1 COR. 12:27.

THE BEST WAY.

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Now you are Christ's body, and individually its members. And God has placed you in the Church in the following order: First, Apostles, second, the Declarers of his Truth, third, Teachers, then mighty deeds, then ability to cure diseases, ability to help others, ability to govern, ability to pour forth strange utterances. Surely all are not Apostles? Surely all are not the Declarers of God's Truth? Surely all are not Teachers? Surely all have not the ability to do mighty deeds? Surely all have not the ability to cure diseases? Surely all do not pour forth strange utterances?

Surely all do not explain them? But keep directing your zeal towards the attainment of the best gifts.

And now I show you a way beyond all com parison the best.

If I pour forth the utterances of men and of angels,

But have no love,

I have become resounding brass,

Or a clanging cymbal.

And if I have the ability to declare the truth

of God,

And know all secrets and possess all knowl

edge,

And if I have such perfect faith that I can remove mountains,

But have no love,

I am nothing.

13: 2.

And if I dole out to the hungry in mouthfuls all I possess,

And if I hand over my body to be burned,

But have no love,

I am in no way profited.

Love is long suffering,

She is kind.

Love never envies.

She never boasts.

She is never conceited.

She never behaves unbecomingly.

She is not self-seeking.

She is not irritated.

She does not dwell on her wrongs.

She does not boast in the triumphs of wrong,

But rejoices with the truth.

She bears everything.

She believes everything.

She hopes everything.
She endures everything.

Love never fails.

But whatever declarations of God's truth there

are,

They will be done away.

1 COR. 13: 8.

LOVE.

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Whatever utterances there are,

They will cease.

Whatever knowledge there is,

It will be done away.

For we have imperfect knowledge,

And we declare God's truth imperfectly,
But when perfection has come,
Imperfection will be done away.

When I was a child

I used to talk as a child,
I used to feel as a child,

I used to think as a child.

But now that I have become a man,

I have given up the ways of a child.

For as yet we see things dimly as in a poor

mirror,

But, then, face to face.

As yet my knowledge is imperfect,

But then I shall know perfectly, just as I am perfectly known.

So, then, the abiding virtues are faith, hope,

love,

These three :

But the greatest of these,

Love.

14: 1.

Keep following love, yet direct your zeal to the attainment of spiritual gifts, and especially to the attainment of the ability to proclaim God's truth. For he who gives expression to a strange utterance is not talking to men but to God. For no one understands him. Yet in spirit he is giving expression to secret truths. But he who proclaims the truth of God to men, builds them up, and encourages, and cheers them. He who gives expression to a strange utterance, builds up himself. But he who proclaims the truth of God builds up the Church. Now I should like you all to give expression to strange utterances, but I should prefer you to be able to proclaim God's truth. For he who proclaims God's truth is greater than he who gives expression to strange utterances, unless he also explains them, so that the Church may be benefited. And, since this is so, brothers, if I visit you and give expression to strange utterances, what good will I do you, unless I make known to you some revelation, or some knowledge, or some proclamation of God's truth, or some teaching? Instruments without life, such as a flute or a harp, although they give out a sound, yet, unless a proper distinction is made between the notes, how shall the tune played on either of them be recognized? And if the bugle should give a doubtful call, who will get ready for battle ? It is the same also with you.

1 COR. 14: 9.

STRANGE UTTERANCES.

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If, in giving expression to your strange utterance, you do not use intelligible language, how shall what you are saying be understood? You will be talking to the air. There are probably a great many different languages in the world and not one of them is without meaning. So if I do not understand the meaning of any particular language I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks it, and he will be a foreigner to me. It is the same also with you. Since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to abound in them for the purpose of building up the Church. For this reason, let him who gives expression to a strange utterance pray for ability to explain it. For if I should give expression to a strange utterance in my prayer, my spirit would be praying, but my understanding is helping no one. What, then, is my conclusion? It is this. My prayer in the spirit will be an intelligent prayer. My singing in the spirit will be an intelligent singing. For if you bless God in spirit, only, how is he who has no such gift to say the "Amen" to your thanksgiving? For he does not know what you are saying. Your thanksgiving is, no doubt, excellent, but the other is not helped by it. I thank God I give expression to strange utterances more than all of you. But in the Church I prefer to speak five words intelligently so that I may teach others also, than thousands of words in a strange utterance.