uprising. Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassed my path and my lying down and art acquainted with all my ways. For there’s not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Amen. Thou hast beset me behind and before and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful. The Hebrew means incomprehensible. It’s too high. I cannot attain it. I’ll put that in the context of 1 Corinthians 13, 12. Folks, one day I am going to know and understand things I don’t now, even with this blessed book of knowledge we call the Bible. But my ability to see it from God’s point of view is lacking. Why? Because I’m finite, and I’ll use the vernacular, I am stupid.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will return shortly to close out today’s lesson, so stay right there. Just ahead of that, Matt’s here, and we want to share with you this month’s resources. These are wonderful. Matt, what do we have?
SPEAKER 03 :
The Old Testament Message Series Sermon Notes Outlines is our bundle package this month.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is a pack of David Hawking’s sermon notes and outlines for 35 message series he has taught over the years in the Old Testament. For everyone, including the serious Bible student. The very structure, plan, outline, and notes your dad used to preach each message, they’re all included.
SPEAKER 03 :
The notes are already written down for you. Yeah. Now, you can add some of your own, of course, but the essential and crucial points are all there for you.
SPEAKER 02 :
And what a tremendous tool for reviewing any Old Testament series we feature on radio or that you might watch in our website media center or that you might purchase. Matt, I’ve got one here from your dad’s series in the book of Job. Yeah. Message number 12 in Job. Bad comfort, more pain. Job’s friends are being anything but helpful. And five key points in the message, Job pictures what he felt. Second point, he proclaims the inability of his friends to understand. And boy, they did not understand. Third point, he presents the reasons why he sees no wisdom in them. Fourth point, he pleads with them to understand his loss of hope. And then the fifth and sixth point, the consequences to what Job is experiencing and and his Christ before God. All these points are outlined with the verses that they apply to. Again, cross-references, illustrations, and definitions. Folks, if you hear the series in Job, for example, and you have these study notes, all the key lessons are saved for you, and there’s room down the side to add your own notes.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, my dad did the same thing in Exodus, the need for godly leaders. The problems that created the need for godly leaders, the accountability, attempt, the abilities were not sufficient to handle the situation, the plan. It’s amazing. Each one will really help you develop whether it’s a problem in your church, a problem in your life. It’s all here. Your dad’s series in Exodus.
SPEAKER 02 :
These study notes, folks, are powerful. Thorough. Thorough, but everything is meaningful in there. There’s no fluff. And again, listeners tell us. These are so helpful in following along as your dad teaches. It’s God’s word. Enhancing understanding, saving what you’ve learned for time and memorial, and sharing it with others. Amen. Sermon notes and outlines for 35 Old Testament teaching series by David Hawking.
SPEAKER 03 :
And again, the sermon outlines and notes bundle for all of my dad’s Old Testament teaching series, just $75.
SPEAKER 02 :
And we also want to remind you about David’s book, Love is the Greatest. This is a strong and helpful commentary on 1 Corinthians 13, the very subject of our current series, and it’s available for just $15. Love is the Greatest will help you save all of the lessons you’re learning on love from 1 Corinthians 13 during this radio series. It puts them into print, and the book also shares additional teaching that we won’t have time to include here on radio. It’s great for your own review and to share with somebody else in your life who needs to know God’s love. To order this or any of our resources, call 800-75-BIBLE. That’s in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And Bible is 24253. You can also visit us online at DavidHawking.org. And as the Lord leads and if the Lord directs, we ask you to prayerfully consider standing with this ministry financially. When you give, when you make a contribution, you help keep Hope for Today on this station and online. You help cover the cost of broadcast time and production expenses. You help us continue to teach the Word of God clearly and without compromise. Your support helps us make these Bible teaching resources available to others and keeps this ministry reaching people who need truth, hope, solid scripture, and God’s love. To give or order resources, call 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, or visit us at davidhawking.org. If you’d like to send a much-needed and much-appreciated gift by mail, write to Hope for Today, Box 3927. Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, BC, V2S 8P1. Well, and here’s David to close out our time.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, thanks for all of your comments and cards. We appreciate it. And if you need a little more direct touch, call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE Monday through Friday. You in Canada, you have our Canadian address and number. Our office is in Abbotsford, British Columbia. So those of you in Manitoba, Alberta, it’s a long distance for you and many folks, of course, in British Columbia as well. But give us a call, and we’ll be glad to help you in any way that we can. The series that we’re doing right now called Love is the Greatest, it includes all on our current radio series. I hope that you will enjoy it, get a copy of it, and that it’ll be a great blessing to you. So plan to be with us for every study we have here at Hope for Today, and thanks for your support and prayers and your financial help. God bless you.
SPEAKER 02 :
If you’d like to reach us, you can call 875-BIBLE in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Our website, davidhawking.org. And you can drop us a note there as well. Tomorrow on Hope for Today, David Hawking brings us the final message in our series from 1 Corinthians 13. A very important wrap-up to our Love is the Greatest series. And we’ll see again that God points us to what endures, what matters, and what reflects His heart. Don’t miss the conclusion of this powerful series next time on Hope for Today.
