9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
1 Corinthians 13:8-12
“There is a tension that exists between the reality of the kingdom of God, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the realities of the broken world we live in,” Zack says in his introduction to the 11th week of Relationship Goals. This tension is the “already but not yet” of the Kingdom, which is ultimately what the Apostle Paul is talking about in this middle section of 1 Corinthians 13. We live in the promise, given spiritual gifts and love to work in the world while we wait for its fulfillment in the return of Jesus. That’s right, the world we live in right now–all its joys and all its pains, all its struggles and all its celebrations–are only temporary.
For now, in the already but not yet, we have received the Kingdom of God but we, as the scripture says, know only in part. Zack takes a brief moment to discuss the importance and value of spiritual gifts as Paul speaks to them here, but in this sermon we spend most of our time on the mystery of the arrived and yet still coming kingdom.
The Kingdom of God entered into the present reality of our earth when Jesus was born as a man, lived, taught, loved, died, and rose again. This is the reality that is the “already.” Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus freed people from demons, healed sickness, and conquered the uncontrollable forces of nature. The Holy Spirit empowers miraculous things to continue to happen today. And yet, the world remains full of pain, strife, and brokenness. This is the reality that is the “not yet.” We exist within this tension. The invitation is this sermon is to recognize the tension, but then to recognize and embrace the promise of scripture that this tension will not last forever. “We know that when He appears we shall be like Him,” we read from 1 John 3:1-2, “because we shall see Him just as He is.” When He appears. When the perfect comes. These are assured moments in the future that we must look forward to in order to continue to live and move and breathe within the tension of the already but not yet.
Next Steps:
- Remember that we live in the tension and frustration of the “already but not yet.”
- Sit with the Lord and ask, “What are some childish ways in me that need put away?”
- How does the “Age to Come” affect my relationships in this “Present Age?”
- As we continue to look forward to Easter – what’s one thing you can do to see Jesus more clearly? (Jump into the Lent devotional on the YouVersion App: Preparing our Hearts for Easter)
The reality of life is there is no life apart from relationships. Your relationships might be with stuff, not people, but your life is relating itself to STUFF. So our heart and our goal in this series is to just be at a place where we ask the hard questions, we get into the space of trying to understand what is love really like. Now when you get into scripture, scripture has a lot of stuff to say about love. So we are are looking at some few amazing things that God has said in his word in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 of what love is.
Catch up on earlier Relationship Goals sermons: Week 1 , Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, week 10
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