When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I set aside childish ways.When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things.
13 sermons cite this verse
… things. You're not. I'm not. We think we are. We feel like we are. We're not. And this is important. In 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verse 11, the Bible says, and this is what Paul is speaking about, but when he says, when I was a child, I spoke as a child. I understood as a child. Note this, I thought as a child. So what is that? When I was, was a child, I spoke as a child. I thirdly, understood as a child. Fourthly, I thought as a child. How do children think, speak, understand? How are kids like? In this context, the structure demands that Paul is saying, when I didn't know Jesus, I didn't have a clue. When I was even spiritually young and immature, spiritually, I didn't have a clue. But the believer, the Christian matures just like the human from childhood matures. There's a change that takes place. We know this in every way, shape, and form as being human. But watch what he says. …
… Now we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, what is partial will be put away. You see, when I was a child, I thought like a child, I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I grew up, when I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. For now we see a poor reflection as in a mirror. Then we will see face to face. Now I know in part. Then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. So, these three remain. Faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. this last week I learned that passage from 1st Corinthians 13 by heart I said it over and over again I said it trusting that this is our destiny each of us who've been baptized into Jesus who've been brought to trust in Jesus we died we were reborn in him to be a small but important part of his body, the church. We are destined to grow into people who love like him. When perfection comes, when Jesus comes, to raise the dead and restore the good work of God's hands, one day this love will come naturally to us. But today, honestly, it still mystifies me. …
… 1 Corinthians 13 says, verse 11, when I was a child, I spake as a child. I thought as a child, understood as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things. God wants you to learn how to function in the realm of maturity. You should not be the same today that you were 20 years ago. You shouldn't be depending on the same methods of God communicating with you today that you did 20 years ago. When I got married, when I was dating this wonderful woman right here, when we were dating, I went to the store and bought an engagement ring because I wanted to propose to her, but I wanted to make sure she was the right one. Because you know, I hear hundreds of women chasing her. I say that all the time, but it was hoards of them coming after me. so I bought the engagement ring I put it in the glove compartment I locked the glove compartment and I prayed Lord if she's the one and when the time is right have her ask me why the glove compartment is locked. That's what I did. …
Here's the verse I want to read you. When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child. When I became a man and got this hair on my chest, when I became a man and got these grays in my beard, when I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. The title of this message is a declaration today. Turn to your neighbor and say, "'I don't know what you're going through,' but the hardest part is behind you.'" I knew it. I knew that was the Word of the Lord. The Devil fought me all night last night telling me, you can't stand up and preach that. What if they have something negative in their future this week? What if they have something disappointing in their future this week? You don't know what they're going through, but the Word of the Lord is the hardest part Thank you. is behind you. Tell three people it's behind you. …
… I really like what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13. In 1 Corinthians 13, verse 11, Paul says this. When I was a child, I thought as a child, spake as a child, understood as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. What was Paul saying? He's maturing. That some of the things he understood when he first came to the Lord, he changed as he grew and walked with the Lord. And my prayer is that you are not at the same place with God today that you were when you first gave your life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for the possibility of maturing and evolving. Of allowing God to take us through experiences that make us reread Bible and rethink God. You know, it's easy. Black and white. Black and white is easy, right or wrong. what's harder is recognizing that Christianity is not black or white on any issue. It's shades of gray. And I want to invite you into the shades of gray. …
… And just that laying down women does not make you a man. And, you know, the preacher side of me is the whole aspect of when he says, when I was a child, I thought I was a child, I spoke as a child. But when I became a man, I put away. So you're not a man by what you acquire. You're a man by what you release. And the misconception for our generation with manhood is I'm a man by what I get. If I get the house, I'm a man. If I get the car, I'm a man. If I get the job, I'm a man. If I get the women, I'm a man. because we're getters. You're not a man by what you acquire. You're a man by what you're able to release. I'm able to release my pain, my agony, my frustration, my stress, my anxiety. And when it comes to my daughter, Brigene, she didn't have a father at all. And she lived with me. …
… See, first of all, notice he says, he says, For we know now in part, and we prophesy in part. He's talking about, in verse 8 and 9, he's talking about now versus later. Time versus eternity. He says, now we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when the perfection comes. Now, he uses a word here. Sometimes it's translated the perfect, usually. The perfect or when perfection comes. This is one of those places where it's very important to know the particular Greek word, because there's a number of Greek words that can be translated perfect. And I don't think the word perfect is the best word, though I don't really know what the best English word would be. The Greek word that Paul uses is, he says, when totelion comes. the teleon, the telos is the word that means design, aim, the aim, you see, we even get the idea of a telescope, the aim, the design, and Paul is talking about totelion, not that he's saying when we get to that which we're all aiming for, he's talking about ultimate fulfillment of design, He is saying there's a place where we become all that we should be, all we were meant to be, all we were made to be, all we want to be. …
Thank you. 1 Corinthians 13, verses 1 to 13. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth it always protects always trusts always hopes always perseveres love never fails but where there are prophecies they will cease where there are tongues they will be stilled where there is knowledge it will pass away for we know in part and we prophesy in part but when perfection comes the imperfect disappears When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child. …
… but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection is in a mirror. Then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part. Then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain, faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. now we've been looking for several weeks and we're going to continue to look at this the greatest passage in all of literature probably most famous passage i should certainly say in all literature on love and we saw the first three verses says it doesn't matter if you can do prophecies or miracles love is the most important thing in the world let me quote from and this is an extremely interesting quote from David Koresh. David Koresh was a cult leader who led his followers to a fiery death in Waco a couple years back. And in his teachings, this is what he says. …
… But when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child. And when I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror. Then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part. Then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain, faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. Fortunately, this great passage we're looking at for a number of weeks, and today I really think I only have time to make one more point in our series of looking at this, but it's an extremely important point. We said that this is a very famous passage, one of the most famous passages in all of literature, and it's almost always read as a stand-alone thing, and as a result, we think of it as inspirational. If you find this passage inspirational, you have never heard it. …
… For we know in part and we prophesy in part. but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish things behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror. Then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part. Then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain, faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love. This is God's word. Now, he said last week that if you read this thing as a standalone passage, not seeing why Paul wrote it, to whom he was writing it, you miss the impact of it, and it's really a bombshell. And let me remind you what that context is, who he was writing to. He was writing to a very young church in Corinth, a new church. And this church was a brilliant church. And if you want to know something about what the church was like, you have to read verses one to three. …
… but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. And when I became a man, I put away childish things. Now we see, but a poor reflection as in a mirror. Then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part. Then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain. faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. This is God's word. Now, all during the winter, we were looking at what's wrong with the human race, and we said what's wrong with the human race is sin. So now the question that we have to face is, how do we lead an anti-sin life? How do we lead a life that is increasingly free from the ruinous power of sin. Now, somebody says an anti-sin life. You mean a good life. Well, the problem with that word is we've been seeing that sin is much more than breaking rules, and therefore, to live a Christian life would mean much more than keeping rules. I mean, I hope that if any of you were here for any of that series, you'll know that one thing you see is that you can keep rules, you can keep rules even very moralistically and still be in the grip of sin, the self-righteousness of sin, the self-centeredness of sin. And therefore, the Christian life, the anti-sin life, the life free from the ruinous power of sin is much more than just a good life. It's a love life. …
… the partial will be done away with. And then in verse 11, we read the classic statement, when I was a child, I spake as a child. I understood as a child. I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. You see, to think as a child, to understand as a child, to act as a child is perfectly appropriate for children. This morning before I came over here to the study center, my granddaughter came to the breakfast table and she said to me, pap, pap, and she put out her hand, she said, come with me back to your study because I want you to see who I'm talking to. And I said, who's that? And she said, Santa Claus. And I said, Santa Claus is in my study this morning? She said, yes, come see. And so she took me by the hand and led me down the hall and into my study and there was the sofa sitting against the bookshelves and there was no one on the sofa. …